Comments on: Gateway-Laptop MD2614u Review: Powerful But Far From Perfect http://www.eurojoe.com/2009/01/13/gateway-laptop-with-amd-turion-x2-dual-core-md2614u-review/ Source for Europeans Living in the US Fri, 16 Jul 2010 04:21:09 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Emily http://www.eurojoe.com/2009/01/13/gateway-laptop-with-amd-turion-x2-dual-core-md2614u-review/comment-page-1/#comment-4019 Emily Wed, 02 Jun 2010 18:13:46 +0000 http://eurojoe.com/?p=767#comment-4019 Well, to those of you out there who arent hyper opinionated and like an honest non rant, here is my review of the MD2614u. First off. I am typing on it right now, yes the keys are really annoying but you get used to the keys missing every now and then. U can replace the keyboard too you know. I use this computer for Photoshop and stuff like Unreal 2004 and Diablo 2. Get used to hitting the keys more than a slight tap, and this computer is a bargain for the price. I got mine refurbished so it was even cheaper (around $400). Dont listen to these people trashing it cause they arent satisfied. I couldnt really afford much more than this so I have found it a decent laptop. Great for movies and such especially. Overall: Great laptop: subpar keyboard. I recommend it to anyone on a tight budget. It gets the job done. Well, to those of you out there who arent hyper opinionated and like an honest non rant, here is my review of the MD2614u. First off. I am typing on it right now, yes the keys are really annoying but you get used to the keys missing every now and then. U can replace the keyboard too you know. I use this computer for Photoshop and stuff like Unreal 2004 and Diablo 2. Get used to hitting the keys more than a slight tap, and this computer is a bargain for the price. I got mine refurbished so it was even cheaper (around $400). Dont listen to these people trashing it cause they arent satisfied. I couldnt really afford much more than this so I have found it a decent laptop. Great for movies and such especially. Overall: Great laptop: subpar keyboard. I recommend it to anyone on a tight budget. It gets the job done.

]]> By: Steve http://www.eurojoe.com/2009/01/13/gateway-laptop-with-amd-turion-x2-dual-core-md2614u-review/comment-page-1/#comment-4012 Steve Fri, 28 May 2010 11:10:14 +0000 http://eurojoe.com/?p=767#comment-4012 I've had this laptop for a while, Best Buy purchase, and the main problem has been drivers and the preinstalled OS,Vista 64 bit, i promptly installed a 32 bit version, seeing as how drivers for XP were very rare, and i only have 3 gigs of ram so it didn't matter. At first the keyboard made me VERY angry, but now i'm used to it and i kind of like it. For the price i'd get a different laptop, but now there's no OS pain because i got Windows 7 and it works GREAT. It also is a huge fingerprint magnet but i dont mind that all too much. love the Synaptics touchpad, though i mainly use a mouse. the display is GREAT but another problem (drivers) is the ATI Catalyst drivers that seem to not be able to recognize another display connected into either the VGA or HDMI. I've tested both out with many cords and displays and it always seems to give me problems, not even the build in windows configuration will let me detect a second monitor. But the video card DOES have a very nice kick to it, the HD capability. with this i am able to play graphically intense games, granted at low resolutions, with relative ease. Web Browsing is something you get used to and with the touchpad it's made EASY. the SD Micro Card Reader works very well and i've had no problems, same with the PCI slot card extender. USB works fine except for one port on the far top right hand side, it seems to connect weird, but then again i don find myself using more than 3 ports at a time. the media hotkeys could work with more media players but all in all they work with enough, and i like the option to turn them off along with the power icons. with those few drawbacks it kind of makes this a bad deal but if it's something like a gift or for someone who isn't all that tech savvy and doesn't care too much about this pickey stuff it's great, and has a good visual appeal. I'd give it a 6-7/10, and if anyone can help me on the display problems it would be much appreciated. I’ve had this laptop for a while, Best Buy purchase, and the main problem has been drivers and the preinstalled OS,Vista 64 bit, i promptly installed a 32 bit version, seeing as how drivers for XP were very rare, and i only have 3 gigs of ram so it didn’t matter. At first the keyboard made me VERY angry, but now i’m used to it and i kind of like it. For the price i’d get a different laptop, but now there’s no OS pain because i got Windows 7 and it works GREAT. It also is a huge fingerprint magnet but i dont mind that all too much. love the Synaptics touchpad, though i mainly use a mouse. the display is GREAT but another problem (drivers) is the ATI Catalyst drivers that seem to not be able to recognize another display connected into either the VGA or HDMI. I’ve tested both out with many cords and displays and it always seems to give me problems, not even the build in windows configuration will let me detect a second monitor. But the video card DOES have a very nice kick to it, the HD capability. with this i am able to play graphically intense games, granted at low resolutions, with relative ease. Web Browsing is something you get used to and with the touchpad it’s made EASY. the SD Micro Card Reader works very well and i’ve had no problems, same with the PCI slot card extender. USB works fine except for one port on the far top right hand side, it seems to connect weird, but then again i don find myself using more than 3 ports at a time. the media hotkeys could work with more media players but all in all they work with enough, and i like the option to turn them off along with the power icons. with those few drawbacks it kind of makes this a bad deal but if it’s something like a gift or for someone who isn’t all that tech savvy and doesn’t care too much about this pickey stuff it’s great, and has a good visual appeal. I’d give it a 6-7/10, and if anyone can help me on the display problems it would be much appreciated.

