Irvine, Calif. — Gateway launched its eMachines brand back-to-school line today, all of which are ready to run Microsoft’s upcoming Vista operating system.
The five new SKUs are priced between $349 and $539, after $50 rebate, and are now shipping.
The T6536 is the top-end model featuring an AMD Athlon 64 3800+ processor running a 2.4GHz, an NVIDIA GeForce 6100 integrated graphics with DirectX 9.0 support, an open PCI Express slot, 1GB of DDR memory (expandable to 4GB), 250GB hard drive, dual format/double DVD burner and 5.1 channel high-definition audio; it runs Microsoft’s Media Center operating system.
The step-down model is the T6534. The $449 PC shares many of the same features as its more expensive cousin, but does come with a slightly less powerful Atlon 64 3700+ processor running at 2.2GHz, a 200GB hard drive and 512MB of DDR memory; it uses the XP operating system.
The T5046 carries the same $449 price tag as the T6534, but an Intel Pentium 4 processor and ATI Radeon Express 200 graphics card replaces the AMD and NVIDIA technology.
The T3508, $379, is powered by an Intel Celeron D 356 processor running at 3.3GHz and a 160GB hard drive, but is otherwise similar to the other models.
The entry-level piece is the 3506. Priced at $349, it differs from the T3508 by having a DVD/CDRW drive and a 120GB hard drive.
