Gateway NX570X Review
The Gateway NX570 series is Gateway??s latest line of midsize 15.4??? notebooks. At 6.3 pounds, the NX570X is not light enough to be considered very portable, but it’s certainly lighter than a full desktop replacement. The series features brushed aluminum palm rests, a scratch-resistant cover, and Windows Vista. The entry level model of the NX570X starts at $899.99. At the time of this writing, Gateway is also offering a $250 instant rebate and a free upgrade to 1 GB of main memory, bringing the total cost of the entry level model to a budget-friendly $649.99. My particular configuration is as follows:
* OS: Microsoft? Windows?? Vista Home Premium
* Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7200 (2.00GHz, 667MHz FSB, 4MB L2 Cache)
* Memory: 2048MB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2-1024MB modules)
* Graphics: Integrated Intel???? Graphics Media Accelerator 950, 945GM Chipset
* Display: 15.4″ WXGA TFT Active Matrix (1280 x 800 max. resolution)
* Hard drive: 80GB 5400rpm Serial ATA hard drive
* Optical drive: 24x/ 10x/ 24x CD-RW / 8x DVD Combo Drive
* Battery: 6-cell Lithium-Ion Battery
* Memory card reader: 6-in-1 media card reader (Memory Stick????, MemoryStick Pro????, MultiMediaCard?????, Secure Digital?????, Mini Secure Digital????, RS-Multimedia Card?????)
My fianc????e?????s old Toshiba A15 finally gave out, so I gave her my old Compaq V2000Z and started my search. I have a Core 2 Duo E6400 processor in my desktop and have been thoroughly impressed by its performance and lack of heat issues, so I knew I wanted the mobile version of the processor. My desktop has a good video card and is perfect for gaming, so I wasn’t looking for a mean gaming machine in a laptop, but I did want good conventional performance for my research applications. Price was a big consideration as well, as I’m on a student budget at the moment and was looking to spend less than $1,200. I have had bad experiences with Toshibas in the past, so while the A135 seemed to fit the bill, I was looking for a different brand. Weight was an important factor for me, but durability was more important, as I tend to throw my laptop in my backpack with all of my books and I wasn?????t willing to pay the premium for an ultraportable. I really liked the Vaio SZ series, but it was out of my price range. All things considered, the Gateway NX570X fit the bill better than any other laptop I could find, and with the $250 instant rebate and a $50 coupon code I found through Google, the price was right.
My personal taste in laptop appearance is sleek, understated, and elegant. When I pulled the NX570X out of the box, I knew I had hit my trifecta. Most of the components of the laptop feel like they?????re where they should be. While I did like my old Compaq V2000z, the keyboard layout felt clumsy, the DVD drive door was very vulnerable and exposed, and the plastic felt cheap. The NX570X suffers from none of these problems, but does still have a few problems of its own. The screen shows ripples if a fair amount of pressure (about as much as it takes to close a door) is applied to the center of the lid while holding the lid in place. The lid bends several millimeters when twisted side-to-side, but does not do so vertically without extreme force. While holding the body of the laptop securely and pushing the screen, it wobbles backward and forward once each before stopping. The body of the laptop sports a magnesium infrastructure, an aluminum palm rest, and for the most part is rock-solid. There is some creaking near the optical drive when pushed on, but that was the only place I noticed any apparent weakness in the body. The laptop feels sturdier than similarly priced laptops, but I wouldn?????t go around dropping it on concrete or putting too much weight on the lid.
The 15.4??? WXGA matte screen is probably nothing to write home about, but I have been satisfied with its brightness and clarity. The 1280×800 resolution is sufficient but not quite high enough for my tastes. Gateway offers several upgrade options for the display, but this was one of the areas I cut corners on. There is minor light leakage near the bottom of the screen, but nothing that?????s noticeable unless you?????re specifically looking for it. Against a white background, some slightly uneven backlighting is apparent toward the bottom corners. Both light leakage and backlighting are better than my 17??? Acer desktop LCD. The unit shipped without any dead pixels that I can detect. Viewing angles are average at best: acceptable at a variety of horizontal angles, sub par for most vertical viewing angles.
Speakers
The speakers are typical laptop speakers ????? tinny and underpowered, but they get the job done in a relatively quiet room. For any serious use, external speakers or headphones are absolutely necessary. I have mixed feelings about Gateway?????s decision to place the speakers on the front side of the machine. On the one hand, I like that I can have music playing unobstructed with the lid closed; on the other hand, when the laptop is in my lap, the sound is blocked by my body. It?????s really a matter of personal preference.
Processor and Performance
The T7200 Core 2 Duo in my NX570X lives up to the hype and my expectations. Paired with 2 GB of 667 MHz DDR2 RAM, all non-graphics related tasks are as fast as can reasonably be expected from a mainstream laptop. Graphics, however, are really where this laptop falls down. The integrated Intel chipset is pathetic, but sufficient to run Aero on Vista. I tried to run Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory (a 2003 game) and was averaging 15 fps. I didn?????t bother trying to run a more modern game. Because my desktop is suitable for gaming, this is not a major issue for me. The 5400 rpm hard drive is probably the bottleneck for my system, but I have no complaints. The time from when the Gateway splash screen appears to the Vista login screen is 29 seconds.
Heat and Noise
I am perhaps overly sensitive to heat and noise issues because I have had three Toshiba systems all with heat problems so bad they caused repeated system shutdowns. Even when the systems managed to stay on, the fans sounded like a Boeing. I have noticed that the fans on the Gateway are usually on at their lowest setting when using Vista?????s ???Power Saver??? mode, but they are only noticeable in a silent room. On ???High Performance??? mode and while running CPU-intensive tasks, the fans kick up to a higher setting. Still, the noise is within reason and not so excessive I would be embarrassed to bring the machine to class. The NX570X expels heat through a vent on the left-hand side and the body is warm to the touch on the bottom but usually cool on top, even after extended use. I have never felt uncomfortable with the laptop in my lap, even while wearing shorts. The optical drive is no louder than any other drive I?????ve had, and the sound emitted from it is (subjective as it may sound) more ???pleasing??? to me in that it sounds more like a fan than a high pitched whine or growl.
The keyboard is one place where I take slight issue with the NX570X. The keys are a little too ???clacky??? for my taste, making more noise than an average laptop keyboard. The ???Fn????? and ???Ctrl????? keys have been switched from their normal positions and I often find myself taking several seconds to make sure I am hitting the ???Ctrl????? key instead of the ???Fn????? key. Some keyboard flex is noticeable in normal typing when hitting keys close to the edges of the keyboard. My V2000z had huge gaps between some of the keys, so I am relieved to see that the gaps between keys are minimal on the NX570X. Dedicated buttons to control volume would be nice (a physical volume knob would be even nicer). One keyboard feature I do like is that the ???Fn????? + 1 combination turns on or off the power, HDD, WLAN, and battery LEDs. The touchpad is pretty standard, and while the touchpad buttons feel a little loose, I like that the touchpad itself features a raised ridge to separate the scroll area from the main touchpad.
Add comment March 9th, 2007
