Gateway P-6831FX

The good: One of the lowest-priced laptops with Nividia's GeForce 8800 graphics card; includes 3GB of RAM, HDMI, and eSATA ports.

The bad: Not configurable; lower screen resolution than Gateway's high-end model; underpowered processor; frequent price changes.

The bottom line: We loved the pitch for the Gateway P-6831 FX: a 17-inch laptop with 3GB of RAM and Nividia's GeForce 8800 graphics card for only $1,350. But keep an eye on price changes to get the best deal.

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Description: The Gateway P-6831FX is an 8.3-pound, consumer level notebook computer. Compared to other general-purpose notebooks on the market, it is midpriced at around $1,265. Has Wi-Fi (wireless connectivity) built-in.

Pros: Has 3 GB RAM, which is considerably more than some similarly priced notebooks. In fact, the average cost of a product with this ample a RAM is $1,635. Also, this notebook has a 250GB hard drive, which is considerably larger than some similarly priced notebooks.

Cons: Has an 8.3-pound weight, which is considerably heavier than some similarly priced notebooks. For example, the Lenovo 3000 , at around $1, 270, has only a 4-pound weight. Also, this notebook comes with Microsoft Windows Vista Home premium OS, which is less favorable than some similarly priced notebooks. For example, the HP Pavilion Dv9220us , a 7.7-pound notebook at around $1, 140, comes with Microsoft Windows Vista and Microsoft Windows Vista Home premium OS.

Suitability: Suited for those who just need a basic notebook. Preserve favorite home movies for future generations by saving them onto DVD with this computer's DVD recorder. Includes advanced word processing software -- capable of producing all the complex documents you may need to publish. With 512MB of dedicated video RAM, this machine will do very well compared to most other notebooks, when it comes to multimedia applications and games. If you have a wireless network at home, wirelessly browse the Web from any room in your house with this Wi-Fi enabled notebook.

Value: In general, this notebook has good features for the money. For example, when it comes to screen size, the average price of general-purpose products with a similar screen size is considerably more -- right around $1,609.

Suggestions: (1) Given this device's Wi-Fi capability, you may want to get a wireless access point for your home, so that you can browse the Web more conveniently from any room. (2) To get the most out of this computer's Bluetooth capability, you could have a Bluetooth-enabled headset, PDA or other device, and be able to link it wirelessly to your computer within a range of 20-or-so feet inside the same room.