Gateway P-6831 FX Overview

Okay, so Gateway cut down the graphics card a bit and they went with one of the cheapest Core 2 Duo processors available. What else did they trim in order to that price point? As amazing as it may seem, there really weren't any other serious compromises:

Gateway P-6831 FX Specifications
Processor Core 2 Duo T5450 (1.67GHz 2MB 667FSB)
Note: New versions are shipping with the T5550 (1.83GHz 2MB 667FSB)
Chipset Intel GM965 + ICH8-M
Memory 1x1024MB + 1x2048MB DDR2-667
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTS 512MB
Display 17" WXGA+ (1440x900) UltraBright
Hard Drive 250GB 5400RPM 8MB Cache
Optical Drive 8X SuperMulti DVD+/-RW
Networking Integrated Gigabit Ethernet
Intel 4965AGN WiFi
Bluetooth v2.0
Audio Intel 2-Channel HD Audio
Battery 9-Cell 86WHr
Front Side Front LCD Latch
WiFi On/Off switch
Left Side 2 x USB 2.0
Optical Drive (DVDRW)
Kensington Lock
GPU Cooling Exhaust
Right Side VGA
HDMI
eSATA
Gigabit Ethernet
1 x USB 2.0
Mini FireWire
Headphone/Mic Jacks
ExpressCard/54
5-in-1 Flash Reader (MS, MS Pro, MMC, SD, xD)
Back Side Power Connector
56K Modem
CPU Cooling Exhaust
Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit
Dimensions 15.75" x 11.75" x 1.3"-1.70" (WxDxH)
Weight 9.2 lbs (single HDD)
Extras Fingerprint scanner
1.3MP webcam
1 x 2.5" HDD bay available
Warranty 1-year standard

You get everything that you would expect to find in a reasonably high-end notebook. First, Gateway equips the notebook with a whopping 3GB of memory. Why use 3GB rather than 2GB or 4GB? Since the system is running Windows Vista 32-bit, going beyond 3GB won't really help. We would have been content with 2GB, but we see no reason to complain about the extra 1GB. Should you choose, you can of course remove the 1GB SO-DIMM and try upgrading the laptop to 4GB of memory — and a 64-bit OS if you're willing to install it on your own. The specs say the laptop only supports up to 3GB of RAM, but we can't think of any reason why that should be the case.

For communications, you get Gigabit and 802.11N networking, plus Bluetooth support; heck, you even get a modem. On the storage side, you get a DVD burner plus 250GB of hard drive storage. There's even a second empty hard drive slot (populated on higher-end FX notebooks). USB ports, HDMI and VGA video connections, a flash memory reader, and ExpressCard/54 slot are all par for the course. All of this is put into a 17" chassis.


There are a few other compromises made, of course. First, the hard drive is a slower 5400RPM model, but considering the capacity even that isn't much of a compromise. The only larger 2.5" notebook drive currently available is a 320GB model, which also runs at 5400RPM but costs quite a bit more. Still, a 200GB 7200RPM Drive would be slightly faster. The only remaining compromise we can see is their use of a 1440x900 LCD panel. The higher-end FX notebooks include 1920x1200 LCDs, but their prices start at $2000.

Perhaps one of the biggest drawbacks to Gateway notebooks is that there are no customization options in terms of components. On the Gateway website, there are currently five versions of the Gateway FX P-series available, and each one comes with a specific memory, storage, graphics, and CPU configuration. Perhaps you don't need high performance graphics but would like a faster processor? Too bad — that's not an option unless you want to do the upgrade on your own. More shocking is that the P-6831 isn't even for sale directly from Gateway — it's only available at retail outlets. So in total, there are six notebook configurations that use the same chassis, but unlike Dell and other competing OEMs, you can't custom build a laptop to your specifications. If that's the price we have to pay, we're okay with making the sacrifice. The P-6831 is undoubtedly the most interesting of the six models anyway... though we really would have liked the option to get a 1920x1200 LCD for a few hundred dollars more.

