Gaming

Gateway SX2800-01

Specification
Processor: 2.33 GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200
Memory: 4GB DDR3
Storage: 640GB hard drive
Optical drive: DVD ± RW
Monitor: none
Graphics: Integrated Intel GMA X4500
Operating system: Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit)

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Gateway’s last attempt; To beat the competition in the battle of slim desktops, it’s SX2800-01. Competing with the Dell 537s and HP’s slim-line gateway s5160f has kept the quad-core model under $ 500 without a monitor, but keeping the design very sleek. It’s loaded with a Core 2 Quad processor, a 640GB hard drive, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, a DVD burner, a multi-format card reader, HDMI output, and a host of external expansion ports. The only thing you’ll find missing from the equation is great 3D performance, certainly not for gamers.

The SX2800-01 comes with a glossy plastic front cover that hides the DVD drive and expansion ports; the rest of the exterior is matte black. Easy to store next to your desk or alongside your entertainment center as it measures 14x7x20 inches (HWD).

The SX2800-01 performed near the top of the slim-line PC package during benchmark tests, and was even competitive with many full-size systems. Thanks to its 2.33 GHz Core 2 Quad Q8200 processor and 800 MHz DDR3 RAM, it achieved a score of 9,533 in our CPU-centric 64-bit Cinebench 10 test. This was just behind the slimline HP Pavilion s5160f, which shares the same CPU and scored 9,709, and well ahead of the dual-core Dell Inspiron 537’s score of 5,548. Its scores of 3 minutes and 47 seconds for our iTunes encoding test and 4 minutes and 4 seconds for our Windows Media Encoder test were equally impressive, only beating the HP system by a second or two on each test.

Although the SX2800-01 was way ahead of Dell (Score: 3854), it could not compete with HP (Score: 5010) with a score of 4791 during the PC Mark Vantage test, which examines the overall performance of the system. However, we can blame it on the poor 3D performance of the SX2800-01. While HP and Dell’s slim lines include dedicated PCI Express 3D graphics cards, the SX2800-01 is based on the Intel GMA X4500 circuitry that has been integrated into the motherboard support chipset. In the DirectX 9 gaming graphics test, the score was capped at just 12.1 frames per second (fps) at 1,280 × 1,024 resolution, versus Dell’s 30.8 fps and HP’s 25.8 fps. . (We also tried to flex the muscles of the Gateway system with our 3DMark Vantage synthetic benchmark test, but it did not run and crashed with a blue screen when we tried to run it in any configuration, even after updating the graphics drivers to the latest versions.)

In short, the SX2800-01 will work well for casual games like Max Payne or web-based hobbies. You can always invest in a graphics card to play modern 3D games with reasonable performance. However, the SX2800-01 offers dramatically better CPU performance than the similarly priced Dell and costs significantly less than the HP.

With its poor 3D performance, SX2800-01 still offers a lot for non-gaming tasks and other productivity options. Priced at less than $ 500, it will please many people who don’t play 3D games at all. If you’re looking for a good-performing PC and don’t plan on breaking your PC with additional upgrades, the SX2800-01 is a compact, good-performing solution at a surprisingly low price.

Price (at time of review): $ 499

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