The Best Computers for Every Need: Laptops vs Desktops

The Best Laptops We've Tested (August 2024)

Figuring out what to pay attention to when buying the best laptop for you can be maddening, given how many individual specifications and features you'll come across in your search. Which specific features and which classes of laptop are best for you depends on your budget and how you plan to use your laptop. It's better to take a systematic approach when shopping. Let's run through how to make a smart pick. What Are the Types of Laptops You Can Buy? First, here's a rundown of the main types of laptops you'll find on today's market. Which Brand of Laptop Is the Best? Trying to choose your next mobile computer based on what might be the "best" laptop brand isn't the best way to go about your purchasing decision. That way, you might miss out on a winner with a logo on its screen lid you didn't recognize. In your laptop search, you will quickly discover that many brands have developed specific reputations for themselves as to what they're best suited for. For instance, Apple has long been known for its MacBooks' particular aptitude for creative professionals, from writers to photo/video editors and even digital designers. Meanwhile, Lenovo is best known for its class-leading keyboards, and its ThinkPad business machines and mobile workstations. As a last example, brands like Acer and Asus, while they play just fine in the high end, tend to dominate the midrange and budget sectors with maximum-value systems. Other major makers of laptops include HP and MSI. If you still must know what the top laptop brands are, then go with the wisdom of the crowd: See what you can find within our running Readers' Choice: Best Laptop Brands series, which polls readers like you to name their favorite laptop brands for specific use cases and scenarios. What Is the Longest-Lasting Laptop? Many of the best laptops can last an entire day away from the power outlet, even when you're using them for demanding but everyday activities like streaming internet video. You'll find exceptions; a laptop with a 4K display and a powerful CPU probably will not last for more than eight hours or so before its battery dies, and most gaming laptops die far sooner. When you're playing demanding games that tax the GPU, gaming laptops tend to run out of juice even more quickly off the plug than they usually do. You'll find more than a few exceptions, though, and even powerful laptops have become adept at sensing when their maximum power isn't required and reducing various components' consumption. This is where PC Labs' battery testing comes in. We evaluate battery life by playing a locally stored video file nonstop with no wireless connections active and 50% screen brightness. An excellent result on our test suggests that the laptop is adept at adapting its power use to the task at hand, and you can use the results to compare the potential of the machines you are considering. We evaluate all laptops using this test, and at the preceding link, you can see an extended summary of the best performers on our battery test. Measuring battery life is notoriously tricky, though, since it's entirely dependent on how you use your laptop. Your usage profile probably doesn't match our test -- or anyone else's -- to a T. So you'll want to look at tested battery life in a relative, rather than absolute, sense. However, if you're keeping score, the Getac S410 G5 semi-rugged laptop is the longest-lasting laptop you can buy today, going for more than 29 hours in our battery rundown test. The Getac's extra internal battery capacity certainly helped, but we've also seen MacBooks meet or come close to this figure. What Are the Best Laptop Specs for Work From Home? Because you'll find only so many unique makes of processor, graphics chip, memory, and storage, the most identifiable and popular laptop "specs" aren't all that different regardless of whether a given system was designed for working from home. However, a few key laptop specifications have an outsize impact on getting work done in a home office. First and foremost is the webcam. The laptop's camera is your window into your working world, so it better be of high quality to make the best impression every time. Avoid webcams that aren't at least 1080p in recording resolution, and it might behoove you to look out for newer laptops with Intel Core Ultra processors that enable AI enhancements to their webcam image, automatically improving lighting, framing, and audio. Also, pay close attention to the ports and other hard connections of any laptop you're considering buying for working from home. The laptop's port selection will dictate whether you'll need an additional USB hub or docking station to expand its connectivity. Otherwise, specs like CPU, GPU, RAM, and storage will be directed more by the type of work you need to accomplish at home and the hardware required to meet those requirements. We explore all of those internal considerations below. How Much Will the Right Laptop Cost? Don't care about cutting-edge design and robust components? You might be satisfied with a cheap laptop. Today's market is flooded with basic but full-featured models with list prices under $500. "Shopping holidays" like Prime Day and Black Friday, and actual holidays like Presidents' Day, bring frequent sales, discounting some of these models even further. Most of them will handle word processing and email checking just fine, but they'll struggle with heavier tasks, such as keeping many web browser tabs or memory- and CPU-demanding programs open at once. You'll want to look at our reviews to compare performance. PC Labs has tested many of the latest budget laptop models across the market; some are classic clamshells, and others are convertible or detachable 2-in-1s. (We've detailed a couple of our top cheap laptop picks in our lineup of favorites above.) Increasing your budget to around $1,000 will unlock access to nearly all of the cutting-edge features modern laptops offer. These include