Gateway Introduces Powerful New FX Series Desktops

LAS VEGAS & IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Giving gamers a reason to type “w00t,” Gateway today unveiled two new powerful FX Series desktops designed for extreme gaming and other high-performance, graphic-intensive multimedia applications. Gateway’s new powerful FX Series desktops provide the raw power necessary for gamers to dominate the latest games and blaze through multi-threaded programs with unparalleled speed. (See additional announcement from Gateway today regarding its new P-Series FX Edition notebooks.)

“But given its low price, it also allows a wider range of people to experience the thrill of modern PC gaming or to get involved with advanced photo, video and music applications.”

The FX7020 is a value-based gaming power house costing close to $1,000 less than comparable systems. The high-performance FX540 brings several new leading technologies to the FX line, including NVIDIA SLI™ technology for powerful, elegant and super-rich graphics for games and other graphics-intensive applications.

Featuring AMD quad-core power and DirectX^® 10 graphics, the Gateway FX7020 is powerful enough to handle just about any graphic-intensive task. With a compelling price point of just $1,099, it costs well below a comparable $2,000 system. With the introduction of a value-based desktop in its flagship FX computer line, Gateway brings high-performance gaming within reach of most mainstream consumers.

The Gateway FX540 Series is the next generation of Gateway’s flagship no-compromise desktop line. Ideal for extreme gaming, digital content creation and advanced multitasking, it is designed for enthusiasts who want the latest in cutting-edge technology but don’t want to spend a fortune.

“No matter what your budget or skill level is, Gateway’s FX Series desktops include a range of choices that are both powerful and affordable,” said Glenn Jystad, Senior Manager, Desktop Products, Gateway. “The FX line is designed for gaming, as well as digital photography and video editing, so customers know that no matter which system they ultimately choose in the line, it will be powerful enough to handle a wide variety of multimedia applications.”

The Gateway FX7020 Brings Gaming to the Masses

Featuring quad core power, high-end graphics, a compelling price point and widespread availability through the retail channel, the FX7020 takes the guess-work out of purchasing a gaming PC.

“The Gateway FX7020 is certainly designed for those who take their gaming and content creation seriously,” said Jystad. “But given its low price, it also allows a wider range of people to experience the thrill of modern PC gaming or to get involved with advanced photo, video and music applications.”

Challenging the specs and performance of systems costing almost twice as much, the FX7020 features the most advanced AMD quad-core power and NVIDIA^®GeForce^®8800GT graphics. The AMD Phenom™ Processor blazes through games and other multi-threaded programs with remarkable speed, while the NVIDIA^® 8800GT graphics solution features 112 stream processors and ultra-fast frame rates to play the hottest DirectX^®10 games with 512MB video memory in a single card. Combined with 3GB of memory, the FX7020 delivers incredible overall system speed, deftly handling multiple tasks, delivering rich demanding content and speedily running all applications.

Featuring a 400 watt power supply, the FX7020 can support additional high-performance hardware and future expansion requirements.

Rounding out its raw processing power is a combo standard definition (NTSC)/high definition (ATSC) TV Tuner with a Media Center remote control, so customers can watch and record live television. Rich 8-channel, 7.1 high-definition audio delivers a premium sound experience for viewing the latest games, online entertainment and DVD movies.

Customers with large photo and music libraries will appreciate the integrated Labelflash™ technology⁽¹⁾, which makes burning personalized discs quick and easy. Using the same laser that burns content onto discs, Labelflash™ can also burn unique, custom made labels directly onto DVDs and CDs. These high-resolution, transparent and scratch-resistant images do not require an external printer or paper labels.

The FX7020 boasts a slick, jet-black design with metallic keyboard, mouse and system accents and copper LED status lights.

