Fantastically fun and balanced play, especially if you don't Rambo your way through the game

A new take on an old classic, with a first-person perspective and mixed results.

Our poor receptionist didn’t quite know what to do when Altech’s monolithic machine turned up. She had a point.

While the epithet 'multimedia PC' used to be bandied about to over-hype any PC in the mid-'90's that was capable of playing music, rudimentary video, and games, the descriptive was overused so much on sub-par PCs that the impact of any real multimedia capabilities was diminished in the wash of pretenders.

Dell's new Inspiron 5100 delivers a truckload of performance thanks to a 2.8GHz P4 processor, which even managed to outscore the 3GHz Hi-Grade we tested this month.

The JoyBook 8000 marks the first attempt by BenQ to enter what some might argue is a crowded notebook market. BenQ's stance on the JoyBook is different from other notebook manufacturers though, as it won't be selling the JoyBook as 'just another notebook', but will instead market it totally as a digital lifestyle product.

While the build quality of the ASUS A4000L is good and sturdy, this notebook is much larger than the others featured in our roundup.

This is a game that pushes PC hardware to the limit, and puts so called ‘next-gen’ consoles to shame.

The Acer Aspire SA20 is a machine built on a budget and it performs accordingly.

Punch Technology's Punch Biz+ system features a 2.8GHz Intel Pentium 4 processor, half gigabyte of PC3200 DDR-SDRAM, 52-speed CD-RW and a 17in monitor for under $2000 -- impressive pricing for this sort of spec machine.

We find this model hovering in the no-man's-land between desktop replacement and notebook. Its large form factor and huge screen come at the expense of weight, while the wireless and large battery do make it viable for users on the move.

The Athlon XP 2700+ represents a significant leap forward for the Athlon line – it solves a long-term problem by stepping up the default frontside bus (FSB) speed from 266MHz to 333MHz.

Every once in a while, we receive a PC for review thats an absolute pleasure to use, offering stunning quality and bucketloads of performance. XENONs Atomic 625 is all this and more.

Comparatively pricey, but IBM delivers a quality rack-server package.

Physically similar to the Scorpion Z-Box system with its black anodised midi tower, this unit also features a pair of both front-mounted audio 3.5mm sockets and USB ports, perfect for quick plug and play of both bus and externally powered devices such as keyboards, printers, joysticks and removable USB pen drives.

The Athlon XP 2700+ represents a significant leap forward for the Athlon line – it solves a long-term problem by stepping up the default frontside bus (FSB) speed from 266MHz to 333MHz. This means that the Athlon XP can finally run in sync with 333MHz DDR RAM. While most currently available Athlon motherboards support 333MHz DDR, there is virtually no performance boost between this and 266MHz DDR when running an Athlon XP with a 266MHz FSB. The extra speed offered by the RAM quite simply goes to waste, because the CPU can't keep up with it.

Montevina's official launch is on the way, but meantime components are appearing in the wild - including the new 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo T9600.

While not unfamiliar with barebones PCs and small components designed to take your PC out of the study and into the lounge room, the MSI MEGA PC is the first out-of-the-box system we've reviewed that would snuggle right in amongst your hi-fi components.

New notebook platform to include WiMax, Blu-Ray, and new GMA X4500 graphics.

Betting its chips on mobile gaming.