Note: Several readers have written and mentioned that Gateway is now shipping some P-6831 laptops with T5550 CPUs. Over time, we expect this transition to extend to all new laptops, so performance will be up to 10% faster than the system we tested. The T5450 works well for gaming already, so a faster CPU for free is merely icing on the cake.

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  • teknomedic - Sunday, March 30, 2008 - link

    Can anyone who has gotten the T5550 proc go to Gateway and enter your serial number and then check out the documentation and let us know if they only list the T5450 info or if they give you the T5550 info?

    I'm trying to figure out if I've got the T5450 or the T5550 before I open the box... of course the box says T5450 and when I enter my serial at gateway I only get the T5450 documentation as well. I also called gateway tech support and that person basically told me that he showed no records of any of these laptops getting the T5550 proc... but he seemed a little "off" to me though and that's of course an incorrect statement.

    TK.
  • teknomedic - Sunday, March 30, 2008 - link

    ^^^ also though, I've read on the net (so take with some salt) that gateway released a patch because vista was incorrectly ID'ing the proc as a faster one... is there any merit to this... could we all have the T5450 but it's being miss-ID'd?
  • Che - Sunday, March 30, 2008 - link

    My box does say T5450, but I ran CPU-Z and it does identify it as the faster processor. I'll check the serial number later for ya.
  • Che - Sunday, March 30, 2008 - link

    I entered my serial # and it does state it was a T5450. Ship date March 08
  • teknomedic - Sunday, March 30, 2008 - link

    Thanks for doing that... I decided to just open my box.. figured I'd be upgrading the CPU anyway later... and... got the faster T5550. ;)

    So I guess there really is no way to know what you've got until you turn on the PC.

    My PC has a ship date of March 13th and I got the T5550 @ 1.83Ghz... of course now my wife is jealous so we had to buy one for her as well. Her ship date was March 4th... haven't opened the box yet... but will report what she has when we do. Both computers were bought at Best Buy.
  • teknomedic - Tuesday, April 15, 2008 - link

    quick update...

    My wife's laptop with a ship date of March 4th ended up having the slower T5450 proc... Also, both laptops have a strange "buzz" or audio distortion of the right speaker while playing some games (mostly Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath).

    Also, I find the proc debate mute now since the P-6860 is coming out... if you can wait a week or so everyone here should now buy the P-6860... it's still only $1349 but gets a few nice upgrades such as the faster T5550 proc, 4GB RAM and a 320GB HDD with Vista 64bit.
  • JarredWalton - Sunday, March 30, 2008 - link

    ASUS makes good notebooks, and the F3kA you linked is reasonable. Still, the 8800M GTS is probably 2 to 3 times more powerful than the Mobility HD 2600. You can run the Quake 4, Crysis, UT3, and Bioshock gaming tests quite easily if you want to compare. Same goes for CINEBENCH, 3DMark, and PCMark.

    I think the ASUS might be a better laptop in terms of battery life (it depends on the battery size), but the GPU, CPU, and LCD are all worse than the P-6831. $900 is a fair price for what you get, though.
  • Fant - Sunday, March 30, 2008 - link

    I wished Anandtech would have compared the performance of this gateway to a few other laptops such as the $1500 Dell XPS M1530 which comes with c2d, 4gb, 8600Mgt as well as a MBP running XP (via bootcamp) since it also comes with c2d and 8600MGT.
  • ap90033 - Tuesday, April 1, 2008 - link

    Wow 8600M GT? I had one of those Dells, I SENT IT BACK. It was HORRIBLE for gaming. Seriously, it would be embarrassing for the Dell...
  • predatorramboxxx - Sunday, March 30, 2008 - link

    all of them now have 1.83 or 1.86 check notebook review if you do not believe me.
    mine came with 1.83 from bestbuy

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