Gateway reveals new P-series notebooks, GT desktops

Gateway on Thursday ramped up its efforts to pull in holiday sales by releasing a new set of portables and desktops. Its 17-inch P-series notebook line now has multiple speed grades to draw users who want the screen size without a high price. The base P-6801 cuts price by using a 1.46GHz Pentium dual-core, 1GB of memory, and basic but recent Intel X3100 integrated graphics; at the same time, it offers a relatively large 160GB hard disk and metal, Motorola RAZR-like media buttons. A second model, the P-6822, adds the 64-bit capable 1.5GHz Core 2 Duo as well as a 1.3-megapixel webcam, a larger 250GB drive, and HDMI output to link with an HDTV. Both versions of the notebook should be available by October 14th for prices of $800 and $950 respectively.

The American PC builder also upgraded its GT-series towers with new models that take advantage of the advances coming from Intel and video card makers. The GT5628 represents some of the best features of the line with a 2.4GHz Core 2 Quad running on Intel's newer G33 chipset, which improves overall performance and supports Viiv for quick response when used as a Windows Media Center PC. Video is powered by a 256MB GeForce 8500 GT which can run DirectX 10 games as well as decode full-size HD video. The system sells on October 14th for $950 with 3GB of memory and a 500GB hard drive.