Gateway Goes Gaming: FX530XT Review

Our Configuration

As mentioned on the Gateway website, Page One's base configuration is just the beginning. Of course Gateway would love to sell you a 3-year, extended in-home service plan or additional software, but more unusual is the company's willingness to pre-overclock your CPU to 3.20 GHz for a relatively small $100 fee. Having them do it for you means keeping your warranty, another unexpected move from the no-longer-boring corporation. Our particular configuration included the overclock plus a $79 upgrade to the Sound Blaster X-Fi PCI soundcard.

Test Setup

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System Hardware
Processor Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700, 2.66 GHz, 1066 FSB, 8 MB Cache, Overclocked to 3.20 GHz via multiplier
Motherboard Gateway OEMD975XBGG1, BIOS LA97510J.15A
RAM Samsung M3 78T2953CZ3-CE6 DDR2-6672x 1024 MB, CAS 5-5-5-13
Hard Drive 2x Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD in RAID 02x 150 GB, 10,000 RPM, 16 MB Cache, SATA 150
Networking Intel(R) PRO/1000 PM Network Connection [8086-108C]
Graphics Cards Card 1: ATI X1950 Crossfire EditionCard 2: ATI Radeon X1950XTXGPU (Per Card): ATI Radeon X1950XTX (650 MHz)RAM (Per Card): 512 MB GDDR4 (2000 MHz)
Power Supply Delta DPS-700FB-1, 700W
System Software & Drivers
OS Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 5.1.2600
DirectX Version 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
Platform Driver Intel INF 8.1.0.1010
Graphics Driver ATI Catalyst 6.10
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Benchmarks and Settings
3D-Games
F.E.A.R Version: 1.0 RetailVideo Mode: 1024x768Computer: MediumGraphics: MediumTest Path: Options/Performance/Test Settings
Doom 3 Version: 1.3Video Mode: 1024x768Graphics: HighTest: Time Demo 1
Oblivion Version: 1.0 RetailVideo Mode: 1024x768Graphics: HighTest: Inside & Outside save files
Audio
Lame MP3 Version 3.97 Beta 2 (12-22-2005)Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 minwave to mp3160 kbps
OGG Version 1.1.2 (Intel P4 MOD)Version 1.1.2 (Intel AMD MOD)Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 minwave to oggQuality: 5
Video
TMPEG 3.0 Express Version: 3.0.4.24 (no Audio)fist 5 Minutes DVD Terminator 2 SE (704x576) 16:9Multithreading by rendering
DivX 6.2 Version: 6.2.2 (4 Logical CPUs)Profile: High Definition Profile1-pass, 3000 kbit/sEncoding mode: Insane QualityEnhanced multithreadingno Audio
XviD 1.1.0 Version: 1.1.0 Beta 2Target qantizer: 1.00
Applications
Autodesk 3D Studio Max Version: 8.0Characters "Dragon_Charater_rig"rendering HTDV 1920x1080 & 1280x720
Synthetics
SPECviewperf 9 Version: 9.0.3
PCMark05 Pro Version: 1.1.0System, CPU and Memory TestsWindows Media Player 10.00.00.3646Windows Media Encoder 9.00.00.2980
3DMark05 Version: 1.2System Test Only
SiSoftware Sandra 2005 Version 2005.7.10.60CPU Test = Arithmetic, Multimedia BenchmarksMemory Test = Bandwidth Benchmark
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.