Gateway One Desktop PC Rivals the iMac - Performance
(Page 4 of 4 )
Performance
I have looked at the performance data of the Gateway One from a variety of independent testers including CNet, Digital Trends, and USA Today. From my research, I can conclude that while the One's performance is great for average use (web browsing, Microsoft Office applications, etc.), it isn't as fast as the competition in terms of computing speed and multitasking.
USA Today's personal tech columnist Edward C. Baig says, "...though it (Gateway One) isn't the most powerful computer you'll come across, it's perfectly fine for mainstream users." This comment seems to be the consensus among other reviewers. Maybe Gateway spent to much time on the design of this PC and neglected the performance a bit, or maybe they had to cut costs somewhere and performance took the hit.
I don't want to send out the message that the performance of the One is terrible, because it's not. When you compare the One with the competition, though, it falls a bit short. I've taken a look at the performance results of 5 CNet performance tests, and in all 5 tests, the Gateway One places either third or fourth against 3 other comparable computers including the iMac. The 5 performance tests were: Photoshop image processing speeds, iTunes encoding test, multimedia multitasking test, CineBench test, and Quake 4 performance test.
Gateway One and iMac Comparison
I think that the Gateway One is a great PC with a lot of potential. I don't know if it beats out the iMac though. The One does offer some good features that the iMac doesn't, such as the TV tuner, but overall the iMac outperforms the One in almost every category.
Here is a table that compares the Gateway One with the iMac. It gives a good visual for comparing the two. You can see that while the Gateway One has some impressive specs, they don't quite measure up to the iMac's numbers.
Computer Model | Gateway One (Top model) | iMac |
Price | $1799 | $1649 |
Screen size | 19 inches | 20 inches |
Resolution | 1440x900 | 1680x1050 |
CPU | 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 | 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7700 |
Motherboard chipset | Intel P965 | Intel P965 |
Memory | 3GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM | 2GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM |
Graphics | 256MB ATI Radeon 2600 XT | 256MB ATI Radeon 2600 Pro |
Hard drive | 500 GB 7200 rpm | 320 GB; up to 720 GB |
TV tuner | External ATSC/NTSC tuner | None |
Optical drives | 16x dual-layer DVD burner | 16x dual-layer DVD burner |
Networking | 802.11n | 802.11n |
Wireless connectivity | RF | IR |
Operating system | Windows Vista Home Premium | Apple OS X |
Source: CNet
The Gateway One was released in October 2007, and the base model and top of the line model are both available exclusively at Best Buy. Gateway also has a mid-level model available at their website for $1500.
| DISCLAIMER: The content provided in this article is not warranted or guaranteed by Developer Shed, Inc. The content provided is intended for entertainment and/or educational purposes in order to introduce to the reader key ideas, concepts, and/or product reviews. As such it is incumbent upon the reader to employ real-world tactics for security and implementation of best practices. We are not liable for any negative consequences that may result from implementing any information covered in our articles or tutorials. If this is a hardware review, it is not recommended to open and/or modify your hardware. |
/ 4 
