If you are paying £600 for a PC, you have no right to expect the latest and greatest components but a limited budget doesn't have to mean a string of compromises. Computeractive always reminds computer buyers to spend their money based on what they want to do with their computer, not on what a salesman says.

Packard Bell's iMedia 3050 has a relatively modest specification but don't let that put you off. With an Intel Celeron 2.6GHz processor and 256Mb of memory, it will happily munch through internet and word processing tasks and won't be fazed by editing and managing digital photographs. The 40Gb hard disk is a bit stingy but if things do get tight you can archive data using the recordable CD drive, which also doubles up as a DVD player.

Our early impressions of the iMedia were pretty favourable. The worst aspect of the specification we could find was the graphics that rob some of the PC memory to operate. It also means that you won't be able to play the latest arcade-style games, but this PC is cheap enough that you could afford to throw a PlayStation 2 in your trolley at the same time if this worries you.

However, if you want to upgrade the graphics later on there is a vacant AGP slot. Other upgrade and connectivity options are mixed. There are four USB 2 ports, a modem and a network port, so connectivity isn't a problem. There is no FireWire but this PC isn't built for video editing so we don't consider that a bad miss. There are two PCI slots available, though, so a FireWire card could be added if you really wanted it - as could a better sound card if the integrated audio isn't man enough for you. There is also a spare memory slot for adding to the supplied 256Mb.

Seeing as this is a fairly cheap PC, we were pleasantly surprised to find a 15in TFT display rather than a conventional monitor. It's not the sharpest we've ever seen, but the image is bright and it looks very smart on the desk with the colour-matching case, keyboard, mouse and curious pod-like speakers.

The software supplied for the price is also pretty impressive. Normally when you buy a budget PC, you end up back at the shop picking up some anti-virus software, an office suite and maybe an image-editing application.

Packard Bell includes all that and Windows XP Home in the package. There is also some education software and a CD-writing application to ensure you can start enjoying your computer as soon as you get it home.

All told, the Packard Bell iMedia 3050 is a splendid little machine. We appreciate that it has not got a desperately exciting specification but with no serious shortcomings, upgrade potential, good looks and a great software bundle, we can't think of a reason not to give it a Buy It! award.

Contact: Packard Bell 01628 512456
www.packardbell.co.uk