6 best Windows 10 desktop computers to buy [2021 Guide]

Are you looking for the best Windows 10 desktop computers so you can get one for yourself or a few for the office? We curated some of the top picks in the market.

If you thought the desktop computer is going away anytime soon, well, it just may have the proverbial nine lives because it is still much more effective compared to most laptops.

We checked out what’s out there just before the year ends, and here are the top deals on the best Windows 10 desktop computers you can get right now.

What are the best Windows 10 desktop computers deals?

Acer Aspire TC-895-UA92 Desktop

• 10th Generation Intel Core i5
• Intel Wireless Wi-Fi 6 wireless connectivity
• 512GB NVMe M.2 SSD
• 12 GB DDR4 memory

• Integrated graphics

This desktop computer not only comes with a pre-installed Windows 10 Home operating system, but also an Intel Core i5 10th generation processor, 12 GB memory, and a 512 GB SSD.

Besides these key specs, this computer is fitted with USB 3.2 Type-C port, 5 USB 3.2 ports and 2 USB 2.0 ports, 2 HDMI ports, Ethernet, Wi-Fi 6, and Bluetooth capabilities, and a digital media card reader.

You also get a keyboard and mouse so you can effectively multitask away and get your stuff done. The 10 th generation processor delivers great performance for this desktop computer, so you can do so much with fast response and huge storage capacity.

With the HDMI ports, expect only crisp quality visuals even when viewing your favorite flicks on a widescreen monitor or TV.

Memory is always a big deal, but the Acer Aspire doesn’t disappoint. Its 12 GB memory delivers a superfast computer processing experience so you can brace yourself for more time as this computer helps you save on waiting time.

What’s more, it has a sleek black finish design, plus you can access the customer support from Acer Care Center easily.

HP Envy Desktop Computer

• 10th generation Intel Core i7 processor
• 1 TB HDD + 512 GB SSD
• Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 4.2 connectivities
• Keyboard, mouse, and Windows 10 Pro 64 bit included

• Internal graphics processor

This is an Intel Core i7- 10700 eight-core processor desktop computer. That’s right, it’s a 10th generation processor and combined with the 16 GB memory, so you can expect top performance computing.

Of course, you can still go to the next level and upgrade that to 32 GB. As for storage, the 1 TB 7200 RPM SATA hard drive and the 512 GB SSD can be more than a match for anything you could throw at it.

The HP desktop also comes packed with a media card reader, 4 superspeed USB Type-A ports, and a USB Type-C port in the front for easy access. In the back, you can also find another 4 USB Type-A ports an HDMI port, and a VGA port.

It is also fitted with Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi 5, and LAN so you can easily access high internet speed and connectivity.

Since this is about the best Windows 10 desktop computers, this one too comes with a pre-installed Windows 10 Pro 64-bit operating system.

HP 24-inch All-in-One Touchscreen Desktop Computer

• Integrated 23.8-inch diagonal FHD widescreen
• Stereo speakers included
• Pop-up webcam
• 11th generation Intel Core i5 processor

• Not very easy to upgrade

This desktop computer is touted as one of the best Windows 10 desktop computers in the industry. It has a stunning, full HD, 23.8-inch wide display, responsive performance, webcam, and integrated speakers – totally worth the purchase.

If you’re big on entertainment, this is your best bet for a Windows 10 desktop computer. Its features include Ethernet, Wifi 5, and Bluetooth 4.2 capabilities for seamless interaction with other devices.

Add the built-in speakers with stereo delivery, crisp HD webcam for clearer visuals and videos, 512 GB SSD, and optical disk drive so you can store so much away and it still will deliver powerful performance.

HP 4NN56AA#ABA Pavilion 24-Inch All-in-One Computer

• 23.8-inch 10-point touch display with Full HD resolution
• B&O stereo speakers
• Intel UHD Graphics 630 for advanced graphics
• Slim bezel

• Only 12 GB of RAM

This is another wonderful desktop computer that comes with a pre-installed Windows 10 Home operating system. Its specs include 12GB SDRAM memory, six-core processor, touch-enabled widescreen, 512 GB SSD, and a backlit, edge to edge display.

When you hear Bang and Olufsen are involved in the audios, you know you’re up for a rich audio experience, as this computer comes with dual front-firing speakers, audio tuned by B&O.

You also get to surf without cables so you can connect wirelessly to other devices and your printer, plus it also has Bluetooth for wireless connectivity to enabled devices as well.

Its built-in webcam lets you enjoy video calls, and its media reader allows you to easily transfer your digital media files. What’s more, it comes in black and has an amazing sleek finish to it.