slim, sturdy aluminum chassis, brilliant touch-enabled 4K displays, powerful processors and graphics chips, and batteries that will last all day and well into the night. We're increasingly seeing laptops bring these features down closer to the $800 range, as well, in some models from brands like Acer, Asus, and HP. The major caveat in this price range is that you'll have to choose the most important features. You might be able to land a laptop with a beautiful 4K display or a cavernous terabyte of solid-state storage at this price, but probably not one with both. If your piggybank has $2,000 or more, you can choose almost any combination of features you want. Even the most powerful laptop that money can buy, though, must still obey the laws of physics. Powerful hardware generates heat, and the cooling mechanisms that such components require take up space. Hard-core gamers who want a large display and a screaming-fast graphics processor that requires bulky cooling pipes and fans can't expect to find it in a thin, light laptop. IT-manageable, security-conscious business laptops -- models made primarily by Dell, HP, and Lenovo -- have their own pricing dynamic and tend to cost a bit more, all else being equal. That's because of their premium warranty or support plans, enterprise-specific silicon focused on manageability or security, fingerprint or face-recognition login features, and more rugged build quality. Windows vs. ChromeOS vs. macOS: Which Operating System to Get? The best laptops you'll run across in-store or at your favorite online seller will run Windows 11 (unless the seller is named "Apple"). Still, Microsoft's best-known product isn't necessarily the best operating system for everyone. Thanks to the ascendance in recent years of Google's ChromeOS up the ranks of budget laptops, you now have an alternative to Windows at every price level. The tipping point for non-Windows laptops is around $1,000; above a grand, your main alternative to a Windows machine is a MacBook; below it, it's a Chromebook. Today, laptops based on ChromeOS are the primary alternatives to budget-priced Windows laptops. A Chromebook could be a fine, value-minded choice for someone who needs a laptop just to watch movies, create text documents, write emails, and work in basic spreadsheets. With a Chromebook, the main features you will need from your laptop are a decent screen and a comfortable keyboard, since cloud services like Google Drive can handle most of your storage and processing needs. And, if you still insist on key creature comforts, you can find midrange Chromebooks with full-HD (1080p) displays and comfortable keyboards just as easily as you can find bargain-basement ones these days. Indeed, Google's Chromebook Plus program sets a level for impressive-quality Chromebooks at near-budget prices. PC Labs has tested Chromebooks all across the market, including clamshell models, convertibles, and even a few detachable 2-in-1 Chrome tablets. (We've detailed our top Chromebook pick in our lineup of favorites above.) An Apple MacBook might be right for people with similar needs but larger budgets, assuming you're cool with running your day-to-day computing life on macOS. You won't find a "cheap" MacBook anywhere in the Apple family, but you will find unmatched industrial design, universally excellent battery life, and a ton of built-in apps to manage your multimedia collection and sync with your iCloud account and the rest of your Apple devices. Higher-end MacBook Pros also suit content creators, with the option for a 16-inch Liquid Retina XDR display and CPUs up to Apple's own M3 Max. One of the most significant Mac laptop drawbacks is a total lack of touch-screen support, which is an option in various ChromeOS and Windows machines. A Windows-based machine affords access to the broadest range of software, including most AAA games; the subset of popular, first-rank game titles is much smaller on macOS, and games on ChromeOS are limited to what runs in a browser or what you can download as an Android app or from the Chrome Web Store. A Windows machine also drives the most form-factor flexibility. A few Chromebooks have designs built around detachable or foldable keyboards, letting you use them as tablets, but Windows offers a far broader selection of these flexible physical designs. The vast number of Windows devices means Microsoft's OS gives you the most flexibility in choosing a laptop, period. Most of the rest of your buying decisions, which we'll address below, are therefore relevant mainly to Windows machines. (We'll be sure to note when Macs or Chromebooks offer a certain feature as well, however.) What Is an Ideal Weight and Size for a Laptop? Most people searching for the best laptop should choose one that measures about half an inch thick and weighs 3 pounds or less. These are the maximum dimensions and heft a laptop can have to be considered ultraportable, and for most users, portability is the key to maximizing use and enjoyment. Aiming for that weight and thickness, in most cases, will limit the laptop's screen size to 13 or 14 inches, although a few models with 15-inch or larger screens now fit into the ultraportable category. You can find models in either the conventional "clamshell" laptop shape or a 2-in-1 convertible design at most of these screen sizes. The latter has a hinge that rotates the screen 360 degrees, so you can use it as a makeshift tablet or prop it up like a tent for watching movies. Some Windows and ChromeOS laptops do have smaller displays, such as 10 or 11 inches. Some of these are not technically laptops in the pure sense but rather tablets with detachable keyboards. Avoid these designs unless you're looking for a part-time tablet or the lightest possible laptop. They're lighter than most 13-inch ultraportables, often less than 2 pounds, but they're not as effective at being tablets as the Apple iPad is, and their detachable keyboards mean they're not much better at being laptops, either -- typing on most of them tends to be subpar. At