Digital Trends

Gateway M520S

October 24th, 2004 | by Ian Bell

Features and Design

After having a chance to review the M320 series laptops, we of course had high expectations for the M520S system. All three systems in the M520 series have a very low starting price, so we knew corners had to be cut somewhere. Let's begin with the specifications.

The M520S comes with a desktop class Intel Pentium 4 processor running at 2.8GHz and 512MB of RAM. We recommend that you skip the $799 dollar M320CS system and spend a little extra to get more memory and a more powerful CPU. The M520S also comes with a 15” XGA display, 40GB hard drive and built in 802.11B/G networking via a Broadcom WiFi adapter. What is very disappointing, to say the least, is that Gateway chose to use the integrated Intel graphics chip with only 32MB of memory instead of a more powerful option from the likes of NVIDIA or ATI. We also found that there are no FireWire capabilities built into the system — a necessity for multimedia buffs.

The color scheme chosen by Gateway is a pleasant one. Just like the M320 line, the M520 features the same silver cover casing and the black colored base. The sides of the system have a shiny black sheen to it that is protected by a plastic wrap that you can decide to peel off. On the inside of the system, the M520S features the leather looking rubber coating for the palm rests just like the M320 line, as well as the same touch pad for the mouse cursor and scrolling; the mouse buttons do not seem to be as recessed as the M320 line though. Once the system is turned on you are greeted by several blue LED's indicating the power, hard drive and WiFi are powered up.

Both systems feature a 15-inch screen, but the Gateway case is larger

Keyboard and system controls are well laid out. Located on top of the keyboard are the Music, E-mail and Search hot keys as well as the power button. The DVD combo drive is located on the right hand side of the system while the PC card slot and two USB ports are on the left hand side of the system.  Turning the system around will reveal two more USB ports, a VGA out port, modem and Ethernet ports, and audio inputs. There is not a rear cover to protect the exposed ports on the back of the system. What is really odd about this system is how wide it is considering it only has a 15” LCD display. The chassis looks like it was designed for a larger display leaving 1-inch of plastic on both sides of the display and keyboard.

The Gateway M520S and Gigabyte N512 compared

Both the M520CS and M520X offer Gateway's “Step Up” program which allow you to upgrade the systems RAM, hard drive, and DVD drive; including a 6-in-1 media card reader. We have mixed feelings on this. While we think the media card reader should have been a standard feature on the M520 since the laptop is supposed to be a multimedia focused system, we understand that Gateway is just trying to keep prices down. But if they leave everything as an option, the base system really doesn't fit the description Gateway is trying to give it.