gateway sx-series desktop

It's been almost a year since I've reviewed a traditional budget Windows desktop. As evidenced by the $499 Gateway SX2870-UR10P, the segment seems to have grown stagnant. That not necessarily a bad thing for those who simply want a cheap, familiar PC. You need to spend more if you want newer features, including Intel's Ivy Bridge CPUs, but I can recommend this Gateway if all you need is a low-cost workhorse desktop.

Gateway's SX line is one of the most compact and polished-looking slim-tower PC lines out there. Parent company Acer has an Aspire X1 line that offers similar slim towers in the same price range, and as much as Acer has put its own brand before its Gateway subsidiary, for whatever reason the SX line still seems to benefit from a more pleasing fit and finish.As pedestrian as the SX2870 might appear -- its 1TB hard drive, its DVD burner, and its Core i3 chip are practically universal at this price -- the Gateway actually has one feature I didn't expect. USB 3.0 ports may no longer be that exotic in more expensive PCs, but they were hardly common in budget PC or $750 desktops last year. You get two of them in this Gateway system. HP also offers USB 3.0 ports in its Slimline slim towers, and Lenovo has them in its slim H520 systems as well. Still, if the CPUs and basic components in these systems seem like hand-me-downs, at least these vendors have worked to keep the motherboard connectivity options current.gatewaysx series