Samsung's SCX-5835FN monochrome laser multifunction offers an internal hard drive, cheap consumables and fast printing: everything you would expect from a large office multifunction. Unfortunately, its price tag is similar to colour laser multifunctions.
Samsung's CLP-660ND is a capable colour laser printer with features that will suit small businesses. It provides automatic duplexing and can connect to a network, but print quality is inconsistent.
Built for homes and small offices, QNAP's TS-239 Pro Turbo provides two drive bays that can house up to 4TB of network-attached storage (NAS).
The Fuji Xerox DocuPrint C2120 colour laser printer improves slightly on the DocuPrint C2100. For the extra money you get little more than a memory boost, but this sub-$1000 colour laser printer still shines when it comes to value, print speed and quality.
QNAP's TS-219P Turbo is a two-bay network-attached storage (NAS) device designed for homes and small offices.
Samsung's ML-4551ND is the company's top-of-the-line monochrome laser printer, and it offers network connectivity and fast print speeds.
QNAP's SS-439 Pro Turbo is the company's first network-attached storage (NAS) device to use 2.5in hard drives. Powered by an Intel Atom processor, this four-bay NAS device is extremely fast, but doesn't offer the power efficiency or quiet operation of other 2.5in NAS devices.
Synology's Disk Station DS409slim is one of the first network-attached storage (NAS) devices we've seen to make use of 2.5in notebook hard drives instead of 3.5 desktop hard drives. The use of 2.5in notebook drives allows the DS409slim to be smaller than most NAS devices on the market, and it will also consume less power. However, it also means that the maximum storage capacity of the DS409slim isn't as high as NAS devices that use 3.5in drives.
The Barracuda LP (ST32000542AS) is the first internal hard drive from Seagate to store two terabytes of data; 2TB is currently the maximum capacity of a single 3.5in SATA 2 drive. The Seagate Barracuda LP also manages to cut down on energy consumption compared to conventional 7200rpm hard drives while retaining reasonable performance.
Aimed at home users, QNAP's TS-219 Turbo is a two-bay network-attached storage (NAS) device which looks sleek and has a competent feature set. It can transfer files quickly, has iSCSI target capability and you can set it up via a Web interface that's easy to understand.
Dell's OptiPlex 760 is a small form factor desktop PC aimed at business users. It has limited expansion options but won't take up too much desk space. This PC provides plenty of power but maintenance is more difficult than with other small form factor systems we've seen.
Western Digital's RE4-GP (WD2002FYPS) internal hard drive offers most of the energy-saving features of the company's Caviar Green line of consumer drives, but it also includes server-friendly features such as reduced vibration and noise. Though more expensive than a Caviar Green drive, the RE4-GP's lower power consumption and improved performance make it worth the extra outlay.
Apple's 13in MacBook Pro is the smallest notebook in the company's "Pro" range, but it still packs quite a punch. This laptop is a fantastic compromise between size and power, though its upgrade options could be cheaper.
For its price, Brother's HL-5370DW mono laser printer packs a reasonable punch. Not only can it automatically print double-sided documents, but it handles black-and-white graphics well and prints at a decent speed for its price. We would have preferred setting up networking to be slightly more straightforward but overall the Brother HL-5370DW is a good workgroup laser printer.
The Promise SmartStor NS4600 4-bay network-attached storage (NAS) device can provide up to 8TB of storage for the home or a small business. It performed well in our file transfer tests and has an attractive design. However the configuration software and Web interface are difficult to use and its backup options could be improved.