Specifications

AMD Phenom™ 9600 Processor (AMD LIVE!™) (operates at 2.3GHz; 2MB L3 cache; 3600MHz system bus)
Windows Vista^®Home Premium
NVIDIA^®GeForce^®6150SE chipset
NVIDIA^® GeForce^®8800GT (w/512MB on board memory)
3072MB DDR2 memory, dual channel
500GB SATA II (7200RPM, 16MB Cache)⁽²⁾
18x DVD±R/RW SuperMulti Drive featuring Labelflash™ technology
High-performance 15-in-1 digital media card reader with Smart Copy button and integrated IR receiver
6 USB 2.0 ports (2 front; 4 rear)
8-Channel (7.1) high-definition audio
Amplified stereo speakers (USB powered)
Elite multimedia keyboard
USB optical 2-button wheel mouse
Analog/digital TV tuner w/ 3-D combo (PCIe)
Gateway Portable Media Drive Bay

Pricing and Availability

The Gateway FX7020 Desktop will be available later this month for $1,099.99 at Gateway’s retail partners. To locate a store, customers can visit http://www.gateway.com/retail.

Gateway FX540 Delivers the “w00t” Factor

Featuring the horsepower and technology to deliver a superior computing experience, the Gateway FX540 is the perfect desktop for extreme gaming, digital photography, video editing or managing large amounts of data, such as music and photo libraries.

“Recently crowned ‘word of the year’ by Merriam-Webster, w00t is an expression of joy coined by online gamers,” said Jystad. “If any product is worthy of a w00t, it’s the blazingly fast Gateway FX540 and its leading technologies.”

Gaming enthusiasts can play the most advanced games on high-resolution displays without sacrificing performance or breaking the bank. The FX540 brings several new leading technologies to the FX line, including:

an NVIDIA SLI-capable motherboard
dual PCIe x16 slots with SLI support
the ability to run dual NVIDIA 8800 GT/GTX factory limited warranted⁽⁴⁾ over-clocked video cards in SLI mode for the maximum performance
support for 800MHz memory standard on select systems
and dual Gigabit Ethernet for maximum online gaming performance

As an SLI-Ready PC, the FX540’s NVIDIA nForce SLI motherboard and SLI-Ready graphics card give it the ability to be upgraded with a second graphics card. No other PC component upgrade can offer even close to the gaming performance boost gained from adding this second card. Gateway will offer several configurations, including a factory limited warranted⁽⁴⁾ overclocked model. Furthering its appeal, the FX540 includes dual Gigabit Ethernet ports to eliminate network bottlenecks and improve performance when gaming online.

Last but not least, the Gateway FX540 Series includes a 700 watt power supply, ensuring it can support any additional high-performance hardware or future expansion requirements.

Ready-to-ship configurations and pricing follows:

	FX540B		FX540XV	FX540XT
Price	$999.99		$1,999.99	$3,799.99
Operating System	Microsoft Vista® Home Premium
Processor	Intel® Q6600			Intel® Core™ 2 Extreme QX6850
Chipset	NVIDIA® 680i SLI-ready motherboard
Memory	2048		3072	4096
Graphics	NVIDIA 8600GS		Dual Factory Over-Clocked NVIDIA 8800GT	Dual Factory Over-Clocked NVIDIA 8800 GTX 768MB
Hard drive⁽²⁾	500GB		1000GB (2x 500)
Audio	Integrated 5.1 Surround Sound Audio		Sound Blaster® Fi XtremeGamer High Definition 7.1 Audio
Speakers	Logitech X-240 2.1 (Premium 5.1 surround sound speaker options are available)
Media reader	High performance USB 2.0 9-in-1 media card reader
TV tuner	N/a	Optional NTSC/ATSC High Definition TV Tuner card available		N/a
Optical #1	SMFDVDRW – PATA
Optical #2	SMFDVDRW - PATA		Hybrid - HD/BD	Hybrid - HD/BD
Expansion slots	(2) PCI Express x16 (1) PCI Express x4 (1) PCI (1) PCI Express x1
Networking	Wireless networking options include a 802.11 b/g/n card Dual Integrated 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet Available V.92 56K Modem
Display	Optional
Mouse	Soft Touch Mouse
Keyboard	Elite Keyboard
Application Software	Microsoft Works 9.0
Limited warranty⁽⁴⁾	1-year limited warranty

Pricing and Availability

The new FX540 Series will be available later this month direct from Gateway. Customers can visit www.gateway.com or call 1-800-GATEWAY for more information or to order a system. Prices range from $999.99 to $3,799.99 depending on model and configuration.

Gateway High Definition Wide Screen LCDs Enhance the Entertainment Value

Of course, no Gateway desktop is complete without a Gateway high-definition widescreen display to complement the viewing and computing experience. Gateway offers a range of sizes and models, including a stunning 30-inch and 24-inch LCD.

