CPU

If your PC is less of a speed demon and more of a dinosaur then it's time to upgrade your CPU. We put the latest low, mid and high end processors to the test.

To kick-start the series we're going to begin, as it were, at the top – with the fine art of motherboard and CPU installation. Whether you're building your machine anew, or upgrading your current one with more powerful components, the following guide will help make installing these two key components a breeze.

An old PC is like putty in your hands. Tim Dean looks at how you can shape it into a new system with a few easy upgrades.

All the acronyms and obscure new technologies got you in a jargon jumble? Tim Dean busts it up to help us make sense of it all.

Intel has promised that Hyper-Threading (HT) will deliver increased efficiency and decrease the amount of time taken to accomplish multiple processes. But is it really all that it’s cracked up to be?

Squeeze that extra bit of power out of your existing hardware. Tim Dean looks at the principles of overclocking and examines the potential performance increase.

Choosing a CPU for your PC isn’t an easy task. Here are our picks for budget, mid-range and high-end systems.

What happens when multiple-core processors are no longer sufficient for our demands? Stuart Andrews looks at the future of CPUs.

Impressive and free antivirus and antispyware package

Impressive and free antivirus and antispyware package

Impressive and free antivirus and antispyware package

Impressive and free antivirus and antispyware package

Impressive and free antivirus and antispyware package

Impressive and free antivirus and antispyware package

Impressive and free antivirus and antispyware package

Looking to build your dream machine? We explore the latest components on the market, and give you advice on which ones to hunt down, along with the general price you can expect to pay for each major component.

Run Windows apps on Linux by running Windows itself. Leigh Dyer shows you how.

Prepare to say goodbye to the Pentium as we reveal the next generation

We test the big three OSes on level ground - Boot Camp.