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.

The Hi-Grade Xperian can simply be described as a bundle of essential technology ingeniously put together in one desirable package.

Custom design watercooling and some judicious overclocking make for a showstopping performance and price.

In this line of work, there's really nothing quite like the all-too-occasional experience of opening a box from Apple, and unveiling the shiny wonders squirreled away inside. In fact, it's the only event that never fails to draw all and sundry AJB staff from throughout the office into the Labs to catch a glimpse of what the tech company with only 3 percent market share worldwide has managed to innovate this time.

When we sent out the call for multimedia systems we were expecting notebooks and PCs capable of DVD playback and some basic gaming. Pioneer not only cleared this bar with their submission - they raised it.

Beautifully engineered and constructed, the Mac Pro is also the fastest PC we’ve ever seen by some margin.

Not great value for money, but the XPS 700 offers plenty of power and striking looks.

A Media Center PC and 32in LCD TV all-in-one.

With consumer PCs these days being as fast as the supercomputers of yesteryear, are dedicated workstations still relevant?

There is something totally decadent about playing your favourite PC game on a 30-inch LCD monitor with stereo sound from two banks of speakers - one on each side.

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

The Athlon64 has only been out a short while, and although it's an excellent processor, from all accounts it's not selling as well as it should be.

After enjoying the Satellite 2800 (reviewed issue 42, p80) so much, the Toshiba Satellite Pro 4600 is a disappointment. This is surprising in that the general belief would be that the more powerful machine would be more appealing to the technically inclined than the Celeron-based Satellite 2800.

HITACHI PD32-A2100

Once upon a time not too long ago, your average inkjet printer had a single tricolour ink cartridge. Of course, the print quality was fairly ordinary, but it did the job. Today, with digital cameras the norm and home users wanting to print their own photographs, your photo printer may have as many as eight different ink cartridges.

Luxurious extras and design make this a highly desirable machine. It’s ideal if space is at a premium at home.

Fastest PC

Fastest PC

Supreme quality and performance at a supreme price.