Vendors Unveil 2GHz PCs

By Doug Olenick -- TWICE, 8/28/2001

New York - Compaq, Dell and Gateway yesterday rolled out PCs powered by Intel's newest and fastest processor.

Compaq's Presario 7000T Series, available only through the company's Built For You CTO program, is being positioned for gaming enthusiasts and those using processing intense applications like video editing. Compaq is bundling full versions of several games including Madden NFL 2001, Triple Play 2001 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2001. The 7000T Series package suggested retail pricing starts at $1,499 and includes a 17-inch monitor. The PC's features include 128MB of PC800 Rambus RAM and a 48x CD-ROM drive. A DVD-R/RW drive is also available.

Gateway's offering is the Performance 2000XL Digital Media PC. As the PC's name suggests, Gateway is focusing on imaging, audio, and videophiles. The PC is bundled with Gateway MusicWare CD Creator Pack, PhotoWare Picture This Photo Bundle and VideoWare Advanced. The 2000XL is equipped with 256MB of Rambus DRAM, 80GB hard drive, 64MB NVIDIA graphics card, Boston Acoustics' 5-speaker surround sound system, a 15-inch LCD and 16x DVD-ROM drive and CD-RW drive. The suggested retail price is $1,999.

Dell's entry is the Dimension 8100. It sports a 100GB hard drive, 128MB Rambus DRAM, CD-RW drive, 19-inch monitor, NVIDIA graphics card with a $2,208 suggested retail price.