]]> By: Steve http://www.eurojoe.com/2009/01/13/gateway-laptop-with-amd-turion-x2-dual-core-md2614u-review/comment-page-1/#comment-4011 Steve Fri, 28 May 2010 07:12:16 +0000 http://eurojoe.com/?p=767#comment-4011 I can't help but chuckle and shake my head when I read reviews about fingerprints showing up on laptops. Who cares? To me that says you got nothing else to complain about technically w/ the machine. A real concern to me is more like the 3GB of RAM on a 64-Bit OS. Which to me is like having a 6.0 liter engine in a sportscar, but the transmission will only allow the car to top out at 100 mph. Such a waste. To me, the design of the keyboard was a little bit of getting used to. The key probably should've been put right under the key and the page up and page down keys could've been shifted down over the arrow keys. But to me that's no biggie. GET USED TO IT! And the clicking noises the keyboard is hyper-critical. To me everything seems great except I would've liked another Gig of RAM along w/ the machine. But that can be solved by purchasing a 2GB module and swapping out the 1GB chip to get this laptop up to a moderately respectable 4GB like nature intended. :) OH!!! I almost forgot. If you expect to get decent sound out of this laptop, you're sadly mistaken. The itsy-bitsy speakers on this machine have bad "canny" sound to them. If you want to watch a Movie on this laptop, I suggest a nice set of headphones or a pair of external speakers. Fingerprints? Pffff!! I can’t help but chuckle and shake my head when I read reviews about fingerprints showing up on laptops. Who cares? To me that says you got nothing else to complain about technically w/ the machine.
A real concern to me is more like the 3GB of RAM on a 64-Bit OS. Which to me is like having a 6.0 liter engine in a sportscar, but the transmission will only allow the car to top out at 100 mph. Such a waste.
To me, the design of the keyboard was a little bit of getting used to. The key probably should’ve been put right under the key and the page up and page down keys could’ve been shifted down over the arrow keys. But to me that’s no biggie. GET USED TO IT! And the clicking noises the keyboard is hyper-critical.
To me everything seems great except I would’ve liked another Gig of RAM along w/ the machine. But that can be solved by purchasing a 2GB module and swapping out the 1GB chip to get this laptop up to a moderately respectable 4GB like nature intended. :)
OH!!! I almost forgot. If you expect to get decent sound out of this laptop, you’re sadly mistaken. The itsy-bitsy speakers on this machine have bad “canny” sound to them. If you want to watch a Movie on this laptop, I suggest a nice set of headphones or a pair of external speakers.
Fingerprints? Pffff!!

