Buying Guide: Best NAS drive: 8 on test

Best NAS drive: Overview

NAS (network attached storage) devices certainly aren't the most glamorous gadgets you can have in your home. A network-connected hard drive might seem like a remnant from a home office – a backup necessity for over-paranoid users and not much more.

Early NAS devices – and even some new no-frills budget ones – do little more than allow any computer that's connected to a network to access an external hard drive as if it was physically installed in the computer. However, a lot of new NAS devices have some great features built in, which can completely transform what your home network is capable of.

Not only can they act as media servers throughout your house – letting your devices access and stream music and videos to any device on the network – they can also be used be used to stream your media across the internet, letting you access the files from anywhere in the world, and effectively allowing you to create your own version of Spotify or Netflix.

As for cloud backup and synchronisation services, while you could pay Dropbox the equivalent of $9.99 a month for 50GB of space, with a NAS device you could have your own service with huge amounts of storage (some NAS devices accept hard drives of up to 3TB) without monthly fees or the need to trust your private data to a third party. We've gathered the best NAS devices on the market to find out just what they are capable of.

Buffalo Cloudstation Duo - £240
www.buffalotech.com

Western Digital My Book Live - £147
www.wdc.com

Netgear ReadyNAS Ultra 4 - £423
www.netgear.co.uk

Buffalo Linkstation Pro LS-VL - £129
www.buffalotech.com

D-Link ShareCenter - £60
www.dlink.com

Iomega StorCenter ix2-200 - £274
www.iomega.com

Netgear Stora MS2110 - £130
www.netgear.co.uk

Synology DS411 - £485
www.synology.com

Best network storage: 1-6

1. Buffalo Cloudstation Duo

There remains a lingering feeling that setting up a network attached storage device can be complicated, time consuming and fiddly. Buffalo aims to dispel these preconceptions with the Cloudstation Duo, a NAS kit designed to be as user friendly as possible without losing any features or functionality.

The device itself is compact, though quite heavy. Flicking open the front gives quick access to the two 1TB hard drives that come installed. Removing the drives is a bit fiddly at first, but the process is certainly a lot easier than with many other NAS drives.

The fact that the Buffalo Cloudstation Duo is supplied with two large hard drives already installed and set up in a RAID 1 configuration is great, and eliminates a more fiddly and complicated part of the setup procedure.

Read the full Buffalo Cloudstation Duo review

2. Western Digital My Book Live

When it comes to hard drives, Western Digital knows its stuff. While the Buffalo Cloudstation Duo is promoted for its ease of use, the Western Digital My Book Live goes even further in its pursuit of simplicity.

For a start, the small case is completely enclosed, so there is no easy way to open the My Book Live up and replace or upgrade the hard drive as you can with the Buffalo Cloudstation Duo. This means that it's not really suitable as a comprehensive backup device – the lack of hot swappable hard drives means you'd have to physically remove the entire thing if you wanted to store your data safely off site.

The 'My' in the title is evidence that this is a NAS device that focuses on creating your own personal cloud, sharing your own media and files across the internet with as little fuss as possible.

Read the full Digital My Book Live review

3. Netgear ReadyNAS Ultra 4

NAS devices are a speedy, convenient means of backing up data, and units like the ReadyNAS Ultra 4 featured here are also capable of streaming any multimedia files to any device that can accept them.

Each of the ReadyNAS Ultra 4's bays can accommodate a 2TB drive, resulting in a possible 8TB of storage – that's an awful lot of video, photos and music.

The Netgear ReadyNAS Ultra 4 supports various implementations of RAID technology, which trades off available capacity against protection for your data. If one of the drives fails, you should be able to recover your files.

Features like RAIDar and X-RAID 2 help you make the most of this handy feature. Powered by a dual-core 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, it's speedy and responsive. The onboard DLNA 1.5 media server worked well with a variety of networked players. Even multiple full HD video streams were glitch-free.

Read the full Netgear ReadyNAS Ultra 4 review

4. Buffalo LinkStation Pro LS-VL

Devices like these are becoming the tool of choice for storing a wide range of digital media, including downloaded movies and TV, music, images and CD/DVD/Blu-ray rips. Speed, capacity and reliability are all essential features, and the Linkstation Pro LS-VL has all three.

This 'Multimedia Shared Network Storage BitTorrent Download Box', ships with a power supply, LAN cable and installation discs, and is available with built-in SATA hard drives in 1TB, 1.5TB and 2TB sizes. Windows and Mac OS X compatible, the unit is simply plugged into any network Ethernet port or into the back of your wireless router, and is instantly accessible from any networked device.

