(FORTUNE Small Business) – Gateway 500SE $999 Excitement just isn't what it used to be with desktops. The Gateway 500SE's new case is slick looking and well designed, but like the system within, it's not as super as Gateway makes it out to be. The 500SE is fast and fully equipped, with networking hardware and a modem built in, a speedy rewriteable CD drive, and good software to use it. The 15-inch flat-panel monitor is a nice step up too. But the unit ships with Windows XP Home by default, which I wouldn't recommend to a business unless it had just a few computers and no network. It also comes with Microsoft Works Suite 2002, as opposed to the more powerful Microsoft Office. (Works includes Microsoft Word but not Excel or Outlook.) By the time you add the software you need, you'll be out another $300. Gateway's warranty period is also a scant one year. You can do better than this through another vendor. www.gateway.com

--LARRY SELTZER