Irvine (CA) - Gateway is trying to take all the guesswork out of over-clocking with its new factory over-clocked FX530 desktop PC. The computer will come with Intel Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Extreme processors and ATI x1900 or x1950 graphics cards. Over-clocked processors traditionally have rarely failed, but Gateway is offering a one-year limited warranty on the FX530.

First impressions of the Gateway FX530 ...

Gateway will ship three different models, all with Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 installed. The "low-end" FX530XG model will have the 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 processor along with 2 GB of PC5300 RAM and two 150 GB 10K RPM drives. A 2.93 GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme with four GB of RAM and two 750 GB drives will power the high-end FX530XL.

Gateway hasn't specified how over-clocked the new computers will be. In addition, there is no word on whether customers will be able to over-clock the computers themselves after the purchase. Gateway says the FX530 will be upgradeable to Intel's upcoming quad-core processors.

The FX530 series will begin shipping on November 2nd. The FX530XG will sell for $2500, while the FX530XL will ship for $5000.