]]> By: Bruce http://www.eurojoe.com/2009/01/13/gateway-laptop-with-amd-turion-x2-dual-core-md2614u-review/comment-page-1/#comment-4000 Bruce Wed, 19 May 2010 16:12:56 +0000 http://eurojoe.com/?p=767#comment-4000 Hello I wanted to lay down some more possitive comments... This laptop Went to Iraq with me its been thrown its been dropped and still tickin without any cracks... Down side about 3 months of having this laptop the power button dont work propperly I have to do some fancy stuff to turn it on.... I put another stick of ram in it to boost it a hair and it works great... its not Awsome for gaming but it works fine with games like wow. My only real problem is updating the graphix drivers they dont realy keep up with the times. But other then that I like my little laptop its strong shell and I got used to the keyboard pretty fast.... Sincerely Spc Patch. Hello I wanted to lay down some more possitive comments… This laptop Went to Iraq with me its been thrown its been dropped and still tickin without any cracks… Down side about 3 months of having this laptop the power button dont work propperly I have to do some fancy stuff to turn it on….
I put another stick of ram in it to boost it a hair and it works great… its not Awsome for gaming but it works fine with games like wow.
My only real problem is updating the graphix drivers they dont realy keep up with the times. But other then that I like my little laptop its strong shell and I got used to the keyboard pretty fast….

Sincerely Spc Patch.

]]> By: Bruce http://www.eurojoe.com/2009/01/13/gateway-laptop-with-amd-turion-x2-dual-core-md2614u-review/comment-page-1/#comment-3999 Bruce Wed, 19 May 2010 13:41:08 +0000 http://eurojoe.com/?p=767#comment-3999 I don't know about you'll, but this computer really sucks. I've only had it for 3 months (Brand new)and have already experienced multiple problems. For example: The keys get stuck, the PC makes loud noises inside, the mouse arrow freeze occasionally and now the computer freezes every ten to fifteen minutes after turning it on. But, the worse part of it all, I had to take it back to Best Buy 4 times. The Geek Squad people said that there was nothing wrong with it and that it past all the tests. But, every time I took it home, it would freeze again. If you are planning to buy one, DON'T! I would never buy another Gateway computer in my life. I don’t know about you’ll, but this computer really sucks. I’ve only had it for 3 months (Brand new)and have already experienced multiple problems. For example: The keys get stuck, the PC makes loud noises inside, the mouse arrow freeze occasionally and now the computer freezes every ten to fifteen minutes after turning it on. But, the worse part of it all, I had to take it back to Best Buy 4 times. The Geek Squad people said that there was nothing wrong with it and that it past all the tests. But, every time I took it home, it would freeze again.

If you are planning to buy one, DON’T! I would never buy another Gateway computer in my life.

]]> By: Patrick Patch http://www.eurojoe.com/2009/01/13/gateway-laptop-with-amd-turion-x2-dual-core-md2614u-review/comment-page-1/#comment-3901 Patrick Patch Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:23:17 +0000 http://eurojoe.com/?p=767#comment-3901 Hello I wanted to lay down some more possitive comments... This laptop Went to Iraq with me its been thrown its been dropped and still tickin without any cracks... Down side about 3 months of having this laptop the power button dont work propperly I have to do some fancy stuff to turn it on.... I put another stick of ram in it to boost it a hair and it works great... its not Awsome for gaming but it works fine with games like wow. My only real problem is updating the graphix drivers they dont realy keep up with the times. But other then that I like my little laptop its strong shell and I got used to the keyboard pretty fast.... Sincerely Spc Patch. Hello I wanted to lay down some more possitive comments… This laptop Went to Iraq with me its been thrown its been dropped and still tickin without any cracks… Down side about 3 months of having this laptop the power button dont work propperly I have to do some fancy stuff to turn it on….
I put another stick of ram in it to boost it a hair and it works great… its not Awsome for gaming but it works fine with games like wow.
My only real problem is updating the graphix drivers they dont realy keep up with the times. But other then that I like my little laptop its strong shell and I got used to the keyboard pretty fast….

