Gateway Releases Slew of New Desktops, Offers Something for Everyone
by Joshua Topolsky, posted May 6th 2008 at 2:37PM
Posts with tag gateway
Gateway P-172X FX Gaming Laptop Unboxing and Hands-on
The updated rig (a new riff on the similarly-themed P-171) features a Core 2 Duo CPU (the 2.4GHz T8300), 1920 x 1200 resolution, 4GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, NVIDIA's GeForce 8800M GTS GPU (with 512MB of GDDR3 RAM), a DVD-R/RW/RAM optical drive, and a nasty mess of ports and card slots.
We got to take the dude out for a spin, and performance was definitely up to par (translation: it plays Crysis), though the design left a little something to be desired, like... style. A cheaper, 2.0GHz version with half the drive space, lower screen resolution, and a gig less RAM is available, though it maintains the GPU and graphics memory. The P-172X FX is available right now for $1,999, and kid brother P-172S FX will run you $1,399.
For photos, check out Engadget
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Gateway One: a Windows PC Dressed Like a Mac
Gateway 30-Inch LCD XHD3000 High-Definition Monitor
For those who need screen real-estate for High-Definition graphics manipulation (or maybe just some home video- or picture-editing), the new $1,700 Gateway XHD3000 LCD 30-inch monitor is perfect -- it's not only huge for a computer monitor, but it also up-converts video to 1600p, a startling four times higher than standard 720p high-definition video. With state-of-the-art connections, including HDMI, VGA, DVI, composite, S-Video and six USB ports this monitor can handle any kind of source you might want to plug into it. The HD Picture-in-Picture technology lets, say, shutterbugs be productive on Adobe Photoshop while they catch up on their woefully long classic movie list. Although this baby hooks up to surround sound systems quite easily, it's not really required, since it since comes with an eight-speaker soundbar at the bottom that emits a 3-D-like sound. Ideal for creative multi-taskers.
From Gateway Computer
Best Buy's $200 Black Friday PC and Other Cheap Computers
If you decide to brave the battlefield at Best Buy this year, you'll be rewarded with an opportunity to grab an eMachines PC with a 17 inch LCD monitor for the super low price of $200. Don't expect the world though. The PC is rumored to be powered by an Intel Celeron running at 2.66 Ghz (meaning no efficient and powerful 'Core' for you), comes with 512 megabytes of RAM (which is the bare minimum for doing just about anything on a computer these days), has a measly 80 Gigabyte hard drive, and it has no DVD burner.
Don't get us wrong -- $200 is still a heck of a price, but you could get so much more, or at least more interesting for a tad more cash. For instance, Wal-Mart is selling their own $200 PC without monitor. The gPC, as it's called, runs Linux instead of the resource-hungry Vista and uses an ultra low-power (and carbon-neutral) processor from Via. Or, how about the diminutive and cheap Eee from Asus which is also powered by Linux (noticing a trend here?). Priced from $200 to $400, these little laptops let you get all your basic computing tasks done by focusing on web applications.
Or, if you're in the market for something truly different, head on over to Laptop.org and you can get yourself one of the OLPC XOs (also Linux powered). These tiny, innovative convertible laptops are meant for kids in developing nations, but for a limited time you can order one for yourself as long as you're willing to pay for two. The second one gets sent to a child in the third world on your dime. In that case, $400 gets you a technological marvel, a piece of history, and a warm, fuzzy feeling.
From Engadget
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Save and Share Everything With Windows Home Server
It's a little early in the product life to declare Windows Home Server a failure or a success yet, but this holiday season is shaping up to be the first real test of its market viability.
Windows Home Sever is an offshoot of the company's enterprise platform for Web and file hosting designed with consumer in mind. Essentially, it's a system that will automatically backup several computers connected to a home network, as well as allow for easy sharing of music, videos, files, and printers -- even from remote locations via the Web. Microsoft's pitch is that the Home Server will have a painless, dummy-proof set-up and interface, and early reviews confirm that this is in fact what Microsoft will provide when the first models show up in time for the holidays.
Hardware vendors have started loading the niche OS on bare-bones PCs with copious amounts of storage to lure in the media hungry masses in this age of P2P file sharing. And just in time for Chrisma-Hanu-Kwaanza, the big guys are unveiling their entries into this market. Even companies whose business is usually storage are trying to get in on the ground floor. Fujitsu-Siemens, Gateway, Iomega, LaCie, Leo Computers, LifeWare, Maxdata, Medion, Tranquil, Velocity Micro, and HP are all launching, or re-launching boxes with the Home Server platform installed. Systems are expected to cost in the $500-$700 range.
