ABS Sensation 1300

WHAT'S NOT: Playing DVD movies, we noticed periodic skips and stutters during high-motion action scenes. Colors looked a bit bland, too. Also, while playing a session of Return to Castle Wolfenstein, we saw shimmering and jagged edges on some objects.

WHAT ELSE: ABS sent a flat-screen, 17-inch SyncMaster 753DF CRT with the Sensation 1300; at a 1024 by 768 resolution and 85-Hz refresh rate, it displayed clean, legible text for all of the fonts in our test image, while a test photo had bright colors and accurate skin tones. The monitor can handle resolutions up to 1280 by 1024, though only at 66-Hz refresh rates, beyond which you may see screen flicker. Typical of many of today's new systems, the Sensation 1300 has six USB 2.0 ports, two up front and four on the back panel. Also present are a 16X DVD-ROM drive and a 48X/12X/48X CD-RW drive--not uncommon now, even in this price category. You don't get tool-less upgrading at this price point, however: The machine's side panel comes off with two large thumbscrews, and though the interior cabling is neatly taped, you'll need a screwdriver to install drives and cards.

Documentation is well organized and clearly written; it's packaged in a large yellow binder that includes a basic guide to ABS computers, individual component manuals, and driver CDs (which are tucked away in sturdy, color-coded, resealable plastic sheets). ABS warrants the Sensation 1300 for three years, which trumps the baseline one-year warranty provided by competing vendors in the low-cost PC market.

UPSHOT: As close as you can get to having it all: low price, impressive performance, and a solid set of features.