The device features transfer speeds up to 76MB/s courtesy of a 1.6GHz CPU, which is a big increase from Buffalo's more home user-orientated Cloudstation Duo.

Read the full Buffalo LinkStation Pro LS-VL review

5. D-Link ShareCenter

D-Link has designed its NAS device to be at the centre of your home network, sharing your files and media throughout your home and over the internet – an admirable aim. The installation process is fairly straightforward, though there are a few options that you need to set yourself, and these can be confusing if you're not used to setting up network attached storage devices.

For example, at one point you're asked if you want to enable NTP server, without any explanation of what this is. There's also a step that asks you to enter your email address, along with port number and SMTP server – a pain if you don't have that information readily to hand.

The network drive wasn't mapped during installation – instead we had to run the D-Link Easy Search Utility, which found the D-Link ShareCenter on our network and then let us map it.

As with other aspects of the ShareCenter, the execution was rather cumbersome and inelegant, but it worked.

Read the full D-Link ShareCenter review

6. Iomega's StorCenter ix2-200

This 2TB NAS drive is billed as cloud storage, which means you can access the drive from anywhere with an internet connection. It's nothing hugely new, but Iomega has provided a good web interface for accessing your stored data online.

Unlike some of the other drives in our test, we had to install software to make it appear on our network. Fortunately, the software is well designed and your hand is held firmly through the process, making it ideal for people who have never used a NAS drive before.

From here, every feature of the drive is clearly explained with colourful bold icons, and essential tasks – such as setting up backups – are highlighted.

There's a range of useful tools too, from email updates to let you know if anything's changed on the drive itself, to the rather useful ability to download torrent files. You can also view hardware statistics, such as how full the drive is, and its current temperature. It's ideally suited to a RAID setup, too, and this can be implemented quickly and easily.

Read the full Iomega's StorCenter ix2-200 review

Best network storage: 7,8 and verdict

7. Netgear's Stora MS2110

We had high hopes for Netgear's NAS drive – after all, Netgear's home networking solutions have often trumped the competition in tests like these. However, we found ourselves sorely let down.

As soon as we connected the drive, all other computers on the network lost the ability to connect. It turned out that the drive had been completely locked down to the previous user, forcing us to do a complete hardware reset. That's not hugely unusual, but we're not sure why Netgear insists on you entering a software-style product key for something that's unlikely to ever leave your home or office.

Although the drive is hefty, the build quality is below par. The front panel – which clicks off to access the hard drives – sprang off in our hands. In fact, merely placing it on the floor caused the panel to flop open. Fortunately, the drives inside feel nicely secure, with a latch at the back to eject them.

Read the full Netgear's Stora MS2110 review

8. Synology DS411

The DiskStation feels like it's stuck between being a consumer-friendly NAS drive and a rack-mounted server. It's supplied without any hard drives, and looks like a small PC, complete with thumbscrews at the back and an array of lights at the front.

Synology recommends certain drives for the product, which are formatted on insertion. This isn't an easy process, especially compared to the more user-friendly drives we've looked at.

Hard drives must be mounted and formatted with Synology's software, and then the NAS drive itself has to be configured via a small patch located on the CD. Then any folders you want on the drive need to be added manually. These all seem like features that would be automated on other NAS drives.

Read the full Synology DS411 review

Verdict

This group test proved to be a perfect microcosm of the current state of the NAS market. On one hand you have devices that stick to the old ways of doing things – heaps of functionality, but with little thought of user-friendliness. The main culprits here are the Netgear ReadyNAS Ultra 4, the D-Link ShareCenter and the Synology DS411.

On the other side of the divide are the devices whose manufacturers have acknowledged that there is a growing market for centralised storage in the home, and have tailored their devices to offer easy to use interfaces for creating our very own personal clouds without a single network administrator in sight.

We believe that these devices that will excel in the future, when more homes are equipped with internet enabled devices like smart TVs, leaving the backwards-looking NAS devices in their wake.

Best NAS: Iomega StorCenter ix2-200 - £274

The StorCenter ix2-200 encapsulates everything we were looking for in a NAS device. Its advanced features are wrapped up in a user friendly package that's easy to set up and maintain. It isn't as fast as a professional NAS, but for the internet connected home, this is a great choice.

Best value NAS: Western Digital My Book Live - £147

It's not quite the cheapest NAS device on test here, but the Western Digital My Book Live wins the best value award because it has some great features, is reliable and is easy to use. If you want a relatively cheap NAS device that you can quickly set up and then just leave it to do its job without you having to check on it and tinker every now and then, go for this.

