Laptop Review: Gateway NV5214u

09/24/09  Print This Post Print This Post    12 Comments   Popular   Written by Alan Velasco
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The Gateway NV5214u is the perfect laptop for those who are on a budget but don’t want to sacrifice performance.
Gateway NV5214u
Specifications

It’s loaded with a 2.1GHz dual core processor, 4GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, and tops it all off with a dedicated graphics card (ATI Radeon HD 3200).

Gateway didn’t skimp out on the screen either – at a base price of $499.99, it sports a 15.6” LED LCD with a resolution of 1366×768, which is superior to the 1280×800 resolution other laptops in its price range and specifications class offer.

To upgrade, try the
Gateway NV5814u

Performance

The laptop is a strong performer. General multitasking such as surfing the web, listening to music, and typing up an article didn’t produce a single hiccup. Though I was unable to test its gaming capabilities, its dedicated graphics card supports older generation games.

Battery life isn’t too shabby either. I was able to get about 2 ½ hours of battery life with the screen on full brightness and Windows running in “balanced” mode. Getting even more battery life by messing with power settings and lowering screen brightness is possible.

It has a sturdy and full keyboard (number pad included) that doesn’t sacrifice any of the other major keys. Also, for those who aren’t big fans of Windows Vista, there is no reason to worry. If you buy the laptop now, you’ll get a voucher for a free upgrade to Windows 7.

Bottom Line

Anyone in the market for a laptop should give this one a look. It’s without a doubt one of the best laptops you can get for the money, and you’ll be getting a computer that is solidly built and can cope with just about anything you throw at it.


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About the Author

Alan Velasco

Alan is originally from Los Angeles, CA, but now resides in Florida. Most of his travels have been throughout the Americas and the Caribbean. Full bio pic click here.

12 Comments... join the discussion!

  • Carlo replied on September 25, 2009

    Do they make a smaller version? Like with a 10″ screen? Or…do you have any opinions on a good, budget travel laptop? I think mine’s getting close to chucking it in…

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  • Alan replied on September 25, 2009

    Hey Carlo, the article that Lola posted in the comments has some good selections. I’d also suggest the Acer Aspire One (AO751h) and the Samsung Go N310-13GB.

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  • Gary Iverson replied on September 25, 2009

    This is rather minor, but I noticed a typographical error. In the final paragraph, the second use of the word ‘laptop’ should be ‘laptops.’

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  • Carlo replied on September 26, 2009

    Thanks for the tips guys! After more thought I might stick with my little 10.6″ Averatec and upgrade our other (full size) laptop. We might go Mac! So excited…

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  • Aurimas replied on September 26, 2009

    Hello. I would like to buy this laptop from BestBuy. Is it really worht 500$? I am worried about ATI 3200 HD GPU. The other specs seems to look good. I am going to use this computer for games and web surfing mostly and run this under Windows 7 or XP Professional…

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    • alan replied to Aurimas on September 28, 2009

      Yes, it’s completely worth $500. The graphics card is a bit weak, but if you wanted a true gaming laptop you’d easily spend $1,000+. It should be able to play a lot of older games, and even some recent ones with lowered settings.

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  • Review Unit replied on October 4, 2009

    this is a monster….useful for homes, offices and every other purpose that computers are meant for…

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  • AllLaptopReview replied on October 6, 2009

    $500 comes with graphic cards. I guess there is nothing I should be complaining about anymore.

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  • r4 dsi replied on October 7, 2009

    Hello,
    I like the review of Gateway NV5214u Laptop. It is nice Laptop. Thanks for the sharing this type of review…

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  • Spiffy replied on October 8, 2009

    I have this laptop and love it! I work from it and plan to use it for school.

    The only thing is my right speaker stopped working, which seems to be a common problem and a simple fix. I just have not had the time to do it.

    Other than that, I’d say it is worth the money.

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