Gateway unveils slimmer NE laptops, updates DX, SX and One ZX desktops

Gateway unveils slimmer NE laptops, refreshed DX, SX and ZX desktops

Gateway may live in the shadow of its parent company Acer, but it's getting the spotlight today with refreshed versions of its entry-level PCs. New versions of its 15.6-inch and 17.3-inch NE Series laptops are slimmer than their ancestors, carry Kabini-based AMD A4 and A6 processors and offer up to 1TB of storage. Desktops remain largely the same on the outside, but there's a few welcome tweaks on the inside. Although the small SX Series isn't radically different, regular DX Series towers now have the option of a Haswell-era Intel Core i5 alongside recent AMD A-series chips; there's also a new entry-level version of the One ZX all-in-one that puts a 3GHz Pentium behind the 21.5-inch LCD. Gateway is now shipping the two NE portables at baseline prices of $380 (15.6-inch) and $450 (17.3-inch), while the DX, SX and One Z lines respectively start at $298, $398 and $530. A KX Series of desktop displays is shipping at the same time, starting at $99 for a 19.5-inch screen.

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Creative reveals Sound Blaster ZxR, Zx, and Z PCI-Express sound cards, pumps up the volume

Creative reveals Sound Blaster ZxR, Zx, and Z PCIExpress sound cards, pumps up the volume

Along with your first day at school, and (for the boys at least) growing your first peach fuzz mustache, many of you might also never forget your first Sound Blaster soundcard. In the present day (unless you're blessed with youth) only the Sound Blaster can be enjoyed again, and today Creative introduces its new Z-series. The latest PCI-Express cards use the firm's Core3D quad-core sound and voice processor and come in three variants: the Sound Blaster ZxR, the Zx and the Z. As you might have guessed, the more letters, the higher up the food chain it is. The flagship ZxR ($249.99) boasts a 127dB SNR, sockets for swappable Op-Amps, 80mW into 600 ohm headphone pre-amp, plus RCA / optical connectivity (via additional daughter board) and an external "ACM" control module for less fiddling around the back of your machine. You can save yourself $100 with the Zx model, if you don't want the ZxR's "DBpro" daughter board, and the Z edition saves a further $50 at the expense of the external controller. Want to dive into the full specifications? Plug in to the PR after the break.

Continue reading Creative reveals Sound Blaster ZxR, Zx, and Z PCI-Express sound cards, pumps up the volume

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Creative reveals Sound Blaster ZxR, Zx, and Z PCI-Express sound cards, pumps up the volume originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 07:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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