Gateway FX530XT Performance Desktop PC

6/8/07 – Gateway really surprised the PC market with the FX530 series by offering overclocking for the first time. This put a great demand on Gateway and caused delays for many ordering the system. They have since begun offering a greater number of version for their FX530 including the new FX530XT top of the line model. Let's see what Gateway has to offer ...

Processors: The FX530 series marked a departure from tradition for Gateway and the FX530XT continues that. The default configuration includes a factory overclocked Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 processor. Users who wish to can upgrade to an overclocked QX6800 model. Or if you care to save some money, it is possible to get the system with either of the two processor without the overclocking.

Memory: Memory selection is fairly limited for the FX530XT from Gateway. Users can choose to use either 2GB or 4GB of PC2-5400 DDR2 memory. The 4GB configurations are available using four 1GB modules or two 2GB modules. The biggest disappointment with the memory is the slower DDR2 modules Gateway is using. It would be nice to see them at least use the PC2-6400 or 800MHz rated RAM.

Hard Drives: Drive choices are somewhat limited with the Gateway FX530XT. For those looking for the highest performance, the default Western Digital 10,000rpm 150GB Raptor drives in a RAID 0 array is the way to go. Those looking for more storage space can elect to have a twin 500GB hard drive array in a RAID 1 package or two for a total of 1 terabyte of storage. Also available is a single 750GB hard drive. They do not currently offer use of the new single terabyte hard drives.

CD/DVD Drives: While most companies offer very little choice for optical drives, Gateway provides a surprising number of options. The typical options of a 16x DVD-ROM, 48x CD-RW Combo and 16x DVD+/-RW dual layer burner exist. The real difference is the high definition formats that Gateway also offers. Users can elect to install a HD DVD-ROM drive that will let them playback HD-DVD movies and content or they can elect to get a 2x Blu-ray DVD-RAM drive for playback or recording of the Blu-Ray format.

Graphics and Display: Gateway's FX530 system was originally developed back when the ATI graphics card line was fairly competitive with NVIDIA. Since that time, NVIDIA has come to dominate the market and that hurts the FX530XT. The system has two graphics cards options. Either a single GeForce 8800 GTX card or a ATI CrossFire X1950 setup. This puts the FX530XT well behind the possibilities of the GeForce 8800 SLI computers. At least Gateway offers their 24” widescreen LCD monitor as an option with the system.

Audio: Audio choices are limited with many desktop PCs and Gateway isn't really that different here. Users can either elect to use the integrated 7.1 audio with the system or have a Creative X-Fi card installed. What is a bit different is that Gateway offers a PCI Express version of the X-Fi card in addition to the traditional PCI version. Speakers options include a speaker bar for the Gateway LCD monitors or one of three different Logitech speaker setups.

Software: Software is a bit better that what can be found on a lot of performance system. Gateway offers four different operating systems for the FX530XT, Vista Home Premium, Vista Business, Vista Ultimate or XP Media Center. The Home Premium version of Vista is the default. McAfee Internet Security is included for security and users can elect for one of the many different versions of Office or Works productivity suites.

Overall Impressions:

The original release of the FX530XL offered factory overclocking of the Intel processors. Thankfully this tradition continues with the FX530XT, but the pricing has changed. What once was a fairly nominal fee is now more than what other integrators are charging for this service. The big difference is that the Gateway prices are still much lower than what the prestige companies offer for their top of the line systems.

The big issue is that the FX530 series was developed around the i975X chipset and its ability to do CrossFire with ATI graphics cards. Since that time, NVIDIA has dominated the market for performance graphics with its lineup of Direct X 10 graphics cards. Sure, one can get a GeForce card with the FX530XT, but only in a single card configuration. This single card configuration puts the system behind any that use the SLI configuration. It can still play games fast, just not with the same resolution and filters as others.

One other area that is a disappointment is the memory. It is really inexcusable for a company to not use PC2-6400 or 800MHz DDR2 memory at this point and time. The cost difference is not really much but it can have a huge impact on the performance, particularly when the processor is overclocked. Gateway really should address this issue.

On the whole, the Gateway FX530XT is a good general purpose performance system. It just doesn't excel as much with the PC gaming as other performance system. The price is the major thing that really salvages the system. The amount saved on a FX530XT can easily cover the cost of a larger LCD monitor or other peripherals and software and still leave you with spare change.