the other end of the size spectrum are 17-inch and 18-inch laptops. They mostly appeal to hard-core gamers, but you can find the occasional 17-inch productivity machine or workstation if you like a larger screen for other reasons. A 17-inch or 18-inch laptop can closely mimic a desktop experience at the expense of size and weight. Most 18-inchers are meant for gaming; the larger panels complement the latest GeForce and Radeon GPUs, which make use of the extra chassis space for cooling. These monsters from Alienware, Asus, and Razer (geared toward gaming) tackle the hardest graphics tasks to date to varying effects. Some of these designs can exceed 8 pounds and measure more than an inch thick. If you plan to park your gaming rig on your desk and seldom move it, a 17-incher or 18-incher is a possibility. Otherwise, most gamers should stick with a 15-inch or 16-inch laptop. What Kind of Laptop Screen Should You Get? Laptop screens have grown denser over the past decade, packing more pixels into the same area. That enables crisper text, sharper on-screen images, and, often, better-looking colors. Display density is sometimes measured in pixels per inch (ppi), but the main specification that defines a laptop screen is its native resolution, which is expressed in horizontal by vertical pixels. Most laptops that cost $500 or more have screens with at least "full HD" resolutions. Also known as "1080p" displays, they sport a resolution of 1,920 by 1,080 pixels (or, in a few cases, 1,920 by 1,200) and typically employ LCD panels built on what's known as in-plane switching (IPS) technology. IPS screens' quality can vary, but they are best known for keeping the quality of the image high if you look at the screen from an oblique or off-side angle. Thin-film transistor (TFT), the other major screen type in modern laptops (once standard issue in gaming-geared models), tends to shift colors or look faded if not viewed straight-on. That matters if you often share the contents of your screen with others -- say, when giving impromptu presentations. The cheapest Windows- and- ChromeOS-based laptops will usually have lower-resolution thin-film transistor (TFT) displays (1,280 by 720 pixels and 1,366 by 768 are the common numbers there), which means text won't appear as crisp, and colors might not be as vivid as you've come to expect from your smartphone or TV. If you're not picky about image quality, though, a lower-resolution display might be an acceptable sacrifice in the quest to save money. You can go higher than full HD for the crispest text and details. Many high-end laptops now have displays with 4K native resolution (generally 3,840 by 2,160 pixels) as standard or optional extras. These screens mostly use the same IPS technology as full HD panels, but a few use OLED technology, similar to what you'll find in cutting-edge smartphones. OLED screens command a premium, and their inky blacks and luxurious colors are best suited for movie buffs. Some laptops, particularly from Apple, Dell, and Razer, have moved to mini LED backlighting technology that introduces finer control over color depth and image brightness, especially boosting HDR content. Whether the screen is OLED, IPS, or TFT, people who plan to use their laptops in brightly lit rooms or outdoors will want to make sure that the panel has a maximum brightness level of at least 500 nits. Is a Laptop Touch Screen Necessary? To take advantage of the touch-screen support present throughout Windows and ChromeOS, you'll want to seek out a touch-enabled laptop and perhaps even a digital stylus to write or draw on it. Some Windows laptops come in both touch- and non-touch versions, so check the specifications of what you're buying carefully. Glossy screens typically feature touch support, while most matte screens designed to filter out glare from ambient lighting do not. Since many gaming laptops have matte displays, touch support is much harder to find among their ranks. Many gaming laptops above budget level do offer high-refresh-rate screens, though. Hard-core gamers or esports hounds who are looking for silky-smooth visuals to give them a competitive edge will want to maximize the number of frames per second that their screen can display and can do so by opting for a screen with a 120Hz or greater refresh rate. However, before you pay a major premium for a high-refresh screen, you'll want to be sure that the graphics chip, or GPU, is muscular enough to push the kinds of games you play at a high enough frame rate to make a difference. Standard laptop screens have 60Hz refresh rates, and if you are playing games at 60 frames per second or lower, in most cases, a high-refresh screen won't confer many benefits. What Is the Best Processor for Your Laptop? Most $1,000 ultraportables use Intel Core processors or, less commonly, AMD Ryzen CPUs. All of these offer plenty of power for everyday computing tasks, but remember that higher CPU model numbers in a given family of chips typically indicate more processor cores, higher maximum clock speeds, and sometimes even multithreading. With multithreading, each CPU core can run two sets of software instructions simultaneously instead of just one. Modern software is designed to take advantage of as many CPU cores as possible so it can run faster on multithreaded chips. Meanwhile, budget laptops typically use AMD Ryzen 3 processors, or Core i3 or Pentium/N-series chips in Intel's case. These typically have just a few individual cores. At the other end of the spectrum, high-end powerhouse laptops have workstation-class Intel or AMD CPUs with double-digit core counts. Regardless of which CPU a laptop has, it's typically designed to use less power and generate less heat than its desktop counterpart. In the latest mainstream, lightweight laptops, Intel laptop CPUs typically consume 15 watts (W) of power (or less) up to as much as 45W for the highest-end mobile tasks. Gaming laptops and mobile workstations typically feature higher-powered CPUs, usually denoted by an "H" in the CPU's model