Gateway P-6831 FX: Best Midrange Gaming Notebook Ever
by Jarred Walton on March 28, 2008 6:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
1440x900 Gaming Performance
For most users, the native resolution of 1440x900 on this midrange notebook is going to be the critical factor. Given that this is a somewhat low resolution, especially on some of the older titles we are going to run into situations where we are CPU limited. Even with a relatively slow T5450, however, the P-6831 frequently manages to outperform older offerings like the Dell XPS M1710. Many of the titles are still GPU limited even at 1440x900.
We've been tempted to drop some of the older titles from our testing, but we figure some users might still be playing certain titles (i.e. Battlefield 2) and it's nice to provide at least some idea of how modern notebooks compare to last generation notebooks. Since we obviously didn't benchmark some of the most recent games on older hardware, we continue to provide results from older titles. Note also that some of the older hardware is not capable of running DirectX 10 graphics, which can of course make a difference on the latest games.
Looking at the results, we can't help but be impressed with the value that the Gateway P-6831 offers. It's never going to beat the XPS M1730 in a head-to-head match, but that's not the point. The point is that you can get extremely good performance at the native LCD resolution for what amounts to a very reasonable price. Typical entry-level notebooks already cost around $1000; that you can pay a couple hundred dollars more and actually end up with very good gaming performance makes this the first truly viable midrange gaming notebook.
If you doubt that last statement, look at the results from previous "midrange" notebooks in the above charts. The ASUS A8Js and G2P both launched at prices close to $2000, and though they became more affordable over time, they were never great gaming notebooks even when they were brand-new. The Toshiba X205 isn't much better; that should make it very clear why we say there is very little reason to consider purchasing a GeForce 8700M GT notebook these days. Even with a slower CPU, the P-6831 is frequently up to twice as fast as the X205... a laptop that still sports a higher price tag!
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ToeJuice - Friday, March 28, 2008 - link
Nevermind... overreacted to the first page... lolbill3 - Friday, March 28, 2008 - link
Would you make a gaming laptop your only machine? A 9600GT caliber GPU sounds nice now, but in just a few months as always it will be slipping way behind.It's hard enough keeping up to gaming specs on a desktop, seems to me a fixed spec laptop is always a losers choice for gaming.
gerf - Friday, March 28, 2008 - link
I use my laptop for all computer uses outside of work. I consider it gaming able as well: Dell Vostro 1500 1.6GHz C2D, 8600m 512MB only DDR2, 2GB RAM, 85WHr battery. With the discounts of the day, 3 year warranty and a bag thrown in, it was about $1050.What mattered the most was that I get about 5 hours battery life when I'm just running moz, irc, IM, Thunderbird around the house.
I'm not a Dell employee, but I have to say that this type of lapper could be grouped up there as a reasonable alternative for moderate gamers on the go.
JarredWalton - Friday, March 28, 2008 - link
That sort of system is a standard laptop first and a gaming laptop second. There's nothing wrong with that, of course, but if you really like games and want to be able to run at maximum detail, that type of system won't cut it. That's what I'm getting at in the conclusion: the need for balance as well as targeting what type of system you want. If you want long battery life, the 8800M notebooks are currently a poor choice. I'm still waiting to see the first notebooks with HybridPower, so that you can get both 3D performance *and* long battery life.pmonti80 - Friday, March 28, 2008 - link
For the kind of people who read anandtech, that laptop is not going to be their only computer. It's a second or third computer, like a desktop pc you can move or if you go to a LAN party, used for such things.And for the kind of people not reading anandtech this mobile equivalent of a 9600 GT is more that OK for a couple of years. At the native resolution of 1440x900 they would be able to play any game for 2 or more, just reducing the settings used as games demand more power (1440x900 is just a few less pixels than 1280x1024).
Just my 2 cents.
iclicku - Friday, March 28, 2008 - link
I actually bought this laptop to leave at my GF's place so that when I'm over there, I can play games and such. Plus my GF loves to use it as well. I already have a desktop at home and the specs are very similar to the laptop.FXi - Friday, March 28, 2008 - link
Nice review. It's very nice to see a notebook that enters the market at a kinder price point (even fully loaded it's far better than Dell or Alienware 17" gaming models).Drivers! Seriously anyone who isn't "working with" Nvidia hand in hand right now to get regular driver updates for mobile gaming machines is going to be out of this business when those updates start showing up. SLI absolutely requires serious regular driver updates, and the minute those updates stop (you stop getting supported) your SLI rig is not a single gpu rig in any future games. Kinda sad, eh?
The TN panel is a bit of a compromise, but folks should seriously consider that the price for what you get is pretty good. One can always move up several thousand and not get dramatically more performance. A cpu upgrade would probably be the only thing most folks might consider paying more for.
Well done :)
pmonti80 - Friday, March 28, 2008 - link
It's a pitty that I live in spain and can't buy this notebook. Because I would buy it without a second thought if Gateway sold these here.Great for Lan's and as a Desktop Replacement. For a decent price.