Compared with a laptop, a desktop computer has a lot of perks, especially if you plan to use it long term. For example, you can pick the type of monitor you want, the mouse and keyboard, as well as any other peripherals that you need for work. They can be a lot more ergonomic than hunching over a small laptop and can increase productivity. Even if you get an all-in-one, you can still pick and match your favorite keyboard and mouse, plus you save yourself the hassle of having to buy a monitor or having to move two things if you want to clean up or relocate. Desktops can work out to be much better than laptops if you don’t plan to move around, plus you get more in terms of power for the same amount of money.
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We’ve collected our favorite deals that will give you the most for your money below, with everything from budget desktops to higher-end gaming PCs that can handle more complex and resource-hungry tasks like video editing.
Rated as best overall desktop computer by our CNET review expert, Matt Elliott, who noted that it’s small enough to fit in tight spaces but powerful enough for gaming, conten and more. B&H Video has the blue or green variants on sale for $100, though this deal is set to expire April 30.
The Lenovo IdeaCentre AIO 3i is a good option if you want something budget-oriented that includes a screen. It helps drive down the cost, and while the specs are very entry-level, the Intel Core i3-1215U is good enough for most work, and the 8GB of RAM should be fine with some app or tab management.
If you already have a good screen and want to connect it to a media creation powerhouse, this Apple Mac Mini is the way to go. It comes with the powerful M2 chip and 256GB of storage, although you still only get 8GB of RAM, which is a bit on the lower-end and typical of most Apple configurations at this price.
If you want something with a little bit more oomph, this desktop from Asus comes with an Intel Core i5-12400 under the hood. It’s a midrange CPU, so you’ll manage office tasks without an issue, although at this price it would have been nice to see it come with more than 8GB of RAM. Even so, it’s not a deal-breaker, especially with the 512GB solid-state drive.
If you want something with a GPU for video or graphics editing work, the HP Omen 40L comes with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 Ti graphics card. It runs on the AMD Ryzen 7 7700, 16GB of DDR5 RAM and a respectable 1TB of storage. It also has a more muted aesthetic than most gaming machines that makes it fit just as well in an office as it does at home.
Voted by our CNET reviewer as the best budget all-in-one desktop, this affordable unit is now even cheaper by $121, making it just under $500.
