Mesh Matrix Select Pro

So, for under £500 you get a fast PC capable of playing most games, as well as a svelte 15in TFT screen. The warranty is a sound one-year on-site maintenance followed by two years of return-to-base cover. The one area in which the Mesh is a little limited is upgrade potential, as the motherboard is Socket 754 rather than the now more normal Socket 939, and it doesn't have PCI Express. But at this price something has to give, and with a budget PC like this we'd rather see good components across the board than an expensive motherboard with dozens of unused slots and technologies.

With no PCI Express, a year could see the Radeon 9600 reaching the end of its life, and there may not be many AGP cards left on the market. If you can squeeze another £300 into your budget, take a look at the PCI Express-equipped Evesham nForce GT (see p60), which should see you through to Far Cry 2 and beyond. But there's no doubt that this very capable system is incredible value for money and as such takes its place as our A-Listed value PC.

Author: CLIVE WEBSTER