Buying Guide: Best printer 2012: 16 top inkjet and laser printers

Best printer: best inkjet printers

What's the best printer to buy? All-purpose printers are a booming market, and you're spoilt for choice, so here's our pick of the best printers on the market right now.

In choosing the best printer your first decision is whether to go for a standard printer, or a multi-function device which includes a scanner and which can also work as a standalone copier.

These aren't much larger than regular printers, but they're a whole lot more versatile, especially when you need to keep a copy of a letter, a bill or any other important document, so our first list includes the best inkjet printers and best multi-function devices.

You should also think carefully about whether to invest in an inkjet or a laser. Lasers are usually associated with office environments, where they produce sharp, smudge-free printouts quickly, quietly and economically, but this can be just as useful at home or in a home office.

And don't imagine that mono laser printers are the only option - colour laser printers are now very affordable, and you can even get get multi-function laser printers, too. So we've also come up with a list of the best laser printers, and not just for office users with budgets to burn, but home users looking for value, quality, compactness and ease of use.

So let's firstly look at the best inkjet printers around - hit the second page for the best laser printers. Please remember that the prices shown here are for guidance only.

1. HP DeskJet 1000 – £30

How do they do it for the money? It's not just that this printer is cheap, because with most budget printers you get stung later on with high-priced consumables, but the black and tri-colour ink cartridges for the DeskJet 1000 are pretty reasonably priced, and you can get XL high-capacity versions too.

And for a budget printer, it's pretty fast, with a quoted maximum of 16ppm mono, 12ppm colour. There are no fancy extras - you even have to supply your own USB cable - but it does exactly what it says on the box, providing low-cost, fuss-free printing for as little money as possible.

Buy from Amazon

2. Epson Stylus SX425W - £60

The SX425W gives you a a lot for your money, with built-in memory card slots, wi-fi printing and multi-function scanning and copying. It uses Epson's DURABrite inks, which means that the paper is dry as soon as it emerges from the printer, and you get exceptionally clean, bright and smudge-proof output on plain paper.

Photo output is slightly dull by comparison, though, and like a lot of low-cost printers, the SX425W does cost quite a bit to run. It's perfect though, if you want a versatile yet inexpensive document printer for light or occasional use.

Read our Epson Stylus SX425W review

3. HP Photosmart 7510 - £120

With print quality very high and prices ultra-low, what can multifunction printer manufacturers do to improve on previous models? This new HP Photosmart 7510 sets itself apart by offering a huge range of features, but it also leaves a few behind.

The HP Photosmart 7510 uses five ink tanks: CMYK, plus a pigmented black for clear, waterproof text. It connects to your Mac through USB or to your home network using Wi-Fi b/g/n, and has AirPrint for printing from iOS devices.

Read our HP Photosmart 7510 review

4. Lexmark Genesis S815 - £120

Lexmark's Genesis S815 is full of fresh ideas. Instead of a standard flatbed scanner, this multifunction device uses an image capture system based on a digital camera. It can capture an entire page in three seconds. It boasts a range of integrated mini-applications too. Downloadable apps include a calculator, clock, Facebook and Twitter integration, graph or music paper printing and there's even an app to display news and sports feeds from Apple, ESPN and the BBC. Overall print quality is good, too.

Read our Lexmark Genesis S815 review

5. Canon Pixma MX870 - £150

If you're looking for a stunning printer for your small office or home office, the Canon PIXMA MX870 is for you. Like most recent Canons, it uses a five-tank system with pigmented black for crystal-clear and waterproof text printing. It can't print directly onto optical discs, but its fax facilities and 35-sheet document feeder are probably more use for a small-office machine.

Connectivity is through USB, Ethernet and WiFi. It took almost five minutes to print our 20-page text document, which is a little slow for an office printer, but its print quality is fantastic.

Read our Canon PIXMA MX870 review

6. Kodak ESP 9250 - £160

Kodak's top multi-function printer has a much stronger business slant than its cheaper consumer models. Kodak's drive to reduce running costs means both documents and photos could cost you less in the long run, even though the 9250's initial asking price is quite high.

And because it uses just two separate ink cartridges, it's simple to maintain. Photo output is, actually, a tad disappointing, but if the built-in fax machine, 30-sheet automatic document feeder, wi-fi and Ethernet connectivity make up for that.

