![]() Dell Dimension 4600C with Media Center. Both systems had 512MB of 400MHz DDR SDRAM, but the Gateway 610XL had a slightly faster processor (3GHz Intel P4) and superior graphics (ATI Radeon 9200 with 128MB memory). Both systems edged out the HP Media Center m300y, which has a 3.2GHz P4 but only 333MHz DDR SDRAM, and easily bested the sluggish ViewSonic NextVision M2100 Digital Media Center. Don't expect the same level of performance from the 610S or 610X models, but overall, the 610XL was a nimble performer that we would recommend for both for both office and Media Center tasks.
Application performance (Longer bars indicate better performance)
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BAPCo SysMark 2002 rating | |
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SysMark 2002 Internet-content-creation rating | |
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SysMark 2002 office-productivity rating | |
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ZT Home Theatre PC A5071 (2.2GHz AMD Athlon 64 FX-51, 1,024MB DDR SDRAM 400MHz)
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Gateway 610XL Media Center (3.0GHz Intel P4, 512MB DDR SDRAM 400MHz)
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Dell Dimension 4600C with Media Center (2.8GHz Intel P4, 512MB DDR SDRAM 400MHz)
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HP Media Center m300y (3.2GHz Intel P4, 512MB DDR SDRAM 333MHz)
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ViewSonic NextVision M2100 Digital Media Center (2.8GHz Intel P4, 512MB DDR SDRAM 266MHz)
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To measure application performance, CNET Labs uses BAPCo's SysMark 2002, an industry-standard benchmark. Using off-the-shelf applications, SysMark measures a desktop's performance using office-productivity applications (such as Microsoft Office and McAfee VirusScan) and Internet-content-creation applications (such as Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia Dreamweaver). 3D graphics and gaming performance
Gaming isn't the primary role of the Gateway 610 series or any Media Center PC, but a home-entertainment PC should have some 3D gaming capabilities. The Gateway 610XL configuration, equipped with an ATI Radeon 9200 graphics chipset with 128MB of memory, is a capable gaming system, though it can't hold a candle to true gaming systems with Radeon 9800 Pro XT Pro or Nvidia GeForce FX 5950 graphics. In fact, we couldn't run our high-end 3DMark03 graphics tests at all, because the display doesn't support a resolution of 1,600x1,200 pixels. Instead, we resorted to our Unreal Tournament 2003 Flyby-Antalus test, and the Gateway 610XL's score of 52 frames per second was about what we expected. The bottom line is that most games will play adequately on the Gateway 610XL, but advanced graphics features will slow it noticeably.
3D graphics performance (Longer bars indicate better performance)
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Futuremark's 3DMark03 1,600x1,200 4X antialiasing 4X anisotropic filtering | |
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ZT Home Theatre PC A5071 (ATI Radeon 9800 Pro)
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ViewSonic NextVision M2100 Digital Media Center (Nvidia GeForce FX 5600)
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Dell Dimension 4600C with Media Center (ATI All-in-Wonder 9000 Pro)
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HP Media Center m300y (Nvidia GeForce FX 5200)
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Gateway 610XL Media Center (ATI Radeon 9200)
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3D gaming performance (in fps) (Longer bars indicate better performance)
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Unreal Tournament 2003 Flyby-Antalus 1,024x768 | |
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ZT Home Theatre PC A5071 (ATI Radeon 9800 Pro)
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ViewSonic NextVision M2100 Digital Media Center (Nvidia GeForce FX 5600)
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HP Media Center m300y (Nvidia GeForce FX 5200)
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Gateway 610XL Media Center (ATI Radeon 9200)
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Dell Dimension 4600C with Media Center (ATI All-in-Wonder 9000 Pro)
