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Gateway Shoves DVD Drive into Ultraportable EC Series

Paul Lilly — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 09:09:23 -0500

Building a thin and light ultraportable notebook means making a few concessions, and in some cases, that includes removing the optical drive. Not so with Gateway's new EC series, the company's first ultraportable to sport an integrated DVD drive. Kicking off the new series is the 11.6-inch EC14D01h.

"Customers understand how convenient it is to have a notebook PC that is portable enough to take nearly anywhere to stay connected and have fun -- and the new EC14D01h brings a new element of entertainment to customers with the ability to watch DVD movies, play games on CD and DVD and more," said Chris Chiang, product manager for Gateway Canada. "The integrated DVD drive in such a compact device will be a huge benefit for customers who want the flexibility to enjoy and share different movies, music, photos, and more stored on a DVD or CD."

Other hardware consists of an Intel Peniu. SU4100 ULV processor (1.3GHz, 2MB L2 cache, 800MHz frontside bus), integrated Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics, 4GB of DDR2-667 memory (upgradeable to 8GB), 320GB hard drive, memory card reader, Wi-Fi, three USB 2.0 ports, HDMI and S/PDIF, multi-gesture touchpad, 6-cell battery,a nd Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.

Gateway said it will begin shipping the EC14D01h later this month in Canada for 580 moose bucks ($574 USD). No word on when, or if, Gateway plans on shipping this one south of the border.

Image Credit: Gateway

Gateway Gaming Supercomputer

Gordon Mah Ung — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:31:31 -0600

A super-duper amount of RAM!

There are two things we think of when we hear the word “supercomputer.” The first is the failed 1970s NBC show Supercomputer (now available on DVD from Shinehart Wigs). The other is a massive room full of HAL9000-like scary boxes just two MIPS away from declaring thermal nuclear war on humanity.

So, what was Gateway thinking when it decided to call its FX6831 a Gaming Super-computer? This is, after all, just a simple desktop housing a single 2.8GHz Core i7-860. Surely, that’s not the stuff of supercomputing, is it? OK, we know that in January, Fabrice Bellard used a single Core i7 to smash a record set by, umm, a supercomputer for calculating pi. Still, Gateway’s gone way over the line, right?

Perhaps. The specs certainly aren’t extraordinary. Besides the Core i7-860, this Gaming Supercomputer packs an ATI Radeon HD 5850, a 1.5TB hard drive, and a DVD burner and Blu-ray combo drive, all running on a motherboard using Intel’s new H57 chipset.

A single Core i7 bested a real supercomputer, so maybe Gateway's Supercomputer can do the same.

We know many enthusiast users think OEM boxes are boring, but as we saw with Alienware’s Aurora ALX (reviewed in February 2010), large OEMs are quite capable of turning out innovative cases. Gateway’s Gaming Supercomputer is another such example: It features a hidden compartment up top for holding an external USB drive, with nearby access to two USB ports. Brilliant.

The most eye-catching spec of the Gaming Supercomputer is the amount of main memory it packs: 16GB of DDR3/1333. That’s the most RAM we’ve ever seen in a production machine. Unfortunately, that kind of excess has limited utility. To be fair, you can probably say the same of a machine with three graphics cards or a four-drive SSD RAID. Still, if we had our druthers, we’d probably sacrifice 8GB of that RAM to buy a sweet SSD.

The Supercomputer had the honor of being the first machine christened with our latest benchmark suite.

For a midrange system, the Gaming Supercomputer does well, but it lagged behind our updated zero-point system. Our overclocked zero-point has a 25 percent clock advantage, and for the most part, it turned in scores about 23 to 24 percent faster.

The Supercomputer had the most difficult time trying to catch our zero-point in gaming. That’s no shocker, though; the Gateway packs an ATI Radeon HD 5850, which is currently the reigning champ of the $300 videocard world. Our zero-point, however, runs an ATI Radeon HD 5970, which is currently the best graphics card. Period. However, it’s a $700 videocard. Since few things today can be scored independently of price, consider that our zero-point rig totals about $2,300, which puts it in the category of high-end gaming machines. At $1,700, the Gaming Supercomputer is a solid midrange rig.

