Gateway's new One GZ7220 series is the high-end version of their stunning new all-in-one line of desktop computers. These systems pack cutting-edge components into a slight, sleek package. There's less room for expansion than with a traditional desktop computer, but in the case of the GZ7220, there's little room for improvement.

The outer shell of these desktop computers is built around a sharp 19-inch LCD that delivers deep 1440X900 resolution. It's a great display, and the rest of the computer is really just a glossy black monitor stand. It takes up very little room on your desktop, kitchen counter, coffee table or pretty much anywhere you want to put it.

This computer comes with a wireless mouse and keyboard as well as a multimedia remote control, so you can input information from several feet away or watch movies or listen to music from across the room. The display is large and crisp enough to be seen from a good distance. The GZ7220 also features built-in eight-channel speakers; it's not the same as having an entire set of surround sound speakers spread throughout the room, but the NXT SoundVu speakers deliver excellent audio output for being integrated.

This Gateway One GZ7220 series of computers also come with a USB TV tuner, which allows you to connect a coaxial cable signal; and since they ship with Windows Vista Home Premium edition, these models include TiVo-esque tools that let you schedule, watch and record your favorite TV shows on your PC.

The GZ7220 series is powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 processor with twin cores operating at 2.0GHz each. Gateway pairs this CPU with a whopping 3GB of fast 667MHz memory, which makes these machines among the most powerful consumer desktop computers on the market; they're great for multitasking and even intensive operations such as graphics or video manipulation.

Speaking of graphics, Gateway also found room for a dedicated graphics card -- an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600XT card with 256MB of dedicated video memory -- inside the small frame of the GZ7220. It's more of a laptop graphics option than a desktop option, but it supports DirectX 10, so you'll be able to play the latest games on this computer.

And you'll have plenty of room for game installs and other storage, as the GZ7220 series features an immense half-terabyte of space available on the 500GB 7,200rpm hard drive. That means you won't soon be running out of room for multimedia files, TV shows and the like, which is good because you can't add a second hard drive. You can, however, swap out the hard drive for a larger one.

The optical drive on the GZ7220 is a slot-loading DVD+/-RW drive that lets you burn traditional DVDs as well as Dual Layer media (which lets you store up to 8.5GB of data on a single disk). It also supports DVD-RAM disks, which can be written to up to 100,000 times, making them a great option for scheduled backups.

Connectivity features 802.11n wireless, which gives you much faster WiFi speeds than the more commonly used 802.11g. If you have a wireless N router at home, then you can place this desktop computer anywhere in your house and have it perform as though it's connected via broadband directly. And if you want to run network cable, these systems support gigabit Ethernet, so they won't be a bottleneck on a fast wired home or small office network.

You can hook up a variety of peripherals to GZ7220-series computers via the seven USB ports or the FireWire port. And there's also a 5-in-1 media card reader that lets you transfer files and photos from your PDA or digital camera onto the computer easily.

Gateway even found room for an adjustable 1.3-megapixel Web cam on these computers, which you can use for videoconferencing or video chatting with your instant messaging friends.

These Gateway One models retail for $1,800, a fairly hefty price for a new desktop computer even with its high-end components, but we've never seen an all-in-one that exudes as much style in such a slight package. If your space is constrained or you're looking for a powerful, compact system that can go anywhere, the Gateway One GZ7220 is definitely a desktop computer to consider.


Pros: Sleek and slight design, excellent power and multimedia
Cons: A bit on the pricey side

Warranty
1 year, limited