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The king of all in one desktop computers is, of course, the Apple iMac with it's sleek design and aluminum finish. Gateway recently introduced their competitor in this market, dubbed the Gateway One. Read on for the scoop.

The Gateway One models all come in a 19-inch screen at 1440x900 resolution, and paired with either an Intel X3100 or ATI Radeon HD 2600XT graphics card. For power, all models come with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB or 3GB of DDR2 RAM, and a 320GB, 400GB, or 500GB SATA II hard drive. For optical media the Gateway One is loaded with a slot-loading 8x DVD+/- R/RW SuperMulti drive. The model we'll be focusing on today comes with a 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 3GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive, along with a USB TV tuner.

Similar to the iMac, the Gateway One comes with a removable 1.3 megapixel webcam for video conferencing. Gigabit Ethernet is built-in, and 802.11n wireless networking. The Gateway One is also bundled with an RF keyboard and mouse that match the One's elegant style. Below the display is a seemingly blank spot of space, but behind the acrylic panel are invisible speakers using the NXT SoundVu technology, which produce 8.1 channel sound.

The unique thing about the Gateway One is that all the I/O ports like USB, ethernet, and audio, are on the power brick, so that you only see one cable coming out of the back of the One, keeping all that clutter off of your desk. The One also has more expandability than any all-in-one PC out there right now, and allows for two full-size hard drives to be installed. The only thing missing is the ability to add an external monitor for more screen real estate.

Now on to performance...

The Gateway One isn't a speed demon, and received 3190 PCMarks (the higher score the better) in our PCMark Vantage benchmarking application. In our Maxon CINEBENCH tests, the Gateway One received a score of 3794 utilizing both cores, and a score of 1991 using only a single core.

If you compare the iMac to the One, you get a bigger screen with the iMac, and the ability to run both Mac OS X and Windows XP or Vista, but you get a TV tuner with the Gateway One, more storage, and an extra gigabyte or two of RAM.

The wireless performance is excellent, and the Gateway One's wireless 802.11n card had no problem receiving a strong signal from our router. The 19-inch screen is bright with crisp text, and vibrant colors thanks to the glossy finish, but we found it became cramped when using programs like Adobe Photoshop or Dreamweaver.

The unit's cooling fans were also a bit noisy at times, especially during the benchmarking period.

Overall, the Gateway One is an affordable all-in-one PC for those looking for a simple and easy to setup computer, though the iMac is still a better value with more capability. It's tough to recommend this for purchasing this holiday season, but if you know someone who is anti-Apple and in need of a new PC that's simple and easy to setup, by all means, take a look at the Gateway One.

Pros

• Built-in 802.11n wireless.
• Decent performance.
• Nice cable management.
• Rare ability to add two hard drives.
• Wireless keyboard, mouse, and Media Center remote included.

Cons

• No ability to add an external monitor.
• Noisy fans.
• Webcam isn't built-in, but removable.

Final Verdict
4.5 out of 5 stars.

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