Users looking for a hard-core series of desktop computers for gamers need look no further than Gateway?s new FX510XL series. These systems aren?t for the budget conscious at the starting price of nearly three grand, but you won?t find much better performers on games or multimedia.

For starters, there's an Intel Pentium D 940 CPU with two 3.2GHz processing cores on the same chip. You can make some upgrades to the processor on this gaming desktop computer line--including to the cutting-edge Intel Pentium Extreme Edition 955 which adds nearly another grand to the system price--but you likely won't need to.

Gateway also packs plenty of memory into these desktops: you get a whopping 2048MB of 667MHz DDR2 memory. This is more than enough for even high-end tasks such as video editing and the most graphically intensive 3D games.

And these are more than just great gaming PCs. Gateway incorporates Intel?s new multimedia Viiv (it rhymes with ?five?) technology into these desktop computers for gamers, part of Intel?s latest attempt to revolutionize desktop computers. It won?t do much for you currently other than assure you that this is a cutting-edge PC, but these systems will be ready to handle all the Viiv changes coming down the pike this year. Things like quick on/off buttons (turning your PC on like your television), streaming multimedia files to other devices in your home, and adding wireless devices securely to a network are just some of the possibilities in the near future.

Right now, having Viiv on the logo means that this system has Windows Media Center 2005 and personal video recorder (PVR) capabilities, thanks to the ATI Theater 550 Pro TV Tuner inside this desktop. The tuner lets you input a television signal so you can watch, pause, and record live TV on your system via the included wireless remote control.

Using a PC as a PVR can be problematic if you don't have the storage room for all that video--Not so in this case. Gateway includes a terabyte (1000 GB) of storage on these systems. Twin 500GB RAID 0 hard drives mean you get faster read and write times and an amazing amount of room for game installations and multimedia file storage.

And since these are desktop computers for gamers, the graphics card is cutting edge as well. Equipped with 256MB of DDR3 video memory, NVIDIA's GeForce 7800GTX is one of the top cards on the market. It provides not only great 3D performance, but also extras such as dual DVI output so you can connect two displays to your system and a TV output for sending a video signal to your television.

Gateway doesn't skimp on the other components in these desktop computers either. The optical drives include a 16X DVD+/-RW Double Layer drive that can burn to traditional DVD media as well as the large capacity 8.5GB DL media, and a second DVD-ROM drive for movie playback and disk-to-disk burns. There's also a 9-in-1 media card reader that easily transfers files and photos from your PDA or digital camera.

The BTX chassis keeps everything cool and quiet, and upgrades can be performed without tools. There are two USB 2.0 and two Firewire ports on the front (and four USB and one more Firewire port in the back) of the tower to hook up high-speed peripherals to your desktop easily.

Gateway includes an excellent monitor with these desktop computers for gamers. The 21-inch widescreen LCD features sharp resolution, a rotating view from landscape to portrait, and some useful extras. The display serves as a powered USB hub, letting you plug in four more peripherals. It offers picture-in-picture display, so you can watch TV or a DVD while you're gaming or browsing the Web.

Even the input devices are impressive: there's a Gateway Elite Multimedia Keyboard with plenty of programmable hotkeys and a Soft-Touch USB Optical Mouse as part of the package for these desktop computers for gamers. Gateway even includes Microsoft's Works Suite 2005 with Microsoft Word in case you're tempted to use these systems to get a little work done in between gaming sessions.

Gateway only offers a one-year limited warranty on these desktop computers for gamers, but you can beef up the coverage to three years and add on-site support to the warranty for under $130.

Gateway's FX510XL series of desktop computers for gamers aren't cheap, but they're some of the best gaming and multimedia systems you can find, with everything you need for today's--and tomorrow's--games and multimedia.


Pros: Excellent components, great displays
Cons: Expensive

Ratings:
Value: 3
Performance: 5
Ease of Use: 4
Features: 5
Overall: 4

Warranty
1-year limited