Gateway Performance 1700 review

The 1.7GHz Pentium 4 isn't just for use in powerhouse systems like the Polar Premier GH3 - it's also possible to find Intel's fastest CPU in more modest, mid-range PCs like the Gateway Performance 1700.

This is the sort of system that's designed to appeal to ambitious first time or experienced second time buyers. While not obsessed with the latest technology, these sensible souls are looking for a good, solid machine that's fast enough for the foreseeable future, but ready for expansion when it becomes necessary.

But even sensible bods can get caught up in the numbers game, and 1.7GHz is a pretty big number. It's 200MHz bigger than the previous fastest Pentium 4, and has a whacking 400MHz on the speediest AMD Athlon. That might lead you to expect high benchmark scores from Intel's latest, but like the previous Pentium 4, the results are, on the surface, disappointing. A score of 2525 in our application benchmarks isn't anything to write home about - we found some higher scores in last month's £799 Lab Test!

These figures don't tell the whole story, though. As with the Polar, the power of Pentium 4 only really comes out in intensive tests like high-end graphics, video editing and 3D gaming. Take the 1.7GHz Pentium 4 and add 128Mb of RDRAM and a 32Mb nVidia GeForce2 GTS graphics card, and the result equals high 3D performance. 7723 in 3DMark 2000 is impressive enough, but 3DMark 2001's complex 3D scenes couldn't trouble the Gateway either; it scored an excellent 3036.

That's great if, like me, you love your games, but remember that speed isn't everything. It's sad to report that, aside from the core components, this isn't a fabulous system. On the positive side it's stocked with just about everything you'd expect from a grand-plus system, with a 56K modem, an eight-speed Panasonic DVD drive and a Philips CD-R/W, capable of burning CD-Rs at eight-speed and CD-R/Ws at 4-speed. There are even nice design touches, such as the case being equipped with two USB connectors at the front as well as the two at the back. It sounds like a small thing when you've only got a USB printer and USB scanner, but get hold of a digital camera, MP3 player and USB joystick, and you'll be glad to see what you're sticking in and where.

This system will take to upgrades nicely though, with space for two internal 3.5in drives and one externally accessible 3.5in device. Throw in three spare PCI slots and 2 RIMM slots ready for extra RAMBUS once the memory-hungry Windows XP appears, and you're sorted for a few years, at least.

Unfortunately, there are some things that really let the Gateway down. The biggest by far is the monitor. The 17in Gateway EV700 display can't be faulted for it's overall brightness and depth of colour, but the focus is poor and gets worse towards the corners. Plus, there's no escaping the fact that the EV700's screen surface is heavily curved. It's no goldfish bowl, but these days, flat-screen 17in monitors are the norm and Gateway could (and should) do better.

The Gateway also falters when it comes to audio. The fault isn't really inside the machine - the Sound Blaster AudioPCI 128D is bog standard, but adequate. The speakers, however, are a pair of Boston Acoustics BA25s. These are alright at low volumes, but just don't have any power or depth to their output. At £699 we wouldn't complain, but for over a grand we have just cause. The same goes for the hard drive. 30 and 40Gb drives were common in the £799 Labs discussed earlier, which makes the Gateway's 5400rpm 20Gb Western Digital drive seem positively stingy.