name. These require more cooling hardware and consume more energy, but they drive performance closer to that of a desktop PC. You'll find H-series CPUs from both AMD and Intel. Apple is in its third generation of M-series silicon for MacBooks. As of this year, all of Apple's laptop models contain some variation of its M3 processors. Getting into laptop-processor specifics can get you pretty deep in the weeds, but for a decent overview that doesn't overwhelm you, check out our guide to choosing a laptop CPU that fits what you do. Which Graphics Chip Should You Get in Your Laptop? A graphics processor built into the CPU (also known as an "integrated graphics processor," or IGP) is perfectly adequate for most everyday laptop use. You'll know you're looking at an IGP if you see a reference to Intel's Arc Graphics, HD Graphics, UHD Graphics, or Iris as the graphics solution on an Intel-CPU laptop (or Radeon Graphics on an AMD-based laptop). An IGP shares the CPU's processor cores, memory, or both. The amount of memory available to the integrated graphics chip is usually fixed, so increasing the system memory won't result in better graphics performance. Most gamers will want to consider a discrete GPU with dedicated computing resources. Even a budget gaming GPU will offer an immense advantage over an integrated graphics processor when it comes to playing 3D games. Hard-core gamers should look for Nvidia's latest GeForce RTX GPUs at the high end. With gaming laptops, the level of GPU you need is deeply tied to the frame rate you want to run at the laptop's native screen resolution and the kind of games you play. That's where our reviews come in handy. We test with several demanding gaming and industry-standard benchmarks to give you a relative sense of a laptop's graphics performance. Check out our roundup of the best gaming laptops overall and the best budget gaming laptops for much more. PC Labs has tested all of the latest gaming laptops across the market, from budget models to cost-no-object deluxe ones. In our lineup of favorites above, we've also detailed our top picks in three categories (budget, mainstream, and high-end). How Much Storage and Memory Does Your Laptop Need? The best laptops above entry-level all come with solid-state drives (SSDs), which store data using memory cells instead of spinning platters (the classic hard drive). Since information stored in cells is much faster to access, SSDs are the best and most common drive configuration. They're also immune to jolts and bumps that might crash a spinning platter's heads. A few of the best laptops' especially larger-chassis ones designed for gaming, come with both kinds of drive: a small SSD to hold the operating system, essential apps, and a few games, and a larger spinning one to store the bulk of your game files or other space-consuming media. That's a perfectly fine option if you're looking to save money or simply need the maximum possible local storage amount, but you should stick with an SSD-only setup whenever possible. Note that not all laptop SSDs are created equal. SSDs that use the more modern, generally faster PCI Express NVMe standard, as opposed to the older, slightly slower SATA interface, are preferable. (PCI Express SSDs are rapidly taking over the field in new laptops, in any case.) Either of these, however, is far better than a third type, which is a not-quite-SSD: the much slower eMMC, a kind of flash storage drive found in budget machines. (If your budget laptop has 32GB, 64GB, or possibly 128GB of local storage, it is probably using eMMC. Check the specs.) All of them are better than a traditional spinning hard drive unless you simply need sheer capacity for the least money, but eMMC is the slowest and least desirable flash tech. The minimum amount of storage space most laptop shoppers should consider is 256GB. This will accommodate the considerable requirements of operating system updates and large apps like Microsoft Office with room left over. People with sizable collections of videos, photos, or music (or any but the most casual of PC gamers) should seek out a minimum of 512GB. At the high end, you'll find laptops configurable with 1TB or even roomier SSDs, and these will sound exciting. But beware that the absolute highest capacities can cause a laptop's price to skyrocket -- a 4TB SSD can add thousands of dollars to the overall cost of a high-end laptop. It's more cost-effective to get a 512GB SSD and add an external drive if you need additional space. While a laptop's SSD stores your data, its system memory (or RAM) works with the CPU to run apps and helps define its multitasking capacity. Basic productivity apps will run just fine with 8GB of memory, but you'll want to configure a midrange laptop with 16GB to ensure that tomorrow's more advanced apps will have access to enough memory. That's also a decent target amount for heavy multitaskers, PC gamers, and people who surf the web with many tabs open. Modern web browsers loading multimedia-rich sites and web apps are voracious memory consumers. Few people who aren't professional or prosumer content creators will see much additive benefit from memory amounts above 16GB. On the flip side of that, a budget Windows system with just 4GB of memory will be sluggish with multitasking and is generally indicative of a bare-bones configuration to avoid. The same is true of Chromebooks -- although ChromeOS is designed to demand fewer computing resources than Windows, if you're prone to performing memory-intensive tasks like browsing with dozens of tabs open simultaneously, 4GB can be limiting. What Kind of Connectivity Does Your Laptop Need? If you plan to use your laptop's touchpad, touch screen, and keyboard as the primary means of control, most of the time you may never need to plug in anything other than the power cord. In this case, you'll rely on almost every laptop's Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections. The latest mainstream Wi-Fi standard is 802.11ax (also dubbed "Wi-Fi 6"), an important feature to