What Is a Desktop Computer Better for Family

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Whether classic towers, sleek all-in-ones, or space-saving mini PCs, today'southward desktops pack neater designs and more value than always. See our recent favorites based on our deep-swoop reviews, plus all the in-depth shopping communication you need.

Updated February 25, 2022

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Smartphones are ubiquitous and astonishingly capable. Snazzy, innovative laptop designs are constantly evolving. Then where does that exit the venerable desktop PC? You'll find plenty of them for sale, to be sure, and innovation never stops in the desktop marketplace. Simply more people now than ever consider desktops an anachronism, heading direct to the laptop alley instead for their next calculator buy.

That's not always the correct move. Rumors of the demise of the desktop PC have been greatly exaggerated, year afterwards year, for at least a decade at present. Desktops aren't facing extinction, and they are doing anything merely standing notwithstanding. Consumers and businesses alike should withal consider buying one, considering their advantages of old however ring true today: Forty years after they ignited the personal computing revolution and the cyberspace age, they're all the same the nigh toll-constructive, customizable, and like shooting fish in a barrel-to-upgrade computers you can own.

Cyberpower Gaming Desktop

(Photo: Zlata Ivleva)

Despite these advantages, a desktop isn't necessarily meliorate than a laptop or tablet for everyone, particularly if your primary computing life consists of basic typing and surfing tasks done on the living-room couch. For many others—particularly modest businesses, families, creative professionals, gamers, and tech tinkerers—desktops are often the best choice and the best value.

While desktops don't come in equally many singled-out grade factors as laptops do, there is groovy variation in calculating power and room for upgrades among them. Let's consider these, and a agglomeration of other important factors, in this guide to buying a desktop.


First Movement: Take Stock of Your Upkeep

1 of the desktop'southward most alluring promises is the value it delivers. Your money simply goes farther with desktop PCs and their components. Instead of ownership a $700 laptop with a competent Intel Core i5 processor, you can go a $700 desktop with a more than powerful Core i7 CPU in it, and maybe even clasp in a dedicated graphics menu.

Yous can observe consummate mini PCs for very light piece of work and display-signage tasks for under $300, and perfectly serviceable minor towers for $300 to $600. Gaming desktops with dedicated graphics cards start at around $500. You tin can also observe all-in-1 desktops, with the brandish and all of the computing components built into a single device, starting at around $400.

The thing with desktops is, opting for a inexpensive one does not carry some of the same risks you'd face with a similar-priced laptop. A $250 Blackness Fri special or a steeply discounted refurbished desktop could perform just fine for basic computing, and you wouldn't need to worry almost the wear and tear on cheap materials that you might with a laptop of a similar price. That inexpensive laptop would be subject to the vagaries of daily commuting and the occasional driblet from a coffee table. The desktop, in contrast, would need to stay put and just work.

Dell Inspiron Desktop PC

(Photograph: Molly Flores)

At the height cease of the market are business organization workstations, tricked-out gaming rigs, and magnificently engineered all-in-ane PCs that cost several thousand dollars. Not just volition a $three,000 gaming tower offer immense computing power today, but it should come with so much room for expansion and potential for upgradability that its useful life will be far longer than whatever laptop's. And that's before yous fifty-fifty delve into the wild world of custom PCs: automotive-form paint jobs, liquid cooling, and fanciful lighting and wiring.

Information technology-manageable, security-witting business desktops—most of them nowadays made by Dell, HP, and Lenovo—have their ain pricing dynamic and tend to cost more, all else existence equal. That'south because of their premium warranty or support plans, likewise as the possible addition of enterprise-specific silicon focused on manageability or security. Sometimes, office of the toll premium of business desktops reflects the PC maker's guarantee that it will stock replacement components and upgrades for that line of machines for a stock-still hereafter flow. That allows IT pros to count on the ability to go along servicing a armada of a given business organisation machine over that stretch of time.


