Gateway NX850XL

Editors' rating: 8.1 out of 10
Users' rating: 6.9 out of 10
Price: $1,399.99

CNET Editors' Rating 7.8/10 Very good Editorial policies >>
Average user rating from 7 users 8.3/10 Excellent Read user opinions >>

Product Summary

The competitively priced Gateway NX850XL's decent graphics performance and big, bright screen will appeal to gamers and multimedia junkies.

Specs: Processor: Intel Pentium M (2.13 GHz); RAM installed: 1 GB DDR SDRAM; Weight: 7.7 lbs See full specs >>

See all products in the Gateway NX850 series

CNET editors' review

Reviewed by: CNET staff
Reviewed on: 11/30/2005
Released on: 09/01/2005

On the outside, the Gateway NX850XL desktop replacement is identical to the Gateway M680XL laptop we reviewed earlier this year. But while the M680XL is part of the company's professional line, the NX850 series is aimed squarely at consumers. It comes in two fixed configurations. The $1,399 NX850X includes a 1.73GHz Pentium M processor, 512MB of quick 533MHz RAM, an 80GB hard drive spinning at a fast 5,400rpm, and an ATI Mobility Radeon X700 graphics chip with 128MB of dedicated video memory. The NX850X's 17-inch display has a 1,440x900 native resolution. The NX850XL, which starts at $2,299, offers a 2.1GHz Pentium M processor, 1GB of RAM, a huge 100GB hard drive, and an Nvidia GeForce Go 6800 graphics chip with 256MB dedicated VRAM; its 17-inch display has a native resolution of 1,680x1,050. Both models come with a double-layer, multiformat DVD burner.

With the Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 operating system and an external TV tuner, the $2,619 NX850XL configuration we tested had a clear media slant. Nevertheless, it kept up with some of our best gaming laptops. Get all the details in our full Gateway NX850XL review.