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A new focus on consumer electronics goods doesn't mean Gateway has nudged aside its core PC business: The company has updated some of its business desktops with Intel's latest processor and chip set technology.

Gateway's Profile 4 PCs, E-Series managed PCs, and Sb-Series PCs for small businesses can all now take advantage of faster frontside bus and memory technology found in Intel's latest chip sets, the 865 series (formerly Springdale) and 875 series (formerly Canterwood). The chip sets support processors with 800-MHz frontside buses and DDR SDRAM running at 400 MHz.

The new PCs also support hyperthreading, a technology that lets a PC's operating system treat a single-processor computer as if it had two separate processors. The operating system then sends more instructions than it normally would to the single processor, allowing the chip to take advantage of normally unused execution units.

New System Specs

For small businesses, Gateway is introducing Sb-Series desktops. The base configurations will ship with Intel's 865 chip set, but the new Pentium 4 processors with hyperthreading and 800-MHz frontside buses are upgrade options. Four Sb-Series models are available, with the least expensive model starting at $599. This includes a 2.2-GHz Pentium 4 processor, 128MB of DDR333 SDRAM, a 40GB hard drive, integrated Intel Extreme Graphics 2 technology, and a CD-ROM drive. Monitors will be sold separately.

PCs in the Profile 4 line are designed to fit into tight places, such as underneath a desk or shelf. Gateway will release new Profile 4 systems with the new Intel technology on Wednesday. Specific configuration information was not available, but Gateway considers the Profile 4 the high end of its business PCs, and pricing is expected to begin at $1599. A version will also be released for consumers, Gateway said.

Two new PCs in Gateway's E-Series line replace older models designed for use on corporate networks. The E-4100 and E-6100 come with integrated Gigabit Ethernet, LANDesk Software's LANDesk Client Manager software, and eight USB 2.0 ports, in addition to the new Intel technology.

A configuration of the E-4100 with a 2.4-GHz Pentium 4 processor, 128MB of DDR333 SDRAM, a 40GB hard drive, integrated Intel Extreme Graphics 2 technology, a CD-ROM drive and a 17-inch monitor costs $999. The E-6100 comes with a 2.4-GHz Pentium 4 processor, 256MB of DDR400 SDRAM, an 80GB hard drive, NVidia's GeForce2 MX200 graphics technology, a CD-ROM drive, and a 17-inch monitor for a starting price of $1299.

Other Efforts

Hyperthreading started out as a server technology on Intel's Xeon chips, but Intel has recently put hyperthreading into several of its Pentium 4 processors.

Gateway has also recently put new emphasis on consumer products. The company plans to refocus the company's attention on higher-margin consumer electronics products such as plasma TVs and digital cameras, company executives said in May. Rival PC vendors such as Dell have been able to undercut Gateway on price, and the company lags well behind Dell and Hewlett-Packard among corporate PC customers.

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