The question is whether there is a big enough market for a consumer-oriented server. Setting up a server is a simple enough process that most power users could have one set up in a matter of hours, without shelling out for specialized hardware or software. The average consumer is still intimidated by the idea and skeptical of the need, though anybody who downloads a lot of video and music or uploads their own pictures -- and also lives in a household with other computer users -- could certainly use a home server.
It remains to be seen whether or not Microsoft can do for home servers what the iPod did for digital music players. Unless the company can simplify its story of what a home server actually does and why the average consumer needs it, it may end up achieving a more modest, non-revolutionary success a la Apple TV.
Meanwhile, La Cie just released the much less expensive Ethernet Disk Mini ($200), which is getting rave reviews so far.
From Engadget
Gateway's New 30-Inch Display Launches Today
This morning Gateway introduced a new high-end LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) monitor that blows just about any current display out of the water -- at least when it comes to resolution. The new XHD3000 is a 30-inch monitor that boasts a massive 2560x1600 resolution, about four times the number of pixels in your typical 720p LCD and about 50% more than in a 1080p display. The display seems equally suited for high-end PC graphics work, viewing of high-definition television and movies, and either PC-based or console-based gaming. It has a slew of ports on the back that will allow you to connect anything from your old VCR to your PlayStation 3 with composite, component, HDMI, and DVI inputs (among others) -- up to six devices can be connected at once.
The XHD3000 sports a high-end video processing chipset that pledges to make your standard definition games and television look brilliant on the 1600p resolution. That all sounds great, but when you start to look at the specific specs beyond resolution, things look a bit sketchy. For example, the response time (the time it takes for the LCD to cycle from black to white and back again, indicating how much motion blur will be apparent) is 6ms. 6ms is good, but hardly industry leading, with displays from Viewsonic offering displays with 2ms response times. Additionally, the 1,000:1 contrast ratio and 400 cd/m2 brightness specs, combining to show the brightness of the whites and darkness of the blacks, are fairly pedestrian, especially given the monitor's price: $1,699.99.
For computer users who absolutely must have the highest resolution display on the block, it's hard to get much more than this. However, if you can stomach a relatively typical 1080p maximum resolution, for about $100 less you can get yourself a 46'' LCD from Sharp that offers a 10,000:1 contrast ratio and a 4ms response time. If you're a pixel junkie, keep in mind that just like with cameras, more pixels doesn't necessarily mean a better picture.
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The Gateway One -- Is This The Sexiest Computer Ever?
Long associated with no-frills design and affordability, computer manufacturer Gateway seems to be changing its tune in a big way with the unveiling today of its new Gateway One PC.
Compared to the surprisingly sleek M-series laptops that came out a few weeks ago, the One, with its slanted, all-in-one, flat-panel design, is even more of a departure for Gateway.
Sure, it may look like a black iMac, but it's got some extra twists that make it impressively innovative. For one thing, it's got a one-cord design, which means just one cable goes from the back of the monitor to a power adapter box, which is where Gateway cleverly located all the typical computer cable outputs. In other words, it's perfect for uncluttered desks or even a table, since it basically looks like a flat-panel TV.
It also has a cool "hidden" flat-panel SoundVu NXT speaker, which uses elements of the screen and the bezel to create a sound robust enough to rival external speakers (which would ruin the sleek looks of this all-in-one PC, anyway).
The Windows-Vista-enabled PC starts at $1,299 at the Gateway Web site and Best Buy and comes in three configurations:
The $1,299.99 configuration includes an Intel Core 2 Duo T5250 dual-core processor; Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100; 320GB SATA II hard drive(2) and a 1.3 megapixel Web cam.
The $1,799.99 configuration includes an Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 dual-core processor; ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600 XT graphics; 500GB SATA II hard drive(2) and a 1.3 megapixel Web cam and an analog/digital TV tuner.
The Gateway One model available direct from Gateway includes an Intel Core 2 Duo T5250 dual-core processor; ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600 XT graphics; 400GB Serial ATA II hard drive(2); and a 1.3 megapixel Web cam for $1,499.99.
Hot, hot, hot! What do you think? Is this thing sleek enough to replace your iMac?
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