That doesn’t mean we don’t have our complaints. As we said, we’d forego the shock value of 16GB of RAM for an SSD or an upgrade to a 5970. So Gaming Supercomputer? Probably not. But then again, where’s the allure in Nicely Balanced and Affordable Gaming Computer?

Editor's note: The spec chart in this review was updated after the initial posting to correct a typo (3/9/10).

Gateway Maintains Budget Pricing while Amping up FX, DX, and SX Desktop Offerings

Jason Barry — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:39:29 -0600

Gateway computer introduced some new models into three of its desktop computer lines. The upgraded machines feature more power, capacity, and performance while maintaining Gateway’s trademark low price tag.

In the FX line, revamped machines sport Intel Core i7 processors, Radeon HD5850, at least 8GB of DDR3 memory and Blu-ray/DVD or DVD-RW drive and numerous improvements to its chassis design. The highest priced FX unit runs at $1699.99. The DX line runs Intel Core i5 processors and various nVidia graphics and Blu-ray options depending on your configuration maintaining a midline pricing of about $849.99 (Nvidia GT220, 4x Blu-Ray). Lastly, the SX series of small-form-factor desktops gets Core i3 processors, GMA X4500HD graphics, 6GB DDR3 memory retailing at $599.99 and handles HDMI out of the box for HTPC builders.

You can check out Gateway’s latest improvements at the Gateway store.

Gateway Announces New Ultraportable with Integrated DVD

Paul Lilly — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 07:26:45 -0600

One item not often found on compact notebooks is an integrated DVD drive, so you can bet Gateway's going to trumpet this stand-out feature in its new EC14D ultraportable notebook.

"Customers understand how convenient it is to have a notebook PC that is portable enough to take nearly anywhere to stay connected and have fun -- and the new EC14 brings a new element of entertainment to customers with the ability to watch DVD movies, play games on CD and DVD, and more," said John Nguyen, product marketing manager for Acer America. "The integrated DVD drive in such a compact device will be a huge benefit for customers who want the flexibility to enjoy and share different movies, music, photos, and more stored on a DVD or CD."

In addition to the 8X Super Multi dual-layer DVD drive, the 11.6-inch EC14 will come in a variety of configurations. One such configuration (EC14D07u) will include an Intel Pentium ULV SU4100 processor, Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics, 4GB of DDR2-667 memory (upgradeable to 8GB), a 320GB hard drive spinning at 5400RPM, multi-card reader, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, three USB 2.0 ports, HDMI, multi-gesture touchpad, 6-cell battery, and Windows 7 Home Premium.

Gateway says you can expect to the see the EC14xxx later this month with a starting price of $630.

Image Credit: Gateway

Gateway Stuffs Atom N450 into LT21 Netbook

Paul Lilly — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:29:12 -0600

Gateway jumps on the Intel Atom N450 bandwagon by introducing the LT21 series netbook. As with most netbooks rocking the newly minted Atom chip, battery life benefits the most, with Gateway claiming up to 10 hours of run time.

"Netbooks have been firmly embraced by consumers as an incredibly convenient, easy-to-use way to stay connected, be more productive, and stay in touch," said John Nguyen, product marketing manager for Gateway. "Gateway LT21 Series netbooks are designed to go anywhere for use by anyone, as their sleek form factor and intuitive design naturally fit into how people live and connect today."

The new netbooks check in at 2.76 pounds and measure about an inch ~~thick~~ thin. Hardware will vary by model, though Gateway did provide specs for one model, the LT2118u. In addition to the Atom N450, this 10.1-inch model will come with 1GB of DDR2-667 RAM, 250GB hard drive spinning at 5400RPM, Intel GMA 3150 graphics, multi-card reader, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, multi-gesture touchpad, webcam, 6-cell battery, and Windows 7 Starter.

Gateway says the LT21 series will be available later this month starting at $300. The aforementioned LT2118u will run $350.

