New PCs from Gateway fire shots across HP's bow

(Credit: Gateway)

On the heels of its new Gateway One all-in-one, today we got word of Gateway's retail holiday desktop lineup. Prices for the fixed-config retail models will start at $599 and scale upward of $1,000. Based on the price and specs of at least one model, it seems as though Gateway beats Hewlett-Packard's new Pavilion Elite m9040n. Here's how the two stack up:

Both also have multiformat media card readers and a bay for a removable upsell hard drive. Although the HP might have faster RAM and the nod for its TV tuner's overall features, the Gateway makes up for that with its lower price, more ample hard drive storage, and a faster graphics card.

We should also point out that at $960, this Gateway might be the first sub-$1,000 PC with a quad-core processor from a major vendor. It looks like that multicore future we keep hearing about is getting more affordable.

[irablumberg]

Cheaper Quad core (Q6600) already available

The HP Pavilion a6152n has been available at Circuit City for over a month and has been priced at $930 list. There have been frequent price reductions through either rebates or instant discounts.

See http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/HP-Pavilion-a6152n-Desktop-Computer-A6152N/sem/rpsm/oid/185479/catOid/-12962/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

--Ira