Sincerely Spc Patch.

]]> By: Omen http://www.eurojoe.com/2009/01/13/gateway-laptop-with-amd-turion-x2-dual-core-md2614u-review/comment-page-1/#comment-3784 Omen Sun, 27 Dec 2009 05:17:32 +0000 http://eurojoe.com/?p=767#comment-3784 I've had this laptop for a while, Best Buy purchase, and the main problem has been drivers and the preinstalled OS,Vista 64 bit, i promptly installed a 32 bit version, seeing as how drivers for XP were very rare, and i only have 3 gigs of ram so it didn't matter. At first the keyboard made me VERY angry, but now i'm used to it and i kind of like it. For the price i'd get a different laptop, but now there's no OS pain because i got Windows 7 and it works GREAT. It also is a huge fingerprint magnet but i dont mind that all too much. love the Synaptics touchpad, though i mainly use a mouse. the display is GREAT but another problem (drivers) is the ATI Catalyst drivers that seem to not be able to recognize another display connected into either the VGA or HDMI. I've tested both out with many cords and displays and it always seems to give me problems, not even the build in windows configuration will let me detect a second monitor. But the video card DOES have a very nice kick to it, the HD capability. with this i am able to play graphically intense games, granted at low resolutions, with relative ease. Web Browsing is something you get used to and with the touchpad it's made EASY. the SD Micro Card Reader works very well and i've had no problems, same with the PCI slot card extender. USB works fine except for one port on the far top right hand side, it seems to connect weird, but then again i don find myself using more than 3 ports at a time. the media hotkeys could work with more media players but all in all they work with enough, and i like the option to turn them off along with the power icons. with those few drawbacks it kind of makes this a bad deal but if it's something like a gift or for someone who isn't all that tech savvy and doesn't care too much about this pickey stuff it's great, and has a good visual appeal. I'd give it a 6-7/10, and if anyone can help me on the display problems it would be much appreciated. I’ve had this laptop for a while, Best Buy purchase, and the main problem has been drivers and the preinstalled OS,Vista 64 bit, i promptly installed a 32 bit version, seeing as how drivers for XP were very rare, and i only have 3 gigs of ram so it didn’t matter. At first the keyboard made me VERY angry, but now i’m used to it and i kind of like it. For the price i’d get a different laptop, but now there’s no OS pain because i got Windows 7 and it works GREAT. It also is a huge fingerprint magnet but i dont mind that all too much. love the Synaptics touchpad, though i mainly use a mouse. the display is GREAT but another problem (drivers) is the ATI Catalyst drivers that seem to not be able to recognize another display connected into either the VGA or HDMI. I’ve tested both out with many cords and displays and it always seems to give me problems, not even the build in windows configuration will let me detect a second monitor. But the video card DOES have a very nice kick to it, the HD capability. with this i am able to play graphically intense games, granted at low resolutions, with relative ease. Web Browsing is something you get used to and with the touchpad it’s made EASY. the SD Micro Card Reader works very well and i’ve had no problems, same with the PCI slot card extender. USB works fine except for one port on the far top right hand side, it seems to connect weird, but then again i don find myself using more than 3 ports at a time. the media hotkeys could work with more media players but all in all they work with enough, and i like the option to turn them off along with the power icons. with those few drawbacks it kind of makes this a bad deal but if it’s something like a gift or for someone who isn’t all that tech savvy and doesn’t care too much about this pickey stuff it’s great, and has a good visual appeal. I’d give it a 6-7/10, and if anyone can help me on the display problems it would be much appreciated.