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To measure 3D gaming performance, CNET Labs uses Epic Games' Unreal Tournament 2003, widely regarded as an industry-standard benchmark. We use Unreal to measure a desktop's performance with the DirectX 8.0 (DX8) interface at a 32-bit color depth and at a resolution of 1,024x768. Antialiasing and anisotropic filtering are disabled. At this color depth and resolution, Unreal is much less demanding than 3DMark03 and is therefore an excellent way to compare the performance of low-end to high-end graphics subsystems. We report the results of Unreal's Flyby-Antalus test in frames per second (fps). Find out more about how we test desktop systems. System configurations: Dell Dimension 4600C with Media Center
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004; 2.8GHz Intel P4; Intel 865G chipset; 512MB DDR SDRAM 400MHz; ATI All-in-Wonder 9000 Pro 64MB; Seagate ST3120026A 120GB 7,200rpm Gateway 610XL Media Center
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004; 3.0GHz Intel P4; Intel 865PE chipset; 512MB DDR SDRAM 400MHz; ATI Radeon 9200 Pro 128MB; Western Digital WD2500JB-22EVA0 250GB 7,200rpm HP Media Center m300y
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004; 3.2GHz Intel P4; Intel 865PE chipset; 512MB DDR SDRAM 333MHz; Nvidia GeForce FX 5200 128MB; Maxtor 6Y200P0 200GB 7,200rpm ViewSonic NextVision M2100 Digital Media Center
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004; 2.8GHz Intel P4; Intel 845GV chipset; 512MB DDR SDRAM 266MHz; Nvidia GeForce FX 5600 128MB; Maxtor 4R160L0 160GB 5,400rpm ZT Home Theatre PC A5071
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004; 2.2GHz AMD Athlon 64 FX-51; Nvidia Nforce 3 Pro 150 chipset; 1,024MB DDR SDRAM 400MHz; ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB; Seagate ST3160023AS 160GB 7,200rpm Serial ATA The service and support options for the Gateway 610 series are similar to those of the high-end 710 series. The 610 series comes with a standard one-year parts and labor warranty. In addition to this Value plan, Gateway offers two more comprehensive warranty plans: Value Plus, which includes onsite service, and Total Protection, which includes onsite service, accidental damage protection, and lifetime tech support. You can upgrade to one these plans and increase the length up to five years. If you get cold feet, you must return the unit within 15 days, and you'll pay either shipping or a 15 percent restocking fee. After that, Gateway will ship you the parts and instructions if you need a repair. If you must return the 610 series for service, you'll need to package it, take it to a local depot in some cases, and pay to ship it back to Gateway. The company picks up the return shipping costs, though. The online support and documentation is ample, but you need to find it first. Gateway offers a personalized My Support page, but when we entered the serial number of our test system, it came up empty. A search of customer support turned up some relevant information, including a 104-page downloadable user guide, driver downloads, illustrated FAQs, a detailed breakdown of the system components and specifications, and links to e-mail and online chat support. Hide Review
Average User Rating 2.5 stars out of 59 user reviews Rating Breakdown -
5 star: 13 -
4 star: 12 -
3 star: 14 -
2 star: 12 -
1 star: 8 My Rating 0 stars click stars to rate product Most recent user reviews Showing 3 of 59 reviews 0.5 stars Pros: Great for Space Cons: only 256mb ram, ($$upgradable$$) Power Supply went out and is very expensive to replace! Summary: Would Recommend HP or Acer. Try Tigerdirect for better computers! They start off at $449. Summary: Would Recommend HP or Acer. Try Tigerdirect for better computers! They start off at $449. 2.0 stars Pros: Looks slick, and appears to have everything you need for a complete computer experience. Cons: Terrible power supply issues, I am on my 3rd burnt-out power supply now. Ignore power supply revision advice, doesn't help. disable subwoofer 1st thing. Summary: don't waste your money. Summary: don't waste your money. Thanks for your submission!
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To help you find the right mix, we've outlined the four basic types of PC user in our handy buying guide. Chances are, you'll fall somewhere in between two or more of these archetypes, so carefully consider what you'll be using your new desktop for.
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