look for in a laptop to ensure fast Wi-Fi connectivity in the future. Steer clear of the older 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5), though, as it's now being phased out, with the high-end Wi-Fi 6E standard appearing in more premium laptop options. We're also on the cusp of Wi-Fi 7 hitting the mainstream, so watch out for that even faster version to hit more laptops in the coming years. (It reduces latency and provides access to additional bandwidth.) Serious gamers might want to opt for a machine with a Killer Networks setup. It will allow for more granular control over prioritizing wired or wireless gaming traffic on your internet connection. Business users and gamers may also want a dedicated Ethernet jack. Most gaming machines will have one, and some gamers insist wired Ethernet is still the only way to go for competitive online gaming. Some laptops implement Ethernet as a full-size or fold-out jack; others may come with an adapter in the box that routes Ethernet through a USB port. Still, others come with neither, leaving wired Ethernet up to you to add via a dongle if you want it. As for other physical connections, you'll want to examine the edges of a given laptop carefully and take count. If you have an external storage device like a thumb drive, you'll want to pay attention to the type and quantity of USB ports. Look for laptops that have both USB Type-A and Type-C ports. Type-A is the familiar rectangular connector that has been around for decades, while Type-C is smaller, oval-shaped, and sometimes doubles as a receptacle for the laptop's charging cable. Budget laptops may only have Type-A ports, a disadvantage in an increasingly Type-C world. On the other hand, some ultra-thin designs only have Type-C ports, which means you'll need dongles to connect any Type-A peripherals you might already own. A mix is what you want. If video output matters to you, check for a dedicated port like an HDMI connector, especially if you plan to connect your laptop to your TV, desktop monitor, or lecture hall A/V system. Sometimes video outputs are implemented on laptops as micro HDMI or mini DisplayPort connectors to save space. You'll need a special cable to use these, which may or may not be included in the box. Photographers will benefit from a built-in SD or microSD card reader for more convenient image uploading. And if you plan to use your laptop in a public, unsecured location, a security notch for fastening a physical locking cable is helpful. These fall into two types: the Kensington-cable style and the Noble-lock style. Make sure the notch type matches the kind of cable you intend to use to tether the machine to an immovable object. Are Refurbished Laptops Worth Buying? Every manufacturer and reseller has different standards for refurbishing previously used laptops. A slight discount on a rigorously tested MacBook Pro that Apple sells with the same warranty as a new one might be worth the cost savings, while a laptop refurbished by a third party you've never heard of could be chancy. It's best to buy any refurbished machine directly from the manufacturer's online store as opposed to from a reseller, especially a reseller that may be hawking refurbs from "marketplace" sellers or third parties on its platform. Some resellers or third parties will rate their refurbished stock with a grade. (It pays to ask who has done the refurbishing -- the manufacturer itself or the reseller.) Refurbished laptops are sold and rated with grades of A, B+, B, C, and so on to reflect the machine's relative amount of wear and tear. No universal grading system for refurbished PCs exists, however. It's generally up to the reseller what the grade means; thus, it can vary from seller to seller. We're wary of machines graded this way and strongly recommend insisting on an ironclad return policy in the case of purchases like these if you decide to roll the dice. You could end up pleasantly surprised, but usually, a refurbished laptop deal that looks too good to be true...is. What is almost universally true is that with some tech know-how, you can use your pre-owned laptops to your advantage. If you're in the market for new laptops for both yourself and your kids, you might consider tuning up your current PC to give to your children and buying a new one for yourself. Should You Get a Longer Laptop Warranty? Most of the best laptop makers offer one-year warranties on parts and labor. These standard plans are limited, so they won't cover accidents like spilling a drink on the keyboard or dropping the system on the sidewalk. Fortunately, your credit card issuer likely covers such mishaps for a short period after you buy a new product, and it also may extend the manufacturer's warranty. (For example, many Mastercard accounts include a doubling of the standard warranty period up to one year.) Check your account benefits guide for details. If your credit card issuer doesn't cover you, some laptop makers will happily sell you extended warranties. Apple, Dell, HP, and Lenovo all offer wide ranges of extended warranties and coverage for accidental damage. Expect to spend $100 to $300 for these options. Our rule of thumb is that if a warranty costs more than 15% of the laptop's purchase price, you're better off spending the money on backup drives or services that minimize downtime. Of course, you can't put a price tag on peace of mind. You'll encounter instances when the logic board or the display -- the most expensive parts of a laptop -- fail, and while rare, such a catastrophe can cost you half of what the laptop is worth in repair costs. Ready to Buy the Right Laptop for You? Shopping for a laptop is an exercise in patience. An ultra-competitive market means that even if you've got specific requirements, you can almost certainly find a handful of excellent models that will meet them and another handful of perfectly serviceable but ho-hum models that will, too. Now that you know which specifications to look for, we hope parsing the good from the bad will be much easier.