Gateway XHD3000 30-inch Extreme HD Display

The world’s first “Quad-HD” display, the XHD3000 delivers more than four times the resolution of standard 720p high-definition along with advanced display technology. As a result, it’s ideal for consumers who want a truly remarkable, cinema-quality viewing experience.

Its state-of-the-art technology makes it uniquely suited for both entertainment and computing, such as viewing and editing HD video, playing online, PC and console games, as well as running creative and artistic PC applications. It features a stunning 2560x1600 widescreen ultra-high resolution and uses the Silicon Optix Realta^® HQV^®video processor for incredibly detailed images. In addition, the display’s advanced upconversion makes standard-definition video look high-definition, and will even upscale 1080p high-definition video to an astonishing 1600p.

To further boost the entertainment experience, the XHD3000’s high-performance DXP™ powered speaker system delivers incredibly rich, detailed sound using eight high-powered, low-profile neodymium transducers. These contribute to the system’s ability to generate amazingly clean and high-volume sound with an exceptional dynamic range. As a result, customers will get superb sound fidelity that perfectly complements the system’s exceptional video.

The Gateway® 24-inch High Definition Widescreen LCD (FHD2400)

This large display delivers cutting-edge features including soft touch controls, ultrabright glare panels with fast response times, high definition resolutions, and DCDi by Faroudja enhanced video processing.

With 1080p HD support and 1920x1200 resolution, this display is ideal for viewing PC content, high-definition video and multimedia applications. An auto-rotation capability allows the display to be viewed in both landscape and portrait modes, providing a 160-degree viewing angle.

Universal connections to content and video sources via multiple analog and digital video inputs make it just as easy to use with consumer electronics as with a PC. The EzTouch™ bezel features back-lit buttons that remain effectively invisible until needed. The touch-sensitive controls provide access to on-screen menus for tuning the brightness, contrast and other features of the displays.

North America Based Telephone Technical Support

While many PC vendors go off-shore to save service costs, Gateway’s telephone technical support for U.S. customers is 100-percent based in the United States. Customers are assured their calls are handled by knowledgeable, experienced, well-trained and dedicated support agents close to home⁽³⁾.

Warranty, Service and Support

The new PCs are supported by the company’s standard limited warranty options⁽⁴⁾, but to help customers adopt and get the most out of Vista, Gateway recommends Answers by Gateway, which provides 24/7 telephone support for assistance with questions that go far beyond the system’s standard limited warranty. For instance, Gateway’s experts can help resolve most “how-to” questions about setting up e-mail or a home network, connecting a printer or transferring a home movie. They can also provide help with non-Gateway technology products, assisting with questions related to software, wireless networks, televisions, printers and digital cameras from most major manufacturers. This ensures Gateway customers are getting the most out of their Gateway PC and that their system works seamlessly with all of their consumer electronic equipment.

Additional service and support options are also available. Gateway’s commitment to quality and reliability is evident in its award-winning line of PCs as well as in its exceptional service and support programs. The company’s extensive online support center helps customers maximize their PC investment; it gives them easy access to customer support representatives and information on important issues such as warranties, technical issues and upgrading.

About Gateway

Since its founding in 1985, Irvine, Calif.-based Gateway has been a technology pioneer, offering award-winning products and world-class service to customers worldwide. The company’s value-based eMachines brand is sold exclusively by leading retailers, while the premium Gateway line is available at major retailers and over the web and phone. Gateway is a wholly owned subsidiary of Acer Inc., the world’s third-largest PC company. See www.gateway.com for more information.

All offers subject to change without notice or obligation and may not be available through all sales channels. Prices exclude shipping and handling. Applicable taxes extra. Gateway Terms and Conditions of Sale apply. Product or service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.

(1) Labelflash^TM is a trademark of Yamaha Corporation

(2) Accessible capacity varies; MB = 1 million bytes; GB = 1 billion bytes.

(3) Service methods subject to change without notice or obligation.

(4) Limited warranties and service agreements apply; visit gateway.com or call 1-800-846-2000 for a free copy. Service agreements are issued and performed by third parties. May not be available in all locations. On-site service technician will be sent if necessary, following phone-based troubleshooting. Availability varies. Other conditions apply.