Acer Aspire C24-963-UA91 AIO Desktop

• 10th Generation Intel Core i3
• 23.8-inch Full HD widescreen, edge-to-edge LED display
• Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 4.2 wireless connectivities
• Built-in webcam and speakers

• Only 8 GB memory

This wide screen all-in-one desktop computer is very sleek and powerful. It is equipped with an Intel i3 from 10-th generation processors, so it will exceed your expectations.

The speedy Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 4.2 connection technology will ensure seamless wireless connection while the Gigabit Ethernet will ensure the very top range broadband connection.

The edge-to-edge Full HD display will ensure a crisp image whether you’re working or streaming a movie. The only slight downside is the 8 GB RAM memory but you can easily upgrade that too.

Flagship Dell Inspiron 3000 3880 Desktop Computer

• 10th Generation Intel Core i5 Processor
• 1 TB SSD included
• Integrated Intel UHD Graphics
• Windows 10 OS installed

• Can be considered expensive

The Flagship Dell Inspiron 3000 3880 Desktop Computer doesn’t have an impressive design but it does have impressive power because it comes packed with the latest generation Intel i5 six-core processor and 16 GB of RAM.

You will not have a problem with storage because you will be able to use the integrated 1 TB SSD for speedy access. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections are also included and you will find the mouse or keyboard in the box so you won’t have to buy your own.

The PC will be ready to boot with a Windows 10 Pro 64-bit OS so you’re good to go straight from the box.

What to consider when looking for the best Windows 10 desktop computer?

You want to get a computer that is both fast and powerful in terms of performance. With a fast processor, you can get a lot more done and save on time as well.

Check on the cores of the processor, as this will determine its performance when handling multiple tasks simultaneously.

This is a must-have in any computer. The best Windows 10 desktop computers definitely have enough storage capacity to cater for data storage. Since you won’t be moving around with this often, then storage is a big deal.

You can also have Windows 10 installed on a solid state drive so you can boot, read and write at faster speeds, but this is an extra cost altogether.

By now, most computer users on Windows must have taken advantage of the free Windows 10 upgrade from older versions, which by the way ended, meaning either you get a desktop computer that comes with the OS pre-installed, or get a genuine copy and install on your own.

In any case, this is about the best Windows 10 desktop computers, so you want to get on the train already and enjoy the user-friendly nature of this OS.

The display is another must have because you’ll be staring at your screen for all your computer usage needs. This is especially so for graphics, but also while working. Look for a good monitor with at least 23 inches or 24 at most.

Check for color, display accuracy, and contrast, plus the type of screen technology used on the monitor – IPS panels are preferred as they deliver a fantastic experience, but they don’t come cheap.

• Graphics Card

This is important not just for gamers or designers, but also for you who wants to use your desktop computer for other things involving graphics, besides you regular typing tasks.

This is because the graphics card caters for any visuals or videos on your computer so get one that will deliver the best quality.

Let us know if you found your favorite among these best Windows 10 desktop computers by leaving a comment in the section provided below.

Best home computers 2021: Desktop PCs and Macs

By Ian Evenden 04 March 2021

Find the best home computers to suit your needs, whether it’s a gaming PC, a desktop computer for your home office or a cheap all-in-one.

Welcome to our roundup of the best home computers of 2021. Whether you’re a PC gamer looking for a gaming computer or you need a sleek and sophisticated desktop computer for your home office, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve got reviews of all the best PCs from the top brands including Dell, Lenovo, Apple, Alienware, and more.

There are a frankly bewildering array of options out there when you’re choosing the best home computer for you though, and it can be intimidating. Unlike most tech where you just buy it, and maybe choose from a couple of different memory options, home computers are almost infinitely customizable. Just look at many variants of the latest Dell XPS computer you can buy. You need to choose a CPU and graphics card along with how much RAM and storage space you want, and that’s just for starters.

What choices you should make depend entirely on what you need your home computer for, but we do have some bare minimum specs that we think everyone should aim for when choosing a new desktop computer. You’ll want the latest generation of CPU (currently 10th gen Intel or Ryzen 5000). Aim for at least an Intel i5 or i7, as the i3 is a little too weedy for our liking. Along with that you need at least 8GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD for storage. You can get away with a 256GB SSD if you also have a storage HDD (or even an external hard drive).

