Back to School Guide 2009: Gateway NV5807u Laptop

As part of our Back to School coverage this year, we’ll be taking a look at a few laptops that would make perfect companions for any student. Today we’re taking a look at the Gateway NV series. More specifically, the 15.6″ Intel-powered Gateway NV5807u.

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Let’s start with the basic specs. With the 5807u, you get a 2.1 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo backed by 4 GB of RAM and a 320 GB hard drive. In addition, the system comes with a dual layer DVD burner, Gigabit ethernet, and b/g/n WiFi. This packed feature set lays the groundwork for a great laptop. However, most laptops in its price range come with similar specifications. Is the new Gateway laptop worth its $599 price tag? In a word, yes.

The NV5807u takes advantage of the Intel T6500 processor which, while not Intel’s most powerful creation, is a very good processor for the price range that the 5807 falls into. At 2.1 GHz with 2 MB L2 cache, the processor is a perfect fit for media-loving college students. However, one drawback to the T6500 processor is that it runs relatively warm compared to other Intel processors. Ultimately, the T6500 offers a good mix of performance and battery life. On average, we clocked between 3.5 and 4 hours of typical usage and while there are laptops with better battery life, 4 hours is definitely respectable.

One of the most appealing aspects of the NV5807u is the beautiful 15.6″ LED backlit screen. The 16:9 aspect ratio makes the laptop perfect for watching widescreen movies, supporting a resolution up to 1366×768 (1080i). The screen is bright and responsive, and because it is LED backlit, power efficient. While the 5807 doesn’t have a DVI output, it does have both VGA and HDMI outputs, making streaming videos from your laptop to your TV a breeze.

gateway_nv5807u_keyboard

Throughout our testing, our one major complaint lies in the keyboard on the NV5807u. While it does have a full numpad which is not very common, the keys are entirely flat and the spacing between keys is minimal. As the keyboard is not backlit, typing in the dark becomes a nightmare at times. In addition, the trackpad is relatively small and does not support any multi-touch commands and, because of the numpad, it is not located in the middle of the laptop. Instead, it is offset about an inch and a half to the left to match up with the middle of the typing keyboard. This is also disorienting when using the laptop in the dark. However, given a few days use, using the keyboard becomes a more natural experience.

Above the keyboard lies a row of function keys. You have a button to enable energy saving mode (dims the screen), screen brightness, sound, WiFi, trackpad toggle, and one that takes you to MyBackup. Gateway did a good job making this software incredibly easy to use, allowing you to add automatic backups of anything on your hard drive to removable storage or the local disk. In addition to simply selecting folders to backup, MyBackup will also search for categories of files to backup, including multimedia, internet favorites, e-mail, and office files. All of these categories seem very pertinent to the student population, so I applaud Gateway for their inclusion of this nice tool. Whether or not people actually use it is a whole other story.

The NV5807u comes with plenty of USB ports (4), standalone microphone and headphone jacks, a 5-in-1 card reader, and a telephone jack. It seems a bit odd to even include modem compatibility in recent laptops, as WiFi is virtually everywhere and external USB modems are always available if absolutely necessary. At any rate, you also get a standard notebook lock port to protect your collection of saved term papers, ripped DVDs, and ever-important passwords.

Another nice college-oriented feature is the included 1.3 MP webcam. While the quality is decent, we’ve seen better in other laptops. However, it’s a nice addition to an inexpensive laptop that allows students to easily video chat with their parents back home. I’m not sure if anyone actually does that, but it’s a nice concept in theory.

In our PCMark Vantage tests, the notebook received a score of 2949, a moderate score for a budget laptop, but not too bad overall. In our CINEBENCH graphics tests, the NV5807u received a score of 4761 using both cores and a score of 2455 using a single core.

Bundled with the laptop is a 60 day trial of Microsoft Office and Norton Internet Security. My suggestion is to ditch Norton, as it is possibly the most frustrating anti-virus software I’ve come across (stick with AVG instead). You also get a “sponsored” copy of Microsoft Works which has irremovable advertisements on the right hand side of every document you’re working on. Just buy a copy of Microsoft Office, or if you’re cheap, download OpenOffice. You also get copies of NetZero and some Gateway sponsored game pack, both of which should be uninstalled the second you get the computer. Save that hard drive space for something useful, such as the latest season of Lost or a copy of The Hangover.

All in all, the $599 Gateway NV5807u is a great option for students looking for a powerful yet affordable laptop to head back to school with. Weighing 5.84 pounds, the NV5807u’s weight is pretty typical for 15″ laptops (Apple’s 15″ MacBook Pro comes in at 5.5 pounds, a mere .34 pound difference). This portability, tied in with the expansive feature set and brilliant display makes the NV5807u a great addition to Gateway’s product line and ultimately a great choice for students returning to school this fall.

Pros