Gateway MD7826u Review

At a penny shy of $1000.00, the MD7826u is the most expensive of Gateway's MD series. As Gateway's website puts it, “Stylish and powerful, these beautiful MD Series laptops will get you noticed while you breeze through even the most power-hungry tasks.” In this review, we'll see if the notebook can live up to Gateway's description.


The notebook I reviewed was a special review unit, which means it may have some slight differences from the retail version. For instance, instead of being listed as the MD7826u, Vista's system properties, as well as the label on the bottom of the unit, list it as the AJ2. Also, according to Futuremark, the CPU in my review unit was an engineering sample of the P8400, which may have slightly different tolerances than the retail version. It also was equipped with Bluetooth, which isn't listed on Gateway's description of the notebook's specs. I'm not sure if that means the retail unit doesn't include Bluetooth or if it is included but just not mentioned. Despite these possible variations due to the computer being a review unit, it seems to have specs otherwise identical with those listed on Gateway's site. And speaking of those specifications, here they are:

Specifications

* Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 processor (2.26 Ghz, 1066 Mhz FSB, 3MB L2 Cache)
* Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit) operating system
* 4GB 667 Mhz DDR2 dual-channel memory
* 320GB 5400RPM hard drive
* Intel Wifi Link 5100 802.11a/b/g/draft-n wireless card
* 6-cell 48.84 Whr battery
* ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 graphics card (512MB dedicated video memory)
* 15.6” WXGA screen (1366x768, 16:9 aspect)
* 4 USB ports, VGA, HDMI, card reader
* Gigabit ethernet and modem
* 8x Dual Layer DVDRW/DVD-RAM with LabelFlash
* 1.3 Megapixel webcam

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