photo taken from productwiki.com
The Gateway SX2850-33 is a small form factor desktop. It’s currently priced at around $549 – quite affordable given that it features an impressive Intel Core i3 processor.
Pros
The Gateway SX2850-33 boasts of an impressive expandable desktop-style hard and optical drive. The compact built makes the unit an ideal choice for small workspaces and bedrooms.
As for the design, the unit appears as a stylish yet convenient black plastic box that measures approximately 11 x 4 x 12.5 inches. It doesn’t have specialized ports for eSATA and FireWire, so you can’t connect faster drives; but it does have an HDMI port, VGA input, media card reader, DVD burner, as well as six extra USB ports at the back.
In addition to its 640 GB hard drive, the unit is also integrated with 4GB worth of memory as well as 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi. It runs on Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, and is built with two internal expansion slots, an occupied PCIe x1 slot and an extra PCIe x16 graphics card slot.Users also get to have two additional DIMM slots, which can maximize the system’s memory to around 8 GB.
In terms of performance, average users won’t need to worry as the unit has fared well in a series of multimedia benchmark tests. For a span of 4:15 minutes, the unit completed the Photoshop CS5 test and in less than 3 minutes it accomplished the Handbrake video encode test.
The unit’s compact size can attract a lot of space-conscious consumers. The SX2850-33′s wide range of USB ports, Wi-Fi connectivity and sufficient expansion room makes it an even more convincing buy. Finally, what seals the deal for consumers are its impressive multimedia performance, hard drive and optical drive.
Cons
The Gateway SX2850-33 is clearly an impressive form factor unit. However, its integrated graphics and some bloatware may leave several users dissatisfied. Apart from that, the unit has an impressive collection of USB ports, but it lacks the all-important port for eSATA.
Summary
To give consumers a clearer picture of this unit, its quality is highly likened, or rather, compared to models such as the Apple Mac mini (HDMI) and the Asus Essentio CM1630-05.
The Gateway SX2850-33 is one of the best desktop computers falling under the $700 price bracket. It costs a little over $500, making it a lot more affordable than most of its greatest competitors. All in all, this impressive form factor model is a great choice for frequent multimedia power users. Although they might need to deal with a few drawbacks, the SX2850-33 is expected to deliver great performance.
Specifications
·Type: Mainstream, Multimedia, Value
·Processor Family: Intel Core i3
·Processor Speed: 3.2 GHz
·Processor Name: Intel Core i3-550
·RAM: 4GB
·Tested Storage Capacity: 640 GB
·Graphics Card: Intel GMA HD
·Primary Optical Drive: Dual Layer DVD+/- RW
·Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
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