Personal Computer World (PCW) (February 1978 – June 2009) was the first British computer magazine. Although for at least the last decade it contained a high proportion of Windows PC content (reflecting the state of the IT field), the magazine's title was not intended as a specific reference to this. At its inception in 1978 'personal computer' was still a generic term (the Apple II, PET 2001 and TRS-80 had been launched as personal computers in 1977). The magazine began before the Wintel (or IBM PC compatible) platform existed; the original IBM PC itself was introduced in 1981. Similarly, the magazine was unrelated to the Amstrad PCW.

PCW was founded by the Croatian-born Angelo Zgorelec in 1978, and was the first microcomputer magazine in Britain. PCW's first cover model, in February 1978, was the Nascom-1, which also partly inspired Zgorelec to launch the magazine. Its August 1978 issue featured the colour capabilities of the Apple II.

PCW went monthly from the second edition. Zgorelec went into partnership with Felix Dennis who published his first issue in September 1979. before selling the title to VNU in 1982. The magazine was later owned by Incisive Media, which announced its closure on 8 June 2009.

As the magazine was launched four years before the first IBM PC (reviewed in the magazine in November 1981) the magazine originally covered early self-build microcomputers. It later expanded its coverage to all kinds of microcomputers from home computers to workstations, as the industry evolved. Regular features in the earlier years of the magazine were Guy Kewney's Newsprint section, Benchtests (in-depth computer reviews), Subset, covering machine code programming, type-in program listings, Bibliofile (book reviews), the Computer Answers help column, Checkouts (brief hardware reviews) TJ's Workshop (for terminal junkies), Screenplay for game reviews and Banks' Statement, the regular column from Martin Banks. In 1983 Jerry Sanders joined the staff as Features Editor and wrote the first published review of Microsoft Word 1.0 for the magazine.

The cover style, with a single photo or illustration dominating the page, was adopted soon after its launch and continued until the early 1990s. The cover photos were often humorous, such as showing each new computer made by Sinclair being used by chimpanzees, a tradition that started with the ZX81.

PCW eagerly promoted new computers as they appeared, including the BBC Micro. The magazine also sponsored the Personal Computer World Show, an annual consumer and trade fair held in London every September from 1978 to 1989.

The magazine underwent a major reader marketing push in 1992, resulting in its circulation figure rising from a middle-ranking 80,000 to more than 155,000 at a time when personal computing was becoming hugely popular thanks to Windows 3.1 and IBM PC clones flooding the market. PCW battled with rivals Computer Shopper, PC Direct, PC Magazine and PC Pro for several thousand pages of advertising each month, resulting in magazines that could run to over 700 pages.

The magazine typically came with a cover-mounted CD-ROM or DVD-ROM, which held additional content. Although the magazines themselves were identical, the DVD version cost more than the CD-ROM version.