http://www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/ PC Pro labs en-gb Sat, 17 May 2008 12:21:44 +0100 Sat, 17 May 2008 12:21:44 +0100 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 site.editor@pcpro.co.uk webmaster@pcpro.co.uk http://www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/165/300-laptops/products.html Once upon a time, trying to buy a laptop with £300 in your pocket wouldn't have left you many options. If you didn't want to buy second-hand, this tight a budget would have forced you to consider a cheap desktop PC instead. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/165/gps-devices/products.html It wasn't too long ago that GPS devices were restricted to luxury cars, yachts and mountaineering expeditions. But in the last few years they've leapt from being expensive luxuries to affordable commodity devices. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/165/motherboards/products.html When we talk about a computer's specifications, we tend to focus on its components - the CPU, graphics card, RAM and hard disks. But if you're building a PC, there's another fundamental component you can't neglect: Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/164/business-pcs/products.html Last month's business laptops Labs may have seen your office decked out with fancy new mobile kit, but there's still more value to be found in the trusty desktop PC. True, it can't be packed in a bag and taken out of the office (although with a few of these tiny chassis that isn't entirely unfeasible), but for sheer power and security a desktop is hard to beat. Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/164/digital-photo-frames/products.html In a world where smartphones, HDTVs and ultraportable laptops grab many of the headlines, you may be surprised to hear that digital photo frames are currently among the biggest-selling electrical products. Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/163/business-laptops/products.html Business laptops have it tough. Passed from desk to desk, employee to employee and unceremoniously shunted in and out of bags on a regular basis, the average business laptop has to be strong, sturdy, reliable and keenly priced if it's to succeed. Fri, 07 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/163/graphics-cards/products.html Until recently, the graphics card market was a bit of a one-horse race, but the past few frenzied months have blown things wide open again. The unveiling of ATi's dual-processor Radeon HD 3870 X2 has given Nvidia's GeForce 8800 series cards some much-needed competition at the enthusiast end, while the battle for the mid-range is more competitive now than at any time in recent memory. Fri, 07 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/162/business-projectors/products.html A projector is one of those peripherals that's either regarded with great desire or apathy. At home, it's responsible for movie displays at a size most plasma and LCD owners can only dream of. At work, it's responsible for the less exciting task of displaying presentations in meetings. Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/162/external-hard-disks/products.html If you've been a computer user for any length of time, you'll know the agony of running out of hard disk space. We're all constantly acquiring and creating data, and no matter how assiduously you clear out old and unwanted files, sooner or later you inevitably reach that fell point where the disk is full and there's nothing left you can bear to delete. Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/162/luxury-pound599-pcs/products.html Buying a PC these days is more than just getting the right processor, graphics card, hard disk and memory. Even with a relatively low budget of £599, it's perfectly possible to select components and peripherals that not only do the job, but do it with comfort, quality and style. Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/161/laser-printer-megatest---business-laser-printers/products.html When it comes to getting real work done, there's still nothing to compete with a laser printer's combination of quality, speed and economy. And while the past decade has seen laser technology evolve only gradually by contrast with the regular generational leaps seen in other areas of consumer technology, today's lasers offer a remarkable range of capabilities. Wed, 16 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/161/laser-printer-megatest---colour-laser-printers/products.html When it comes to getting real work done, there's still nothing to compete with a laser printer's combination of quality, speed and economy. And while the past decade has seen laser technology evolve only gradually by contrast with the regular generational leaps seen in other areas of consumer technology, today's lasers offer a remarkable range of capabilities. Wed, 16 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/161/laser-printer-megatest---mono-laser-printers/products.html When it comes to getting real work done, there's still nothing to compete with a laser printer's combination of quality, speed and economy. And while the past decade has seen laser technology evolve only gradually by contrast with the regular generational leaps seen in other areas of consumer technology, today's lasers offer a remarkable range of capabilities. Wed, 16 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/161/light-laptops/products.html With laptops now routinely packing the necessary punch for pretty much all everyday tasks, many of us are beginning to question the need to lug around heavyweight machines. Carrying three kilos on your shoulder is more punishing than it at first seems, so we're increasingly looking towards lighter models, both for convenience and style. Wed, 16 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/160/security-suites/products.html Back at the beginning of the decade, a stream of high-profile attacks, including Melissa, ILoveYou, SirCam, Nimda, Klez, Slammer, SoBig, MyDoom, Blaster and Sasser, each took a turn at wreaking absolute havoc across the world's PCs. Thu, 06 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/160/smartphones/products.html Convergence is a term that's all too often used in technology circles, and not always appropriately. But there's one area for which the word perfectly captures the recent progression - it's the world of smartphones. Thu, 06 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/160/ultimate-pcs/products.html Technology moves frighteningly fast. Who would have imagined just a short 12 months ago that quad-core CPUs would now be available at mainstream prices (£140 for a Q6600, anyone?), and that our A-Listed 24in TFT would cost less than £300? Thu, 06 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/159/big-brand-notebooks/products.html Fancy a new computer for Christmas? The holiday season is traditionally the peak retail period of the year, and it's a common time to invest in a new PC. But while in years gone by the lion's share of festive sales were desktop systems, modern notebooks have reached a level of power and versatility that makes a mobile a realistic alternative. Mon, 12 Nov 2007 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/159/christmas-gadgets-compact-digital-cameras/products.html It's always a little weird working in magazines. We have to write about Christmas in advance, so while everyone else is easing into the annual chaos that is the festive season, we at PC Pro have already been there, done that, roasted the editorial turkey and eaten it with all the trimmings. Mon, 12 Nov 2007 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/159/christmas-gadgets-external-hard-drives/products.html It's always a little weird working in magazines. We have to write about Christmas in advance, so while everyone else is easing into the annual chaos that is the festive season, we at PC Pro have already been there, done that, roasted the editorial turkey and eaten it with all the trimmings. Mon, 12 Nov 2007 00:00:00 +0000