Read our Canon Kodak ESP 9250 review

7. Canon Pixma MG8150 - £193

You can sum up this amazing Canon printer in two words; 'no compromises'. It doesn't compromise on print quality. In fact, it has arguably the best print engine of any multiformat inkjet, with stellar photo printing and crystal-clear text. It makes no compromises on speed either. Our 20-page text document printed in just over four minutes, which is entirely acceptable for a home printer. And nor is its feature set compromised. It can do disc onbody printing, automatic Duplex and more. It's an excellent all-round printer.

Buy from Amazon

8. Canon Pixma iP100 - £200

It's fine using a laptop when visit friends, customers or colleagues, but that's a fat lot of good when your printer's back at the office. The portable Pixma iP100 is the answer, printing anything from photos and business cards to regular A4 documents, and at a decent speed, too.

The rechargeable battery's good for up to 300 prints, which is remarkable in itself, and the quality is fine, both for photos and regular documents, so you could even use it as your everyday desktop printer too.

Read our Canon Pixma iP100 review

9. HP Envy 110 All-in-One - £220

This is the ideal printer for those who like a little style with their technology. It's also great for printing from mobile devices. It's AirPrint-compatible, so you can print directly from an iOS device such as an iPhone or iPad that's connected to the same wireless network, and HP's useful new ePrint feature means you can print out documents and images from any device that can send an email simply by emailing it to the printer's unique address.

Buy from Amazon

10. Brother MFC-J6910DW - £284

If you need to print in A3, this Brother printer can be bought for under £400. It's as compact as it's possible to be for an A3 multifunction device, sturdily built and has two paper trays so you can load A3 and A4 paper simultaneously, and a rear sheet feeder for the occasional photo paper print or letterhead. Connectivity is through USB, Ethernet or WiFi, and it features an 8.3cm touchscreen.

Like many Brother printers, the MFC-J6910DW's print quality is merely workmanlike. Text is a little grey, and photos are a little over-red. But it's fine for day to day use.

Read our Brother MFC-J6910DW review

Best printer: best laser printers

1. Samsung ML-1665 - £70

Laser printers have a lot going for them. They're cheaper to run than inkjets, they produce sharp, dry, smudge-free printouts, they're civilized and they're quiet. They've also got a reputation for being too expensive for anything but office use, but the the ML-1665 changes all that.

You might expect a cheap laser to be crude and slow, but the Samsung is neither. It also has a really smart 'screen print' button that outputs whatever's on your computer screen at the time - perfect for grabbing a quick hard copy without all the fuss of print dialogs and page setup.

Buy from Amazon

2. Brother DCP7030 - £115

With the Brother CCP7030 you get the advantages of a laser printer combined with the flexibility of a multifunction device. The printer might be mono, but the scanner is full-colour, which means mono prints and copies but colour scans.

You get good-quality 600dpi output and the running costs are about average for a mono laser, so the low purchase price doesn't doesn't mean more expensive consumables. It won't be as quick as a more expensive office laser, but given the price, the print quality and the multi-function capability, it's a great buy.

Buy from Amazon

3. Xerox Phaser 6125 - £133

How much? For a colour laser? The Phaser 6125's low purchase price is by far its strongest selling point, though, and while the print quality and print speeds are acceptable for light and undemanding home/SOHO use, it could soon prove out of its depth in a busier environment.

And as with many other cheap printers, you face higher running costs, thanks to the cost of replacement cartridges. But if both your printing needs and your budget are modest, the Phaser 6125 is a steal.

4. HP LaserJet P2055d - £157

If you want colour printouts, networking and built-in scanning and copying, you're going to have to look elsewhere, because the HP P2055d is an old-school mono laser built solely for quality, speed and efficiency.

It can churn out pages at up to 33ppm, it has an 'instant on' feature which means you don't have to wait for it to warm up, and it offers automatic duplex printing too. The 1200dpi resolution generates super-sharp text, and the 250-sheet feeder means you're not constantly having to shovel in more paper.

Buy from Amazon

5. Samsung CLX-3185FW - £290

The CLX-3185W is a multi-function printer that combines a colour laser, scanning and copying and faxing, and includes networking capability via Ethernet or wireless network - it even comes with a 15-sheet document feeder.

For a machine which does so much, it's surprisingly compact. If it has a flaw, it's the single-drum design, which means that colour documents have to go through in four passes, and this has an impact on the colour print speeds, but you have to set this against the Samsung's features and sheer value for money.

Buy from Amazon

6. Brother HL-4150CDN - £380

Colour lasers were once very expensive, but the HL-4150CDN shows just how far prices have fallen, even for well-specced business models. You get a lot for your money, here, including very good print quality (though photos aren't quite so good), decent print speeds, duplex printing and Ethernet connectivity.

