Select Walmart Stores: Gateway 14.1" Ultra Slim Notebook: i5-1135G7, 16GB RAM Expired

Here is my impression so far with this computer - which I picked up yesterday. First off - I am not a tech expert, so please keep this in mind. I don't claim to be an expert or professional IT person. Just a standard user that I consider to know a little more than a typical novice user.

Bloatware - There is virtually none from my view. There was the usual Norton Internet Security Trial pre-installed, but most computers come with some form of protection pre-loaed. Aside from a few game icons that was about it. In fact - the Kidomi Kids game, Simple Solitaire, and another game that was loaded really was just a short cut to an internet link to play online. So there's very very little bloatware installed on this thing - if this even qualifies as such.

I will be honest- I was floored that this computer, containing 16GB of RAM did not have a back lit keyboard. For the $375 price point, I guess I cannot expect much but I was so spoiled with my work computer that had it - so I cannot complain.

As far as the build quality, some of the computer gives off this "cheap" plastic feel. I do not know that this computer would last a long time, but keeping the price point in mind with expectations, I guess it should be okay. I did get the 3 year protection plan for $59 at checkout just in case.

The fingerprint reader for me is a joke. It rarely recognizes my finger. I know other have had success, but hey, this feature is a "nice to have" but not a gotta have for me. I'll stick to the Windows Hello PIN login for now.

Startup time? I have to admit. It's pretty zippy. I immediately upgraded to Windows 11 after initial setup and downloaded all the latest updates via Windows Update. Trying to find a laptop with 512 GB of SSD and 16GB of RAM AND an i5 processor 11th gen at this point in time and in a brand new computer I think is virtually near impossible. I am sure this could change in the future. From a performance perspective, coming from a 8 GB RAM computer, performance wise, I think this laptop will provide ample performance for most users. I actually an returning to school this fall for my MBA and I think this computer will do just fine for school use. Word, PowerPoint, Excel, research papers, online testing, etc. I mean - 16GB is overkill for most people, so this is a bonus.

Webcam - ahhhh... I tried to use this computer for Zoom and the webcam is inferior for today's specs. I will admit, for a computer that has 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, I expected a better webcam tahn the 1MP webcam that was included on this thing. Poor lighting, unless you have a light aimed at your face. Poor resolution for business calls - but hey, who would entrust running a business on a $375 laptop, right? If webcam is used for a school call or virtual church bible study, it'll be alright. So, while I am disappointed, I have to remember to keep my expectations in line with the price paid.

Battery life is poor. I was able to get around just under 3 hours with a moderate use. Browsing and printing some documents, I mean it's sufficient for the average user so maybe my use of "poor" is wrong here but again, I have a company issued, Dell computer for work use and it's a different class of computer, so this is not a truly fair comparison.

There is no touch screen on this computer. I thought it did at first because the whole screen is a flat laminated piece. Most people don't need a touch screen anyway so this is a mute point for me, but again, ALL computers I have seen with 16 GB of ram and a 512 GB SSD has a touch screen, so this was a shocker for me.

Speakers - Tuned by THX? Ok if you say so. Don't expect to play immersive sound watching a movie, YouTube video or listening to music. It will get the job done if you are listening to a lecture but it's not loud. I don't expect Video calls to be easily heard. I don't think the mic on this thing is noise cancelling, it picked up lots of background noise in the room from my fan but hey - for the price, why complain right?

Charging speed is a joke. From 25% to full, took about 3 hours with the supplied pin style wall charger. However, when used with my Dell docking station from work, it charged via USB C - more to that in a second. It was speedier but I did not time it.

USB C Port - ok. it's got one USB C port. I know it's not "intended" for use with a Dell Dock, but I tried it with my Work From Home USB C Dock Dell station from work and surprisingly, it worked - sort of. I have a dual monitor setup for work and only 1 monitor worked. I played with video card settings but it would not recognize the second screen. I figure it's likely the video card or maybe another limitation - but most users would be happy to have a Dock and 1 screen to work with so I cannot complain here. Don't expect to run more than 1 monitor at a time. I was able to use my ports, my keyboard and mouse and my USB Soundbar - which was plugged into the dock worked without a hitch.

