Gateway MT 3421 - Turion 64 MK-38 / 2.2 GHz - RAM 1 GB - HDD 120 GB - DVDRW (R DL) / DVD-RAM - GF Go 6100 TurboCache supporting 256MB - WLAN : 802.11b/g - Vista Home Premium - 14.1" Widescreen TFT 1280 x 800 ( WXGA )

Features:

• Box Contents - MT3421 Notebook, Lithium-Ion Battery, AC Adapter Software Bundle - Windows Vista Home Premium, Microsoft Works 8.5, Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student Edition - 60-Day Trial, McAfee Internet Security Suite 90-Day Subscription, 1-Year Limited Warranty
• AMD Athlon 64 Mobile MK-38 2.2GHz Processor
• 512KB L2 Cache, 800MHz Bus speed
• 1024MB DDR2 (PC2-5300) RAM Max - 2GB
• 120GB (5400RPM) Hard Drive

Customer Reviews:

Don't recommend - known to have motherboard issues [Posted on 2008-10-10]
Pros: PROS: Seems like a good value when you first buy it. I bought it for $450 and spent another $50 to bring the RAM up to 2GB and figured I had found a good cheap computer. I like the bright widescreen display. The speakers are decently loud when all the way up. Size and weight are reasonable, so it was easy to take with me. Computer speed was decent - ran Vista a bit slow but ran linux with no problems.

Cons: CONS: Don't buy this computer! The hardware is junk and cheaply made. I had trouble running linux on the computer until I could find the right kernel options to pass so it wouldn't crash. The sound and wireless cards are cheap, so you'll have problems in linux with them (although they worked in windows). The left mouse button broke with in the first week (I read it's a common problem with this model). It's still functional but doesn't 'click' as easily. Once I had linux up and running I was perfectly happy... for about 9 months. Then the laptop started freezing randomly and would require a restart, and also started overheating to the point that it'd turn off. A month later, more new problems. The laptop froze and I restarted and I got an error "The system failed to initialize" at the Gateway bootup screen. I restarted the computer but got strange errors when linux booted up. Then it crashed again last night and won't turn on anymore. If I press the power button, I get the front light to turn on but none of the LEDs are on, nothing is on the screen, the fan is super quiet, and I do not hear normal booting noises. It appears to just sit there with the fan quietly running. I think it's dead, and I haven't even had it for 1 year yet. I can pretty much guarantee you that Gateway knew about these defects (the mouse button, crashes, and mobo failures) and that it why it was going for such a cheap price as $450. I feel really misled that these defects were not listed on the sale and I consider that to be unethical and unprofessional. I will never buy another Gateway computer.

For more reviews about this laptop (and you'll see there that this model is known to have motherboard issues), visit http://www.notebookreview.com/price/default.asp?productID=21911&productFamilyID=941&display=opinionDetail

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