FX541 - An Extreme Machine for Serious Gamers
The FX541 is Gateway's fastest, most powerful desktop. Engineered for next-generation gaming and high-end applications and optimized for high-definition media, the FX541 Series delivers pure, raw quad-core power. 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.
GATEWAY'S FX541XT has much in common with its predecessor, the FX540XT While it's a fine performer with DX9 titles, it's best avoided if you're playing DX10 games at high resolutions. Still, the FX541XT has a great component lineup, even if it sounds like Cape Canaveral during a space-shuttle launch. Plus, the three major differences between the models are nothing to sneeze at.
The FX541 includes an NVIDIA SLI-capable motherboard, dual PCIe x16 slots with SLI support and dual Gigabit Ethernet for maximum online gaming performance. The FX541XT offers a factory over-clocked processor and runs dual NVIDIA 8800 GT factory limited warranted(3) over-clocked video cards in SLI mode for maximum performance.
Pricing and Availability
First is price. Coming in at $3,499, the FX541XT is a slightly better bargain, despite having nearly identical specifications, such as a Core 2 Extreme QX68SO processor (overclocked to 3.66GHz), 4GB of DDR2 RAM, the ever-handy Blu-ray/HD DVD combo optical drive (which also burns conventional DVDs), and Windows Vista I Home Premium Also included is the second major upgrade: a total of 1.5 terabytes of hard drive space, spread across two 750GB drives in a RAID Level 0 configuration. Already. you have a lot more room for storing applications, music, and photos, as well as any TV programs you've recorded using the included TV tuner.
The third big change is probably the most significant, the graphics cards. Gateway has ditched the previous pair of 768MB nVidia GeForce 8800 GTX cards in favor of two 512MB GeForce 8800 GT cards in a Scalable Link Interface (SLI) configuration, offering more speed-at least in some respects for less money.
Although you'll get better DX9 performance, you'll also wind up with worse DX10 performance at extreme resolutions, which is a downer if you go nuts over the latest gaming titles. Because of the reduced price and the bumped-up feature set, however, we still recommend the FX541XT, albeit with a pair of earplugs to drown out its distractingly loud running noise even when it's idle.
Last but not least, the Gateway FX541 Series includes a 700 watt power supply, ensuring it can support any additional high-performance hardware or future expansion requirements.
The FX541 is Gateway's fastest, most powerful desktop. Engineered for next-generation gaming and high-end applications and optimized for high-definition media, the FX541 Series delivers pure, raw quad-core power. 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.
GATEWAY'S FX541XT has much in common with its predecessor, the FX540XT While it's a fine performer with DX9 titles, it's best avoided if you're playing DX10 games at high resolutions. Still, the FX541XT has a great component lineup, even if it sounds like Cape Canaveral during a space-shuttle launch. Plus, the three major differences between the models are nothing to sneeze at.
The FX541 includes an NVIDIA SLI-capable motherboard, dual PCIe x16 slots with SLI support and dual Gigabit Ethernet for maximum online gaming performance. The FX541XT offers a factory over-clocked processor and runs dual NVIDIA 8800 GT factory limited warranted(3) over-clocked video cards in SLI mode for maximum performance.
Pricing and Availability
First is price. Coming in at $3,499, the FX541XT is a slightly better bargain, despite having nearly identical specifications, such as a Core 2 Extreme QX68SO processor (overclocked to 3.66GHz), 4GB of DDR2 RAM, the ever-handy Blu-ray/HD DVD combo optical drive (which also burns conventional DVDs), and Windows Vista I Home Premium Also included is the second major upgrade: a total of 1.5 terabytes of hard drive space, spread across two 750GB drives in a RAID Level 0 configuration. Already. you have a lot more room for storing applications, music, and photos, as well as any TV programs you've recorded using the included TV tuner.
The third big change is probably the most significant, the graphics cards. Gateway has ditched the previous pair of 768MB nVidia GeForce 8800 GTX cards in favor of two 512MB GeForce 8800 GT cards in a Scalable Link Interface (SLI) configuration, offering more speed-at least in some respects for less money.
Although you'll get better DX9 performance, you'll also wind up with worse DX10 performance at extreme resolutions, which is a downer if you go nuts over the latest gaming titles. Because of the reduced price and the bumped-up feature set, however, we still recommend the FX541XT, albeit with a pair of earplugs to drown out its distractingly loud running noise even when it's idle.
Last but not least, the Gateway FX541 Series includes a 700 watt power supply, ensuring it can support any additional high-performance hardware or future expansion requirements.