Settle on an Operating System

The Mac vs. PC debate is 1 of the oldest in modernistic technology, and nosotros're not going to pick a side or try to settle that particular religious war here. But if you lot're non wedded to ane or the other by years of habit (or the peripherals and software you own) and are open to switching, hither's a quick rundown of your choices.

Windows ten is the latest iteration of Microsoft'southward operating system. Desktops that apply it and previous versions of the Os are what most people typically rely on, and then you'll be assured of the best compatibility and the widest option of tertiary-political party software. Desktops running Windows 10 are as well readily bachelor below $500, making them attractive to casual users, families looking for a 2d PC, and deal hunters.

Mac versus Windows

Macs are an splendid choice if you're already in an Apple-centric household, since they offer seamless compatibility with iPads and iPhones, including the ability to ship and receive letters on whatsoever device connected to your iCloud account. The cost of entry will be higher than with the least expensive PCs, all the same.

Google's Chrome OS is a viable alternative to Windows and macOS, but desktops running information technology (called Chromeboxes) are rare and best suited to niche uses like powering a restaurant menu brandish. A fourth option is to buy a desktop with no operating system at all and install an open-source 1 of your choosing, such as Ubuntu Linux. We don't recommend going this route unless you're technically savvy, willing to experiment, and okay fixing software compatibility problems and other quirks.


What Desktop Grade Cistron Do Yous Need?

Macs and Windows PCs are available in all three of the major desktop course factors: mini PCs that can fit on a bookshelf, sleek all-in-ones with congenital-in (and normally loftier-resolution) displays, and traditional desktop towers that are beefy merely offer room for more or less like shooting fish in a barrel expansion. These three forms each have strengths and weaknesses, and none of them is an obvious best choice for everyone. You'll accept to choose based on what you plan to exercise with your desktop and where you plan to put it.

For truly cramped quarters or light workloads, as well every bit for people who love the efficient use of space, a mini PC could exist the best choice. They come in sizes ranging from tiny sticks not much larger than a USB pollex drive to modest-form-gene (SFF) towers that may be about a foot tall just have compact footprints. The very smallest sizes have the do good of disappearing backside an HDMI-equipped monitor or Television, and they contain a processor, memory, storage, and ports to hook upwardly keyboards and mice. They're economic and power-efficient, and can serve as adequate spider web browsing or multimedia viewing platforms. Only know that the models at the truly tiny end of the scale offering no room for adding actress internal components, and their preinstalled parts are usually difficult or impossible to upgrade.

Intel NUC 11 Extreme Mini Desktop

(Photo: Molly Flores)

That said, you can find a fair mix of what qualify as mini PCs that do offering the ability to customize or upgrade components. Models based on or inspired past Intel'due south Next Unit of Calculating (NUC) platform can be as small equally 5 inches square only still allow for 1 or two solid-state drives of your choosing, and the ability to cull and install your own RAM. They're bigger than the "stick"-style PCs just much more flexible.

Traditional tower desktops offer even more flexibility, simply too a lot more bulk. Nowadays, the differences between midsize and full-size towers are less well-defined, and some of the new PC case designs—from cubes to glass boxes—defy easy categorization. Still, nearly all desktop towers accept generous amounts of interior space and full-size (a.k.a. ATX) motherboards, and so you can install i or more (sometimes, many more than) secondary storage drives, more RAM in empty slots on the motherboard, a video card if one isn't installed, and in some remote cases, even a second graphics card for extreme gaming or graphics-accelerated tasks. (Notation that not all desktop mini towers and towers can take a graphics upgrade. That is where reviews come up in.)

