Gateway P-7808u: to Quad or Not to Quad?
by Jarred Walton on April 13, 2009 3:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
Specifications and Features
| Gateway P-7808u FX Specifications | |
| Processor | Core 2 Quad Q9000 (2.0GHz 1066FSB 2x3MB L2) |
| Chipset | Intel PM45 + ICH9M-E |
| Memory | 2x2048MB DDR3-1066 |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTS 1GB |
| Display | 17.0" Glossy WXGA+ (1440x900) |
| Hard Drive | 500GB 5400RPM |
| Optical Drive | 8x DVDR SuperMulti |
| Networking | Gigabit Ethernet (Marvel Yukon 88E8071 PCI-E) Intel WiFi Link 5100 Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR |
| Audio | 2-Channel HD Audio (2.0 Speakers) |
| Battery | 9-cell 86.5Whr |
| Front Side | WiFi On/Off Switch Display Latch |
| Left Side | ExpressCard/54 SD/MMC/xD/MS Pro reader 1 x Mini FireWire 1 x USB 2.0 Gigabit Ethernet 1 x eSATA VGA Microphone and Headphone |
| Right Side | Kensington Lock 2 x USB 2.0 Heat Exhaust Optical Drive |
| Back Side | Heat Exhaust Power Adapter Modem |
| Operating System | Windows Vista Home Premium 32/64-bit Windows Vista Ultimate 32/64-bit |
| Dimensions | 15.75" x 11.75" x 1.3"-1.7" (WxDxH) |
| Weight | 9.05 lbs (with 9-cell battery) |
| Extras | 1.3MP Webcam 104-Key Keyboard 8-Key Multimedia Quick Access Panel Microsoft Works 60-day Symantec Norton 360 Trial |
| Warranty | 1-year standard; optional warranty extensions available with many resellers |
| Price | Starting at $1700 online |
The basic specifications haven't changed much since the P-7811. Here's a quick recap of the differences between the two models, along with the price difference between the part used in the P-7808u and the P-7811. Only four items have changed, as far as we can tell.
| Gateway P-7811 FX Specifications | ||
| Component | Description | Price Change (to P-7808u) |
| Processor | Core 2 Duo P8400 (2.26GHz 3MB 1066FSB) | $145 |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce 8900M GTS 512MB NVIDIA drivers: 176.02 (beta from Gateway) |
$25 |
| Display | 17" WUXGA (1920x1200) Glossy (AU Optronics B170UW02 V0) |
-$76 |
| Hard Drive | 200GB Seagate Momentus 7200.2 | $30 |
| Total Price Change | $124 | |
Looking at the specifications, you do get more performance for your money, mainly thanks to the quad-core CPU and GeForce 9800M GTS 1GB. You also get a 500GB 5400RPM hard drive (with the ability to add a second drive later if you want). Those areas are upgraded relative to the P-7811, but in one area you actually get less: the P-7808u includes a WXGA+ LCD running at 1440x900 instead of the WUXGA (1920x1200) on the P-7811 - it's a panel similar to the original P-6831, though from a different manufacturer.
The downgraded LCD is unfortunate but in some ways it's good: plenty of users feel the native WUXGA resolution results in text and images that are "too small" even on a 17" LCD. The 1440x900 display is more legible in terms of small font sizes, though we never had any complaints even when running the P-7811 at 1920x1200 (YMMV). The lower resolution also fits better with the moderate GPU, providing increased frame rates at the native LCD resolution. Oddly enough, the GPU is now a 1GB model instead of a 512MB model. While we have certainly seen games benefit from increased GPU memory, it is typically useful at higher resolutions, so the added memory mostly goes to waste right now. It's possible that future games will make better use of GPU RAM, but more likely is that any games that see a benefit in the future will also need more GPU power.
