External hard disks are a great way to add storage. We test 13, from sub-$130 portable drives to mighty terabyte desktop units.

Fifteen security packages go head to head in our labs test, including Kaspersky, Norton, ZoneAlarm, McAfee, F-Secure and AVG. Find out which will keep you safe and which could let you down.

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

If you're a gamer or enthusiast, the trusty conventional PC is still your friend, not the shiny new all-in-one PCs hitting the market

A winner on the strength of its excellent protection, coming first or equal-first in our malware and firewall test.

Our full guide to saving cash-saving secrets is here, from how to get discounts on PCs, to SIM only phone contracts, the best DSLR cameras deals, and discount licensing from Adobe, Microsoft and others.

As you can see from the performance table, Core i7 is still a safe bet in terms of sheer speed, though the case for AMD is not as simple as that.

An improvement on last year’s package, but sadly still flawed.

A do-it-all package that detects an exceptional range of malware

A diverse family including some stellar CPUs and numerous also-rans.

A diverse family including some stellar CPUs and numerous also-rans

A new behavioural analysis module only adds to AVG’s capabilities, although it isn’t the most elegant marriage

A fierce protector when it comes to web threats, but merely middling elsewhere

Graphics card manufacturers’ obsession with multi-GPU boards continues this month. The Asus HD 3850 X2 brings to market the novel formula of two ATi Radeon 3850 GPUs on one card.

Plenty of connectors, but not much pizzazz

A new interface and extra web-protection capabilities make AVG our top free antivirus choice

A powerful card at a competitive price – a deserved victory to cap ATI’s remarkable turnaround

More approachable than ever, with excellent malware detection in an affordable package