Gateway FHX2300

Michael Brown — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:39:33 -0600

Mirror, mirror on my desk

Gateway’s 23-inch FHX2300 truly is a looking glass: The glossy screen produces extremely distracting glare and specular reflections. Don’t use this monitor if there’s a window or any other strong light source directly behind your seat.

The panel we used for our evaluation had a discolored pixel that glowed green when DisplayMate was producing solid black, gray, or low-intensity cyan and magenta backgrounds; it glowed yellow when the background was solid red. Gateway sent us a replacement unit, but consumers might not be so lucky: The company’s one-year warranty covers dead pixels (meaning pixels that don’t function at all), but it expressly does not cover discolored pixels.

The Gateway FHX2300 did a superb job of rendering skin tones in DisplayMate's high-resolution digital photos.

Once we positioned the Gateway to minimize its glare problems and ignored the discolored pixel on the solid-black background, we noticed significant backlight leakage on the bottom and left-hand sides. Apart from those issues, the FHX2300 delivered solid performance with the rest of our DisplayMate tests, particularly in the areas of grayscale production and screen uniformity. The display delivers six-bit color depth with frame-rate control and five-millisecond response time, so we didn’t encounter any significant motion-blur or other visual artifacts in our game and Blu-ray movie tests.

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Gateway Announces First Touchscreen All-in-Ones with Windows 7

Paul Lilly — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:12:05 -0500

In preparation for the launch of Windows 7 and its multitouch capabilities, Gateway has announced two touchscreen all-in-one PCs built specifically for the upcoming OS.

On the higher end, the Gateway One ZX6810-01 will come with a 23-inch touchscreen display, an Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200S, a heaping 8GB of DDR3-1333 memory, a 64GB solid state drive for the OS and 1TB hard drive for storage duties, and ATI Radeon Mobility HD 4670 graphics with 1GB of memory. Cnet, who managed to get its hands on one already, praised the PC for its speed, while noting that the "touch input could be frustratingly unresponsive" at times.

Lower on the all-in-one totem pole sits the Gateway One ZX4800-02. At half the price of its bigger brother, this model boasts a 20-inch touchscreen display, an Intel Pentium dual-core T4300 processor, 4GB of DDR2-800 memory, a 750GB hard drive, and Intel's GMA X4500HD graphics. both PCs ship with 64-bit flavors of Windows 7 Home Premium.

Gateway says the ZX4800 will be available in late October or early November for $750, while the FX6810 will debut sometime in Q4 for $1,400.

Image Credit: Gateway

Gateway to Bring Subsidized LT2016U Netbook to Verizon for $150

Paul Lilly — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 09:48:38 -0500

You won't get far by shopping for a netbook with just $150 in hand, even if you're willing to browse your favorite online vendor's refurbished section. But for those of you willing to sign up to a 2-year subscription plan through Verizon, $150 suddenly becomes enough to snag a Gateway LT2016u netbook (after $100 mail-in-rebate).

Minus the monthly fee, that's about as cheap as you're going to find a 10.1-inch netbook in the foreseeable future. Other specs include an Intel Atom N270 (1.6GHz) processor, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive spinning at 5400RPM, built-in webcam and mic, multi-card reader, 3G support, and Windows XP.

Not a bad deal considering the LT2016u retails for $500, but as Engadget rightly points out, shouldn't these subsidized netbooks be free already?

Image Credit: Verizon via Engadget

Maximum PC Gateway RSS Feed

Gateway Shoves DVD Drive into Ultraportable EC Series

Gateway Gaming Supercomputer

A super-duper amount of RAM!

Gateway Maintains Budget Pricing while Amping up FX, DX, and SX Desktop Offerings

Gateway Announces New Ultraportable with Integrated DVD

Gateway Stuffs Atom N450 into LT21 Netbook

Gateway FHX2300

Mirror, mirror on my desk

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Acer H235H

Asus VH242HL-P

HP 2709m

LG W2353V-PF

NEC MultiSync EA241WM

Samsung P2370HD

ViewSonic VX2433wm

Gateway Announces First Touchscreen All-in-Ones with Windows 7

Gateway to Bring Subsidized LT2016U Netbook to Verizon for $150