Gateway SX2851-41

Gateway SX2851-41

While we've written appreciatively about Gateway's SX line of living-room-friendly slim tower PCs, we've never been overly impressed by its case design. Despite a new exterior look for the Gateway SX2851-41, our opinion remains the same. The matte black case is a noticeable departure from the glossy black of the previous version, but this is still a plastic, inexpensive-looking chassis that does little to challenge Apple's design dominance. Since the launch of Intel's new CPUs, we also have to ask whether it's wise to buy any desktop using older Intel chips. Perhaps you can justify spending $549 on this system or one like it if you have an immediate need for a basic productivity system or a PC-based home media box with a lot of storage. If you can wait, it won't be too long before you see a noticeable bang-for-the buck improvement as Intel's new CPUs begin to show up at these lower price points. Gateway hasn't taken a great risk with the tweaks to the SX case. The matte black plastic perhaps looks a bit friendlier than the older glossy black design. You may also appreciate the exterior accent lighting that rims the top tray and illuminates the Gateway insignia on the front of the case. We like the dedicated light power toggle on top of the case.