Gateway E-3200 400

Gateway E-3200 400

Corporate PC buyers in the market for a high-quality, relatively inexpensive managed PC should seriously consider Gateway's new E-3200 400 desktop. The $1949 price buys you a network-ready computer that's easy to service and comes with built-in remote management hardware.

On the other hand, performance isn't the E-3200 400's strong suit. Despite this Windows NT 4.0­equipped PC's speedy PII-400 processor and 64MB of RAM, its PC WorldBench 98 score of 224 falls well short of the performance of other PII-400 systems running Windows NT. In fact, the E-3200 400 generated test scores that were about 6 percent lower than those of the average PII-400 running Win NT--closer to scores we've seen from machines powered by a PII­350 processor.

But where the E-3200 400 slips in performance, it compensates with its smart remote management features and clever modular design. Its motherboard supports DMI 2.0, and it comes with Intel's LANDesk Client Manager software, which allows IS personnel to monitor the PC remotely from their desks. Powerful management tools like these make the E-3200 400 a good fit for small companies that want more control over their PC fleet as well as for large businesses looking to outfit an entire division.

In addition, the E-3200 400's design makes it one of the easiest systems to service: Normally tedious tasks that involve removing the case cover and exchanging a component (whether it's the system memory or the processor) require very little time and very few tools. You get unimpeded access to the memory and expansion slots, and you can even detach and take out the E-3200 400's entire motherboard in about 30 seconds. But best of all, putting all the pieces back together is just as painless as taking them apart. Color-coded cables for the keyboard, mouse, and monitor help make the system a cinch to set up.

The E-3200's components are not state of the art, but they'll get the work done for general business applications. The Crystal PnP sound chip and ATI 3D Rage Pro Turbo AGP video chip are integrated onto the motherboard, but you can install an additional 4MB of video memory if you need it. The 17-inch Gateway EV700 monitor we evaluated offered only average display quality for images and text, but adjustments were easy enough to make. A flywheel control lets you change on-screen settings with the turn of a knob. Our E-3200 400 also came with a pair of unexceptional Altec Lansing GCS100 speakers, but multimedia isn't a priority for this PC. If you must have better speakers, for $30 more you can get the superior Boston Acoustics BA635 sound system.

On a more troubling note, the desktop design of the E-3200 severely limits its upgradability. The unit we evaluated came with CD-ROM and floppy drives, but it had no open bays for removable storage like an Iomega Zip drive. You could substitute the CD-ROM drive with a Zip drive, but doing so would make CD-based software installations impossible--a serious limitation.

Correction: We incorrectly stated that this system has no open drive bays when in fact it offers two. The space-conscious state-of-the-art interior design on this system cleverly allows you to mount one internal 3.5-inch drive beneath the drive-bay rail mounting plate. The system would have received a slightly higher overall rating if we had correctly credited it with two open internal drive bays, but not high enough to move it up to second place.--Editors

The system is backed by a generous three-year parts and labor warranty, and you get 24-hour tech support every day of the week. In surveys, our readers report the reliability of Gateway systems as good. But Gateway gets only fair marks from readers for the quality of its service. In our anonymous calls to Gateway's support line, technicians gave us adequate answers to our questions, but we had to wait on hold for about 8 minutes before we got to speak to a live person.

SUMMARY

PRO: Well-supported corporate PII-400 system, interior is easy to access CON: Subpar performance for a Win NT PII-400, limited expansion, mediocre monitor