Looking at the price changes, what we end up with is that the jump from the P-7811 to the P-7808u changes some components, but despite the intervening eight months the relative price has actually increased! With the downgraded LCD and the upgraded CPU, GPU, and HDD (unless the 1GB 9800M GTS is substantially more than the 512MB model), the P-7808u should only cost around $125 to $150 more than the original price of the P-7811. In fact, if you want a more reasonable alternative, you might want to look at the P-7807u at just $1400, which uses a 320GB 7200RPM HDD and a P8600. Sadly, the P-7801u that included the nicer WUXGA LCD is no longer available for $1300.
The quick summary is that in terms of pricing and features, Gateway has moved up the ladder quite a bit without a lot of extra performance. We'll look at how things actually stack up in benchmarks, but unless you really need the (slower clocked) quad-core CPU we think some of the other Gateway P-78xx laptops are a better buy. On the other hand, the P-7808u does appear to be the least expensive quad-core notebook that doesn't cut corners in the GPU department.
Speaking of which, as we mentioned in our review of the Toshiba X305-Q725, NVIDIA recently released updated mobile GPUs, specifically the GT 100M and 200M series. At first glance, many will assume the 9800M parts are now completely outdated, but the newer parts are merely "optimized and refined" versions of the venerable G92M/G94M cores. The GTX 280M can average around 25% more performance than the "old" 9800M GTX - it has 128 SPs instead of 112, and slightly higher clock speeds. That would obviously be faster than the 9800M GTS in the 7808u, which packs 64 SPs at lower clock speeds. The 9800M GTS falls roughly between the GTS 160M and the GTS 150M, both of which also pack 64 SPs but at slightly higher or lower clock speeds. Saying that the newer parts are merely optimized versions of the older cores does omit one useful detail: the older parts are 65nm chips and the new parts are 55nm. That means besides having slightly higher clock speeds, the chips should also run a bit cooler and use less power. Those are both nice benefits and given the choice, we would want the newer parts. However, the older parts are still competitive in terms of performance so if the price is right they are fine chips.
If everything isn't clear, the short summary is that the P-7808u looks to be a decent notebook at a price point that's higher than the previous Gateway P-series FX retail offerings. We expect performance to be quite similar to the discontinued P-7811, except in applications that leverage the power of the upgraded quad-core processor. Truth be told, we wish the P-7811 were still available for $1450, as we prefer the feature set it offered. Specifically, we liked the WUXGA LCD a lot more than the WXGA+ LCD - and it's not just about the increased resolution, as we will see later.
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Jedi2155 - Sunday, April 19, 2009 - link
I have a Gateway 7805u right as well but it has a Western Digital 7200 RPM 320 GB instead of the 500 GB 5400 RPM model.Lately in the past month or so I've had a few freezes that are exactly as you described in this article. I'm wondering if that issue is happening to a lot of other WD hard drives or is it just ours that are defective.
Myrandex - Friday, April 17, 2009 - link
I bought the 7805u a couple of months ago and I have to say that I am extremely pleased. Another advantage to that laptop is the 7200RPM hard drive as compared to the 5400RPM hard drive in this laptop that was reviewed. I don't mind the 1440x900 resolution, but I never saw the one before it. I just can compare it to other screens on laptops that I use and it seems alright. I do wish that the Fn and Ctrl keys were swapped though. I also feel that the speakers were a little lacking compared to other laptops from other companies. Some in the same price range had 4 speakers instead of 2, or a small built in sub, etc.I have thought about popping in a Quad whenever I feel that I'd need it, but for now I'm more than happy with the Dually that is in it.
Jason
Marcel17 - Thursday, April 16, 2009 - link
C'mon Gateway , pluck your arses or eyes or whatever you use to receive visual information , and see the product for what really is BEFORE you get it out the door .It seems that in the last few years the laptop manufacturers have a world championship :Who can shove the ****est panel in a laptop and and sell it for 1500 bucks .These displays do have a place on the market and it's called entry level or to quantify the 400-666 $ segment .
Me ? I'll gladly send some more money to Dell for that sweet 16 . By the time I will save 1500 it will have Win.7 and ATI 4650M and it will be Purrrfect.
