TrustedReviews Awards 2007

AMD has been saying for a long time that Intel's quad core CPUs are not worth the silicon they're printed on because they don't use a true quad core design - Intel just bolts together two dual core CPUs on the same package. However, while AMD may be theoretically correct, Intel has actually managed to have CPUs available on the market for over a year now and as our continual use of a QX6700 in our test bed proves, they are actually very capable indeed. Obviously not everyone really needs four cores in their PC and many people would do well to opt for a cheaper dual core CPU. However, with more and more software, and particularly games, beginning to take advantage of those extra cores, the reason to take the next step up the multi-core ladder is becoming ever more compelling. So, combined with a recent price drop, that now sees it costing as little as £160, the Q6600 makes for not just a great investment for the future but also a superb bargain as well.

When doing a best of awards, it's tempting to just recommend the products we can see ourselves buying. However, sometimes a product is so good it simply must be hailed for what it is - the best available - even though it may be addressing a fairly small market, and so it is with the Samsung XL20 LED backlit monitor. By using a large array of tricolour LEDs to backlight the display's screen, as opposed to using the more traditional cold cathode, far more accurate and vivid colours can be reproduced. The result is a monitor that is simply stunning to behold and that will be the perfect match for the professional photographer or anyone that needs superb colour accuracy. Finally, considering the only other monitors available with similar technology demand as much as £3,000, the £780 asking price of the XL20 is actually a bit of a bargain.

If there's one thing that's driving advancement in computing these days, it's the ever increasing demand for digital media and, specifically, the space to store and distribute that media. With the latest hard disk based portable music players now topping out at 160GB and flash based ones set to break 16GB very soon, the need to have convenient ways of storing and accessing this information is ever more important, which is why we love the Seagate FreeAgent Pro. Combining good looks, solid performance, and large capacities, the FreeAgent Pro range offers all we've come to expect from an external hard disk but what makes it special is the addition of an online backup space. This enables you to upload your files to a space on the Internet from where you can securely access all your data from anywhere around the world.

To all intents and purposes Shuttle invented the small form factor PC back around the turn of the century and, even though the competition has caught onto the concept, it still remains the leader in this field. Of course it's had to move with the times to do this and the SD39P2 is a perfect example of the precise and accurate tweaking that Shuttle has been doing over the years to ensure it stays ahead of the game. With space for dual-slot, high-end graphics cards, support for super fast CPUs, and enough drive bays to accommodate four hard drives, the SD39P2 is not just a small and pretty box it's also a computing behemoth and it will satisfy all but the most demanding of PC users. It does come at a price, but then you're not just getting a case but also a motherboard and complete cooling system. If you value small then this is the way to go.