Gateway's new line of GT5400 home desktop computers offers excellent core power and high-end multimedia components for a modest price. It would make them great systems for users interested in editing media files in addition to just playing them.

The processor inside the baseline GT5428 system is a Pentium D 935 dual-core with twin chips operating at 1.8GHz each. In terms of pure megahertz, there are "faster" CPUs out there, but the Pentium D dual-core is one of the best performing processors you can find right now. It's also a Viiv processor, meaning it's been certified as multimedia friendly so you can download Intel-verified video content from a variety of Web sites (some broadcast TV sites only let Viiv owners download shows).

Gateway gives you a gigabyte of 533MHz DDR2 memory with that processor, and these systems support up to 2GB of RAM, so there's room to grow if you need more memory for high-end activities such as video editing. Speaking of video, you can store a lot of it on the whopping 320GB 7,200rpm hard drive. It'll be quite a while before you need additional storage space on this desktop computer.

If you need to backup some of your files, the GT5428 comes with a DVD writer. The optical drive is a 16X multi-format DVD burner that lets you burn video and data DVDs as well as audio and data CDs. The drive supports dual-layer media, which lets you store up to 8.5GB of data or four hours of high-quality video on a single disk.

These desktop computers are also ready to share files with your digital camera or other media-card device, thanks to a 15-in-1 media card reader. This reader supports a huge list of formats, from CompactFlash and Secure Digital to MMC and all of Sony's Memory Stick shapes and sizes. It makes it easy to get digital photos or PDA files onto your system without having to plug in the device via USB.

Our main gripe about the GT5428 is its lack of a dedicated video card. Since it utilizes integrated graphics, it won't be a great 3D gaming machine. Integrated graphics work fine for Web browsing and other standard computing tasks, but users intending on gaming will definitely want to upgrade. The desktop computer has an available PCI Express slot, so you can add a cutting-edge graphics card, although this will add a few hundred dollars to the price tag.

That video card won't just help with gaming; it'll boost your operating system performance as well. The GT5428 ships with Windows Vista Home Premium edition which offers the graphically-enhanced Aero interface and supports the new DirectX 10 graphics cards so you can go all out in terms of getting a card that will handle current and future gaming.

Gateway includes a nice set of ports on the silver and black desktop computer tower, with two front USB 2.0 ports to connect high-speed peripherals of either variety easily. There are four more USB ports around back, and front input/output audio ports allow you to connect a headset for voice-over-Internet phone calls or online chatting.

The integrated audio features six channels of sound, so you can connect a high-end set of 7.1-channel speakers if you're an audiophile. Gateway includes a basic pair of stereo speakers--powered via USB--with the desktop computer to get you started. There's a decent set of input devices bundled with this desktop computer as well. The multimedia keyboard puts control of your media player at your fingertips and the optical mouse is comfortable and responsive.

The Gateway GT 5428 desktop computer isn't for gamers right out of the box, but it features the core power and the high-end components for media editors and enthusiasts. If you're looking for a mid-range system with strong performance at a respectable price tag, the Gateway GT5400 series of multimedia personal computers is an excellent option.


Pro: Great multimedia components, fast processor
Con: Integrated graphics

Warranty
1-year limited