Gateway MD Series

Gateway MD7801u

Specifications

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Average Score: 77.5% - good

Reviews

80% Gateway MD7801u
Source: PC Mag Archive.org version
It's slightly misleading to call the Gateway MD7801u ($800 street) the budget version of the MC7803u, as they're both priced under $1,000—inexpensive for media center laptops. Their frames are beautifully designed, their features are ample, and their performance is more than satisfactory. The differences are subtle: The MC7803u has more bells and whistles, like a bigger glass screen, an illuminated keyboard, and a 3D graphics card. The MD7801u justified leaving those things out with a $200 lower price, so either one is a good choice. The Gateway MD7801u is a well-rounded desktop-replacement laptop that barely makes a dent in your wallet.
80, Preis 95, Leistung 90, Mobilität 80
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 02/10/2009
Rating: Total score: 80% price: 95% performance: 90% mobility: 80%

70% Gateway MD7801u
Source: CNet Archive.org version
The goal of the MD-series of laptops, according to Gateway, is to offer consumers capable multimedia notebooks at a reasonable price. It succeeds, to that end, by giving the MD7818u (and the MD7801u, which is the same system in black) a large, 500GB hard drive, a 16:9 15-inch display, touch-sensitive media controls, and 4GB of RAM, all wrapped in an upscale design. Gateway's affordable multimedia laptop, the MD7818u, has some high-end design touches, but is a little too big for travel.
3.5 von 5, Mobilität gut
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 01/29/2009
Rating: Total score: 70% mobility: 80%

80% Gateway MD Series (MD7801u)
Source: Laptop Mag Archive.org version
Gateway trimmed some features from its premium multimedia MC Series in the hopes of creating a more affordable but comparably performing 15.6-inch notebook, and it mostly succeeded. The $799 MD7801u is a value-conscious laptop with a premium design, solid performance, and excellent battery life. While similarly priced laptops are more portable, the Gateway MD Series is a great-looking machine that lasts a long time on a charge.
4 von 5, Mobilität mäßig, Preis gut, Leistung mangelhaft
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 01/07/2009
Rating: Total score: 80% price: 80% performance: 50% mobility: 60%

80% Gateway MD7801u
Source: Computer Shopper Archive.org version
The attractively priced MD7801u is an appealing multimedia notebook that offers very good performance and better-than-average battery life. It’s a bit heavier than most 15-inch systems, however, and could use an A/V upgrade.
8 von 10, Preis gut, Leistung gut, Mobilität schlecht
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 01/01/2009
Rating: Total score: 80% price: 80% performance: 80% mobility: 40%

Gateway MD2614u

Specifications

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Average Score: 70% - average

Reviews

70% Gateway MD2614u
Source: CNet Archive.org version
Gateway's MD-series of laptops is aimed at consumers of digital media who also enjoy a good Web-surfing session, and possibly some productivity tasks. With the entry-level MD2614u, Gateway keeps the same case design, touch-sensitive media controls, and LCD as the excellent MD7801u, but popped in a less expensive and considerably less powerful 2.1GHz AMD Turion X2 RM-72, cut the hard drive storage in half, and ditched 1GB of memory. For an AMD-based laptop, the entry-level Gateway MD2614u provides adequate everyday performance with a handful of extras we'd expect from more expensive systems.
70, Mobilität 40
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 02/09/2009
Rating: Total score: 70% mobility: 40%

Gateway MD7826u

Specifications

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Average Score: 60% - poor

Reviews

Gateway MD7826u Review
Source: notebookforums.com Archive.org version
The Gateway MD7826u is a stylish and capable notebook at a very competitive price. The keyboard and touchpad leave something to be desired, but there are enough conveniently located USB ports that anyone else annoyed by them could plug in a USB keyboard and mouse and not worry about it. The fact that the screen cannot fold open completely is also a detriment to me, but it would not be considered bad for people who only use their notebooks on a flat surface near eye level. Buy this notebook if you tend to use your computer on a table or desk with your own keyboard and mouse and you want a well-performing multimedia notebook that looks as good as it performs. Don't buy this notebook if you tend to use your computer in limited or awkward spaces where a fully adjustable screen is needed and you do not have access to an external keyboard or mouse.
Leistung 70, Display 80, Mobilität 70, Verarbeitung 60
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 04/20/2009
Rating: performance: 70% display: 80% mobility: 70% workmanship: 60%

60% Gateway MD7826u 15.6-inch Thin and Light Laptop PC
Source: Comp Reviews Archive.org version
Gateway's MD7826u is essentially a reworking of the companies previous MC series laptop. The main difference is the reduction of the screen size from 16-inches to 15.6-inches. This means that the laptop has larger overall dimensions than many laptops with a similar screen size. With its sub-$1000 price tag and good overall performance, the Gateway MD7826u is a decent system for people looking at a strong value. It has some very strong battery life and decent 3D graphics that even let it play some of the latest PC games. The laptop does have a number of trade-offs though including dimensions more akin to larger 16-inch laptops, a keyboard that isn't one of the better ones on the market and a few ports that people might miss.
60, Preis 80, Leistung80, Mobilität 80
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 02/16/2009
Rating: Total score: 60% price: 80% performance: 80% mobility: 80%

Gateway MD7818u

Specifications

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Average Score: 70% - average

Reviews

70% Review: Gateway MD7818u notebook
Source: Geek.com Archive.org version
With so much competition at this level from Dell and HP, as well as AMD-powered alternatives that come with discrete graphics for well under the $800 mark, the Gateway won’t be for everyone but it’s a very good starting point and it is more than enough computer to get the job done so long as buyers understand its limitations.
70
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 03/25/2009
Rating: Total score: 70%

