Gateway Unveils Retail, Direct Desktops

By Colleen Bohen -- TWICE, 5/6/2008 9:08:00 AM

Irvine, Calif. — Gateway has introduced a range of new desktop PCs for retail and direct customers.

For retail customers, the manufacturer said it has increased the performance of its value-based FX desktop and refreshed its GT Series of desktops. Newly available to direct customers is a refreshed and expanded selection of the company’s multimedia DX line and new FX models.

The retail-targeted FX7026 is designed to be an affordable option for gamers. It features an Intel Core 2 Quad processor Q9300, “over-clocked” NVIDIA 8800GT graphics, 4GB of memory and a 640GB hard drive. It comes equipped with Windows Vista Home Premium 62-bit edition at a suggested $1,099.

Gateway has also added models GT5670, GT5674, GT5676 and GT5678 to its GT Series lineup, which are available now at retails ranging from $549 to $849.

The new GT models have hard drives from 320GB to 750GB, feature AMD Phenom Quad-Core or Triple Core processors and have either 3GB or 4GB of memory. They also include either integrated NVIDIA GeForece 6150SE or ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics, which is also said to provide DirectX 10 support and HDMI output. Two models also offer Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit.

Each new GT model features a 15-in-one digital media card reader; an integrated Smart Copy button is designed to instantly download photos and organize them into files.

The desktops are also equipped with a SuperMulti optical drive, meant to burn content onto any disc format; Labelflash technology is included to laser-etch personalized images and text directly onto the discs.

For direct customers, the FX541 series is said to feature the company’s “fastest, most powerful desktop.”

The FX541 includes an NVIDIA SLI-capable motherboard, dual PCIe x16 slots with SLI support and dual Gigabit Ethernet. Model FX541XT offers a “factory over-clocked processor and runs dual NVIDIA 8800 GT factory limited warranted over-clocked video cards in SLI mode,” according to the company.

The series is also said to feature a 700-watt power supply.

According to a release, some models in the FX541 series are already available direct from Gateway for prices ranging from $1,199 to $3,499.

Finally, Gateway has also added to its DX line of “mainstream multimedia” desktops with DX442, some versions of which are already available direct through Gateway at prices from $549 to $999.

The models feature an Intel Pentium Dual-Core, Intel Core 2 Duo or Intel Core 2 Quad processor. All use the Intel G33 chipset with GMA X3100 graphics, a 1,333MHz front-side bus and 800MHz memory support. The models can include 2GB or 3GB of memory. Most models feature Windows Vista, but the DX442XP comes equipped with the Windows XP Professional Edition operating system.

The series has been designed to provide easy access to frequently used media options and includes front A/V inputs and a USB 2.0 15-in-one media reader located near the top of the system.

Models can either feature a 320GB or 500GB hard drive and each is equipped with a multiformat DVD-RW and a DVD/CD-RW combo drive. Like the GT models, each DX desktop features a SuperMulti drive with Labelflash technology for etching personalized images and text directly onto discs.