P-7811Fx
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Packard Bell's iPower GX laptop for hardcore gamerz. Sniff.
Following in the vaunted footsteps of Packard Bell's ugly-ass iPower X2.0 desktop, PB has swiped Gateway's well-received, if already-gaudy P-7811 FX gaming laptop and turned it into pure gamer stereotype: the iPower GX. As far as oppressed people groups go, "hardcore gamers" have had some of the worst aesthetics known to man foisted upon them, and this is no exception. We don't know how they can keep on keeping on -- we would've given up and bought a MacBook to play WoW years ago. Lucky for us, Acer-owned Packard Bell is still Europe-only for the time being, so maybe everything's going to be okay.
Gateway P-7811 FX gaming laptop gets reviewed
We already got our hands on Gateway's new P-7811 FX gaming laptop for a brief looksee, but if you're craving a few more details on the (relatively) bargain-priced unit, you can now hit up Laptop Magazine for a full review. While they had some of the same quibbles with the "almost garish" design, they were mightily impressed by the laptop overall, with them flat out declaring it "one of the best value-price rigs of 2008." The site was especially impressed by the Gateway's "beautiful high-definition display," as well as its welcome HDMI and eSATA ports, its spacious and comfortable keyboard and, of course, some of the best 3D performance around for the price. On the downside, they found that speakers left a bit to be desired, and you don't get a Blu-ray drive, which is becoming increasingly common even in this price range. Still, if the appearance isn't a deal-breaker for you, it seems like this one is as solid a bet as any.
Gateway P-7811FX gaming laptop unboxing and hands-on
Right on schedule, Gateway has set free its P-7811 FX gaming laptop, and we got our hands on one right before you can get your own. Our test unit shipped with the aforementioned Intel Core 2 Duo at 2.26GHz with a 3MB L2 cache, Windows Vista Home 64-bit, Intel PM45 Express Chipset, NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTS with 512MB of GDDR3 discrete video memory, a 17-inch WXGA screen, 200GB 7200 SATA HDD, 4GB DDR3 800MHz RAM, HDMI, 9-cell battery, and 1.3MP webcam. We're pretty pleased with the performance of the machine, although dialing up Crysis to its max settings made it choke a bit. We're still not sold on the computer's stylings, but in a dark room of gaming goodness, who's paying attention to gaudy lights and overly-shiny carbon anyway, right? Peep the hands-on pics and a brief video of Crysis in action after the break. And yes, we know we suck at the game.%Gallery-29583%
Gateway P-7811 FX gaming laptop coming August 14 for $1499
If you've been waiting for Gateway's P-7811 FX gaming laptop, the wait is almost over: it will begin shipping August 14, that is, if an open-lipped Best Buy is to be believed. As for specifications, you're looking at an Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 (2.26GHz, 3MB L2 cache with 1066MHz FSB), PM45 Express chipset, 17-inch WUXGA display at 1920 x 1200, Nvidia GeForce 9800M-GTS with 512MB GDDR3, 200GB 7200RPM spinner, 8x DVD burner, HDMI 1.2, eSATA, a 5-in-1 media card reader, 1.3MP camera, and a 9-cell Li-ion battery. The $1,499 machine weighs in at 9.2-lbs and will be ready for your Crysis, Spore, etc. in a couple weeks.[Via NotebookReview]
