The Bottom Line
- Large Number of Peripheral Ports
- Relatively Inexpensive
- Fair Amount of Trailware
Description
- Intel Pentium Dual-Core E2180 Dual Core Processor
- 2GB PC2-5300 DDR2 Memory
- 320GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive
- 16x DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Burner
- Intel GMA 3100 Integrated Graphics
- HDA Audio with Stereo Speakers
- v.92 56Kbps Modem, 10/100 Ethernet
- Eight USB 2.0, Two FireWire, 15-in-1 Card Reader
- Vista Home Premium, MS Works, Power2Go, Norton Internet Security
Guide Review - Gateway DX441B Budget Desktop Personal Computer
5/2/08 – Gateway's build-to-order direct sales rely on the use of Intel's processors over the AMD offerings used by their retail builds. For budget oriented DX441B, they elected to use a Pentium Dual-Core E2180. This is a fairly common processor for budget systems. It does lack the overall performance of the Core 2 based processor but it is sufficient for general computing. The 2GB of PC2-5300 DDR2 memory let the DX441B run Vista smoothly although they could have used faster PC2-6400 memory.
Storage on the DX441B is fairly typical of the budget desktop market. The 320GB hard drive certainly is not large for a desktop, but it should provide enough space for programs and data as long as you don't have too much digital media files. A 16x dual layer DVD burner handles all playback and recording of CDs and DVDs. Gateway also includes a 15-in-1 card reader for use with the most common flash media memory cards.
Most budget systems seem to lack external peripheral ports. They tend to have around six USB ports and only a single FireWire if they have one at all. Gateway's DX441B has no problem with external peripherals as they provide an amazing eight USB 2.0 ports and two FireWire ports.
One of the biggest drawbacks to the Gateway DX441B is the amount of trialware applications. These applications clutter up the system and degrade its overall performance unless the user is willing to go through and remove any unwanted applications.
Overall, the Gateway DX441B system is about what one would expect in a budget desktop system. It has a few minor differences and some small benefits, but nothing that really sets it apart from the competition.
