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WHAT'S HOT: Excellent troubleshooting and tech support information fill the thick manual accompanying the 300PL. Access to the interior of this standard desktop model is easy--the entire case pops on and off very smoothly and features a case lock, complete with keys.

WHAT'S NOT: The interior houses poorly organized wiring and offers little expansion room, with only two open slots and one open bay; the rear ports on our test system lacked labeling or color coordination of any kind. The integrated speakers produce dull, muffled sound that seems to echo out of the interior of the machine. The 300PL's score of 167 on our PC WorldBench 2000 tests is the lowest we've recorded for a 600-Mhz system running Windows NT. We originally evaluated this system with PC WorldBench 98, but we have since retested it with PC WorldBench 2000 and reconfirmed its configuration with the vendor. --Editors

WHAT ELSE: Text appeared a bit light, but still sharp on the IBM E74 17-inch monitor; and colors looked rich and full. The solid IBM keyboard made for quiet, smooth typing, but the system comes with a basic two-button mouse only (no scrollwheel).

BEST USE: With its NT operating system, this IBM would be most comfortable in a corporate environment.

SUMMARY

IBM PC 300PL PC WorldBench 2000 score of 167, Pentium III-600 CPU, 128MB of RAM, 512KB L2 cache, 20GB hard drive, Windows NT 4.0; Number Nine 9FX Reality 334 graphics board with 16MB of SDRAM, 17-inch monitor, 20X-48X CD-ROM drive, ESS PCI sound card, integrated speakers; 3-year parts warranty, 1-year labor warranty, 24/7 toll-free phone technical support. $1999 800/426-7255 www.ibm.com/ibmpc