Gateway Goes Gaming: FX530XT Review : Introduction

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Gateway Goes Gaming: FX530XT Review : Introduction

03:50 - Thursday 8 February 2007 by Thomas Soderstrom
Source: Tom's Hardware – Keywords: gateway, goes, gaming, uk

Table of content:

Introduction

The greatest win in the battle of "geeks versus nerds" has taken place, as the world's best PC gamers receive the professional athlete treatment! Far from the "dying breed" that nerdy console fans believe them to be, flagship "uber geek" performance systems have become mandatory promotional tools for the PC industry. But as the likes Dell and HP try to buy their way into gamers' hearts through acquisition of "gaming computer" brands, Gateway has chosen the simplest, most direct path to gaming fame: building better computers!

This might seem a ballsy move for a company that only a few years ago gave up its high-end market in a downscale "affordable PC" marketing move that nearly killed the brand. Still, anyone who's been around computers long enough will remember the days when top-end Gateway 2000 systems were the rule rather than the exception. The company certainly has the experience, so let's consider what it now brings to the table.

Gateway® FX530XT Base Configuration
Hardware
Processor	Intel® CoreTM 2 Extreme quad-core processor QX6700 (2.66GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 2x4MB cache)
Chipset	Intel® 975X chipset with DDR2 and Intel® CoreTM Duo support
Memory	2048 MB PC5300 dual-channel DDR2 667MHz SDRAM (2-1024MB modules)
Hard Drive	300GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA hard drive w/ Raid 0 16 MB Cache (two 150 GB hard drives)
Floppy Drive	9-in-1 media card reader.
Optical Drive	16x Double-Layer Multi-Format DVD Writer (DVD±/R±RW/CD-R/RW) and 48x/32x/48x CD-RW/DVD combo drive
Case
Controller	7-bay BTX tower case
Expansion Slots	(3) PCI expansion slots, (1) PCI-E x4 expansion slot, (1) PCI-E x16 expansion slot
External Ports	(6) USB 2.0 (2 front, 4 rear), (3) IEEE 1394 Firewire (2 front, 1 rear), audio ports and (2) PS/2
Video	Dual Card ATI Radeon® X1950 CrossFireTM solution w/512MB GDDR4 memory DVI w/HDCP, VGA (via adapter) & TV-Out
Network	Integrated Intel® 10/100/1000 (Gigabit) Ethernet
Integrated Audio	Integrated Intel® 7.1 High Definition audio
PCI Multimedia Card 1	56K PCI data/fax modem
Software
Operating System	Genuine Windows VistaTM Home Premium (32-bit)
Additional Software	Adobe® Acrobat Reader® 7.0 and Google Toolbar
Standard Software	Napster Trial Subscription
Peripherals
Monitor	Gateway 24" Widescreen HD Performance LCD Display
Keyboard and Mouse	Gateway Elite Multimedia Keyboard and Soft-touch USB optical wheel mouse
Speakers	Logitech X-230 2.1 32 watt Speakers
Services
Internet Service Provider	Six months America Online® Internet access

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Gateway Goes Gaming: FX530XT Review : Introduction

Introduction