Knowing how to pick a computer is not rocket science, although it may seem that way. There are a few main kinds of computer that you need to pick from, and how to pick a computer correctly involves always choosing according to what tasks you want to do on the computer.

Firstly, will you need to move it around? No. Then you probably want a desktop computer for your home. This is the kind of computer with the case and separate monitor, keyboard and mouse. For more details, see our guide on how to pick a desktop computer.

Remember that the best desktop for the money will get you a lot more than a laptop or notebook for the same money.

So, portable it is.

Portable computers are roughly divided into laptops and notebooks, with a new category of sub-notebooks, often called netbooks arising.

Laptops are what I would call the bigger kind. Larger screens, heavier, more powerful features and the most suitable for a portable that spends most of its time on the table, not being portable. See our guide on how to pick a laptop computer for all the nitty gritty.

Notebooks are smaller, and more suited for moving around. Notebook computers are typically thinner, less powerful, more expensive, lighter and equally powerful models will cost more. Monitors are usually only up to 14″ max. More information in our guide on how to pick a notebook computer.

A newer category of smaller notebooks has arrived. Typically smaller than 10″ monitors, small storage space, sometimes solid state storage, very light, cheap and with all the connectivity features like wireless and LAN, and more recently 3.5G and Wimax. I quite like these little guys.

So there you go. Anything else? Feel free to browse