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.

System case - AOpen ATX Midi tower case or Lian Le midi tower aluminium case. As discussed earlier (see Case closed), the system case is an important consideration when building a

A thin and versatile media PC case, with enough space for almost any piece of high end componentry.

A budget case that delivers almost everything you’d want at a great price.

Austere is the new brash, and nothing yells 'look at me' more than understated elgance.

What kind of case do you need for extreme four-GPU graphics intensity?

The humble beige box is an area of PC hardware that many people overlook. However, the quality of system cases varies significantly, and a bad design can cause no end of problems in the long run. Unfo

It’s one of the facts of the gaming hobbyist’s life: cutting edge games require cutting edge hardware. It’s as set in stone as Moore’s Law (which is itself now 40 years old). Every 12 to 18 months you need to upgrade or get left behind. Our contenders this month make a very good case for starting with a clean slate, and none more so than this month’s winner, the Modtech Civic-64FX.

With the increasing size of operating systems, games and the broadband smorgasbord of music and movies, it's just a matter of time before that dreaded message box pops up to tell you just how little space you have left.

Stunning build quality and design, but pricey and bigger than most desks can accommodate.

Minnesota mum faces $220,000 bill for copyright infringement.

Aztec’s PC is a very different take on our $4000 PC A-List challenge.

Affordable, yet punches above its price for quality and features. Ideal for a quiet PC.

A carry case with a built-in speaker? Now that's thinking.

Dodgy dealings in the McKinnon case, says hacker panel.

One of the most striking things about Pioneer’s entry this month is the cosmetics: it’s 24hr karaoke bar meets street-racing BMW. And lots of blue LEDs! And these LED’s can get a little annoying – especially the super bright “headlight” LED’s. They shine directly ahead, and at desk height they beam straight into your eyes. There is also a large, illuminated ‘Xfinity’ etched into the front door of the case. Suffice to say this case won’t be to everyone’s taste. But otherwise, the rest of the externals are OK – the top mount houses two of the six total USB ports beneath a tidy flap, and a large power button with a good action.