Gateway G6-300b

Gateway G6-300b

If you're looking for a fast, full-featured PC for your small or home office, consider Gateway's G6-300b. You not only get a speedy system--in fact, the G6-300b is one of the fastest Pentium II-300s we've tested--you also get a nice selection of extras like booming bass speakers, software packages for both business and pleasure, and a good support plan to back it up. At $2028, the G6-300b costs about as much as the average PII-300, yet offers serious hardware such as a 2X DVD-ROM drive. This PC gives you the processing power you'll need for the office, as well as for home entertainment. With an excellent 173 PC WorldBench 98 score, it flexes enough muscle to run formula-intensive spreadsheets and has enough installed memory to run multiple programs simultaneously.

To start your DVD software collection, Gateway throws in a couple of DVD-ROM titles--Warner Music Group Does DVD Volume 2, a music video package, and Jack Nicklaus 4, a golf game. For the office, you get Quicken Basic 98, Microsoft Streets 98, and Microsoft Bookshelf 98--all useful tools for SOHO users. To complement your DVD home entertainment experience, the G6-300b comes with Boston Acoustics' bass-heavy BA635 speaker system; it includes two baseball-size satellite speakers and a subwoofer. The other peripherals--the 17-inch Gateway EV 700 monitor and the multimedia keyboard--are easy to use. There are some minor problems, however: Images on the monitor are a tad washed out, and the single flywheel knob (used to adjust monitor settings such as brightness and contrast) can be confusing.

The G6-300b midtower has labeled and color-coded back ports, making it easy to plug in peripherals. It's also easy to get inside the PC--just unfasten two large thumbscrews and slide a side panel off the main chassis. Inside you'll find a few upgrade options: four free PCI slots, three available external drive bays, two open internal drive bays, and one free DIMM socket, all easily accessible (except for the memory socket, which is next to some dangling cables).

To top it off, good support backs this system. Gateway's warranty includes round-the-clock support, a three-year parts and labor warranty, and free on-site service. Not only that, you also get excellent documentation complete with an index and color photos labeling various PC parts and functions. All things considered, the G6-300b is a nice deal for this configuration.

SUMMARY

PRO: Affordable; robust-sounding speakers; bundled accounting, reference, and gaming software; DVD; terrific support. CON: Fuzzy monitor display; cables partially block available DIMM socket. 173 PC WorldBench 98 score, Pentium II-300, 2X DVD-ROM drive, 17-inch Gateway EV 700 monitor, Boston Acoustics' bass-heavy BA635 speaker. Gateway 800/846-2000 www.gateway.com