Saving space and clearing clutter have always topped the list of design goals for desktop PCs, and the latest iteration of Gateway's all-in-one PC, the Profile 4 XL, succeeds. The Profile series isn't built for internal expansion, but with six USB 2.0 ports and two FireWire ports, you can hang plenty of external peripherals. The side-mounted, notebook-style PC Card slot provides a convenient way to add wireless network or Bluetooth cards, or even removable flash RAM or hard drive cards. The Kensington security slot might see more use in an office, but it's also a great way to lock down the system in a dorm room or your home.

Loaded for power, the Gateway houses a 2.53-GHz P4 processor, 512MB of DDR SDRAM, and a 120MB hard drive. While the included CD-RW drive is handy for backups and burning audio CDs, we didn't understand the omission of a DVD player for watching movies on the integrated 17-inch diagonal LCD panel, though a CD/DVD-RW combo drive should be available by the time you read this. And apparently, the all-in-one design has prodigious power requirements: The AC power brick is huge—the size of a small space heater.

The Profile 4 XL is evolutionary, not revolutionary. Still, the progress in its all-in-one PC design makes the latest Gateway model ever more attractive.