This is ideal for small offices or workgroups, and the Brother also has a neat PIN protection scheme that means sensitive documents won't be printed until you go over and enter a PIN on the printer itself.

Read our Brother HL-4150CDN review

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Buying Guide: Best iPad and iPhone 2D shoot 'em ups

Best iPad and iPhone 2D shoot 'em ups

2D shoot 'em ups aren't as in vogue as they once were, having mostly been replaced by games where you roam around dim 3D corridors before getting shot.

But in recent years, simple shooty thrills have found a new lease of life on handheld consoles, and with gamers yearning for old-school twitch-based arcade excitement.

Gaming veterans will happily reel off lists of classic games of this type, until you force them to stop (possibly by swinging a 1980s joystick in front of their eyes, thus hypnotising them), but the genre really started with Space Invaders – that's the important one.

And like all true classics, Space Invaders is still fun to play today, with the act of defeating the hordes of aliens using just your lonely ship still feeling heroic. (One might also argue that the game showcases some seriously poor army funding on the part of both humans and aliens.

Our guys fend off worldwide enslavement with a single cannon that only fires one shot at a time. Meanwhile, the aliens are lumbered with ships that hang in the air, waiting to be shot, rather than swooping down in an instant, so the occupants can declare themselves our lords and masters. But anyway…)

On iOS, an authentic Space Invaders experience comes by way of Taito's SPACE INVADERS (£2.99, iPhone, £2.99 iPad). Having separate versions both priced at £2.99 seems slightly ambitious to us, and we've gripes about each: the iPhone version lacks Retina display artwork for its interface (although the game graphics are pin-sharp), and the iPad version appears to be a zoomed iPhone game, so the controls aren't optimised.

Still, it's genuine Space Invaders on iOS, and the developer even included options for tweaking the screen to resemble arcade versions.

In the arcades, Space Invaders evolved over subsequent years. Super Space Invaders in 1991 included bosses and alarming cow theft by UFOs; Space Invaders '95 turned the emotionless space squids into oddball cartoon characters; and, more recently, homes were invaded in Space Invaders Extreme, a blisteringly fast, thoroughly exciting incarnation of the game, which we hope will one day arrive on iOS.

The App Store only has one extra game with the Space Invaders brand, but it's fantastic. Space Invaders Infinity Gene (£2.99, Universal) begins life as the original game, but then propels you through the evolution of a genre, blasting your eyes with beautiful and iconic old-school visuals. It's an essential arcade blaster, albeit one that rather rapidly strays from its roots.

So, if you're more into the classic Space Invaders game than newer incarnations, a good starting point is invaderR (Free, iPhone). The polar opposite of Infinity Gene, it somehow manages to simplify Space Invaders. The aliens no longer descend, although they and you are now armed with rapid-fire weapons. With just one life, the game is a great survival shooter that deserves a place on any device.

In a similar vein, albeit with more variety, Parsec (Free, Universal) dares you to blast through 20 levels of somewhat Space Invaders-style action. Along with varied formations of glowing neon foes, you get bosses, power-ups and an asteroid field to pick through.

Elsewhere, Super Crossfire HD (£1.99, Universal), Velocispider (£1.49, Universal) and Space Inversion 2 (69p, iPhone; £1.49, iPad) also modernise the basic Space Invaders approach.

Super Crossfire HD offers beautiful graphics, weapon upgrades, a warp gimmick, and a tough Dark mode that matches Space Invaders Extreme in terms of savagery. Velocispider is less demanding, but nonetheless a challenge as you aim to survive waves of beautifully drawn pixellated enemies, which, in an amusing nod to the aliens in Space Invaders, are mostly aquatic in nature.

Space Inversion 2 strays less from the original template, with its Classic mode matching Space Invaders quite closely. We're more interested in the game's Arcade mode, which speeds everything up and adds some bonus rounds where you obliterate asteroids and UFOs. And if the game's still not fast enough, a 69p IAP gets you the Mega Turbo mode, along with a bonus-only mode and extra visual themes.

You may have noticed we earlier mentioned that Parsec and Space Inversion 2 both have asteroid rounds, which, suitably, pay homage to Atari's classic Asteroids game, where you blast space rocks in a desperate bid for survival. But a few games use a retro hammer to smash Space Invaders into other classic games.

The most successful is the fantastic Space Out (69p, Universal), which, as its name might suggest, gives you a Breakout-style bat-and-ball to destroy aliens with, rather than a laser cannon. Power-ups add extra strategy, and the retro graphics and audio make the game feel like a once-lost and newly unearthed arcade classic from the early 1980s.

