Gateway P-7808u Laptop

While the P-7808u's sticker price ($1800 as of April 13, 2009) isn't eye-catchingly low, it looks a lot better when you consider what you get under the hood: a 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Quad processor, 4GB of speedy 1066MHz RAM, a 500GB hard-disk drive, and an nVidia GeForce 9800M graphics system with a full 1GB of RAM. You won't find many comparable 17-inch desktop replacements for the price.
Strangely, the P-7808u's WorldBench 6 score of 92 put it at the low end of the performance spectrum (by comparison, the Gateway P-7811FX, which costs significantly less, received a mark of 90). In our battery drain tests, the P-7808u ran for 3 hours, 20 minutes. This desktop replacement's greatest strength was its handling of games, as evidenced by its impressive frame rates on Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (60 frames per second) and Unreal Tournament III (67 fps) at 1024-by-768-pixel resolution.
Though most of the internal components are cutting-edge, the screen appears to have been a compromise choice. On desktop replacements, it's not uncommon to see screens with resolutions of 1680 by 1050 pixels or even 1920 by 1200 pixels; the P-7808u's screen has a native resolution of just 1440 by 900 pixels. Text looks crisp and legible, but the lack of screen real estate is a bit disappointing. The general quality of the screen is a bit above average, with slightly muted colors, relatively poor black levels, and a shallow vertical viewing angle.Still, unless you're doing color-critical work, it's far from a deal-breaker.
Otherwise, the P-7808u leaves little to complain about. The solid black-and-copper body, while clearly crafted with gamers in mind, is subtle enough to fit in comfortably in more-subdued settings, and the wide assortment of ports should accommodate all but the most specialized of requirements. Connection options include three USB 2.0 ports, one eSATA port, a four-pin FireWire port, an ExpressCard 54 slot, gigabit ethernet and modem jacks, a VGA port, and an HDMI output. Among the other features are a five-in-one card reader, a 1.3-megapixel Webcam with built-in microphone, a physical wireless on/off switch, and external microphone/headphone inputs and outputs.
The P-7808u invites RAM and hard drive upgrades, enabling users to gain access to these components by removing one of two panels on the bottom of the laptop, and supplying a user manual that provides clear instructions on how to proceed with the upgrades. A second hard-drive slot lets you add storage or configure dual drives in a RAID setup. The CPU is easy to reach and replace, too.
One of the standout features of the P-7808u is its keyboard. The full-size keys come complete with a four-column number pad, and the keyboard's sturdiness and excellent button travel make this one of the best input devices I've used on a non-ThinkPad laptop. Each button provides a nice solid click, and I noticed virtually no flex even when I was typing furiously.