Gateway One ZX6810-01: 23-Inch Multitouch AIO

11.12.2009
The Gateway One ZX6810-01 ($1400 as of December 8, 2009) packs a punishing amount of gaming prowess and extras into its 23-inch frame. Its 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4670 graphics are the best we've seen from an all-in-one outside of the pricier , and like its similar-looking $900 cousin, that big screen is multitouch-enabled and runs Windows 7.

The ZX6810-01 also includes an HDTV tuner and a remote control--bonuses we've seen on the 23-inch ($1460), the 21.5-inch ($1149), and the 24-inch ($2000) as well. But those systems also include Blu-ray drives--the Gateway doesn't. Instead, it runs rings around them at gaming (and has a DVD writer).

The ZX6810-01 managed 71 frames per second in our Unreal Tournament 3 test (run at 1680-by-1050 resolution, high quality). That's pretty amazing for an all-in-one. Sony's Vaio VPCL117FX/B did the next best at 41 fps, but both trail way behind the 27-inch, Core i5 and Core i7 Apple iMacs. Equipped with 512MB ATI Radeon HD 4850 graphics, those Apple machines both achieved 112 fps in the same test.

Of course, it's those new Core i5/i7 processors that push the iMacs out in front, though it's not like the Gateway One ZX6810-01 isn't wonderfully decked out itself. It's got a 2.33GHz Core 2 Quad Q8200S processor, 8GB of DDR3-1333 memory, and dual hard disks: a 64GB Samsung solid-state drive (the boot drive) and a 1TB Western Digital drive (for general storage).

These specs almost look like they were ripped straight out of a gaming desktop. They helped the ZX6810-01 achieve a score of 105 in our WorldBench 6 benchmark--a score equal to the , but again, behind the new iMacs. Tested using 64-bit Windows 7 and Boot Camp, the $2200 scored 128 in WorldBench 6, while the $2000 notched 123.

In use, the ZX6810-01's display delivers good saturation and contrasts, but a discernible backlight glow on the top and bottom of the screen becomes apparent during darker scenes. Similarly, the glossy coating produces a reflective glare that admittedly improves the vibrancy and richness of the colors and grayscales, but it comes at the cost of a powerful reflection that turns viewers and nearby light sources into unwanted extras in the scene.