Although the mobile marketplace has been changing in the face of Centrino and the slow but gradual tablet PC adoption rate, large form factored (greater than single spindle) notebooks are still the order of the day.

There are many things that are given the 'instant' moniker, but usually products from the IT world are not among their number. Slow PC boot times (whatever happened to instant-on PCs?) and a whole mess of configurations takes the instant gratification out of most technology...

Chance or coincidence? AMD releases the Athlon 64, specifically targeted at the consumer performance market, and only days later Intel announces a secret processor aimed squarely at the same MHz-hungry community: the Pentium 4 Extreme Edition (P4EE).

The only PC in our mini roundup this month to feature a rather boring beige case, it more than makes up for its looks with blistering performance at a very reasonable price. Inclusion of thumb screws will allow you to get at your hardware quickly and without the need for tools. Always handy for those of us that like to fiddle frequently.

The Sony bandwagon rolls on; this is another simple to use set that produces brilliant big-screen images

The world's most amazing multi-room audio system just got better with the addition of internet radio streaming and an iPhone app for controlling your music from anywhere in the house.

If it’s a Blu-ray equipped desktop replacement you’re after, the 8920G is a fine choice.

If you’re looking for a well-featured, great-value desktop replacement, the A7S fits the bill. Plenty of grunt, a 200GB drive and great features - Asus is looking better and better.

Well built, fast and with a great screen, the Dell also has superb battery life.

Dell’s latest business model is another superb outing for its recently released Latitude E-series. It’s not cheap, though

It's a shame this isn't cheaper: a fine projector if you're prepared to pay a premium for Full HD

A great desktop replacement thanks to the huge screen and dual 200GB hard disks, but its price is too high.

A huge 18.4in widescreen, Blu-ray drive and a big hard disk make this a great entertainment laptop

The most fully-featured notebook we’ve seen, but price will determine just how desirable this stylish notebook really is.

Absolutely jam packed with features, this notebook isn't your run-of-the-mill basic-function productivity laptop. At every turn we found hardware above and beyond the call of duty including a 64MB FX5200 graphics card, sexy widescreen display, 80GB hard disk drive and DVD-RAM/DVD-R/RW slot mounted drive for all your backup and home movie-making needs. A hybrid somewhere between legacy continuation and dismissal, this notebook features three rear-mounted USB 2.0 ports and parallel connectivity.

Emagens entry is a fairly mixed system, with some excellent and some average features

In many respects, this system is very similar to the one which was reviewed in last month's issue

In a world first, we've managed to get our hands on a review unit of Sony's stunningly thin ultraportable. Most surprisingly, it sports the newest Atom chip from Intel - the Z550 2.0GHz and GMA 500 graphics.

An HD screen, Blu-ray drive, TV tuner and competitive price result in an excellent-value entertainment laptop.

Powerful, well price and a worthy addition to the A-List. The PacStar Core i7 is a PC we wouldn't be unhappy to take home and spend the weekend gaming on