7Enigma - Wednesday, April 15, 2009 - link
What happened to the lower/higher is better in the screen benchmarks? I just got done praising you in the Dell review, and come to this one and see it's back to the old subtitles without telling us what is better/worse. Please bring it back!JarredWalton - Wednesday, April 15, 2009 - link
Sorry - had it on one of the charts, but it wasn't in my spreadsheet since I updated the charts directly. Consider me flogged... I'll go update the graphs and spreadsheet now.atlmann10 - Monday, April 13, 2009 - link
Hey if you want one from BB try the ASUS it looked pretty sweet. I actually bought the P-7811FX, and am reasonably happy with it. However, if I had the choice to make again I would go with a smaller lighter unit. Do not get me wrong the 7811 is great, but really how often do I game on it? The answer is not much. I use my desktop for gaming, and yes if I was on the road that may be different. But if I was on the road for work I think the time spent gamin would still be rather low. So lighter more transportable with power would be my pick now. This new unit I don't see the point much. Yes; it has a quad cpu but really what makes use of that especially that your going to run on a laptop. Even games don't make use of more than 2 cpus, then one is handling regular computer duty in the background maybe but I doubt it. I also think they should have done a 1600-1680 rez faster refresh display. So this package? Maybe if it was a full desktop replacement because I know first hand you can really forget mobility to the greatest degree.nubie - Monday, April 13, 2009 - link
Re:[quote]drivers for the various pieces of hardware (touchpad, audio, GPU, Bluetooth, WiFi, etc.)[/quote]
I watched my brother kill all of the processes/widgets associated with his 'drivers' for audio/video and it didn't stop the drivers from working just fine.
I wish that it was made optional to have these widgets run when you install the drivers.
Worst is printer drivers, I don't need 5 widgets running full time and locking up the system just to print. When will they learn?
On topic:
I think that for "gaming" they need to offer a 3 ghz dual core with a 98/112/128 SP card. (I am ashamed that they consider the 48 SP card a 9600GS on the desktop, and this "9800M" with the specs of a 9600GT is pitiful).
I suppose that is nVidia's fault, but it would be nice if the laptop came with more graphics power. Although this is a decent amount of power for the money (Around $1,000 - $1,500).
I like that they are keeping the chassis the same and focusing on what matters, the hardware.
They should offer an OCZ or SuperTalent SSD, it would really make a noticeable difference in the computing feel for $130/209/345 more in 32/60/120GB capacities.
I don't know if this lappy is set up for dual hard drives, but if it was you could spin down the HDD 80-95% of the time and run the OS and main apps on the SSD.
JarredWalton - Monday, April 13, 2009 - link
Many of the driver widgets aren't 100% necessary and are merely system tray icons. However, rarely have I had any crashes that I would blame on touchpad, audio, keyboard, WiFi, etc. widgets. With 4GB of RAM, I just don't notice a difference between running with or without the drivers; some of the drivers are also necessary. Touchpad drivers as an example enable scrolling at the edges, I believe, along with some other extras (which you may or may not like). Another one that seems necessary for full functionality is the WiFi driver, though even there you can usually switch to letting Windows manage that connection and get rid of another app.As for printers... well, if all you need to do is print (as opposed to scanning, faxing, etc. with a multifunction printer), you can usually do a "driver only" install and ignore the manufacturer applications that tell you about ink levels and such. I hate those large driver suites almost as much as I despise the 5-8 processes created by most "Internet Security" suites.
crimson117 - Monday, April 13, 2009 - link
I like the Gateway® P-7805u FX Edition for $1,149.99.$1150 at best buy. It has a P8400 (2.26ghz dual core 3mb cache) instead of the Q9000, and a 320gb instead of 500gb HD. Otherwise, it looks identical.
Well worth saving $550 over the 7808u!
crimson117 - Monday, April 13, 2009 - link
I also posted that before reading the final page of the review... ;)