The Bottom Line
- Includes LCD Monitor
- Large Capacity Hard Drive
- Expensive
Description
- Intel Pentium 4 3.0 Ghz with 800MHz Frontside Bus
- 512MB PC3200 DDR Memory
- 160GB 7200rpm 8MB Cache Hard Drive
- DVD+/-RW Burner and 16x DVD-ROM Optical Drives
- Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Sound Card and GMAX 2100 2.1 Speakers
- NVIDIA GeForceFX 5200 Video Card with 128 MB Memory
- v.92 56Kbps Modem and Intel 10/100 Ethernet Port
- 15" LCD Monitor
- Eight USB 2.0 and One FireWire (on Sound Card) Ports
- Windows XP Home Operating System and Microsoft Works 2004 Suite
Guide Review - Gateway 510XL
2/11/04 - Gateway has been a company in flux recently. They have been focusing so heavily on consumer electronics, that their computer lines have become somewhat stagnant in terms of development. With the recent announcement of the eMachines purchase plans, their computer lines may change dramatically soon. Until then, the 510XL is their top of the line mainstream system.
The 510XL is based around the Intel Pentium 4 3.0 GHz processor with 800MHz bus. This combined with the 512MB of PC3200 memory should provide this system with plenty of computing power.
Storage is the strong area for the 510XL. The hard drive is a very fast 160GB that should provide ample space for all computing tasks included desktop video. Optical drives include a multiformat DVD burner and a 16x DVD-ROM drive. This should allow the system to perform well in desktop video functions.
Graphics are handled by an NVIDIA GeForceFX 5200 graphics card with 128MB of memory. The base system also comes with a 15" LCD monitor. This is a DirectX 9 capable part, but don't expect it to perform very highly in 3D games. Audio is handled by the popular Sound Blaster Audigy 2 card matched up with a fairly small GMAX 2.1 speaker set.
Overall the Gateway 510XL is a very capable system that offers a lot of speed and features. It performs well in most tasks save for gaming due to its limited video card. The biggest drawback to this system is the overall price which is above average for the market.
