First things to consider

This is the first of a two part guide that I hope you'll find informative. This first article covers choosing the best speaker system for your needs. Within, I'll cover everything you need to know as to ensure that no money goes to waste on a system that is not quite suitable, or quite unsuitable!

When selecting a new speaker system for your swish new gaming rig, PS3 or XBOX360, the choice can be somewhat daunting for the average punter. However, with some understanding of what is out there, things can be de-mystified quite fast.

>What's important to understand first are the uses the system is going to have. Do you require a versatile system with lots of power? - Is a control center with remote needed? - Will the system be used for lots of music, movies or both?

All are very important questions that must be answered before an accurate decision can be made about the system that is best for you.

So what's out there at the moment?

The usual 2.1 stereo options are always present, and with the amazing popularity of portable devices, 2.1 is really strong at the moment with boot loads of choices in this bracket.

As you could expect, this would be the road to go down if you're mainly a music listener as there are no surround speakers. With a 2.1 system you get two speakers and a sub woofer.

Next up is 4.1 which I must mention is passing as it is no-longer a popular solution and the rate of manufacture from leading companies reflects this fact. Though, you may still find the odd 4.1 system sitting around gathering dust.

The most popular these days is 5.1 and offers the largest variety of systems at the most competitive price. And like 2.1, the market is flooded, so choose wisely.

This option gives two fronts, a center, two surrounds and a sub woofer which is perfectly adequate for todays games and movies.