Presentation

As mentioned, the FX541XT is the sum of its parts. The hardware it uses isn’t top of the line, but it isn’t far from it. However, it was made to be a media player first, game station second. In this, it succeeds exceptionally. The small form-factor fits everything nicely. It comes with not only two 8800GT’s in SLI, but the X-Fi XtremeGamer, one of Creative’s more recent and better soundcards.

On top of that, it comes with a hybrid Blu-ray HD-DVD (which, oddly enough, is still cost effective to produce instead of just a Blu-ray drive) and DVD+RW optical drives. The 9-in-1 media card reader had been exceptionally useful, not only because it holds every major media card on the market but because it also has a USB 2.0 port. This makes it much more comfortable to use under a desk as the “easy to switch” USB port.

Yes, the front houses three USB ports total (and two firewire), but my experience with the machine showed that the bottom two were constantly in use. The top one was being switched constantly.

What was also great was the properly aligned sound system. Generally, most PC’s have trouble managing how sound switches between the soundcard and integrated sound, which occurs when putting headphones in the front 3.5mm jack. Gateway has eliminated the need for this by connecting the front microphone and speaker ports to the X-Fi. Only a one second lag interferes with switching from one to the other, and sound has thus been a very pleasant experience, one that typically is more painful than it should be.

The Logitech X-240’s don’t necessarily belong with the system, but considering that most PC users don’t have surround sound, they are a fairly good choice. It was only a small step up from my X-230’s though, but they match the PC much better with their stronger design. Better and more 'surround' speakers can be added to any purchase.

Perhaps the biggest issue with the design of the FX541XT was opening the case up. Instead of the typical two screws keeping the case closed, a lever can be pulled to snap the (right, or rather, wrong) side door off. Opening it started off easy, but over time became harder and harder to open. Perhaps a switch to larger screws that can be removed by hand can be in order.

Inside is a fairly scary setting for anyone looking to overclock or upgrade their machines. Wires run amuck and there is practically no room whatsoever. It may beg the question, “how does air flow properly?” The fans from the front suck in lots of air (silently) and it gets funneled over the hard drives, RAM cards and CPU, then out the back. A very simple design that is done well, and has thus far kept it from overheating or becoming overbearing to use. No instability due to head has occurred, and the temperature in the testing room has been upwards of 90° Fahrenheit.

For overclockers, there is no need to touch the current design unless hardware upgrades or additions are to be made. Both the CPU and videocards are overclocked, and as you’ll read in the performance, it runs well enough without insatiable user powermongering.