]]> By: Chip Fernandez http://www.eurojoe.com/2009/01/13/gateway-laptop-with-amd-turion-x2-dual-core-md2614u-review/comment-page-1/#comment-3739 Chip Fernandez Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:16:20 +0000 http://eurojoe.com/?p=767#comment-3739 Oh, I forgot to mention, this laptop also has a noisy DVD player and the battery no longer charges. Wow, this POS I bought only 4 months ago acts like its 4 YEARS old! WOW!!!!! WHAT A FREAKIN' DEAL!!!! Oh, I forgot to mention, this laptop also has a noisy DVD player and the battery no longer charges.

Wow, this POS I bought only 4 months ago acts like its 4 YEARS old! WOW!!!!! WHAT A FREAKIN’ DEAL!!!!

]]> By: Chip Fernandez http://www.eurojoe.com/2009/01/13/gateway-laptop-with-amd-turion-x2-dual-core-md2614u-review/comment-page-1/#comment-3738 Chip Fernandez Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:12:22 +0000 http://eurojoe.com/?p=767#comment-3738 Wow, I'm amazed. I thought I was the only one with these problems with this same exact laptop model: -keyboard is unresponsive. For every sentence typed, it won't register 3 characters. If you hate typos, don't get this computer. It's very frustrating!!!! -deformed plastic above the function keys Don't listen to the folks saying it's "good for the money". If you like buying POS laptops that makes you waste time correcting your typing, then go ahead and buy it. There's other laptops out there now especially during the holiday sales that HAS to be better than this one. Sure, it looked pretty at Best Buy but once you get it home it will show it's true colors. Signed, An irritated typist. P.S. I should've listened to the Best Buy employee who was trying to steer me away from this POS to a Toshiba. Shoulda, coulda, woulda. :( Wow, I’m amazed. I thought I was the only one with these problems with this same exact laptop model:
-keyboard is unresponsive. For every sentence typed, it won’t register 3 characters. If you hate typos, don’t get this computer. It’s very frustrating!!!!
-deformed plastic above the function keys

Don’t listen to the folks saying it’s “good for the money”. If you like buying POS laptops that makes you waste time correcting your typing, then go ahead and buy it. There’s other laptops out there now especially during the holiday sales that HAS to be better than this one.

Sure, it looked pretty at Best Buy but once you get it home it will show it’s true colors.

Signed,
An irritated typist.

P.S. I should’ve listened to the Best Buy employee who was trying to steer me away from this POS to a Toshiba. Shoulda, coulda, woulda. :(

]]> By: Chicka Bow Wow http://www.eurojoe.com/2009/01/13/gateway-laptop-with-amd-turion-x2-dual-core-md2614u-review/comment-page-1/#comment-3617 Chicka Bow Wow Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:36:24 +0000 http://eurojoe.com/?p=767#comment-3617 Well, to those of you out there who arent hyper opinionated and like an honest non rant, here is my review of the MD2614u. First off. I am typing on it right now, yes the keys are really annoying but you get used to the keys missing every now and then. U can replace the keyboard too you know. I use this computer for Photoshop and stuff like Unreal 2004 and Diablo 2. Get used to hitting the keys more than a slight tap, and this computer is a bargain for the price. I got mine refurbished so it was even cheaper (around $400). Dont listen to these people trashing it cause they arent satisfied. I couldnt really afford much more than this so I have found it a decent laptop. Great for movies and such especially. Overall: Great laptop: subpar keyboard. I recommend it to anyone on a tight budget. It gets the job done. Well, to those of you out there who arent hyper opinionated and like an honest non rant, here is my review of the MD2614u. First off. I am typing on it right now, yes the keys are really annoying but you get used to the keys missing every now and then. U can replace the keyboard too you know. I use this computer for Photoshop and stuff like Unreal 2004 and Diablo 2. Get used to hitting the keys more than a slight tap, and this computer is a bargain for the price. I got mine refurbished so it was even cheaper (around $400). Dont listen to these people trashing it cause they arent satisfied. I couldnt really afford much more than this so I have found it a decent laptop. Great for movies and such especially. Overall: Great laptop: subpar keyboard. I recommend it to anyone on a tight budget. It gets the job done.

]]>