Gateway M-150X notebook

Gateway M-150X notebook
Rating: 7.5/10 Good
PROS Contain Webcam,charming glossy finish; free color options
CONS low-grade performance; no FireWire; poor volume control
1.5GHz Core 2 Duo T5250; 2GB DDR2; 160GB hard drive; DVD±RW; 15.4-inch TFT; Windows Vista Home Premium

Gateway's Middle M-150X notebook incorporates a new, modern look and some fancy specs, but its mediocre performance and a few style error hold it back.Our test model came covered in a classy-looking shingy black body. [Gateway also gives polish blue and red finishes.] The plastics feature a graduated pattern of tiny circles that adds an elegant feel.DVD playback looked polished, and image quality was good, on the notebook's 15.4-inch, 1.280x800 pixel WXGA display, which has a Webcam integrated into its top edge. The keyboard was easy, and the polish touch-pad has a dedicated scroll area, but the huge mouse keys are a little thick. Just above the keyboard, you will find multimedia buttons and a touchsensitive volume control, which we found was not sensitive enough to be very impressive. Audio quality from the stereo speakers mounted just above the keyboard was powerful and clear but like with most laptops, it lacked bass. Gateway M-150X's strong, flexible feature set will easily meet the needs of families students, and other mainstream users. Our test notebook shipped with a 2GB of RAM ,1.5GHz Core 2 Duo T5250 processor , and most of the standard ports you'd expect .
For performance Gateway M-150X met our hopes for a laptop at this price. It turned in a respectable score of 3,271 on the Futuremark PCMark05 test suite, but it performed through our Cine-bench and WindowsMedia Encoder tests. Battery life was on the low side, too lasting just 1 hour and 52 minutes in our DVD rundown test.