When it comes to desktop replacements, the Dell Inspiron 5000 is a case study in portable power.

Designed to sit between the low-end Inspiron and high-end XPS families, it comes in 15in and 17in flavours and its target audience could be pretty much anyone: few laptops are as customisable as this.

For as long as the Labs has been running, Dell has been a regular participant, and has also been a consistent performer.

Fastest Notebook

Managing a very respectable battery life of four and a half hours during a full productivity workload, Dell's Inspiron scored around middle of the pack under PCMark04 but failed to deliver in 3D, bringing up the rear in third last place.

Are "free laptop" deals like Vodafone's Dell Inspiron mini 9 offer a great way to save money on a new PC, or a cleverly disguised con? We reveal the truth

Fastest Notebook

Fastest Notebook

Dell's reputation at providing reasonably priced capable 'books shines through in the 510M - the cheapest notebook on test this month.

The first time PC Authority got to take a look at a Twinhead notebook system (the Slimnote VX, Labs tested issue 20, p59) was back in July's test of budget notebook computers.

Since the release of the Eee PC 701, the 'Notebook' has dominated. Easy to use, cheap and able to be left on the coffee table next to the remote, Notebooks are true appliance computing. The choice of which one to buy comes down to personal preference, but it's hard not to prefer those with the best usability. Our rundown of your options covers their performance, battery life, and design.

For this price, the Vostro’s plain looks can be overlooked in favour of its impressive battery life

A site that shows you how to do infra red photography. Also: Asimov's laws of robotics and why they matter, Earth is getting a Space Fence, and the next big netbook processor.