The Best PCs (Desktop Computers) for 2024

To help you make the best decision in your search for the best desktop, we've gathered a list of the most frequently asked questions surrounding the topic as well as a few more unsolicited but helpful facts to inform your choice. Below that, you'll find a condensed list of the above recommendations for easier spec comparisons. How Do I Choose a Good Desktop Computer? We've reviewed an impressive variety of the best desktops above, right? We don't deny that a laptop or tablet is a better pick for people who depend on business travel or whose computing consists mostly of basic surfing and typing from the living-room couch. But desktops are often the best choice and the best value for small offices, families, creative pros, gamers, and tech tinkerers. While the best desktops don't come in as many distinct form factors as laptops, you'll find lots of variation in computing power and room for upgrades and expansion. The key is to spend as little as possible to get exactly what you want or need out of your next desktop computer, whether that's a suitable budget buy or a high-power PC with a price tag to match. Which Brand of Computer Is the Most Reliable? Reliability is a nebulous concept when it comes to computers: It could mean consistency of performance, or it could also mean the strength and support of its warranty, just to name two interpretations. Certain brands have developed reputations for reliability, namely computer makers like Apple, Dell, HP, and Lenovo. But no single brand can lay a blanket claim to any such title. Since that might not be the most satisfying answer to such a question, we also have our Readers' Choice coverage of the desktops category, which polls readers like you to determine widely held opinions on the various desktop options out there. Once you have winnowed down models based on other, more solid criteria, the wisdom of the crowd might help you develop an idea of the most reliable brands to count on in your search for the best PC for you. Is It Still Worth Buying a Desktop Computer? One of the best desktops' most alluring promises is the value they deliver. With desktop PCs and their components, your money simply goes further. Instead of buying a $700 laptop with a competent Intel Core i5 processor, you can get a $700 desktop with a more powerful Core i7 CPU and maybe even a dedicated graphics card. You can find complete mini PCs for super light work and display-signage tasks for under $400 and perfectly serviceable small towers for $300 to $600. Gaming desktops with dedicated graphics cards start at around $700. You can also find all-in-one desktops, with the display and all of the computing components built into a single device, starting at around $400. The thing with desktops is, that opting for a cheap one does not carry some of the same risks you'd face with a like-priced laptop. A $250 Black Friday special or a steeply discounted refurbished desktop could perform just fine for basic computing, and you wouldn't need to worry about 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 drop from a coffee table. The desktop, in contrast, would need to stay put and just work. At the top end of the market are business workstations, tricked-out gaming rigs, and magnificently engineered all-in-one PCs that cost several thousand dollars. Not only will a $3,000 gaming tower provide 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 any laptop. And that's before you even delve into the wild world of custom PCs: automotive-grade paint jobs, liquid cooling, and fanciful lighting and wiring. IT-manageable, security-conscious business desktops -- most of them nowadays made by Dell, HP, and Lenovo -- have their own pricing dynamic and tend to cost more, all else being equal. That's because of their premium warranty or support plans, as well as the possible addition of enterprise-specific silicon focused on manageability or security. Sometimes, part of the cost 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 fixed future period. That allows IT pros to count on the ability to continue servicing a fleet of a given business machine over that period. Windows vs. Mac: Settle on an Operating System The Mac versus PC debate is one of the oldest in modern technology, and we're not going to pick a side or try to settle that particular religious war here. But if you're not wedded to one or the other by years of habit (or the peripherals and software you own) and are open to switching, here's a quick rundown of your choices. Windows 11 is the latest iteration of Microsoft's operating system. Desktops that use it and previous versions of the OS are what most people typically rely on, so you'll be assured of the best compatibility and the widest selection of third-party software. Desktops running Windows are also readily available below $500, making them attractive to casual users, families looking for a second PC, and bargain hunters. Macs are an excellent choice if you're already in an Apple-centric household since macOS is seamlessly compatible with iPads and iPhones. You can also send and receive messages on any device connected to your iCloud account. However, the cost of entry will be higher than with the least expensive PCs. Google's ChromeOS is a viable alternative to Windows and macOS, but desktops running it (called Chromeboxes) are rare and best suited to niche uses like powering a restaurant menu display. A fourth option is to buy a desktop with no operating system at all and install an open-source one of your choosing, such as Ubuntu Linux. We don't recommend going this route unless you're technically savvy, willing to experiment, and OK with fixing software compatibility issues and other quirks. What Desktop Form Factor Do I Need? Macs and Windows PCs are available in all three of the major desktop form factors: mini PCs