The main competitor in price and specification to the Evesham machine is this Matrix 1100T from Mesh. Like the Evesham system, it's based around an Athlon processor, though this one is a 1.1GHz device, with 256MB of main memory.

The graphics adapter is a departure from the nVidia hardware found in all the other PCs in this group. Instead, this machine uses an ATI Radeon VIVO TV card. This is a 64MB graphics card using the Radeon processor, which ATI has claimed is a match for the GeForce2. While early tests supported this, production cards haven't proved as strong and the results from this card were 25 percent lower on 3D benchmarks than those from the GeForce2 Ultra cards.

What the Radeon does have to recommend it is a separate TV output, so you can plug this machine directly into your domestic box for big-screen DVD playback. Mind you, the 19-inch Mitsubishi monitor isn't exactly disappointing, giving an excellent picture in its own right.

Storage is provided by a 29GB hard drive and the almost obligatory DVD and CD-RW drives. Twin drives are a much better option than a single combined DVD/CD-RW drive, as the two can be used together for back up of important data, or to master CDs.

The sound system, comprising a 5.1-channel sound card and Cambridge Soundworks speakers, rounds off an excellent high-end PC system that any discerning home user would be happy with.