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The Zoostorm has a powerful Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 processor and 2GB of RAM. It blitzed through our benchmarks with an overall score of 248 and a particularly high score of 439 in our video encoding test.

Programs have to be specifically rewritten to take advantage of multi-core processors though, so you won't necessarily see a huge performance boost in all your applications compared to a single or dual core processor. It's still impressively

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fast though and surprisingly quiet, even when working through our demanding tests.

Compromises had to be made to accommodate the processor though. The Zoostorm relies on an integrated Intel graphics chip so if you want to play games or connect a second monitor, then you'll have to spend a little extra on a dedicated PCI Express graphics card.

The 19in D-sub monitor has a widescreen resolution of 1,440x900. It looks bright, although there was a slight blueish cast and some images looked grainy. It's fine for watching movies and everyday office use, but those doing photo-manipulation work may find it annoyingly inaccurate.

If the 250GB hard disk isn't spacious enough, there's room inside for two more. There's also room for another DVD writer or Blu-ray drive. There are also two PCI slots and one PCI Express x1 slot for adding peripherals such as TV tuners and wireless adapters.

Although we wish the monitor had better image quality, the Zoostorm is a powerful PC at a bargain price, and so well worth buying.