Gateway Media Center XL Review

Gateway's Media Center XL is a valiant attempt to leave a distinguishable mark in a new emerging PC niche geared towards audio and video enthusiasts. Unfortunately, the Media Center XL slightly misses the target.

Summary

Gateway’s Media Center XL is representative of a system new to this genre. While performance is above average, more fit and polish would have made this system more intuitive to consumers new to the Media Center idea. The fact that there are two separate programs for writing both CD-R and DVD-R media as well as two separate DVD player programs means that there will just be that much more confusion to the end user. The design of the Gateway Media Center XL matches the rest of Gateway’s desktop computer line and other than the remote control; there is nothing that distinguishes the Media Center XL from the rest. Those who decide to purchase the Media Center XL should be more than happy, but make sure to do some research first as there may be features on other brand Media Center PC’s which you may find more attractive.

Introduction

 

Gateway’s Media Center XL is a valiant attempt to leave a distinguishable mark in a new emerging PC niche geared towards audio and video enthusiasts. Unfortunately, the Media Center XL slightly misses the target.  We had high hopes for this system knowing that Gateway has always been on the cutting edge when it comes to merging your home PC with your home theater. In the mid-nineties, Gateway introduced the Destination series computers complete with a 32” or 36” television which was the first of its kind. 

 

The Media Center PC is a relatively old idea that only recently has been receiving standardized form through Microsoft’s new Windows XP Media Center Edition operating system. The whole concept behind the Media Center PC is that you can use your computer for both general computer and television operating/recording functions. Microsoft’s Media Center operating system has the abilities to view and record live television (much like a Tivo DVR recorder), play music and DVD movies as well as import and manage pictures from your digital camera. A wireless infrared remote control is even included to help you operate your new system.

 

Features

 

The Gateway Media Center XL takes the whole concept behind the Media Center PC and adds enhancements such as a DVD-RAM/-R drive, a 4-in-1 media card reader and USB 2.0/FireWire ports located on the front of the computer case. Driving this system is an Intel 2.4 GHz Hyper threading CPU with an 800 MHz FSB, 512 MB of 400 MHz DDR SDRAM, an 80GB Hard drive, Sound Blaster Audigy 2 with FireWire ports, Boston Acoustics BA745 speakers with subwoofer, 128MB Nvidia GeForce 4 MX440G graphics cards and a PCI TV Tuner card with PVR capabilities. To top off the system, Gateway gives you the option of either a 15” or 17” LCD display or a 42” Plasma monitor. The keyboard and mouse although not wireless, offer a plethora of hot keys to help enhance the media center experience.    

 

The base software packages on the Media Center XL include Easy CD Creator 5, Microsoft Works Suite 2003, Quicken 2002 and Norton’s Antivirus. The software packages can be upgraded to include different flavors of Windows XP, and Office XP.  

 

Performance

Our Gateway Media Center XL system outpaced both the Sony PCV-W20 and the HP Media Center Pc’s in all of the benchmarking categories. This is due to the Media Center XL’s 128 MB video card and faster 400Mhz DDR SDRAM. The Gateway Media Center XL holds its own against other commercial system builders such as HP, but drags behind some of the specialty builders like Alienware. Performance overall, is above average and buyers will be more than happy with the way their Media Center XL runs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

System Configurations: 

 

Gateway Media Center XL 

Windows XP Media Center Edition; 2.66GHz Intel P4; 512MB DDR SDRAM 400MHz; Nvidia GeForce4 MX 440G 128MB; Seagate 80GB7,200rpm

 

HP Media Center PC
Windows XP Media Center Edition; 2.66GHz Intel P4; 512MB DDR SDRAM 266MHz; Nvidia GeForce4 MX 420 64MB; Seagate ST3120023A 120GB 7,200rpm

Sony VAIO PCV-W20

Windows XP Home Edition; 1.8GHz Intel P4; 512MB DDR SDRAM 266MHz; SiS integrated 32MB graphics; Samsung Spin Point SV0602H 60GB ATA 100 5400 RPM HDD

Design

 

The Gateway Media Center XL PC comes in a silver mid-tower case with black accents. There is an easy to open front cover which flips down to hide the front drive bays on the system. The DVD-ROM, DVD-R writer, floppy drive and media card reader all feature matching black faceplates which adds to the overall aesthetic appeal of the system. The FPD1730 17" LCD display is housed in a silver casing on the front of the display with a black cover on the back.

 

On the inside of the system you will find very little room in the way of adding more add-in cards to this system as all of the 3 PCI slots are taken. The Media Center XL comes with both a DVD-RAM/-R writer and a DVD-ROM drive which takes up both of the 5"1/4 drive slots. There are no additional cooling features other than the stock case and CPU fans although wiring is pretty clean with plenty of room for air circulation. We would have liked to have seen more than 3 total PCI slots on the motherboard.         

 

 

While there is good airflow, unfortunately there are only 3 total PCI expansion slots

 

Setup and Use

 

Setting up the Media Center XL is very similar to a regular PC in that you answer the questions prompted to you by the operating system upon the initial startup. What sets the Windows Media Center OS apart from the Home Edition, is that you will need to setup the multimedia functions of the system, which will include downloading the interactive television guide, and letting your computer know what type of broadcast connection you have, whether its over the air antennae or cable. Gateway includes an S-Video cable should you decide to hook the Media Center XL to your television, although no audio cables are included.

 

Recording live TV is relatively easy; simply press the record button while watching television. You can then fast forward or rewind your recording on the fly. If you want to record your show to DVD, there is no simple way to do this as the feature is not built into the operating system.

 

When it comes to DVD playback and recording, the Media Center XL is full of confusion. The DVD-RAM/-R drive is capable of reading