Gateway NE56R34u 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

So I decided I would do a review on here even though I didn't purchase this product from Amazon.

I bought this computer from Fry's Electronics today for significantly less than advertised on Amazon or anywhere else for that matter. I picked it up for $315.00 USD with tax, so it seems like I got a really good deal.

I'm very impressed with the overall feel and use of the computer, 4 Gigs of ram is a huge plus. The 500 GB drive is great for all the music and video storage needs of today.

Seems like it has good battery life so far, not so sure about the 4.5 hours as advertised, I would say it's more along the lines of 3.5 but it all depends on what you do with your computer. Still, I can't complain! The only downside is that it's a Windows 8 machine and windows 8 is designed for touch screen, which this computer does not have. Also, this computer does not include a windows or system restore cd, so if your computer crashes then you better have access to a windows cd or you're in trouble.

I would say shop around for the best price because they seem to vary from store to store.

The only downside is Windows 8..... I am not a fan so far of the Windows 8 system, it seems to be geared towards social media and not so much a easy to use operating system. If you have the patience to fight with the operating system changes and basically re-learn how to use windows then this is for you.

Like a previous review I read, I bought my NE56R34u from fry's for $289. With tax it was around $320. I consider myself a knowledgeable person when it comes to computers and I did my homework on this one. I was looking for a PC with the new i3 processor for its multi processing capabilities but the B960 process incorporated in this laptop is the equivalent in overall performance. I am quite happy with the speed and with Windows 8. I wan not so sure that I was going to be able to adapt to the new interface of Windows, but I really like it. I do plan on upgrading this PC to a max of 8gig ram to help with the processing power as I use the PC for Pro Tools, which is a pretty demanding piece of software. So far it handles the software pretty well. I am hoping that by upgrading the RAM some of the smaller glitches will go away.

I would definitely recommend this PC to anyone.

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I upgraded to this laptop from my 4 year old Acer, did my research and this one seemed the best fit. Windows 8 takes some getting used to, but I love this computer!

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I bought this for my girlfriend for Christmas, but not through Amazon. I only paid $290 for it, and luckily it had Windows 7 instead of 8. Also it came with 3 GB of RAM instead of 4; it's still fast enough for HER, but not for me. The boot time is right at a minute, which is OK. It takes our Getacs with i7 processors 55 seconds, by way of comparison. I am upgrading it to 8 gigs soon, so I will let you know how quickly it boots then...if I remember, that is.

This is a solidly built laptop with a glossy black finish. It looks good, the screen is huge, and it blessedly has the 10-key number pad, which my $1,200 work laptop lacks for some reason...No backlit keys, but really, who needs them? The speakers are cookie-cutter laptop, meaning they suck. But for $10 one can go down to the nearest electronics retailer and buy some peripheral speakers. The screen itself is great. The viewing angles are huge, which is helped by the LCD being backed by LEDs.

I am a processor snob and vastly prefer AMD processors, but this little dual core Intel is fast, especially given the underwhelming 3 GB of RAM that came with it. It does have a ton of "bloatware" on it, which I immediately took off using CCleaner. No need to format and do a clean install, in my humble opinion. I had a time getting the Gateway Backup application to work, so I had to use Windows Backup for the rescue disks. It froze on the last disk anyway, and I tried hard closing it in Task Manager, that did not work, but it finished anyway. I don't know if the 4th disk worked correctly, so I must do it again. I am not a fan of Norton (Symantec) and I got rid of that as well. Try uninstalling Norton and you'll understand why I don't like it. It takes more than one try to get rid of it.

It definitely needs a chill pad as any laptop does, but all around it was a very good deal. I seriously doubt that it will serve as a serious gaming laptop, but neither would my work laptop that sports an i5 processor. I don't get the consumer/manufacturer love affair with those processors, as they are much slower than my 2 year-old, non-modded A6 quad core. Even the i7, which we have on our military grade laptops, doesn't impress me. IMO, Intels are as overrated as Mac products, which have failed to awe me, especially to justify spending 4 times what I paid for this one.

I will answer any questions, unless they are Windows 8 questions. The only experience I have with it is when I was shopping for THIS laptop.

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When my latest desktop computer died, I decided to join the 21st century and buy a laptop. Expecting to pay twice as much, I was very pleasantly suprised to find this Gateway priced under $350, and I have yet to find anything it can't do. The computer recognizes almost all my peripherals and finds drivers for them automatically. Internet access is easy and fast. The 450 GB of usable hard disk space is larger than my previous drive plus 2 backup drives combined. Very acceptable screen size and very lightweight. Runs cool enough to keep in my lap without any discomfort. The built-in DVD player recognizes and plays all my DVDs and CDs, even the homemade ones, and automatically displays the closed captioning for us deaf guys. I have always kept it plugged in, so don't know about battery life yet. Would have been nice to get Microsoft Office suite, but I was able to load an old version of Office XP that I had purchased a few years ago. I preferred the older versions of Windows Media Player, but that's not the computer's fault. Not a big fan of Windows 8, but getting used to it took me a while to configure my desktop to look like my old one. And I uninstalled a lot of the prepackaged software tools, utilities and links. The installed pdf reader is literally useless, but it's easy to download a free one from Adobe. Only nuisance is the DVD door it is right where I pick it up, so always popping it open accidentally. Only had it a few weeks, but so far, best computer I have ever owned.

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