Gateway GT5028???

[itssr20]

Hi everyone. First off I know most of you are against these types of setups, but for the price it seems like a really great deal (around $700) from circuitcity.

Is this PC upgradeable - as far as GPU, and maybe change out the processor down the line, but it already has X2 3800 which should be adequate for a while.

I wont be playing too many intensive games, just Battle for Middle Earth 2. will the manufacturers setup be able to handle this type of game? If I were to upgrade the GPU ( not a big gamer just few games), which card should I look to get?

Here are the specs:



Product Details

Warranty Terms - Parts 1 year
Warranty Terms - Labor 1 year
Product Height 15.4"
Product Width 7.3"
Product Weight 23.5 lbs.
Product Depth 17.9"
Processor Brand AMD Athlon 64 X2
Processor Speed 2.0GHz
System Bus 2000MHz
Cache Memory 512KB + 512KB
System Memory (RAM) 1GB
System Memory (RAM) Expandable To 4GB
Type of Memory (RAM) PC3200 DDR
Hard Drive Size 250GB
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 6100
Video Memory Up to 128MB (shared)
Personal Video Recorder (PVR) No
TV Tuner No
MPEG Yes
Audio AC '97 with 5.1-channel support
Speakers External amplified stereo
Modem 56 Kbps* ITU V.92 *Capable of receiving 56 Kbps downloads. However, current regulations limit download speed to 53 Kbps.
Network Card Built-in 10/100 Mbps Ethernet networking interface (RJ-45 connector)
Wireless Networking None
DVD-ROM Drive Yes
Maximum DVD-ROM Drive Speed 16x
Recordable DVD Drive Yes, double-layer DVD±RW/CD-RW
Recordable DVD Drive Speeds 4x DVD+R DL; 16x8x16 DVD+RW; 16x6x16 DVD-RW; 40x24x40 CD-RW
LightScribe Compatibility No
Digital Media Reader or Slots Yes, digital media card reader
Total Expansion Bays 4 (3.5"), 2 (5.25")
Available Expansion Bays 2 (3.5")
Total Expansion Slots 2 PCI, 1 PCI-E x1, 1 PCI-E x16
Available Expansion Slots 1 PCI, 1 PCI-E x1, 1 PCI-E x16
USB 2.0 Ports 7 (3 front, 4 rear)
IEEE 1394 Ports 3 (2 front, 1 rear)
S-Video Outputs None
Additional Audio/Video Connectors 5 audio ports (2 front, 3 rear)
Serial Ports None
Parallel Ports 1
Game Ports None
Keyboard Description Multimedia
Other Control Devices (mouse, etc.) USB optical 2-button wheel mouse
Operating System Windows XP Media Center 2005
Software Included Microsoft Works 8.0, Money 2005, Windows Media Player 10, Digital Image Starter Edition 2006; Adobe Acrobat Reader 7; CyberLink PowerDVD with 5.1-channel audio support; Nero 6 Suite; RealNetworks RealPlayer; QuickTime; Gateway BigFix and more

[saphalline]

Need info on the PSU. That will be the limiting factor in terms of how far you can upgrade. Of course, money is the most limiting factor. ;) What's your budget for a new vid card?

[itssr20]

yea, i dont have the spec on that psu, any other comments/suggestions?

[saphalline]

Without specs on the PSU, the best I can recommend is one of the lower-power vid cards - GeForce 6600 GT and 7600 GT, and Radeon X1600 Pro/XT. Neither of these vid cards exceed the 75W draw provided by the PCIe x16 slot and thus require no extra power connector. These are the safest bets when you don't know the details.

[itssr20]

Who has the lowest price on the Ge 6600 or 7800?

[saphalline]

No, not the 7800!! That thing is a guzzler!! The 7600 is the one I mentioned. Huge difference even though the numbers seem a mere 200 apart. ;)

Pricewatch (www.pricewatch.com) has the info on the absolute cheapest sources of hardware, but are you interested in cheap prices or a reliable & secure online buying experience? There are several unscrupulous online vendors who lure unsuspecting shoppers into their evil folds with prices that are too good to be true. Pricewatch perusing also requires a good dose of Reseller Ratings (www.resellerratings.com) to be certain of which online vendor to choose. Otherwise, most of us here on the forums tend to favor Newegg (www.newegg.com) because they are the best of the best for online hardware shopping. Decent prices and you get what you want.

[rond36]

According to Gateway support that model has a 300W PSU and they list 3 different PSUs for it so it could have any one of the three.

All three are standard ATX+12V

PSU #1
300-Watt Delta Power Supply (http://support.gateway.com/s/POWER/100889/100889sp3.shtml)

PSU #2
300 Watt Bestec Power Supply (http://support.gateway.com/s/POWER/100929/100929sp2.shtml)

PSU #3
300-Watt Power Supply (http://support.gateway.com/s/POWER/103563/103563sp2.shtml)

Notes:
The motherboard (http://support.gateway.com/s/MOTHERBD/FIC/105552/105552sp23.shtml) and chassis are micro BTX form factor.

The CPU heatsink does not have a fan on it but there is a fan in the front of the case with a shroud ducting air to the heatsink (BTX form factor)!
http://supcontent.gateway.com/support.gateway.com/s/Cases/6bayBTXr/31.jpg
The motherboard does not support SATA 1.0 or 2.0

__________________

http://www.speakeasy.net/images/speedtest/gifs/speedtest_120x60.gif (http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest)

[saphalline]

Ouch! The +12V rails are painful! No dual +12V rails, either, so none of the PSU's are ATX 3.0 spec. No SATA at all, huh? Gateway sure did cripple that system!

[Tyorik]

Alright, I'm sure this thread is old, but I stumbled upon it in Google after looking for the type of PSU that my GT5028 has. I was in dire need of a video card upgrade (WoW isn't running to my liking on this... integrated card). After seeing most of them requiring a more powerful PSU (Usually 400+), such as 7900GT, I realized that the 300W that I have now just isn't gonna cut it. So, after revisiting Newegg, I'm at the crossroads where I need to know what pin type my current PSU is; 20-pin, 20+4-pin or 24-pin. I'm gonna assume there's a difference between the latter two, despite wanting to use logic. The two components I'm looking to buy are these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814122244

And technically I don't know what PSU I need, but I was looking at this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817171007 <-- 20+4-pin

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817182008 <-- 20-pin

[Tyorik]

Alright, after having looked at the motherboard specs, it says on it "Main Power Connector 24-pin". So I'm guessing that I need a 24-pin PSU? If someone would let me know if this power supply would work, I'd greatly appreciate it;

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817171005

[hockey man]

tyorik, to help keep everything clear, please start your own thread with your question. That way you get your own attention.

[Tyorik]

lol. Good plan. I'll do that right now.