It’s also worth noting that all of the above refers to Windows PCs. If you want an Apple computer, like the latest iMac, then it will have it’s own proprietary CPU. Apple computers are the height of cool, but they’re also rarely customizable so you’re trading looks and user experience for the ability to easily upgrade down the line. It’s much easier to slot more RAM or a new graphics card into a Windows PC.

If you need a powerful gadget on the go, then you’re better off with one of the best laptops so be sure to check them out too. If you do decide to grab a desktop computer, then you’ll need a few things to go with it — namely a monitor, keyboard and mouse, and maybe a webcam too.

1. Dell XPS 8930 Desktop: Best home computer (Windows)

Dell XPS 8930

The best desktop tower PC, which runs on Windows

OS: Windows | Build to order: No | Upgradable: No | Built-in screen: Yes

Dell’s Inspiron range covers iMac-alike all-in-one machines as well as traditional desktop tower computers like the Dell XPS 8930. While only the tower PCs offer build-to-order options suitable for gaming or other heavy graphics work, the all-in-one machines have fast 10th-generation Intel processors and solid-state flash storage.

We’re big fans of the Dell XPS 8930 thanks to its highly customizable, powerful hardware options and compact form factor (as for as tower PCs go anyway). While the tower PC aesthetic isn’t for everyone, the Dell XPS 8930 has a sleek and professional appearance with a gloss black finish and very little in the way of garish bling that you might find on a gaming PC.

There are a few downsides to a tower PC over an all-in-one though, namely that you’ll need to buy a monitor separately, along with a mouse and keyboard. They also take up more space than all-in-one PCs, but the trade-off comes in their flexibility and upgradability. You can easily add more RAM or replace the graphics card on a tower PC and that’s where the Dell XPS 8930 excels. If you need a PC that can do it all, this is the one for you.

2. Apple iMac (2019): Best home computer (Mac)

Apple iMac (2019)

The best home computer in 2020, especially for Mac fans

OS: MacOS (Windows optional) | Build to order: Yes | Upgradable: RAM only | Built-in screen: Yes

You’ll have seen the Apple iMac, in various forms since its launch in 1998, on innumerable TV shows and on the desks of everyone from CEOs to hairdressers. Essentially a screen with a computer attached to its back, its current incarnation, with screens up to 27in and with a slender, graceful design that culminates in a single aluminium foot, is unmistakable and much imitated.

In order to keep its thin profile, but still maintain desktop levels of performance, the iMac makes use of some portable computer parts, such as low-profile RAM modules. These don’t have any effect on the computer’s processing power (especially true of the iMac’s professional cousin, the iMac Pro) and the large screen allows for decent cooling to be installed behind it.

Apple has always been one of the first companies to adopt new connection technology, and the two Thunderbolt 3 ports found on the back of an iMac are some of the fastest out there, capable of connecting both to fast external storage, or to an external monitor for even more screen space.

At the time of writing iMacs are available with 7th- and 8th-generation Intel processors, and start at $1,099 for a 21.5in model.

3. Mac Mini 2020: Best compact home computer

Mac Mini (2020)

The power of an iMac in a pint-sized package

OS: MacOS (Windows optional) | Build to order: Yes | Upgradable: RAM only | Built-in screen: No

Recently upgraded to double its internal flash storage, the Mac Mini starts at just $800. You’ll need to add a monitor, keyboard and mouse to that to actually be able to use it, of course, and by adding options through the build-to-order website it’s possible to spec yourself a decently powerful computer, as long as you don’t need graphics processing performance — the mini is never going to be a games machine.

As with the iMac, the Mac Mini comes with Apple’s MacOS operating system rather than Windows, although you can install Microsoft’s OS if you want to. Choosing between the two is largely a matter of taste, with no single big feature one can do that the other can’t.

The Mac Mini is at the bottom of Apple’s range, and despite the build to order options it’s never going to be the computer you want if your interests include 3D rendering or anything that needs a GPU. With an Intel 8th-gen eight-core i7 CPU, however, it will blitz its way through photo editing and any other CPU-intensive tasks with ease. It’s the perfect home office machine, and also excels as a media center, connecting to a TV directly or storing your media on its large, fast SSD and serving it via a system such as Plex. And it’s so small, you can easily keep it in a cupboard.

4. Lenovo Ideacentre: Best Windows all-in-one

Lenovo Ideacentre

The best all-in-one PC for Windows users

OS: Windows | Build to order: No | Upgradable: No | Built-in screen: Yes

Lenovo’s range of all-in-ones and desktop towers is broad, with some budget-friendly options mixed in with the more powerful offerings.