that can fit on a bookshelf, sleek all-in-ones with built-in (and usually high-resolution) displays, and traditional desktop towers that are bulky but have room for more expansion. These three forms each have strengths and weaknesses, and none of them is an obvious best choice for everyone. You'll have to choose based on what you plan to do with your desktop and where you plan to put it. For truly cramped quarters or light workloads, as well as for people who love the efficient use of space, a mini PC could be the best choice. They come in sizes ranging from tiny sticks not much larger than a USB thumb drive to small-form-factor (SFF) towers that may be nearly a foot tall but have compact footprints. The smallest sizes have the benefit of disappearing behind an HDMI-equipped monitor or TV, and they contain a processor, memory, storage, and ports to hook up keyboards and mice. They're economical and power-efficient, and they can serve as adequate web browsing or multimedia viewing platforms. But know that the models at the truly tiny end of the scale have no room for adding extra internal components, and their preinstalled parts are usually difficult or impossible to upgrade. Regardless, you can find a fair mix of what qualifies as mini PCs that can be customized or upgraded with better components. They're bigger than the "stick"-style PCs but much more flexible and expandable. Traditional tower desktops are capable of even more flexibility but also bring 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 have generous amounts of interior space and full-size (a.k.a. ATX) motherboards, so you can install one or more (sometimes, many more) 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. (Note that not all desktop mini towers and towers can take a graphics upgrade. That is where reviews come in.) An all-in-one (AIO) desktop is quite a different animal from both of these form factors. An AIO can save you some space since the display is built in. An AIO's value proposition comes down to space saving and whether you happen to be shopping for a desktop display at the same time. Though you can find budget AIOs with basic feature sets, lower resolutions, and non-touch screens, many new models include touch-enabled screens, and some AIO panels have exceptionally high native resolutions of 4K (3,840 by 2,160 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 areas of your home, though the absolute highest resolutions target content creators rather than consumers. With a few exceptions for business-oriented models, you will give up a lot of room for expansion in an AIO versus a traditional desktop tower. Cracking open an AIO for an upgrade or fix, while not impossible, is a bigger deal than opening the side of a desktop tower. Apple's recent iMacs are particularly difficult to open. How Much Processing Power Is Enough? One of the main benefits of a desktop tower is that it will use a desktop-grade CPU. That may sound obvious, but it's a key distinction. AMD and Intel, the two biggest makers of PC processors, provide desktop-class and laptop-class chips to system manufacturers, but often, the CPU model names are similar and tricky to tell apart. For example, you will see Intel's Core i7 in laptops and desktops, but having a "true" desktop CPU versus one made for a mobile device makes a big performance difference. A desktop CPU gives you more power for complex content-creation work, PC gaming, or math and scientific projects. Faster processors with four, six, eight, or even as many as 18 cores will benefit software written to take advantage of the extra cores. The desktop version of a given CPU will consume more power and generate more heat than versions designed for laptops, which must be incorporated into environments that have less thermal and power-delivery leeway. A desktop CPU also has greater wiggle room to incorporate a key feature, multithreading, that allows each of the CPU's cores to address two processing threads at a time instead of just one. When engaged with suitably equipped software, multithreading (which Intel calls "Hyper-Threading") can deliver a major performance boost. The absolute best desktop chips may require 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 have specific software needs that you know, explicitly, can leverage their higher base and peak clock rates, as well as all of their addressable cores and threads. These are not casual purchases. Conversely, many AIOs and mini PCs use the same efficient, cooler-running types of CPUs that you'll find in laptops. Intel typically labels these mobile-first chip designs with a CPU name containing "U" or "H," whereas most desktop chips instead have a "T" or a "K," or just a zero at the end. A mobile CPU might have the same number of processor cores as its desktop counterpart (four- and six-core chips are common in both), but its maximum power consumption will often be far lower. Also, the typical base and boost clock speeds may be lower, and the chip may not support multithreading. Regardless, many desktop PC buyers will be fine with these lower-powered CPUs for everyday work and a little more. For a typical tower 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 excellent, powerful choices, but overkill for most folks who aren't serious PC gamers, intense multitaskers, or prosumer video or image manipulators. If CPU power is critically important, 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 help with internal resources). Again, see our deep dive on desktop CPUs to understand the nuances of these higher-end choices. Do I Need a Powerful Graphics Card? All computers have a CPU, but most laptops and many cheaper desktops don't have a dedicated graphics processor or GPU. Instead, their display output comes from a portion of the CPU, a slice of silicon known as an integrated graphics processor (IGP). An IGP