Gateway Debuts Cool New PC

Gateway released the specifications this week for a retail desktop PC based on a new motherboard design that should help cool high-end processors and graphics cards.

The company had already provided some details about its first BTX (balanced technology extended) desktop during briefings earlier this month, but it has now formally launched the Gateway 700GR.

The 700GR comes with Intel's Pentium 4 550 processor, 1GB of memory, a 250GB hard drive, a DVD+/-RW (CD-rewritable) drive, and ATI Technologies' Radeon X300SE graphics card with 128MB of memory. The suggested retail price is $1199, without a monitor. It will be available this weekend at retail stores throughout the U.S.

Improved Circulation

The BTX motherboard specification is backed by Intel and designed to replace the ATX standard.

The BTX design moves the processor, chip set, and memory modules to allow a stream of air to flow through the PC's chassis. The processor is now located at the front of the motherboard, where the cool air first enters the system. The graphics chips have also been rotated so that their exhaust is directed up into the airflow, instead of down into the chassis.

Two fans are used to move air, rather than the single fan design used to cool the processor on many ATX motherboard designs. These two fans can move more air than a single fan while turning at a slower speed, which has the additional benefit of reducing the noise produced by the cooling system.

Due to a reporting error, this story incorrectly stated where the processor is located in a BTX motherboard design. The text has been changed to reflect this correction.