Gateway Fx530xt
High-end gaming systems usually come in huge, heavy cases, but the FX530XT packs its muscle into a more standard yet still stylish case that stands just 16.5 inches high.
Gateway shipped our test system with its 2.66-GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 processor bumped up to 3.2 GHz (covered under the machine's one-year warranty). The CPU and the included 4GB of 667-MHz DDR2 memory helped the PC reach a solid WorldBench 6 Beta 2 score of 126--putting it right in the middle of our recently tested gaming-PC batch.
The factory-overclocked EVGA GeForce 8800 GTX graphics card turned in frame rates of 152 frames per second in Doom 3 at 1280-by-1024-pixel resolution (with antialiasing turned on) and 181 fps in Far Cry at the same settings. Of the systems in our gaming-PCs chart, the best performer in the same Doom 3 test was the Alienware Area-51 7500, which was equipped with dual 768MB EVGA GeForce 8800 GTX graphics boards; the Alienware achieved 165 frames per second, versus the average of 143 fps for the rest of the gaming-PC field. The Dell XPS 720's 768MB nVidia GeForce 8800 GTX board helped it take the lead in the GPU- and CPU-intensive Far Cry game script; the Dell averaged 202 fps, easily besting the Gateway, which tied with the Alienware at 181 fps.
Our FX530XT's three 5.25-inch external drive bays were filled with a 2X Blu-ray/DVD-RAM drive, a DVD-rewritable drive, and a multiformat media card reader. Twin 150GB, 10,000-rpm Western Digital Raptor hard drives arranged in a RAID configuration occupied the other two bays (you can configure the system with up to three 750GB hard drives).
All of these high-end components packed in a small case come at the expense of expandability. The inside of the case is difficult to work in and has limited room for additional components. Our review system's basic Intel motherboard had three PCI slots, of which two were taken by the modem and the sound card. There is a spare PCI Express slot if you want to install a second graphics board in an SLI configuration.
The bundled 24-inch Gateway FPD2485W wide-screen LCD produced impressive results, with sharp text and bright, vivid colors. It also detects rotation: When you twist the monitor to portrait orientation, the on-screen display automatically rotates as well. And because the monitor is HDCP-compliant, you can play copy-protected high-def movies directly from a Blu-ray or HD DVD player via the DVI input. The monitor comes by default with a 2.1-channel speaker bar system that clips to the bottom of the monitor; its sound, while adequate for everyday use, isn't particularly loud or impressive. Gateway sells more-powerful sound systems, of course.
The FX530XT costs $4760, which is in line with the costs of most other quad-core gaming systems we've tested. If expansion room isn't an issue for you, this Windows Vista Ultimate system holds tremendous gaming appeal, thanks to its formidable processing power, great graphics performance, and gargantuan wide-screen display.
Related Tags: apple laptops, laptop reviews, acer laptops, buy laptop computers, asus laptops, benchmarking laptop computers, gateway laptop reviews
Visit my BLOGS: Buy Laptop Computers Info, Mesothelioma Portal Info
Your Article Search Directory : Find in ArticlesRecent articles in this category:
- What Is An Sd Card? What Are Main Types Of Sd Cards
Manufactured as a competition offering to Sony's Memory Stick, the SD Card was developed by the SD C - Industrial Computers
In this day and age you can't afford to run an industry efficiently without a computer as it plays a - Computer Fix Services - Tips To Choose Good Quality Personal Computer Maintenance Online
Online computer repair services have become a fast and reliable problem solution for day to day tech - Reverse Engineering Romer For Aerospace
One of the most amazing things about reverse engineering is its significant contribution in any fiel - How To Buy The Best Projector Bulb
It is very important for you to know the right time to change the projector bulb before it will burn - Laptops Vs Desktops- Their Significance
Computers obviously are commonly used for more or less everything from entertainment to office work. - Cooling Your Laptop
It is common knowledge that laptops are commonly used by everyone but one must also know how to take - Dymo Labelwriter Fast Performance & Reliability
I don't think I'm the only one who has gotten tired of trips to the post office, standing in endless - Buying Dell Laptops A Long Time Investment
Today if you go to an office or a school, Dell laptops can be seen very commonly. Though we do not b - Hard Drives - Digital Space
The first hard drives (Hard Disk Drives, HDD) were developed by IBM in 1956. Since then the need for
Most viewed articles in this category:
- Video Killed the Beautiful View
"The sound brought our group to a stop; we turned around to see the ice mass collapse with a roar. A - Crossfire: The Dual GPU System Gamers Want
CrossFire is the new dual graphics card system from ATI. It offers remarkable image quality improvem - Canon PIXMA IP1600 Photo Printer Review & Its True Cost of Ownership
With Canon PIXMA iP1600 Inkjet Printer you can make high quality photo printings at home. No need to - Basic Information about Nero Burn DVD
Nero is a popular burning ROM designed to burn DVD's. The way this product got its name is very inte - The Development of the Vital IBM PC in Spite of the Corporate Culture of IBM
The public history of the PC began in August 1981, when IBM first announced "The IBM Personal Comput - PC Repairs
PC Repairs are often needed when we need our computer the most. One way to take away many problems o - Affordable Computer Printer Ink
The computer - once considered a luxury item - has easily become a staple in today's modern homes; a - Build your Own PC
Build your own PC! Simple and Fun. Just follow these instructions and you're on your way to a rel - Extending the Life of an Inkjet Printer with Proper Cleaning and Maintenance
Inkjet printers are becoming another "throw away" electronic device due to reducing costs and high i - Check Printers
A check printer is a printer that hooks up to a computer that has the capability of printing checks.