An all-in-one (AIO) desktop is quite a different animal than both of these form factors. An AIO can relieve you some space, since the display is built in. An AIO's value suggestion comes downward to space saving and whether yous happen to be shopping for a desktop display at the same time. Though you can detect budget AIOs with bones feature sets, lower resolutions, and non-bear upon screens, many new models offer touch-enabled screens, and some AIO panels have exceptionally loftier native resolutions of 4K (3,840 by two,160 pixels) or even 5K (5,120 by 2,880 pixels). Touch displays make them excellent choices for watching movies or serving as a multimedia hub in the kitchen or other public area of your home, though the very highest resolutions target content creators rather than consumers.

HP Envy 34 AIO

(Photo: Molly Flores)

With a few exceptions for business-oriented models, you will give upwards a lot of room for expansion in an AIO versus traditional desktop tower. Cracking open an AIO for an upgrade or fix, while not impossible, is a bigger bargain than opening the side of a desktop belfry. Apple'due south late-model iMacs are specially difficult to open.


How Much Processing Power Is Enough?

1 of the primary benefits of a desktop tower is that information technology will apply a desktop-course CPU. That may audio obvious, but it's a central distinction.

AMD and Intel, the 2 biggest makers of processors for PCs, offering desktop-course chips and laptop-class chips to system manufacturers, but oftentimes the CPU model names are similar and tricky to tell apart. For case, y'all volition see Intel's Cadre i7 in both laptops and desktops, merely having a "truthful" desktop CPU versus one fabricated for a mobile device makes a big performance difference.

A desktop CPU gives you more power for complex content-cosmos piece of work, PC gaming, or math and scientific projects. Faster processors with four, 6, 8, or even every bit many as 18 cores will do good software written to take advantage of the extra cores. The desktop version of a given CPU will consume more than ability and generate more heat than versions designed for laptops, which must exist incorporated into environments that have less thermal and power-delivery leeway. A desktop CPU also has greater jerk room to comprise a primal characteristic, multithreading, that allows each of the CPU's cores to address two processing threads at a time instead of just ane. Multithreading (which Intel calls "Hyper-Threading") tin can deliver a major performance boost when engaged with suitably equipped software.

Intel Core i5 and Core i7

(Photograph: Zlata Ivleva)

The very highest-end desktop fries may crave liquid cooling systems, which limits their use to high-end towers with lots of interior space. Processors in these families are specialized and expensive, and you'll only want them if you take very specific software needs that you know, explicitly, can leverage their college base and peak clock rates, likewise equally all of their addressable cores and threads. These are not casual purchases.

Many AIOs and mini PCs, conversely, utilise the same efficient, cooler-running types of CPUs that you lot'll discover in laptops. Intel typically labels these mobile-get-go flake designs with a CPU proper noun containing "U," "Y," or "H" (and at present in 2022, "P" for some new Core chips); most desktop chips instead accept a "T" or a "Chiliad," or only a zero at the end. A mobile CPU might accept the same number of processor cores as its desktop counterpart (four- and half-dozen-cadre chips are mutual in both), but its maximum power consumption volition often exist far lower. Also, the typical base and boost clock speeds may exist lower, and the flake may not support multithreading. That said, many desktop PC buyers will be fine with these lower-powered CPUs for everyday work, and a trivial more.

AMD Ryzen CPU

(Photograph: Zlata Ivleva)

For a typical belfry using a true desktop-grade CPU, mainstream users should look for an Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 5; the Core i7 and Ryzen 7 are also first-class, powerful choices, simply overkill for most folks who aren't serious PC gamers, intensive multitaskers, or prosumer or pro video or image manipulators. If CPU power is critically of import, though, these should suffice. The Core i9, Ryzen 9, Ryzen Threadripper, and Core X-Series are worthwhile only if you know your workflow is being held back by too few cores or threads, or you have extreme needs in terms of internal storage (for which the Threadripper and Core X can assistance with internal resource). Again, see our deep-swoop on desktop CPUs to sympathize the nuances of these higher-end choices.


Practise You Need a Powerful Graphics Card?

