The 300S line of the series ships with a 2.2GHz Celeron processor, while the 300X ships with a 2.2GHz Pentium 4. You can upgrade the 300S to a 2.4GHz Pentium 4 processor, but in that event, you'd most likely want to start with the 300X line, which is built around this processor by default.

Both 300 systems ship with 256MB of SDRAM, which you can double for an additional $100. While the Gateway 300 series aren't barn-burners on benchmarks (due mostly to their integrated components), they perform well enough for their budget class.

The hard disk on both the 300S and 300X starts out at 40GB--adequate enough for light office computing and some game installations and multimedia file storage.

Built around this solid core is a sleekly designed, silver-and-black minitower, complete with two USB 2.0 ports on the front that let you connect the latest USB devices such as digital cameras and MP3 players without having to crawl behind your system. There are four more USB 2.0 ports on the rear of the system, so you won't be running out of connecting ports anytime soon.

Although the 300 series doesn't include a floppy drive by default (it will run you an extra $20 to put one in), they do offer a combination 48X/24X/48X CD-RW and DVD-ROM drive that lets you play DVD movies and burn audio CDs or create rewriteable backups. Definitely a nice touch at the low-end starting price point. And the front flap of the minitower that covers the drives flips up onto the top of the tower--when it's closed, it gives the tower a solid, one-piece feel.

Hard-core gamers won't be thrilled with the integrated graphics that share memory with the main system. While this works fine for the majority of applications, it's limiting for 3-D gaming. And the 300 series doesn't have an AGP slot, so if you want to upgrade the graphics, you'll have to track down a more rare (and usually not as powerful) PCI graphics card.

The low-end on the display spectrum is a passable 17-inch Gateway CRT. An upgrade to a 15-inch LCD will run you $150, and a 17-inch LCD will cost you $300, but both are worth considering--the smaller size and the screen clarity of the Gateway LCDs make them superior to the standard Gateway CRT.

Although only a two-speaker set, the GCS300 speakers that ship with the 300 line deliver rather powerful sound, although as expected, they're light on the bass. If you need a subwoofer to make your sound complete, you can upgrade to the Boston Acoustics BA745 three-speaker set for an extra $30.

The 300 series ships with Windows XP Home as its operating system, and moving up to XP Professional will run you an additional $99, although this OS is overkill for the average home user. Both the 300S and 300X offer a suite of applications, although the 300S comes with only Microsoft Works 7.0 and WordPerfect. The 300X gives you the Microsoft Works Suite 2003--which includes Microsoft Word. With either line, you can bump up to Microsoft Office XP Small Business for an additional $130, giving you Excel and other applications you might need to bring work home with you.

Internet connectivity options abound on the 300 series. With an integrated network interface, you can hook a 300-series desktop up to a home network or a broadband modem. And the 56K modem lets you connect to a traditional dialup ISP. In fact, Gateway tosses in six months of free access to AOL with a 300 system. You can also get $50 off the entire system price by signing up for broadband access through Gateway.

You can also opt for wireless connectivity accessories, including a USB adapter from Intel or Linksys for about $60 and a base station for another $90 or $100 if you need to build a complete wireless network.

While the documentation covers several Gateway lines, it does offer lots of details about setup, using the system, and troubleshooting problems.

The standard keyboard and mouse that ship with the 300 series match the color scheme of the rest of the system and function adequately, offering some hot keys on the keyboard for multimedia controls and Internet shortcuts. If you need fancier input devices, you can get the Logitech wireless combo for $65 or step all the way up to the Creative Prodikeys Musical Keyboard, which serves as a normal keyboard as well as a synthesizer for the musically inclined.

Gateway offers only a one-year limited warranty with the 300 series, although, as with most manufacturers, you can increase the warranty length for a fee: two years will cost you $89, while a three-year warranty costs $119. For other protection concerns, Gateway also lets you bundle in an uninterruptible power supply, which lets you power down the system safely in the event of a power loss, starting at $80.

The 300 series isn't for hard-core gamers, but if you're looking for an aesthetically pleasing system that meets the basics of performance for Web activities and office applications, the 300 series provides all that for an excellent price.

Pro: Affordable, nicely designed system.

Con: Limited graphics, short warranty.