Gateway MD7818u
Source: Notebookreview.com Archive.org version
The Gateway MD series notebook rated very well in our testing with good performance and great build quality. The styling is nearly identical to the higher MC lineup, but offering a more budget friendly starting price as low as $649 depending on configuration. The design is stunning for a low-cost notebook, with clean lines and a very elegant layout. Hidden touch-sensitive multimedia keys and an option to completely disable all indicator lights are some of the features that really make this notebook stand out. If you love the styling of the Gateway MC notebooks but don’t want to fork over as much money, the MD series is an excellent alternative.
Preis 80, Leistung 80, Verarbeitung 90
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 02/27/2009
Rating: price: 80% performance: 80% workmanship: 90%

Gateway MD2601u

Specifications

Pricecompare

Average Score: 80% - good

Reviews

80% Gateway MD Series (MD2601u)
Source: Laptop Mag Archive.org version
This notebook offers a stylish design and good performance for a very low price. For little more than most netbooks, the Gateway MD2601u offers style, a large 16:9 display, strong wireless range, and good performance for everyday tasks like Web browsing, word processing, and media playback. All budget notebooks demand some compromises, and this system is no exception: its multitasking might and battery life are all lacking. Nevertheless, at $499, the MD2601u is a great value.
80, Preis 90, Leistung 80, Mobilität 40
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 05/06/2009
Rating: Total score: 80% price: 90% performance: 80% mobility: 40%

80% Gateway MD2601u 15.6-inch Budget Laptop PC
Source: Comp Reviews Archive.org version
For the price, the Gateway MD2601u is a very affordable laptop with some decent performance. The laptop is supposed to retail for $650 through Best Buy retailers, but pricing via Best Buy is typically below $550. For this low price, users are sacrificing portability because of the larger size and heavier weight not to mention the battery life. Performance is also below laptops based on Intel's Core 2 processors, but it is an acceptable alternative for those looking at a basic laptop at a low price.
80, Preis 90, Leistung 80, Mobilität 30
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 04/14/2009
Rating: Total score: 80% price: 90% performance: 80% mobility: 30%

Comment

Gateway: Gateway, Incorporated. is a computer hardware company based in California which develops, manufactures, supports, and markets a wide range of personal computers, computer monitors, servers, and computer accessories. AOL acquired Gateway.net, the online component of Gateway  Inc., in 1999. 2007, Acer completed its acquisition of Gateway for approximately US$710 million. The market share outside of the US market is rather low.

In 2014 to 2016, Gateway did no longer belong to the Top 10 laptop manufacturers/distributors. Newer devices from Gateway are hardly reviewed by specialist media any longer (as of 2016).

Only some 3D games with very low demands are playable with these cards.

Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4500MHD: Onboard (shared Memory) GPU built in the GM45, GE45 and GS45 chipset (Montevina). Because of two more shaders and a higher core clock, much faster than the old GMA X3100. Still not advisable for gamers (DirectX 10 games not playable or only with very low settings). The integrated video processor is able to help decode HD videos (AVC/VC-2/MPEG2) , e.g., for a fluent Blu-Ray playback with slow CPUs.

ATI Radeon HD 3200: Onboard (shared Memory) graphics chip (on RS780M chipset) based on the HD 2400 graphics core. It also features the UVD video engine to decode HD videos. Beware: Under Windows XP the HD 3200 may have no 2D accelleration because of a driver problem.

ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650: The Hd 3650 is a middle class graphics card (in 2008) and compareable to an 8600M GT GPU from Nvidia. It is fabricated in 55nm process and due to Avivo video engine the graphic card can support the processor with several video operations (HD video too).

» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.

Intel Core 2 Duo: This is the Core Duo and Core Solo successor with a longer pipeline and 5-20% more speed without more power consumption. As an addition to the Core Duo design there exists a fourth decoder, an amplified SSE-unit and an additional arithmetical logical unit (ALU).

The Core 2 Duo for laptops is identical to the desktop Core 2 Duo processors but the notebook-processors work with lower voltages (0.95 to 1188 Volt) and a lower Frontside bus clock (1066 vs 667 MHz). The performance of equally clocked notebooks is 20-25% lower than Desktop PCs because of the lower Frontside bus clock and the slower hard disks.

T6400: Entry level dual core processor based on the Penryn core with only 2 MB level 2 cache and a low clock speed.

P8400:

Middle class dual core CPU with a TDP of 25 Watt. For high end gamer the performance could be not sufficient (for class 1 graphic cards).

AMD Turion X2: The Turion X2 (without 64) is based on the Turion X2 Ultra, but has only 1024 MB L2 Cache and is therefore slower (performance compareable to the old Turion 64 X2). Because of new parts from the K10 architecture, the CPU should be more energy efficient.

RM-72:

» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.

» To find out how fine a display is, see our DPI List.

3.2 kg:

A laptop with this weight is comparatively heavy and less designed for mobility than for use at the desk. Therefore, the devices tend to shine less with battery life than with a large screen and higher performance.

3.5 kg:

74.44%: This rating is poor. More than three quarters of the models are rated better. That is rather not a purchase recommendation. Even if verbal ratings in this area do not sound that bad ("sufficient" or "satisfactory"), they are usually euphemisms that disguise a classification as a below-average laptop.

» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.

Devices from a different Manufacturer and/or with a different CPU

Devices with the same GPU and/or Screen Size

Devices with the same GPU

Devices with Same Screen Size and/or Weight