Irvine (CA) – Gateway todate officially announced its new high-end retail desktop PC offering. The new GM and GT models include AMD Phenom quad-core processors and the higher-end model comes with a hybrid Blu-ray / HD DVD drive.

Gateway now offers three different Phenom quad-core configurations in U.S. retail stores. In addition to the Phenom 9600-based FX7020 gaming PC (priced at $1100), the company now ships what could be considered the first mainstream quad-core PC in retail, the GT5662, as well as a higher end multimedia version called the GM5664.

The GT5662 model includes a Phenom 9500 (2.2 GHz) processor, 3 GB of memory, a 256 MB ATY 2400 XT graphics card and a 500 GB hard drive. Without a monitor, the MSRP of this system is $750 - below the critical $800 mark, which is generally considered the entry-point to the mainstream segment of desktop PCs. This model replaces last season’s GT5628, which came with an Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (2.4 GHz) CPU, 3 GB memory, an Nvidia GeForce 8500GT graphics card and a 500 GB hard drive for an MSRP of $850.

The GM5664 is pricier at $1150 (without monitor) but not only upgrades the GT5662 to a 2.3 GHz Phenom 9600 chip and a 1 TB hard drive, but also includes a hybrid HD DVD/Blu-ray drive and a TV tuner.

For the entry-level market, Gateway introduced two new eMachines systems: The new T3642 $350 model comes with a single-core Athlon processor, 1 GB of memory and a 250 GB hard drive, while T5246 includes an Athlon X2 dual-core chip as well as 2 GB of main memory and a 400 GB hard drive for $430.

Editor’s note: The orginal version of this article carried the headline “Gateway retail desktops dump Intel quads in favor of Phenom CPUs”. Even if Gateway is not offering any Intel quad-core-based systems in U.S. retail at this time, Gateway representatives informed us that the company has no intentions of dropping Intel’s processors in its retail systems. "While the mix shifts from quarter to quarter based on price, performance, availability and other factors, we typically offer a mix of both AMD and Intel processors, and we’ll continue to do so moving forward. In fact, we will be announcing an Intel-based retail desktop within a few weeks, and our Direct line remains 100% Intel-based," said spokesperson Ruth Rosene.