From the same developer, Flick Rocket (69p, Universal) has you flicking missiles at aliens while simultaneously defending cities from destruction. Three very different rounds are on offer, one each inspired by Space Invaders, Centipede and Asteroids, and the city defence theme also bungs Missile Command into the mix. It's not as impressive as Space Out – the difficulty's a bit high, and the controls aren't tight enough – but it's nonetheless enjoyable.

Perhaps the oddest mash-up, though, is Space Inversion Puzzle (69p, Universal) from the Space Inversion 2 guys. It mixes Space Invaders in with an encroaching block action-puzzler (think reverse Tetris); there are some complex rules and mechanics underneath the shooting you'll need to learn.

Finally, we can't let a roundup of games for Space Invaders fans end before we mention Blue Defense: Second Wave! (£1.49, Universal). Of all the games mentioned in this round-up, Second Wave most feels like it was built for iOS devices, eschewing typical drag controls for, in the main, a massive planet cannon that sprays bullets into space by way of your device's accelerometer being tilted.

You can also drag to split the bullet stream between multiple targets or double-tap to set up a semi-permanent line of fire – and you'll need it here. In 1978, invaders from space were meandering and sluggish, dropping the odd bomb. In Second Wave, they're massive planet-sized behemoths that churn out myriad kamikaze drones to dive-bomb a target world. Clearly, these guys have learned a thing or two over the past few years – here's hoping us human defenders have, too.

Buying Guide: Best computer: how to choose the right one

How to choose best PC for you

When buying a new computer, it's easy to become confused by the sheer volume of technical decisions that you'll have to make.

How to choose the best desktop PC for you? Well, you might wonder how much RAM you'll need, for instance, which CPU or which graphics card to pick, what display to look for, which hard drive will be best for you - there are so many issues that it's difficult to know where to begin.

There is a simple way to at least begin cutting down the choices on offer, though, and ensure you get the best PC for your needs.

And that's to forget about the low-level technical specifications, and fine details like the brand of graphics card just for the moment and instead concentrate on something much more fundamental and important: what you will be expecting your system to do.

So read on to find out how to buy the best computer for you, then check out our 10 best desktop PCs on page 2.

Best computer: using your new PC

Take a moment to think about the sort of applications you'll want to run on your new PC, as these will help to decide which features your system will need.

If you only intend to run basic tasks - browsing the web, sending emails, running office-type software like Microsoft Word - then the good news is that most computers, even at the budget end of the market, will be able to cope with your requirements.

An entertainment PC can handle those basic jobs, too, but might also be used to watch TV and movies, listen to music, play some games, perhaps share music and video files across a home network. Systems like this need a little more in the way of hardware power, like a larger hard drive to store all your music and movies, as well as a big screen, a good sound card and speakers, but they still don't have to be too expensive.

If you want to play the latest games with the best possible performance, then you'll need a gaming PC. This can be much more expensive, as not only will you need a quality screen, a good sound card and speakers, but you'll also require a powerful graphics card, fast hard drive and a decent processor.

And if you're not a gamer, but need to run some heavy-duty software - editing HD videos, say - then you'll need a high-end performance PC. This should include a powerful CPU, plenty of memory, and a large, fast hard drive, so expect a sizeable bill. But you may not need the large screen or powerful graphics card of the entertainment or gaming systems, which will help to keep prices down a little.

Best computer: netbook, laptop or desktop?

With the basic applications of your new computer resolved, it's time to think about the type of system that might be appropriate: a netbook, laptop or desktop?

Netbooks are compact notebooks with small screens (typically 10 to 12 inches), and components that are more about saving battery life than delivering raw power. So expect a slow CPU, only a little RAM (1 to 2GB, usually), no DVD drive, not too much hard drive space, and so on.

This is all that you need for basic web browsing, emailing and similar tasks, though. Their small size makes netbooks extremely portable (most are only around 1-1.5kg), battery life is usually very good at 4 to 10 hours, and you can buy some great systems from as little as £249. Our articles on the best cheap notebook and the top 15 notebooks in the world today will tell you more.

Laptops can seem bulky by comparison to their tiny netbook cousins: they might be more than twice the weight, with larger screens, and more powerful CPUs, which means battery life may struggle to reach 3 hours in some cases.

Of course they can also handle much more powerful applications, though. If you'll be spending hours typing on the system then you'll appreciate the larger keyboard. The built-in DVD drive makes it easier to install software and create backups, and high-end laptops can even deliver very acceptable gaming performance.

