Group test: what's the best PC for under £1,000?

5. HP Envy 6-1006ea Sleekbook

• Reviewed on: 13 November 12
• RRP: £599 inc VAT
• Rating:

The HP Envy 6-1006ea Sleekbook scores the same as its Ultrabook counterpart. It's £100 cheaper but this comes with a sacrifice in raw performance. This laptop will suffice for basic tasks like web browsing but not much more.

4. Lenovo IdeaPad Z580

• Reviewed on: 23 July 12
• RRP: £799 inc VAT
• Rating:

The Lenovo Z580 is a stylish and reasonably well-built laptop. If you don’t want to play games or other graphically demanding duties there's less reason to spend £200 over the comparable Dell Inspiron 15R, although you do get stronger construction and Blu-ray playback.

3. Sony Vaio S Series SVS1311N9E

• Reviewed on: 10 September 12
• RRP: £899 inc VAT
• Rating:

If you're happy to live without the Pro version of Windows, the fingerprint reader and a backlit keyboard, you can get a laptop with very similar specifications for around £300 less. It's unlikely to be as light or last as long away from the mains, though, so the S series should still make your shortlist if you need a fully featured ultraportable and aren't too worried that it's not the fastest around.

2. HP ProBook 4530s

• Reviewed on: 7 August 12
• RRP: £562
• Rating:

The Hewlett Packard ProBook 4530s LH311EA could double up as an office and home laptop, and the fingerprint sensor is a nice extra for the security-conscious user.

1. Lenovo G570 M51BPUK

• Reviewed on: 8 August 12
• RRP: £500 inc VAT
• Rating:

The Lenovo G570 M51BPUK has a nice keyboard, an appreciated Blu-ray drive and generous RAM and hard drive allocations. However, this version of the Lenovo G570 doesn’t quite enough 3D oomph to win an award.