http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2293682,00.aspGateway has announced the availability of a flock of new and refreshed desktops—including a Windows XP offering.
The new models range from affordable GT series offerings and mid-level DX442 systems starting at $550, to a midpriced FX7026 gaming system at $1,100, and high-end FX541 gaming systems ranging from $1,200 to $3,500. Gateway is shipping these systems with Windows Vista 32-bit, Vista 64-bit, or XP, depending on which model you buy.
The Gateway FX7026 gaming system is equipped with a Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 (running at a stock 2.5GHz), 4 GB of DDR2 memory, 640 GB hard drive, and an overclocked nVidia GeForce 8800GT graphics card. According to Gateway, the FX7026 is available at leading retail outlets around the country and online. This system also comes with Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit, representing a shift in the system manufacturers toward 64-bit computing. It remains to be seen when game developers create games to take advantage of 64-bit computing, but it's been a chicken and the egg situation so far.
The GT Series is Gateway's mainstream system lineup, available in five models in retail stores (one exclusive to Costco ). The GT5670 ($549.99) is powered by a triple-core AMD Phenom 8400 CPU, and features a 320GB hard drive, 3GB of memory, integrated graphics, and 32-bit Vista Premium. The GT5674 ($649.99) includes a quad-core AMD Phenom 9500 CPU, a 500 GB hard drive, 3 GB of memory, integrated graphics, and also comes with 32-bit Vista.
The GT5676 ($749.99), GT5678 ($849.99), and GT5685E ($899.99) all have 64-bit Vista to fully utilize the included 4 GB of memory. The GT5676 and GT5678 have quad-core processors, from AMD and Intel, respectively, while the GT5685E has a dual core Intel Core 2 Duo. Hard-drive sizes for the latter three GT models range from 500GB to 750GB. The GT5678 has a discrete ATI Radeon HD 2400XT graphics card, while the others use integrated graphics. The GT5685E is a Costco exclusive that comes bundled with a 22-inch Widescreen HD LCD monitor. All of the GT series systems come with DVD burners in similar chassis with different trim.
The DX442 series is Gateway's multimedia-oriented mainstream desktops, with processors ranging from Intel Pentium Dual Core to Core 2 Quad processors. Both the DX442B ($549.99) and the DX442XP ($999.99) use integrated Intel GMA 3100 graphics off of their Intel G33-based motherboards. The DX442XP is notable because it is Gateway's single consumer model with Windows XP Pro support. Even the gaming models above and below, price- and performance-wise, ship with Vista installed.
At the high end, the FX541 models come with Quad-Core Intel Core 2 Quad and Core 2 Extreme processors, as well as motherboards that support nVidia SLI dual graphics card technology. The top of the line FX541XT comes with an overclocked processor and dual overclocked nVidia GeForce 8800 GT cards in a SLI configuration. The FX541s come with Vista's 32-bit flavor.
