Gateway® NV55C22u for $579.99 good price?

[Dervie]

I'm looking at a TigerDirect flyer and I see a Gateway® NV55C22u for $579. It's about $779 on their site (Gateway) and Amazon.

http://www.gateway.com/systems/product/529668762.php


Product Features and Technical Details
Color: Cashmere Red
Product Features
The Gateway NV55C Series Notebook offers powerful performance, the latest connectivity technology and rich media features for a fast, responsive PC experience.
The 15.6" HD LCD Display with a 16:9 aspect ratio plays the latest high-resolution movies, digital content and media for a true cinematic view.
Intel Core i5 Processor with Intel Turbo Boost Technology
Windows 7 Home Premium makes the things you do every day easier and with Office Starter 2010, experience new ways to deliver your best work!
Gateway Social Networks Key makes connecting to today's most popular sites a snap by instantly launching Facebook, YouTube and Flickr with one push and a single log-in!
Processor, Memory, and Motherboard

Processor: 2.53 GHz Intel Core i5 460m
RAM: 4 GB
Hard Drive

Size: 500 GB
Speed: 5400 rpm
Graphics and Display

Graphics RAM: 128 MB
Ports and Connectivity

USB Ports: 3
Cases and Expandability

Size (LWH): 9.96 inches, 15 inches, 1.34 inches
Weight: 5.72 pounds
Power

Rated Charge (normal use): 4 hours
Warranty and Support

 

[spynoodle]

Personally, I don't quite trust Gateway as a reliable manufacturer. They used to be good, but I've heard they've went far downhill. I've never had the money to buy a laptop for for more than my $150 Dell Latitude D410 on ebay, but I would personally build an MSI whitebook:
http://www.msiwhitebook.com/
You can find the models at shopping.google.com, and the CPU, RAM, HDD and wireless card at Newegg.com

 

[DaveSi677]

I personally have one and I have no complaints at all! One thing to remember when buying a laptop/notebook is that only 2 companies make them! All laptops are made by 2 different Chinese companies so really it all comes down to whats inside!

So reliability really comes from the parts that are placed inside the computer which are pretty much the same in most laptops... unless you are buying Dell!

 

[spynoodle]

I personally have one and I have no complaints at all! One thing to remember when buying a laptop/notebook is that only 2 companies make them! All laptops are made by 2 different Chinese companies so really it all comes down to whats inside!

So reliability really comes from the parts that are placed inside the computer which are pretty much the same in most laptops... unless you are buying Dell!

I don't think that's quite true. Notebooks are made by many different companies, all with highly varying components. Gateway, Acer, and Emachines are all the same thing, but there's also Dell, HP, Gateway, Sony, Asus, and more. A lot of motherboards are build by either Intel or Asus IIRC, but there are many, many components in a computer that can be very, very different depending on the manufacturer. There's the hard drive, which is a significant factor in reliability (which can be made by Fujitsu, Western Digital, Seagate, Hitachi, and others). There's the RAM, which will sometimes fail if made by a bad manufacturer (which could be Kingston, Crucial, Mushkin, Corsair, Adata, PNY, and others. Some of these are actually manufactured by Samsung). There's even the keyboard, which may get worn easier if made by a cheap manufacturer. In short, there are an amazing amount of brands involved in every computer, which highly vary depending on the make and model of the machine. I've had mostly good luck with Dell (although I didn't buy a Dell during their "bad period" starting a few years ago and ending recently IMO. My Latitude D410's hard drive did just begin to die after about 5 years, but I'm not too upset by it). HP used to be good, but pretty much every new HP I've seen has ended up dying. I cracked one open a few weeks ago, and it had a 20-pin power supply thrown in with a 24-pin mobo . NOT the kind of manufacturing you'd expect from a brand that's been around for decades. Sony and Asus are both high-end IMO, although I do know someone who just suffered a hard drive death on a Sony Vaio. I haven't had much experience with Gateway/Acer/Emachines, but I've never had a good vibe from them. Still, I could be wrong. Just remember: there's far to much variation in OEM machines to every feel too trusting about any one brand. That's why building your own computer is usually the best option. MSI whitebooks are used by various small manufacturers such as iBuyPower, and MSI is a generally goo brand when it comes to motherboards, so I would trust them.

tl;dr? Yeah, definitely.