Design-wise, we’re big fans of the AIO A540, with its off-center supporting leg — a flourish that helps it stand out from the competition. If you need more processing horsepower, then the 720 tower is worth a look, offering plenty of RAM and storage, and a discrete GPU for gaming and video work.

If that’s not your thing, then Lenovo’s all-in-ones live up to their name. Screens measure in at up to 27-inch, and ninth-generation Intel processors mean Windows 10 performance is snappy.

There’s a shark circling at the bottom of this particular pond. The Lenovo Yoga A series. It’s an all-in-one like no other, with the option of i9 processors and up to 32GB of RAM, a 27-inch 4K touchscreen and large amounts of fast solid state storage. It’s expensive, but if you’re creating project-critical content from home, there’s little to touch it outside the iMac Pro.

5. Alienware Aurora: Best gaming PC

Alienware Aurora R9

If you’re playing games, this is the PC to go for

OS: Windows | Build to order: Yes | Upgradable: Yes | Built-in screen: No

Alienware is Dell’s gaming brand, but a gaming computer is just a well-specced machine that can do most things well. The PCs come as towers, so you’ll need to factor in the cost of a monitor, mouse, keyboard and speakers/headset as additional purchases.

What you get, however, will blow away the other machines on this list. There’s the option of a 16-core AMD CPU, for one thing, backed by up to 32GB of RAM and enough storage to amass a bulging game library. You can even specify dual graphics processors, but you’ll pay for the privilege.

The black Aurora towers aren’t much to look at, there are no see-through side panels so you can take a look at your components humming away, but you do get innovative tool-free access to the innards, which are upgradable, and cooling that’s so well thought out you might hardly notice the PC had been switched on.

Buying one of these is complete overkill for home office work, but for a genuine do-anything machine that will throw 4K video around and play the latest games as easily as it browses the web and fires up Word documents, then the Aurora range is hard to beat.

What to look for when buying a home computer

Speed & Power
If you think about a computer like a car, the processor is essentially the engine. They tend to have seemingly complicated names, so just keep in mind that generally a higher number means it’s a faster and more powerful processor. The dominant manufacturers are Intel and AMD. Intel is better known but both make fine chips.

Another thing to look at is a computer’s RAM – random access memory – which is the internal space your computer uses to accomplish a task. Everything you open and every app you use requires your computer’s RAM. Storage, on the other hand, is the measure of how much data can be saved on your computer. In short, Microsoft Word uses RAM but the document you save goes in your computer’s storage, whether hard drive or SSD. Having more RAM and storage is always a good thing but comes at a cost, so it’s important to make your purchase based on what you’re really going to use your computer for.

Aesthetics
The old days of having a tower and monitor are slowly but surely coming to an end for most basic home computer desktops. For our comparison, we stuck to models that didn’t require an extra tower because we felt the average home user would rather have a compact unit. If you prefer, there are also a plethora of laptops that also work very well as a home computer, with the added bonus of portability. You can flip some laptops’ screens all the way around to turn your traditional L-shaped model into a flat tablet, which can be really fun for kids. Most of the computers we tested are lightweight and aesthetically modern with curved edges and a slim profile.

Your screen resolution is important because it’s what you’re going to spend your time looking at. While 1080p used to be the standard, now many computer companies are gravitating toward an even better 4K display. A computer with 1080p resolution has a horizontal resolution of 1,920 pixels, while 4K has a horizontal resolution of 4,096 pixels and 5K has a horizontal resolution of about 5,000 pixels. As usual, bigger numbers are better.

Cost
You can buy a computer for work or personal use and pay anywhere from $300 up to several thousand dollars, depending on the hardware and peripherals you want. However, most options cost between $500 and $1,400 and offer you flexibility in design.

Asking for Help
If you’re not a computer person, it’s best to simply ask for help. Whether you’re shopping at a big box store or a locally owned mom and pop place, the most expensive computer isn’t necessarily always the best. It’s important to let whoever you’re buying from know what you want out of your computer so they can give you the best buying advice. If being able to play online games is a priority, you’re going to want a different and probably more expensive computer than someone who just wants to use email and social media.

Accessories
Once you select a home computer, you can start shopping for accessories. If you opt for a laptop but don’t love the keyboard or audio package, you can always buy another and connect it. A desktop computer is even easier to connect to the keyboard and mouse you choose.

After you set up your computer, you might realize your WiFi signal isn’t as strong as it needs to be in some parts of your home. If you’re experiencing connectivity problems, consider getting a Wi-Fi booster. We’ve reviewed some of the best home computer accessories on the market. Check them out here: