Lab

Do-it-all desktops

You can worry about inflation and interest rates, but one bit of good financial news is that decent computers are getting cheaper and cheaper. Just look at the components that you can find in this month's tested systems, all available for less than £1000 - and we don't mean a penny less or a pound less, but up to £250 less.

There are quad core processors, acres of storage space, and not just the latest graphics cards but a pair of them harnessed together, if that's what takes your fancy. And if you thought a giant 22 inch widescreen display was a luxury, think again: it's another amazing feature that's now practically standard, with one of our entrants going the extra mile to include a 24 inch screen that's ready for full HD movies. To prove it, they've even installed a Blu-ray drive to play the latest high definition discs.

Next to these delights, everyday extras like a set of surround sound speakers may seem a bit pedestrian, but they're still welcome. And if you want to add even more bits later, you'll be more than happy with the expansion potential of most of these machines. There are spare PCI slots waiting for additional graphics cards, TV tuners (already fitted in one of the PCs), dedicated sound cards, or whatever else you fancy.

There's also plenty of room for more storage, although with a massive half-terabyte - 500GB - of hard disk space commonplace among this bunch, it'll be a while before an upgrade is needed.

Windows Vista Home Premium is included, too, which means you'll be getting the full benefit of Microsoft's latest operating system. It's worth bearing in mind, though, that a couple of manufacturers have opted for the 64-bit version, rather than the more common 32-bit. The benefit is that they can make use of more RAM - avoiding the usual limit of about 3GB that affects PCs even with 4GB fitted - but the catch is that a lot of existing peripherals won't work until compatible drivers are released. Check this out with your peripheral manufacturers before buying a 64-bit system.

Most of the suppliers this month have opted for the new nVidia GeForce 9600GT graphics card, and a fair few have stuck two of these beasts together in an SLI arrangement, where the cards work in tandem to increase power. They're the newest cards in the recently-introduced 9 series, and even though they'll eventually be mid-range products (there are 9800 and 9900 variations on the way), they're on a par with any of the old 8800 cards, which have been top of the pile for quite a while and are still excellent performers. The 9600GTs are powerful enough to blast through most of the latest games with ease.

In short, no longer do you need to shell out vast sums for a top-level PC that'll make friends and family green with envy. A sensible budget will buy it all: lightning quick processor, storming graphics, big screen and a bevy of extras. You just need to choose which of these great deals is the best for you - and that's what our reviews are here for.