Gateway P-6860FX June 23rd, 2008 | by Josh Norem
Video ReviewFull Review
Features and Design Widescreen Display Ports and connectors Multimedia Controls Wireless connectivity
The Gateway P-6860FX is available only at Best Buy, and unlike other Gateway models you cannot change its configuration. Though some may see this as a negative, it certainly helps keep the price tag down, and at just $1,349 we’re certainly not complaining, especially since most gaming notebooks costs about twice as much
Like most decent gaming notebooks, the P-6860FX combines a powerful one-two punch consisting of an Intel “Merom” Core 2 Duo processor running at 1.83GHz and an NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS mobile graphics card with 512MB of memory. Though the GTS isn’t as powerful as the top-shelf GTX, it’s still an excellent card for mobile gaming. Everything plugs into an Intel 965 “Santa Rosa” chipset. It also includes a hefty 4GB of DDR2 memory.
Make no mistake about it -- the P-6860FX is a desktop replacement notebook, and as such includes a giant 17” widescreen display that runs at a native resolution of 1440x900. It includes a glossy coating and is paired with both HDMI and VGA-out ports if you want to pipe DVD movies to an external display. There is no Blu-ray capability, however, but that’s probably obvious from the unit’s price tag. The LCD also has a built-in 1.3MP webcam.
Like most desktop replacement notebooks, the P-6860FX has a litany of connectors and expansion ports to ensure maximum productivity at all times. The right side of the notebook includes a 5-in-1 card reader, an eSATA port, Ethernet, FireWire, headphone and mic jacks, an ExpressCard 54 slot and the aforementioned HDMI and VGA-out ports. The left side features two more USB ports as well as a Kensington lock slot. There’s even a 56K modem plug on the back next to the extra-big 9-cell battery – a requirement on a notebook as powerful as this one.
The P-6860FX is loaded with connectivity ports, including HDMI and eSATA
Widescreen notebooks such as these are good for more than games of course, and Gateway has added a number of features to the P-6860FX to enhance the multimedia experience. The most obvious is a row of soft-touch keys located above the keyboard. They let you open Windows Media Center, play, pause and fast forward tracks as well as adjust the volume via soft-touch buttons. All the media buttons have orange illumination too, which goes well with the copper accents surrounding the keyboard and the chassis.
The P-6860FX is relatively future-proof when it comes to wired and wireless connectivity. It features a Gigabit Ethernet port as well as onboard Intel A/G/N wireless that supports the latest Draft-N 80211 standard, which is expected to be officially ratified at the end of the year. It also supports Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity as well, and features a prominent wireless on/off switch on the front of the chassis to allow for easy switching if you need to disable it in a public area.
OS and software
Naturally, the P-6860FX comes with Windows Vista Home Premium, but this notebook uses the 64-bit version which allows it to use all of its included 4GB of RAM. Gateway also throws in a Microsoft Works and Cyberlink Power2Go for burning media.
by Spacemanbob on November 8, 2009:
“I was really skeptical about buying a Gateway Laptop, but after looking at the hardware and the spare hard drive bay, I purchased it. This thing is fast and has responded to any game or application I have put on it. So far I am running Age of Conan at...” More...