Gateway recently switched all its business desktop lines over to the new BTX chassis from traditional ATX. BTX, or Balanced Technology Extended, is a redesign that puts all the warmest components in the middle of the chassis. That way, they can be cooled by airflow running from the front of the system to the rear. This results in quieter running, more efficient, and more reliable systems.

Their budget-oriented E-2500 series features the lowest cost business BTX systems, starting at under $700. Packed in a micro BTX mid-tower, there's still a good amount of room for all the components you need at your business. The flat-black tower would look sharp on any desktop, featuring two front USB 2.0 ports for easy connection of peripherals and a 305-watt power supply in case you add high-end components later.

The starting core power isn't top-of-the-line, with a 2.66GHz Celeron D processor and 256MB of 533MHz memory. Opting for a faster Celeron is an inexpensive prospect as you can upgrade to a 2.93GHz Celeron D for only $40. But if you want to step up to a Pentium 4 processor with Hyper-Threading, it will cost you $160 for the 2.8GHz chip or $185 for the faster 3.0GHz P4.

You'll most likely want at least another 256MB of memory, which will add a sizeable $80 to the price tag. The systems do support up to 4GB of memory with a total of four sockets, so there's room to add more RAM later.

Hard drive space is a bit on the low side at only 40GB. But it is a fast 7200rpm Serial ATA 150 drive. If you need more storage room, you can double the drive to 80GB for only $10 or quadruple it to a 160GB drive for only $45-- both very cost-effective upgrades.

The optical drive is a basic CD-ROM reader that can't be used for much other than installing applications. If you need write capabilities, you can upgrade to a fast 48X/32X/48X CD-RW drive for only $20 or a combo CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive for $40. You can also opt for a 16X DVD+/-RW drive with Double Layer support for $80. This drive can handle both DVD+ and DVD- recordable and rewriteable media as well as Double Layer media that can house up to 8.5GB of data on a single disk.

Since the E-2500s are business systems, they ship with Gateway System Manager, Gateway's own management software. This lets your system administrators keep tabs on the system over the network, performing remote software upgrades and troubleshooting easily.

Gateway also offers an excellent three-year warranty on the line, which includes on-side support the next business day in case a problem can't be resolved over the phone or online.

Gateway includes a floppy drive with the E-2500, although you can remove it from your configuration and knock $10 off the price of the system. You can also opt for an Iomega Zip drive instead-- a 750MB internal drive with one disk will cost you $89. If you want both Zip and floppy drives on your system, the configuration is $99.

Graphics are integrated on the E-2500, sharing up to 128MB of video memory with the main system RAM, so they won't be stellar video editing systems. But integrated graphics performance is getting better all the time, so most businesses won't even notice the lack of a dedicated video card.

Audio is also integrated and there aren't any speakers included with the system, although for $10 you can opt for internal speakers inside the chassis. The sound is nothing more than basic tinny output, but it provides access to the audio cues you might need to hear from the operating system.

There's no modem by default, but most businesses won't need one. What the systems do have is integrated Marvell 10/100/1000 twisted pair Ethernet built in, so your E-2500 can be connected to your high-speed network without causing bottleneck.

The low system price doesn't include a monitor, so if you need a display for the system that's an additional cost to consider. Gateway recommends their handsome black VX7555 17-inch CRT. It's available for a reasonable $149 and it matches the black BTX chassis nicely. If you'd rather have a flat panel display, you can also get these in matching black with a 15-inch model starting at $249.

The E-2500 ships with Windows XP Professional, and Gateway includes Microsoft Works 8.0 with the system, a basic set of office applications. Microsoft Works Suite 2005 that includes Microsoft Word is available for a $40 upgrade.

If you need Microsoft's more popular Office software, you can upgrade to the Basic edition which includes Word, Excel, and Outlook for $130, the Small Business edition which adds Publisher and PowerPoint for $250, or the Professional edition which tacks on the Access database software for $330.

The input devices are plain but serviceable with an optical mouse and a standard keyboard. Gateway offers the Microsoft Wireless Optical Desktop Elite as an optional $100 upgrade, letting you cut the cords on the included mouse and keyboard.

Gateway's E-2500 series of business systems starts at a very reasonable $689. You'll probably need to make a few component upgrades to get a system to better suit your needs, but most of the upgrades are quite affordable. You'll end up with a reliable BTX system with management software and a decent range of components for a reasonable price.

Pro: Great price, well-designed chassis
Con: Core power needs upgraded

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Gateway Computers
7565 Irvine Center Drive
Irvine, CA 92628
800-846-200
http://www.gateway.com

Warranty
3 years