Again, we've a guide to suit everyone: The best cheap laptop under £350 focuses on budget systems, while our article on the best student laptops and the best 13" laptops cover a wider range of systems.

The best gaming laptops guide reveals that you buy mobile gaming performance for as little as £599, while the more general Which laptop should I buy? article walks you through the buying process and explains how to make sure you get the right system for you.

If you don't need a computer you can carry around, though, a desktop will be your best option. These are larger, but deliver more power for your money, and are generally much easier to upgrade or reconfigure. So if you decide you need better gaming performance, say, you can just buy another graphics card at a later date, something that won't be possible at all with most netbooks or laptops.

If you'd like an idea of what's available in the desktop world than our guide to What's the best desktop PC for you? will point you to some great systems.

And if you're wondering whether you really need a PC at all - could a Mac be better? - then reading PC or Mac? should help you to decide.

But if you've already got a list of preferred PC manufacturers then it might be more interesting to think about the hardware that your new computer should include - and there's plenty to consider.

Best computer: technical specs

In the past, one of the first questions to ask about your new PC has been how much memory you'll need. These days, though, even many budget PCs come with 4GB of RAM, the maximum a 32-bit Windows system can use.

If you're short of cash and only want to run very basic programs, perhaps to browse the web or send emails, then you might just about get away with 2GB. Maybe. But opting for 4GB will help to improve your system's performance, even here, so avoid skimping on memory if you possibly can.

If you're buying a more high-end system, though, you might also want to consider the type of memory it should include to deliver the best results. Our articles on DDR2 vs DDR3 and How to buy RAM will tell you more.

It's a similar situation with hard drives. If you're buying a budget PC (around £400, say) then look for the highest capacity you can afford; we'd recommend at least 500GB, although even many budget PCs now include 1TB drives.

If you've more cash to spend, though, it's worth paying more attention to the technical details. Read How to buy the best new hard drive for a grounding in the basics. And if you've a big budget, then solid-state drives (SSDs) deliver the best performance around, though their capacities are low. Our guide to 12 top solid-state drives will highlight the key details you need.

To help you choose between a hard disk drive and a solid-state drive, take a look at our guide SSD vs HDD: which is best?

Then of course there's the issue of your computer's processor: which one is best? The good news here is that even the cheapest PCs now include CPUs with two cores, essentially separate processors that allow you to run multiple tasks at the same time. But even if money is tight, look for something with more cores, if you can: something like Intel's Core i3-530 or AMD's Athlon II X4 640 offer decent performance at a budget price.

If you're looking to build a high-end PC that will keep you happy for a few years, however, you'll benefit from spending more on a processor, and once again we've plenty of guides to help, covering everything from value CPUs to gaming processors, our pick of the best desktop processors, and a roundup of the best 14 CPUs currently available.

While we've hopefully covered most of your concerns here, there may be one or two other issues you want to consider.

If you aim to play the latest games on your computer, for instance, the choice of graphics card will be critical. Let us help you out with our guides to the 10 best graphics cards under £100 and 10 best graphics cards under £200, and our roundup of the 15 best graphics cards in the world today.

And whatever you're doing on your system, a quality LCD monitor will be crucial - so be sure to read our guide to the technical details you really need to know before you buy a monitor.

It's a lot to consider, then, but doing your homework now will really pay off later. And that's because understanding the features you need (and the ones you really don't) will both save you money and help you choose the best PC that will serve you well for years to come. Which, of course, is the best news of all, because your systems' extended life means you won't have to go computer shopping again for a long, long time.

10 best PCs to choose from

So what's the best desktop PC for you? Although they've been overshadowed by just about everything recently, the fact that they're comfortable to use and can be upgraded easily means that they're still our weapon of choice when it comes to both gaming and general computing.

We've poked through the TechRadar archives to bring you 10 of the best desktop PCs, including the best all-in-one PCs. If you're after a top desktop, look no further.

1. Acer Revo RL100 - £390

A triumph of form over function, Acer's ultra-tiny media center PC includes a slide-out backlit touchpad keyboard. It also packs a Blu-Ray/DVD-RW combo drive, with an Nvidia Ion 2 processor to power those high-definition films and a touch of light gaming. An integrated digital TV tuner means that it will compliment a plush home cinema set up quite nicely, and it runs very quietly. It's not the cheapest media center option, but it does perform perfectly adequately.