All computers have a CPU, but most laptops and many cheaper desktops don't have a defended graphics processor, or GPU. Instead, their display output comes from a portion of the CPU, a slice of silicon known equally an integrated graphics processor (IGP). An IGP is fine for basic tasks, such equally checking your email, browsing the web, or even streaming videos. Doing productivity work on an IGP is completely within bounds. Indeed, about concern desktops rely on IGPs.

GeForce RTX 3080

(Photo: Zlata Ivleva)

That said, an IGP is non the answer for anyone who wants to run intensive 3D games, return architectural simulations, or possibly train an bogus intelligence algorithm. These situations—peculiarly games, but often pro-grade apps, likewise—can benefit from more than muscular graphics. Times like these call for a graphics card, which will bring its own GPU to the game, and the near powerful of these are institute in desktop PCs.

AMD Radeon graphics card

(Photo: Zlata Ivleva)

Choosing a graphics card is a complex affair. Gamers should consider the capabilities of their monitor first. A 4K monitor or ane with a high refresh charge per unit (144Hz or greater) volition crave a very powerful GPU (or occasionally even two GPUs) to brandish games at the monitor's maximum potential. If yous're just looking to do some centre-of-the-road gaming on a 1080p monitor (and not looking to win any professional esports crowns), a mainstream carte du jour like those in Nvidia's GeForce GTX series will do just fine. At the high end, electric current GPU choices for gaming desktops include Nvidia's GeForce RTX 2000 and 3000 series, and AMD's Radeon RX 5000 and 6000 series.

Nvidia graphics card

(Photograph: Zlata Ivleva)

Meanwhile, creative professionals and other ability users should consider the graphics-acceleration recommendations of the apps they program to run, using the software maker's arrangement requirements as a guide. Graphics-accelerated video rendering or AI programs tin can do good from the aforementioned types of GPUs equally intensive 3D games. Professionals eyeing workstations will want to consider Nvidia's Quadro lineup or AMD's Radeon Pro models. Check out our deep-dive guide to graphics cards for much, much more on the nuances of today's video cards.


How Much Storage and Memory Should Your Desktop Accept?

While powerful CPUs and GPUs are by and large relegated to desktop towers, almost every desktop form factor can handle copious amounts of storage and retentivity. This is cheers to the appearance of college-capacity memory modules and specially solid-state drives (SSDs). The latter take up vastly less space than the spinning hard drives of old.

It's however possible to find desktops with simply spinning hard drives, but we recommend avoiding these and choosing an SSD as the main boot drive whenever possible. Some desktops feature a unmarried-drive combination of an SSD and a difficult drive. A "true" SSD is really the only way to go every bit a boot drive today, though, considering how far prices have dropped in the terminal couple of years.

A single 500GB or 512GB SSD is fine for virtually users. A 250GB or 256GB SSD is besides a mutual size for a boot drive these days, but it's a little tight if you store much locally. Anyone with large media and game collections will want to consider several terabytes of storage across multiple drives. Consider choosing a fast SSD as the boot drive, and ane or more than large-capacity but slower hard drives for majority storage of chapters-sapping video or games.  A typical configuration in this example is 1 512GB SSD and 2 or more hard drives with at to the lowest degree 1TB of infinite on each. Such a setup tin can be more affordable than y'all might retrieve—an SSD plus one hard drive is sometimes seen on sub-$1,000 desktop towers.

Crucial 2.5-inch SSD

(Photo: Zlata Ivleva)

If you think you'll add storage later, information technology's wise to consider how many expansion bays your desktop has. A combination of two or more two.5-inch or three.5-inch bays should exist enough, as these tin can arrange whatsoever type of traditional SSD or hard drive. Yous'll too want to ensure your desktop has at least one 1000.2 slot to accept a PCI Express SSD as the main kick drive, since that volition offer the fastest throughput speeds. In most new systems, the boot drive will come as an G.2 drive. These drives are very small, the size and thickness of a stick of gum.

WD Blue M.2 SSD

(Photo: Zlata Ivleva)

While a desktop's SSD stores your data, its system memory (or RAM) works with the CPU to run apps and helps ascertain its capacity to multitask. Retention capacities of 8GB or 16GB are fine for most users, and these are the about common configurations on entry-level or midrange desktops of all forms and sizes.

Few people will see much benefit from memory amounts higher up 16GB, merely there are exceptions. Gaming PCs higher up the budget level should have at least 16GB of RAM, and 32GB is a prudent upgrade for esports hounds who want to play and simultaneously edit and stream in-game footage.

Finally, assuming your professional person software can accost higher memory amounts, professional workstations should have at least 32GB of memory with mistake-correcting code (ECC) capabilities to keep everything running smoothly. Yous'll want to follow the guidance of the software maker, in that example.


Pinpoint the Specific Connectivity Y'all Need

You lot might be able to excuse a relative lack of input and output ports on a sleek AIO. The screen and speakers are built in, and you lot'll likely use a wireless keyboard and mouse, anyway. Merely mini PCs and desktop towers need the correct option of ports. At a minimum, they'll have to connect to a brandish, speakers or headphones, and a ability source.

On all only the very tiniest of mini PCs, y'all should expect for at to the lowest degree iii USB 3.0 (or higher) ports, at to the lowest degree one of which should exist the newer, oval-shaped Type-C diversity if you have any compatible peripherals that plug directly into that kind of port. You'll also typically find an HDMI output (and perhaps another video output or 2, such equally DisplayPort or VGA), a 3.5mm audio jack, a connector for an external Wi-Fi antenna, and a receptacle for a physical lock. Note that some mini PCs apply scaled-down "mini" versions of HDMI or DisplayPort, which crave a dissimilar kind of input cablevision or a dongle. Brand certain the machine'south video outputs are uniform with your brandish and its cabling.

Intel NUC Bean Canyon Ports

(Photo: Zlata Ivleva)

Larger tower PCs volition take many more ports, offering back up for pretty much any peripheral you need to connect. Expect six or more USB ports, for starters. On larger towers, i or two of these should support Thunderbolt over USB-C. Likewise a given: an Ethernet jack for wired networking, and multiple DisplayPort and HDMI jacks on the dedicated GPU (assuming there is one) for connecting i or more external monitors. Annotation that a tower with a graphics card may also take video outputs that stem from the motherboard, only y'all should simply apply the video outputs on the GPU.

Cyberpower PC Port Panel

(Photo: Zlata Ivleva)

Many towers will also have multiple sound ports, including possibly an optical output and ports for individual speaker channels in a surround-audio setup. Make sure that these match up with any gear you lot may take; the number of surround-audio jacks can vary depending on the PC and its motherboard. Note that Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, while reliably nowadays on even the cheapest laptops and many smaller desktops, is not a given on larger towers.

High-finish workstations and gaming desktops sometimes have a 2d Ethernet port for doubling network bandwidth or for always-continued back-up, while business desktops sometimes offer legacy connectors such equally VGA video outputs, PS/2 peripheral ports, or series ports. The throwback-mode ports are in that location for people who nonetheless demand to use them with older, specialized hardware such every bit indicate-of-sale scanners or industrial equipment. Of grade, you can purchase dongles and adapters for these special port needs, simply the possibility of having them congenital in is a key do good of choosing a desktop over a laptop.

Desktop PC Ports at Front of Chassis

(Photo: Zlata Ivleva)

When evaluating a desktop, beyond looking at what ports are present, also evaluate where they are. Are they easily attainable? Towers tend to have a few commonly used ports on the meridian or front (unremarkably a headphone jack and few USB ports). Some AIOs, in contrast, have some of their central ports hidden behind the stand, in hard-to-reach places.


Screen Size, Expansion Bays, and More

Some buying concerns, no less crucial than the ones above, apply just to certain types of desktops. Deciding on a screen size and type is critical for AIO shoppers, for instance. A touch-enabled display with back up for in-aeroplane switching (IPS) to widen viewing angles is nice to have for an AIO that serves every bit the family'south calendar or photo album, only know that touch on support is not currently available on Apple's iMacs.

Give some deep thought to the screen resolution, whatsoever the panel size. A 4K or even 5K resolution makes for a breathtaking screen, especially one that'south 27 inches or larger, merely such resolutions often add together significantly to the price. As a result, you lot may want to settle for a screen with a full HD or 1080p (1,920-by-one,080-pixel) native resolution and spend money to upgrade other components instead.

Some AIOs, like the Microsoft Surface Studio line, have extraordinarily adjustable stands; in the case of the Studio, you can recline it well-nigh flat on the tabletop, for work with fingertip impact input or a stylus pen. Also look for multiple cameras, i facing the rear, that could make an AIO a good choice, say, for an ID-card printing station. Fan racket is also a consideration with AIOs, since their calculating components volition be on your desk instead of hidden underneath information technology.

Microsoft Surface Studio 2 Stand

(Photo: Zlata Ivleva)

Desktop towers have many of their own idiosyncrasies. Enthusiasts who similar to tinker with components only aren't interested in building their own PCs from scratch volition need to pay special attending to the number and type of expansion trophy and how easy information technology is to admission power and data cables.

Inside a desktop PC

(Photo: Zlata Ivleva)

They should also check the maximum wattage rating of the power supply unit (PSU) and whether or not the case has the clearance for bigger coolers (or the mounting points for liquid cooling gear), if they might program to add a more than powerful CPU afterward. A depression-wattage PSU, such as a 300-watt model used in a desktop with integrated graphics, might prevent calculation a graphics carte afterwards on without upgrading the PSU, too. Annotation also, that some very inexpensive desktop PCs use low-wattage, custom-design PSUs that can't support a graphics card and also aren't easy to upgrade, due to their use of nonstandard connectors on the motherboard side. Once again, this is where a careful reading of reviews comes in.

PC Power Supply

(Photo: Zlata Ivleva)

Desktop towers and mini PCs too require dissever speakers or headphones to deliver sound. If you don't already have them, y'all'll have to spend actress money to buy some, and in the case of dedicated speakers, they'll have up room on your desk. For people who don't intendance as much about audio quality and but want loud enough audio to hear family members on the other end of a Skype call, the built-in speakers of an AIO should work just fine.


When Is the Best Fourth dimension to Buy a Desktop?

For most people in the market for an cheap desktop tower, there'southward no single best time to buy. While traditional sale holidays such as Black Fri tin can internet you lot the odd deal, when you find a system whose features, price, and performance match what you're looking for, take it home.

That said, people who need copious amounts of CPU or GPU muscle (and who have a clear idea of what hardware moves the performance needle with the apps they use) should pay attention to PC-component release cycles. Traditionally, Intel has appear new desktop CPU generations once a yr, with the new chips showing upward in PCs in the autumn or early in the holiday shopping period. (This has shown more than variance in recent years.)

New graphics-bill of fare releases are less frequent and depend on the vagaries of technical advances—Nvidia's highly successful GeForce GTX chiliad series, for example, was the cutting border for several years before the first GeForce RTX cards were announced.

Keeping track of PC-component release cycles helps you become enlightened of what's new earlier you lot purchase, and also what is going off-market place. For shoppers seeking maximum value or on a tight upkeep, getting a desktop based on a discounted last-generation (but still powerful) CPU or GPU tin can be the way to go.

Acer Aspire Desktop PC

(Photo: Zlata Ivleva)

Shoppers looking for an all-in-one PC, meanwhile, should pay attention to announcements from Apple tree and Microsoft. Many other manufacturers end upwards copying—and, sometimes, improving upon—the field-leading designs of the Apple iMac and the Microsoft Surface Studio.


Where Should I Buy a Desktop?

Since you won't exist lugging a desktop around nearly as much as you would a laptop, information technology's less of import to handle the chassis and test-drive its build quality in the store earlier you bring information technology home. However, if the desktop comes with peripherals included, information technology can exist helpful to type a few lines and move the mouse around in the store. And setting optics on an all-in-one desktop is more crucial than with a typical belfry desktop or mini PC. The screen is an integral function of what you are ownership, and eyes-on fourth dimension matters, especially if you're not well-versed, say, in the differences between a 24-inch and 27-inch panel, or a 1080p screen versus a 4K 1.

If you limit yourself only to the selection at your local electronics outlet, though, you'll miss out on many great desktops. In fact, some configurations can be exclusive to a single reseller, such every bit Best Buy, Costco, or Walmart. Other merchants, such every bit Micro Center, frequently have in-shop-only deals that aren't bachelor anywhere online.

Desktop PC With Liquid Cooling

(Photo: Zlata Ivleva)

This is where return policies come up in handy. If you discover a desktop with your ideal specifications online but can't audition it locally, a seller with a liberal return policy is your best friend. Just brand sure y'all've got acceptable fourth dimension to return it, if it ends up non working out.


How Long a Warranty Does My Desktop Need?

Nigh desktop makers offer one-year warranties on parts and labor, with extensions available for as many as five years at an additional charge. Before you pay to extend the warranty, though, bank check your credit-card account benefits guide—your issuer might encompass mishaps for a short period of time after you buy a new product, and possibly extend the manufacturer's warranty, too. (Many MasterCard accounts include a doubling of the standard warranty menses, up to i yr, for example.)

If your card issuer doesn't encompass you, and you plan on keeping your desktop for several years, wait into the cost of added coverage. Some manufacturers and resellers offer wide ranges of extended warranties; expect to spend $100 to $300 for one of these options. Our rule of thumb is that if a warranty costs more than fifteen% of the desktop'due south buy toll, you're improve off spending the money on fill-in drives or services that minimize downtime and protect precious data that you lot can't replace.


Should I Buy a Refurbished Desktop?

Many people considering desktops in the $200-to-$500 range should also consider a refurbished motorcar. They tin be excellent values in certain circumstances.

Large corporations lease fleets of desktops for a few years at a time, after which tertiary parties refurbish them and offer them for resale on eBay, also equally via retailers such every bit All-time Purchase, Newegg, and TigerDirect. To find them, search or filter the product category pages for "off-lease" or refurbished systems.

These refurbished PCs are oft surprisingly cheap ($150 to $250 is mutual), and many are desktop towers, then they're easy to upgrade or service if a component goes south. They do come with drawbacks. Their components are normally several years behind the cutting edge, they may be in imperfect cosmetic condition (some refurbishers grade status on an A-B-C scale), and different refurbishers can have varying levels of attention to particular.

Still, if you're looking for a inexpensive desktop to stow in a chiffonier or under a desk, used just to cheque your email and calendar, refurbs tin be a fine option. Just be sure to buy from a seller with a reasonable return policy in case you get a dud.


So, Which Desktop Should I Consider Buying?

Armed with all of the knowledge and decision points above, you're almost ready to store. The final consideration is how well a desktop PC performs. Nosotros review hundreds of PCs every year, evaluating their features and testing their performance against peers in their corresponding categories. That way, yous'll know which are best suited for gaming, which is our favorite general-purpose all-in-one, and which is the best if all you lot demand is a pocket-size, powerful arrangement yous can get up and running chop-chop.

Our current favorite desktops are below. Non finding annihilation that looks good? Bank check out the total feed of all of our latest desktop reviews, likewise equally our narrower-focused guides to our favorite all-in-ane PCs, business desktops, and gaming desktops.

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Source: https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-desktop-computers

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