CNET editors' review
-
CNET editors' rating:
stars
Very good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 11/17/2008
- Released on: 11/17/2008
Gateway's FX6800-01e is the first mainstream PC we've seen with Intel's new Core i7 desktop processor, but that's far from the only exciting feature in this desktop. A smartly spruced-up case design and a forward-looking motherboard give this PC a decided edge over its competition. The orange-and-black case might not be for everyone, and a lower-wattage power supply will keep any hard-core upgrade plans in check. Still, the FX6800-01e is fast enough out of the box, and also provides an enticing upgrade platform for anyone inclined toward post-purchase tinkering. If that describes you, we recommend this PC.
We understand that some of you might find the color scheme of the FX6800-01e's case garish. If you can get past the electric orange accents, you'll find a lot to like here. Gateway has basically taken a handful of features we expect to find in $3,000-plus high-end PCs and distilled them into a much more affordable package.
First, you see no visible ports on the front panel. Instead, the media card reader and a pair of USB ports pop up from behind a concealed panel on the top of the system. A second panel, about halfway down the front of the case, conceals two more USB ports, as well as headphone and mic inputs, and also cleverly angles them upward, so that you can get to them easily if you keep your PC on the floor.
Behind yet a third door on the front panel, you'll find two removable hard-drive trays. The boot drive itself sits in a traditional drive case accessible through the side panel, but Gateway has made adding extra data drives to the FX6800-01e easy. Each drive tray slides right out of its housing, and you make the power and data connections through what's called a "passive backplane." Essentially this means that the power and data cables have been anchored in place and aligned so that the drive will connect directly to them when you slide it in on its tray. It's a simple process, and while perhaps not crucial for average consumers, it's certainly useful to anyone who might want to swap large amounts of data between PCs.
Two final touches set the FX6800-01e apart. A set of touch-sensitive media controls sits on the upper portion of the front panel. This gives you a convenient way to navigate Windows Media Center without messing with a mouse and keyboard.
Lastly, Gateway has designed this system so that the main body of the case is actually supported by a secondary piece of plastic underneath it. This provides the system with an extra airflow pathway through its underbody. The more cooling, the better.
| Gateway FX6800-01e | Dell Studio XPS | |
| Price | $1,249 | $1,299 |
| CPU | 2.67GHz Intel Core i7 920 | 2.67GHz Intel Core i7 920 |
| Motherboard chipset | Intel X58 | Intel X58 |
| Memory | 3GB 1,066MHz DDR3 SDRAM | 6GB 1,066MHz DDR3 SDRAM |
| Graphics | 512MB ATI Radeon HD 4850 | 512MB ATI Radeon HD 4850 |
| Hard drives | 750GB, 7,200 rpm | 500GB, 7,200 rpm |
| Optical drive | dual-layer DVD burner | dual-layer DVD burner |
| Networking | Gigabit Ethernet | Gigabit Ethernet |
| Operating system | Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) | Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) |
The major design portions out of the way, we can focus on the FX6800-01e's features. It provides an interesting side-by-side with the Dell Studio XPS, another Core i7-equipped desktop in the same price range. The two are nearly identical specs-wise. The Dell has more RAM, 6GB to the Gateway's 3GB, but the Gateway also has a 750GB hard drive. The Dell has only a 500GB model. You'll see from our performance charts that the Dell's added memory gives it a noticeable edge across all of our tests. We'll describe shortly why there's more to the story for the Gateway than the scores you see below, especially for gamers.
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
 |
Rendering multiple CPUs | |
Rendering single CPU |
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
|
1,920 x 1,200 | |
1,280 x 1,024 |
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