I did not test the HDMI port and I did not test the bluetooth function yet with my wireless headphones but I suspect it would work just fine.

The computer's overall build quality is okay. For me, the keyboard had a small flex and the keys definitely felt cheap. I mean it gets the job done, but I have had better keyboards. It'll get the job done. This thing is heavy though. I didn't weigh it but I saw someone use a postal scale and they said it was just under 4 pounds. So yeah - it's heavy. I think the outside lid and under lid is metal while the interior visual bezels are all plastic. I don't know why it's so heavy but it's still "slim" and fit in my 14 inch laptop sleeve with ease.

Support? I tried calling the support hotline on the phone number in the box just to see what kind of support was offered. I was on hold for about 15 minutes for an agent and then I was forwarded to a greeting that sounded along the lines of "There are no support agents available at this time. Please try calling us again later" and was disconnected. So what's my impression of available support? Pretty poor if you ask me. Their website has drivers for the machine. I suspect I will need to download their available drivers and archive it if I ever have to reformat this laptop in the future. I honestly don't know how long the manufacturer (I think GPU computer? I remember somebody saying these are basically rebadged EVOO computers) I know Acer licensed this Gateway brand to others so I don't know how long the support will be for these things but again - I wanted something with decent performance at a good price and this fit the bill.

All in all, I think this is a good value for the specs. I don't expect it for long term longevity but that's not what I got it for. Hope this review helps some of you on the fence.

From my experience with the $329 refurb version of this same PC, I think the best use case is as a desktop replacement with the option to use as a laptop from time to time. 11th-gen i5, Irix Xe graphics, and 16GB RAM is a sweet setup at this price. I did a clean install of Windows and the drivers installed seamlessly via Windows Update. But I agree as a laptop, it's lacking in terms of build quality and such.

Did you try closing the lid while plugged into the dock? You might have to turn off sleep under "what to do when I close the lid". I've had laptops with graphics cards that could only push two screens but they could be two externals if I closed the laptop.

Did you try closing the lid while plugged into the dock? You might have to turn off sleep under "what to do when I close the lid". I've had laptops with graphics cards that could only push two screens but they could be two externals if I closed the laptop.

Hey there - so I tried the truck. It was better - both screens work but as "duplicate" mode and I was unable to "extend" the desktop. I tried to detect both displays but it seemed to recognize both as one. I appreciate your help!

I did notice however, my webcam did not work correctly, so I exchanged it this morning. The 1st one I had had the Intel Wifi 6 network card and the one I have now has a Intel AC 9461 Network card instead but the laptop is still the same model number and all - not sure how or why the network cards are different.

Also, I was able to upgrade the first laptop to Windows 11 right away - but the second one I am using now cannot migrate to Windows 11 for some reason. I checked and all system requirements are met, but via Windows Update - it doesn't seem to recognize this laptop as ready for update yet. I wonder what I am doing wrong.

The first Gateway, I setup as Windows 10, then upgraded to 11 after the main setup. The second Gateway this morning, I signed into Windows 10 with my Microsoft account from the start - is that a potential role in this snafu?

Mine came with the AC 9461 as well. I had to force the windows 11 upgrade. Google "windows 11 installation assistant", the first result should be a Microsoft link for "download windows 11". Click on that and download the installation assistant then run it and follow the instructions (it'll most likely require you to download another tool to check your preparedness. Once you run that you should be able to go back to the installation assistant and continue).

I got this laptop to run Linux. Contrary to internet reports of unsupported hardware, I booted a Kubuntu 22.04 live USB and found everything worked right from the get-go. I didn't have issues with networking, video acceleration, sound, webcam, or anything else that I thought to test. I did however have to test the RAM with Memtest86 instead of Memtest86+ because the latter would only show a black screen.

Why is this thread now showing expired? Its a instore clearance deal? I dont think that expires until it gets to a very low price.

Back in stock and even cheaper. Just picked up one in my local Walmart for $349.99 and Brickseek shows stock in several local stores at that price (Blue color only).