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Gateway Debuts Core i7 Gaming Rigs

Gateway Debuts Core i7 Gaming Rigs

Computer maker Gateway is showing it’s serious about going after the gamer market, announcing two new entries in its FX series of gaming desktops that feature Intel’s brand-new Core i7 processors…and price tags that don’t throw a fragmentation grenade (or laser pulse bomb, or whatever) in customer’s wallets.

The Gateway FX6800-01e features a 2.66 GHZ Core i7 processor (automatically accelerating to 2.93 GHz on a single core), ATI Radeon HD4850 graphics with 512 MB of video memory, 3 GB of RAM, a 750 GB SATA II hard drive, an 18× DVD±RW DVD burner, gigabit Ethernet a 15-in-1 memory card reader, and a whole rack of ports (including eight USB 2.0 ports, two IEEE 1394 ports, two eSATA ports). The system also supports HDMI output (via a DVI-to-HDMI dongle), sports two available PCIe ×4 and ×1 slots (the ×16 is taken up with the graphic card), and a 500 Watt power supply for pushing all the drives and cards you like. The FX6800-01e should be available with Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit) now from retailers at a suggested price of $1,249.99.

Not enough oomph there? The Gateway FX6800-05 will feature the 2.93 GHz Core i7 processor (with acceleration up to 3.2 GHz on a single core), 6 GB of RAM, ATI Radeon HD4870 X2 graphics (with 2 GB of video memory), 1 TB of hard drive storage plus an 80 GB SSD, an 18× DVD±RW DVD burner,a 15-in-1 card reader, HDMI 1.3 output, a 1,000 Watt power supply, and the usual raft of ports (eight USB 2.0, two IEEE 1394, two eSATA, plus PS/2). The system also sports 802.11b/g/n wireless networking (with three internal antennae!), gigabit Ethernet, and two front-accessible hard drive bays for 3.5-inch SATA II hard drives. The system ships with Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit and should be available now at a suggested price of $2,999.99.

All told, Gateway’s gaming rigs might how have the theatrical lighting of some company’s high-end setups, but when push comes to shove (or alien-blasting comes to fragging), some gamers might not care whether the tower under their desk or table can light up like a holiday decoration.

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