Stack your system full of software without paying a penny, with our guide to essential downloads

It lacks the frills of others here, but the Toshiba is ideal if you want a 17in screen at the lowest price.

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.

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

A Media Center Extender, upscaling DVD player and great games console

A Blu-ray drive is just about the only justification for the Sony’s high price; it’s poor value overall.

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

A huge screen and an affordable price, but it doesn’t rival a desktop PC where power is concerned

If you’re looking for a well-featured, great-value desktop replacement, the A7S fits the bill

If you want a monstrously powerful laptop, look no further.

Packed with great features and offering decent coverage, the DIR-655 is a winner at this price.

Excellent speed, both wired and wireless, but this comes at a hefty price.

All the power of a desktop PC in a fraction of the space. We put a selection of desktop replacements to the test.

All the power of a desktop PC in a fraction of the space. We put a selection of desktop replacements to the test.

Play your video, photo and music files on your TV from a networked PC. We put five network players to the test