If you think you’re seeing double, you’re wrong: The Gateway FX6803-25 is identical in its piano-black finish, the red LED accents on the chassis, with the Gateway FX6831-01 we tested in February. Also, the inside is similar, except for the updated Intel Core i7-930 processor, 9 GB RAM (vs 8GB in its predecessor) drive and Blu-ray optical. But with these component upgrades is also a $ 200 price increase, the FX6803-25 lists for $ 1,499 (we’ve seen it for less online), while his predecessor is priced at $ 1,299. Whether the improvements justify the higher price usually depends on what you plan to do with this PC, and how likely you are to update it in the future.
As mentioned above, Gateway has connected a 2.8 GHz Intel Core i7-930 observed by an Intel Core i7-860 in the previous FX system from us. This is a good thing, because, apart from a slight improvement in the speed, the motherboard used in this machine sports the LGA 1366 CPU socket on the current high-end processors from Intel. So, later, when extreme CPUs such as the six-core Core i7-980X (on sale at the time we wrote about for this $ 1,000 of itself) from the stratosphere down to affordability, you will be able to chip Upgrade (or even faster if Intel sticks with this jack for a while). With the older FX6831-01, you will be limited to socket 1156 CPUs, and at the moment at least, those with above-the Core i7-875K, a quad-core CPU is not much faster than the Core i7-860 earlier in the FX system. As a result, if you’re the DIY type, or would consider your computer to a friend or a PC store to upgrade this new model is definitely more forward-looking and easy to upgrade.
The other core components of the Gateway FX6803-25 are quite similar, earlier in the machine. You get a discrete 1.5 TB hard drive and an AMD Radeon HD 5850 graphics card with 1GB of memory, both of which are also found in the FX6831-01. But the FX6803-25 also has a Blu-ray drive, in addition to a 16x DVD burner. (The older FX6831-01 only sport in the latter.) Since these two gaming platforms are so similar in terms of their components, we must leave our rigorous lab tests to see how much difference a faster CPU and extra gig of RAM makes. We threw our Editors’-Choice winner iBuyPower LAN Warrior II ($ 1,999 direct as tested) in the mix for comparison to see how much more power will increase to $ 2,000 mark you.
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In our CPU-centric Cinebench 10 test reached the $ 1,499 FX6803-25 an impressive 17 180, while the $ 1299 FX6831-01 was not far behind with 16 849. The LAN Warrior II, with its own Core i7-930 CPU, scored only slightly better than both systems in 17 427. The story was not much different when it came to our CPU-focused real media conversion tests. FX6803-25 that lasted 2 minutes and 11 seconds to our 11-testing of MP3 files to AAC format in iTunes to convert and encode two minutes and 49 seconds on our standard test video in Windows Media Encoder (WME) 9 . The FX6831-01 clocked in 9 seconds behind at 2:20 in iTunes, and 3 seconds too late to transcode in Windows Media Encoder with 2:52 on the same file. The LAN Warrior II remained at the beginning (albeit by the slimmest of margins) test, with times of 2.10 and 2.47 in iTunes in our WME.
We rolled out to measure the next PCMark Vantage, a synthetic series of tests on the overall performance of the system. The FX6803-25, somewhat surprisingly, fell to third place with a score of 8252, although it was not far behind the FX6831-01′s score of 8833. The LAN Warrior II was blowing but thanks to its 64 GB Solid State Drive (SSD) and much more powerful Radeon HD 5970 graphics card, at the two Gateway machines with a score of 13 124. Clearly (and unsurprisingly), the iBuyPower PC, you get a good part of the overall performance for the 25 percent in the price. But we then moved to our gaming frame rate tests to see how much the extra horsepower really counts in the game, what the clear focus of these PCs.
The FX6803-25 was good enough to do justice, even if it is not quite as good against his rival for most mainstream gamers in our graphics tests. The FX6803-25 had an average frame rate of 72.2 frames per second (fps) in our DirectX 10 tests with the game Far Cry 2, which was lower than the FX6831-01 and the LAN’s 84.3fps dominant 151fps Warrior II. (We ran this test with a resolution of 1,680 x1, 050).
We then repeated the test at the ultra-high resolution of 2,560 x1, 600, which is typically seen only on expensive, large 30-inch LCDs. Here, too, was the FX6803-25 (43.6fps) behind the FX6831-01 (69.6fps). The LAN Warrior II breezed through this challenging exam, turning in 93.1fps.
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The Radeon graphics cards in all three of these systems are also DirectX 11-ready, so it is only fitting that we make these machines by our strict DirectX 11 test was the sky. achieved in this test, the FX6803-25 with a frame rate of 24.7fps at a resolution of 1,680 x1, 050, while the LAN Warrior II had a frame rate of 25.9fps. (The FX6831-01 slightly better than the LAN Warrior II, with 26.3fps.) Although they are not playable frame rates, our sky test an extremely demanding test is designed to the highest high-end gaming platforms tax. What these numbers tell us, as a result, you should be able to achieve a playable frame rate in DirectX 11 titles on one of these PCs for the foreseeable future. (Of course, as time goes by and games get more and more demanding, you have to start dialing back the resolution and detail settings.)
The FX engine has some remarkable properties of their performance. A view of the case and it is clear that the FX6803-25 was built to be placed on the floor, as indicated by the top-mounted ports. Four USB 2.0 ports are up top, two of them in a deeper pocket, cell phone’s to hold your equipment while they charge. The other two USB ports line the front edge, accompanied by an abundance of flash-card slots. Headphone and microphone jacks are also located here, so you can communicate with other players with ease. The top of the housing has two take-off and landing strips on top, toward the back, organized for the retention of those pesky cables. And the power button is a knob that the chassis’ red LED controls, making it easy for them on and off as you please.
The back of the FX6803-25 sports almost every external port connectivity you could ask, apart from the next-generation USB 3.0. Six USB 2.0 ports are here, and two eSATA. A pair of PS/2 ports are also available for older input devices. The FX6803-25, the graphics card has two DVI ports and HDMI and DisplayPort connectors, so you do not screen for connectivity, either.
If the generous 1.5 TB hard drive fills in this system, adding additional internal memory is a snap. The case has a drop-down panel in the front with space for two 3.5-inch hard drives. There are no screws or to connect to cable deal. Simply shutting down the PC push the plate, pull the drive, put your disk in the tray, place the tray, push the Start Control Panel. Your new drive will be ready to go, only when it is formatted.
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Our only gripe with the hard drive bay is the drop-down panel itself, it feels a bit thin, and while the sliding mechanism is smooth, opens the door to open too easily, the disclosure of your hard drive (or the empty bays, if you have not added any). This could be a problem if that is made FX6803-25 on the ground, as you no doubt encounter occasionally in the chassis and slide closed the bay door. They could finally resorted to taping and shut it.
In terms of performance and value for gaming and general computer, unless you run PC games on a 30-inch monitor with 2560 x 1, 600, all three machines are we here plenty powerful enough to handle today’s games compared with all the eye-candy settings clicked. And with their Core i7 CPUs are all three great productivity machine for the times, gaming has finally given way to something less comfortable. The LAN Warrior II, of course, more graphics power, which will be useful down the road, or if you run games on multiple monitors.
But between the two Gateway FX machines, the difference in performance is not really important to consider not surprising they should have the same graphics card. They are not likely to upgrade the tower, and you do not plan to watch Blu-ray movies, which is less expensive FX6831-01 is probably the better choice. But a $ 200 (or perhaps, much smaller) premium is not outrageous for a better upgrade options and Blu-ray. So the PC should choose really depends on your budget and needs.
