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The ABS Ultimate M6 is built around a 2.4-GHz Athlon 64 FX-53 processor, backed by 2GB of DDR400 memory. This combination helped produce an impressive PC WorldBench 4 score of 147--one of the highest we've seen on any system. On the graphics side the Ultimate M6 tore through our test games, producing some very high frame rates--no doubt aided by the high-end, ATI Radeon 9800 XT graphics card. Even at the highest resolution supported by the monitor (1280 by 1024), the system performed at over 100 frames per second on all of our test games, making for very smooth movement.

Our test games also looked great on the Samsung SyncMaster 191T 19-inch LCD that came with our test system. Text reads well, even at small point sizes, and the colors look vivid. Another plus: The modish 191T's bezel measures only about half an inch, creating a floating-screen effect. For DVD playback, the LCD displayed accurate, bright colors and little if any flickering, and the combination of the Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS sound card and the Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 5.1 speaker system pumped out crisp, clear sound, even at high volume levels.

ABS loads the Ultimate M6 with extras, including dual Western Digital 74GB Serial ATA hard drives connected in a RAID Level 0 array, plus an additional Maxtor 250GB ATA133 hard drive. This combination provides both speed (from the two 10,000-rpm drives connected in the RAID array) and capacity. A memory card reader handles Memory Stick, SD, CompactFlash, and SmartMedia memory cards.

The jet black aluminum case looks stylish: The drives are hidden behind a curved panel on the front of the case, and neon accent lights highlight the curvy exterior. Getting into the case is also easy: A few turns of the side panel's thumb screws reveals a roomy interior, although this loaded machine won't require many additions.

ABS's documentation shines: The Ultimate M6's well-organized binder holds a comprehensive user manual, along with recovery and emergency boot disks, and discs for the preinstalled software and drivers--all of which are neatly filed in clear plastic folders. You'll find extensive troubleshooting information, as well as an excellent quick-start poster for setting up the system.

Such power, of course, doesn't come cheap: You'll part with a whopping $4972 for this loaded system. For that price, you could buy the second-place MPC Millennia 920i Creative Studio and have $1900 left over in change. Or to put it another way, you could buy four of our value system Best Buy (the Dell Dimension 4600), and still have over $500 in change.

Upshot: High-end performance, modish design, great-looking graphics--you get it all with this system if you've got the money.

Scott Plamondon