Even though laptops and tablets make up roughly 80% of the PC market , one out of every five computers sold is a good old-fashioned …
Even though laptops and tablets make up roughly 80% of the PC market, one out of every five computers sold is a good old-fashioned desktop. And why not? If you already spend your day tethered to a big-screen monitor, a desktop PC as your home computer makes a lot of sense. And when it comes to longevity, it’s hard to beat a desktop PC. Plus, a desktop offers more power and expandability than a laptop, and a powerful processor is especially important if you’ll be using your device for something like photo editing or as a gaming PC. A desktop computer is generally going to come in the form of either a tower or an all-in-one (with an integrated screen), though there are smaller designs for tighter spaces. And while you can find Windows and Macs for as little as $500 to $700, Chrome and Linux fans have plenty of affordable options, too. While laptops still occupy the majority of our editors’ time and effort with CNET’s hands-on reviews, we’ve rounded up our favorite recent desktop products below. This list starts with models we’ve tested, and then moves on to more generic configurations. We haven’t explicitly tested those specific models in the latter batch, but the specs listed should deliver considerable value for the price, based on our experience with similarly configured laptops we’ve tested. Unless otherwise indicated, the products listed below don’t include a monitor, keyboard, mouse or webcam. You’ll need to bring your own or buy them separately. We update this list periodically. These are the best desktop PC models that we’ve recently tested and can recommend based on our hands-on experience. We haven’t reviewed the specific models below, but we have reviewed systems using very similar hardware. These general configurations should serve you well, especially if you shop around for frequent deals. The specs we’d suggest for a basic Windows 10 machine: With those specs in mind, you should be able to find a good PC tower from brands like Dell, Acer, Asus or HP for between $500 and $600. Here are some that fit the bill, offering a great bang for the buck if you don’t need a laptop: Acer TC-895-UA92 ($669) This 10th-gen Intel Core i5 configuration includes everything listed above, along with Wi-Fi 6 compatibility and a keyboard and mouse, too. HP Pavilion Desktop TP01-1140 ($620) This system offers a capable AMD Ryzen 5 CPU, and HP throws in a mouse and keyboard. Want to do some gaming, or do you spend time editing photos or video? You’ll want to level up the above configuration with more RAM and better graphics options. Expect price points to be between $800 and $1,200 — and even higher if you go for a more bleeding-edge video card. Looking for a gaming computer with more muscle? Check out our list of best gaming PCs. HP Pavilion Gaming Desktop TG01-1076z ($900) This HP rig boasts an AMD Ryzen 5 CPU and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 GPU, a 400-watt power supply,16GB of RAM and tosses a 1TB spinning hard drive on top of the 512GB SSD.
