Hewlett Packard was one of the first manufacturers to release a small form factor PC and the e-PC 42 is the first of its size to include an Intel Pentium 4 processor. Its small size (it measures just 28 by 9.5 by 25cm) means that it can fit just about anywhere. It can even be hung under a desk using HP's mounting bracket.

Not only that but it is also very quiet. Despite using a 1.7GHz Pentium 4 CPU, which requires a lot of cooling because of the heat it generates, the internal fans are hardly noticeable. This is because the chassis has been optimised to allow efficient airflow, therefore reducing the need for large fans. And most important of all, the power supply is external, just like a notebook PC.

HP supplied the e-PC 42 with a 15-inch LCD monitor with a native resolution of 1,024 by 768 pixels and powered by an integrated ATI Rage 128 Pro 4XL GPU with 16MB of memory. Backing up the CPU is an Intel 845 chipset, and with only 128MB of PC133 SDRAM memory, it's not the fastest system on the block.

One of the major criticisms of the original e-PC was its lack of expandability and its legacy-free connectivity. With this new version, the expandability is still non-existent, however the legacy-free 'feature' has been dropped, as you now get two PS/2 ports, plus serial, parallel and two USB ports at the rear with an additional two USB ports on the front of the chassis.

Windows XP Professional is the pre-installed operating system and also bundled with the system is HP's useful DMI utility, Toptools. HP provides the e-PC with a standard 3-year on-site warranty with NBD response time.

Another system aimed at business buyers, the HP has some elegant touches, particularly for those whose desk space is so restricted that they want to mount their PC underneath it...