Why You Can Trust CNET Gateway DX4300-15e review: Gateway DX4300-15e
Gateway DX4300-15e
Editors' note: This review is part of our
Gateway DX4300-15e
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
Normally when we find a TV tuner card in a midrange desktop, it comes at the expense of more generally useful features. Not so in the case of the Gateway DX4300-15e. Those with particular needs might wish for a faster CPU, a discrete graphics card, or a variety of other upgrades to this desktop, but for general computing there's not much we'd change here given this system's $680 price tag. That makes the TV tuner something of an added bonus. Tuners aren't for everyone, and you can find a faster PC than this one for less. If you're interested in a PC with a TV tuner, however, this system offers an affordable, capable option that requires minimal compromise.
The DX4300-13e comes in the same case Gateway uses in its other midtower desktops. As a midtower PC it isn't particularly well-suited to the living room, but its glossy black plastic exterior isn't so hideous that you need to keep it from all public sight. Most low-cost midtower desktops tend to look the same, and for the most part the DX4300-15e is no exception. The one standout design element is a pinched front-facing upper edge that makes the media card slots and USB 2.0 ports easier to use. This small, but effective design tweak has made Gateway's cases our favorite from a Windows-based retail vendor, and second overall only to Apple's. The gap between first place and second, however, is rather large.
| Gateway DX4300-15e | HP Pavilion p6320y | |
| Price | $680 | $700 |
| CPU | 2.6GHz AMD Phenom II X4 810 | 2.8GHz AMD Phenom II X4 820 |
| Memory | 8GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM | 8GB 1,066MHz DDR3 SDRAM |
| Graphics | 256MB (shared) ATI Radeon HD 3200 integrated graphics chip | 256MB (shared) Nvidia GeForce 9100 integrated graphics chip |
| Hard drives | 1TB, 7,200 rpm | 1TB, 7,200 rpm |
| Optical drive | dual-layer DVD burner | dual-layer DVD burner |
| Networking | 10/100 Ethernet LAN, 802.11a/b/g/n wireless | 10/100 Ethernet LAN, 802.11a/b/g/n wireless |
| TV tuner | Yes | No |
| Operating system | Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) | Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) |
The HP Pavilion p6320y is the most likely competition for the Gateway DX4300-15e because their price tags are so close, although you could also look to less expensive Pavilion p6310y or Gateway's own DX4831-01e. All of those systems compete with the Gateway in that they have similar core features; 1TB hard drives, relatively speedy quad-core CPUs or dual-core CPUs that can emulate four processing threads as necessary, 6GB to 8GB of RAM, multiple video outputs, as well as room for upgrades. The HP Pavilion P6320y and this Gateway both have wireless networking, which leaves the Gateway its AverMedia H751 hybrid analog/digital TV tuner. Few other retail systems, if any, offer TV tuner cards, making the DX4300-15e unique.
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Longer bars indicate faster performance)
 | Rendering Multiple CPUs | | Rendering Single CPU |
The trade-off for the tuner is that the DX4300-15e doesn't offer quite as much performance as even the $549 Gateway DX4831-01e, at least on some of our benchmarks. On single application tests, the DX4300-15e is slower than its more affordable linemate. On multitasking, though, the higher-end Gateway comes out ahead, and trails behind the HP systems by only 30 seconds or so. You could argue that the $599 HP Pavilion p6310y matches the Gateway so closely in performance that paying $680 for the Gateway essentially means you're paying $80 on top of the HP's asking price for wireless networking and a TV tuner. That seems reasonable to us.
Throw in the Gateway's HDMI video port, and even though this is a midtower, the DX4300-15e could actually make an acceptable living room PC. TV tuners aren't ideal for replacing a cable box by themselves, not least because they can't decode most kinds of cable feeds. But we can see a scenario where you use a TV tuner in conjunction with various online video services to provide a fairly comprehensive broadcast entertainment setup.
Even with its extra features, the DX4300-15e offers room to add a few other components inside. You get a single PCI Express graphics card slot, as well as a free standard PCI slot and hard-drive bay. All four RAM slot are occupied, which we to expect since 6GB and 8GB memory configurations have become so common. A 300 watt power supply prevents you from adding too much in the way of high-end 3D graphics hardware, but in general, given this system's already impressive set of features, a few select upgrades could make this a very robust jack-of-all-trades desktop.
The external ports on the DX4300-15e are less complete than we've seen from other Gateway desktops recently, but they should meet most of your needs. It has an HDMI port, which is useful, as well as standard DVI and VGA video ports. You also get digital audio and 7.1 analog audio jacks. Although it covers your primary audio-video bases, those with alternative storage devices will need to be creative. You get plenty of USB 2.0 ports, but no FireWire and no eSATA. The lack of those ports isn't crucial, but it's interesting that you can find them on the less expensive Gateway DX4831-01e.
 Juice box | |
| Juice Box | |
| Gateway DX4300-15e | |
| Off (watts) | 0.86 |
| Sleep (watts) | 2.61 |
| Idle (watts) | 72.1 |
| Load (watts) | 119.81 |
| Raw (annual kWh) | 278.82204 |
| EnergyStar compliant | No |
| Annual operating cost (@$0.1135/kWh) | $31.65 |
The Gateway's power consumption comes in right where we'd expect it to given its CPU and its performance. AMD-based PCs seem to consume more power relative to their performance, at least based on the last six months or so we've conducted power testing. Thus it's no surprise that the Gateway DX4300-15e uses more juice than two Intel-based desktops. As its AMD Phenom II X4 810 chip has a slightly slower clock speed than both of the AMD chips in the HP systems, however, we'd expect the Gateway to use less energy. This system is no power-efficiency marvel, but its annual consumption is low-enough that most of you will have little difficulty meeting the financial cost of its energy consumption.
Like the majority of its retail competition, Gateway's service and support policies are perfectly adequate. You get a yearlong warranty, 24-7 toll-free phone service, and a variety of help resources online and on the system itself.
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System configurations:
Asus Essentio CG5275-AR003
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit); 3.2GHz Intel Core i5 650; 8GB 1,066MHz DDR3 SDRAM; 32MB(shared) Intel GMA HD integrated graphics chip; 1TB 7,200rpm hard drive
Gateway DX4831-01e
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit); 2.93GHz Intel Core i3 530; 6GB 1,333MHz DDR3 SDRAM; 32MB Intel GMA HD integrated graphics chip; 1TB, 7,200rpm Western Digital hard drive
Gateway DX4300-15e
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit); 2.6GHz AMD Phenom II X4 810; 8GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 256MB ATI Radeon HD 3200 integrated graphics chip; 1TB, 7,200rpm Western Digital hard drive
HP Pavilion P6310y
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit); 2.8GHz AMD Athlon II X4 630; 6GB 1,066MHz DDR3 SDRAM; 256MB Nvidia nForce 720a; 1TB, 7,200rpm Western Digital hard drive
HP Pavilion P6320y
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit); 2.8GHz AMD Phenom II X4 820; 8GB 1,066MHz DDR3 SDRAM; 256MB (shared) NVIDIA GeForce 9100 integrated graphics chip; 1TB, 7,200rpm Western Digital hard drive