Read our Acer Revo RL100 review

2. Shuttle SX58H7 - £409

A great place to start your media centre PC. Stick a Core i7 CPU, some DDR3 RAM and a DX11 graphics card in this barebones PC and you'll have a fully-fledged unit that's actually capable of running the latest games. It's got a compactl form factor, and it'll certainly look the part next to a TV of epic proportions. It is a tad pricey for what it is, but in recent years Shuttle has got tiny PCs like these down to a fine art.

Read our Shuttle SX58H7 review

3. Dino PC Evolution 2600K - £1,799

£1,800 is a lot to drop on a PC, but you get what you pay for. This cutting edge machine includes an Intel i7 2600K chip overclocked to an immense 5GHz. It's one of the fastest PCs we've ever seen, and able to handle just about everything we threw at it. It comes packed in a lovely, ultra-cool case, with SATA 6Gbps and USB 3.0 ports for high speed connectivity. This particular Dino is far from extinct.

Read our Dino PC Evolution 2600K review

4. Cryo PC Nemesis - £1,850

Another pricey i7 2600K-based system, and this one comes with a fetching pink case. Although the chip's overclock is 0.1GHz lower than Dino's offering, it's still a beast of a machine, and eminently capable. You get a mouse, keyboard and two-year warranty thrown in for the price, as well as a 64GB SSD and a 1TB HDD. Graphics are covered in the shapely form of the Nvidia GTX 580. There are better systems out there, but they cost far, far more.

Read our Cryo PC Nemesis review

5. Lenovo IdeaCentre C200 - £445

Despite the hype, all-in-one touchscreen desktop PCs never really took off, no thanks to the ubiquitous iPad and subsequent tablet PCs. If you're going to get one, though, make sure it's the Lenovo IdeaCentre C200. Its luxurious black finish and curvy aesthetics make it stand apart from the crowd, and a wonderful 18.5" LCD display begs you to reach out and touch it - literally. Perfect as a family PC in the living room, or as an addition to a technologically-augmented bedroom.

Check out TechRadar's best all-in-one PCs

6. Apple iMac 27-inch 2011 - £1,649

The mighty Apple's first venture into the world of Intel's Sandy Bridge processors comes in a 21.5-inch form factor (below), and this whopping 27-inch model. It's the most powerful iMac we've ever seen, and it totes a 2TB HDD in partnership with a 256GB SSD so it doesn't get too bogged down. Graphics are catered for with an AMD Radeon HD 6970M, and as gaming on Macs becomes more popular you'll need every megabyte of its 1GB of DDR5 memory. It looks pretty darn nice, too.

Read our Apple iMac 27-inch 2011 review

7. Apple iMac 21.5-inch 2011 - £999

Apple's smaller all-in-one addition is a powerful upgrade from 2010 models, and not hugely pared down from its bigger 27-inch brother. Its 21.5-inch screen doesn't need quite as much power, and the price reflects this. The graphics chip - a HD 6750M in this case - can handle games and video editing, and there's even a built-in 720p camera to take advantage of Apple's FaceTime. Just about everything impressed us here, and it's a great first step if you want to move away from Windows.

Read our Apple iMac 21.5-inch 2011 review

8. YoYoTech Dragon F-58 - £599

Sitting firmly at the cheaper end of desktop PCs, YoYoTech's scaly computer packs a surprising amount of power for the price. The graphics card - an AMD Radeon HD 5850 - is at the heart of the beast, and it's able to chomp through demanding DirectX 11 titles. It comes overclocked out of the box, too, and we have a lot of faith in YoYoTech's expertise. It's not the best PC you can buy, but it's certainly the best at this price point.

Read our YoYoTech Dragon F-58 review

9. NoFan SET A40 fanless bundle - from £399

Not hearing the whirr of a fan when you power up your PC may be a little discerning to some, but, as the name suggests, NoFan's PC is completely silent. This is thanks to a humongous passive cooler that sits atop the CPU, and a completely silent 400W PSU. You'll need to add all the usual components (motherboard, CPU, RAM, hard drive and graphics card), but QuietPC will provide a pre-built rig for a premium. Totally innovative, and worth paying extra for a little piece and quiet.

Read our NoFan SET A40 fanless bundle review

10. Chillblast Fusion Rocket - £750

Another reasonably-priced gaming rig, the Chillblast has a trick up its sleeve: flash the BIOS of its AMD HD6950 and you get a fully-fledged HD6970, giving you a £300 graphics card for the price of a £200 one. Chillblast has installed this transmographying graphics card in conjunction with some reasonable components, such as a Core i5 2500K processor overclocked to 4.5GHz, and a 1TB hard drive. A great little performer, especially given the reasonably low price.

Read our Chillblast Fusion Rocket review

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