Gateway LT2118U

While not quite as snazzy as the more expensive Toshiba mini NB305 or as sleek as the MSI Wind U160, the Gateway LT2118U includes some nice touches. Its bright red lid has a small metal stripe with the Gateway logo emblazoned on it. The combination of this silver accent on a bright background reminded us of classic cigarette package art from the ‘40s or ‘50s. An orange Wi-Fi status light sits next to the right hinge. Rather than having a power box with a long, thin cord and standard plug like most notebooks, the LT2118U’s A/C adapter is a giant wall wart with a rotating and removable plug . The thicker profile means you may have difficulty plugging into tight spaces on power strips. At 10.2 x 7.3 x 1 inches and 2.6 pounds, the LT2118U is a bit lighter and thinner than the ASUS Eee PC 1001P (10.3 x 7 x 1.4 inches, 2.8 pounds) and Toshiba mini NB305 (10.5 x 7.6 x 1.2 inches, 2.8 pounds). The MSI Wind U160 (10.2 x 6.5 x 0.8 inches, 2.6 pounds) is slightly thinner.
With its 1.66-GHz Intel Atom N450 CPU, 1GB of RAM, and 5,400-rpm hard drive, the Gateway LT2118U offered performance typical of a netbook with these standard components. In short, it’s good enough for web browsing and editing documents and photos, but not strong enough to play demanding games, edit video, or watch high-def content. On PCMark05, a synthetic benchmark that measures overall performance, the LT2118U scored 1,310, which is below the category average of 1,439 but in the same ballpark as such competitors as the Acer Aspire One 532h (1,332) and the ASUS Eee PC 1001P (1,384).
The 5,400-rpm, 250GB hard drive booted Windows 7 Starter Edition in 57 seconds, which is a little bit faster than the category average of 61 seconds. It took the LT2118u 6 minutes and 33 seconds to transcode a 114MB MPEG-4 to AVI with Oxelon Media Converter. That’s 17 seconds slower than the category average of 6 minutes and 16 seconds, and over 40 seconds behind the MSI Wind U160 (5:52) and the Acer Aspire One 532h (5:50). The Toshiba mini NB305 (6:03) and Eee PC 1001P (6:02) also did better.

The integrated Intel GMA 3150 graphics chip, also standard on netbooks of this type, produced typical but unimpressive results. It was not fast enough to even test games like World of Warcraft and, as noted above, it was slow when streaming HD content.

In 3DMark06, which measures overall graphics prowess, the LT2118U scored 156, which is just a bit below the category average of 215, but on a par with competitors like the Eee PC 1001P (155), mini NB305 (159), and Wind U160 (163).

Gateway LT2118U Specifications

CPU
1.66-GHz Intel Atom N450
Operating System MS Windows 7 Starter Edition
RAM
1GB
RAM Upgradable to
2GB
Hard Drive Size
250GB
Hard Drive Speed
5,400rpm
Hard Drive Type
SATA Hard Drive
Display Size
10.1
Native Resolution
1024x600
Optical Drive
Optical Drive Speed
Graphics Card
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3150
Video Memory
64MB
Wi-Fi
802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth
Mobile Broadband
Ports (excluding USB)
Ethernet; Headphone; Kensington Lock; Microphone; VGA
USB Ports
3
Card Slots
5-1 card reader
Warranty/Support 1 year parts and labor
Size 10.17 x 7.28 x .99 inches
Weight 2.76 pounds

Gateway LT2118U