ABS Awesome 4300

The attractive black case of this midsize tower is highlighted with blue anodized aluminum and a large see-through side panel. There are four empty PCI slots, but only two of them are usable: one slot is blocked by the graphics card fan, and an S/PDIF digital output occupies the blanking plate of the other. But if you want to use the slot, you can move the S/PDIF plate up next to the graphics card. Two USB 2.0 ports and a single FireWire port are low on the front panel, which might make them awkward to access if the system is on the floor. An additional USB port is on the memory-card reader. Yet another FireWire port and four USB 2.0 ports are on the back.

Frankly, we were disappointed with the images rendered by the combination of the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro graphics card and the ViewSonic G90 CRT monitor supplied with the 4300 we tested. Small font sizes were difficult to read, our test photos looked too dark, and we noticed a lot of moir?? patterns in everyday use. Our test games also looked somewhat dark, but the 4300 did turn in some of the highest frame rates we've seen from a value system at 1600-by-1200 resolution: 98 frames-per-second with Return to Castle Wolfenstein and 127 fps for Unreal Tournament 2003.

The included Logitech Z-640 5.1 speakers produced good quality sound for both music and games.

Upshot: The ABS Awesome 4300 is at the high end of the price range for a value system, but it is as speedy and as well configured as many power systems we've seen, making it ideal for home users who want to get into video editing.

Paul Jasper