is fine for basic tasks, such as checking your email, browsing the web, or even streaming videos. Doing productivity work on an IGP is completely within bounds. Indeed, most business desktops rely on IGPs. In any case, an IGP is not the answer for anyone who wants to run intensive 3D games, render architectural simulations, or perhaps train an artificial intelligence algorithm. These situations -- especially games, but often pro-grade apps, too -- can benefit from more muscular graphics. Times like these call for a graphics card, which will bring its own GPU to the game, and the most powerful of these are found in the best PCs for gaming. Choosing a graphics card is a complex affair. Gamers should consider the capabilities of their monitor first. A 4K monitor or one with a high refresh rate (144Hz or greater) will require a profoundly powerful GPU (or occasionally even two GPUs) to display games at the monitor's maximum potential. If you're just looking to do some middle-of-the-road gaming on a 1080p monitor (and not looking to win any professional esports crowns), a mainstream card will do just fine. Meanwhile, creative professionals and other power users should consider the graphics-acceleration recommendations of the apps they plan to run, using the software maker's system requirements as a guide. Graphics-accelerated video rendering or AI programs can benefit from the same types of GPUs as intensive 3D games. Professionals eyeing workstations will want to consider Nvidia's RTX A series lineup or AMD's Radeon Pro models. Check out our deep-dive guide to graphics cards for much more on the nuances of today's video cards. How Much Storage and Memory Should My Desktop Have? While powerful CPUs and GPUs are mostly relegated to desktop towers, nearly every desktop form factor can handle copious amounts of storage and memory. This is thanks to the advent of higher-capacity memory modules especially solid-state drives (SSDs). The latter take up vastly less space than the spinning hard drives of old. It's still possible to find desktops with only spinning hard drives, but we recommend avoiding these and choosing an SSD as the main boot drive whenever possible. Some desktops feature a single-drive combination of an SSD and a hard drive. A "true" SSD is the only way to go as a boot drive today, though, considering how far prices have dropped in the last couple of years. A single 500GB or 512GB SSD is fine for most users. A 250GB or 256GB SSD is also a common 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 one or more large-capacity but slower hard drives for bulk storage of capacity-sapping video or games. A typical configuration in this case is one 512GB SSD and one or more hard drives with at least 1TB of space on each. Such a setup can be more affordable than you might think -- an SSD plus one hard drive is sometimes seen on under-$1,000 desktop towers. If you think you'll add storage later, consider how many expansion bays your desktop has. A combination of two or more 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch bays should be enough, as these can accommodate any type of traditional SSD or hard drive. You'll also want to ensure your desktop has at least one M.2 slot to accept a PCI Express SSD as the main boot drive since that will enable the fastest throughput speeds. The boot drive will come as an M.2 drive in most new systems. These drives are quite small, the size and thickness of a stick of gum. While a desktop's SSD stores your data, its system memory (or RAM) works with the CPU to run apps and helps define its capacity to multitask. Memory capacities of 8GB or 16GB are fine for most users, and these are the most common configurations on entry-level or midrange desktops of all forms and sizes. Few people will see much benefit from memory amounts above 16GB, but you'll find exceptions. Gaming PCs above 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 software can address higher memory amounts, professional workstations should have at least 32GB of memory with error-correcting code (ECC) capabilities to keep everything running smoothly. In that case, you'll want to follow the software maker's guidance. What Wired and Wireless Connectivity Does My PC Need? You 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'll likely use a wireless keyboard and mouse, anyway. But mini PCs and desktop towers need the right selection of ports. At a minimum, they'll have to connect to a display, speakers or headphones, and a power source. On all but the absolute tiniest mini PCs, you should look for at least three USB 3.0 (or higher) ports, at least one of which should be the newer, oval-shaped Type-C variety if you have any compatible peripherals that plug directly into that kind of port. Future-proofers will want to seek out USB4 or Thunderbolt 4 options, which both use the Type-C standard with increased speeds and bandwidth. You'll also typically find an HDMI output (and perhaps another video output or two, such as 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 use scaled-down "mini" versions of HDMI or DisplayPort, which require a different kind of input cable or a dongle. Make sure the machine's video outputs are compatible with your display and its cabling. Larger tower PCs will have many more ports, providing support for pretty much any peripheral you need to connect. Expect six or more USB ports, for starters. On larger towers, one or two of these should support Thunderbolt over USB-C. Also a given: an Ethernet jack for wired networking and multiple DisplayPort and HDMI jacks on the dedicated GPU for connecting one or more external monitors. Note that a tower with a graphics card may also have video outputs that stem from the motherboard, but you should only use the video outputs on the GPU. Many towers will also have multiple audio ports, including possibly an optical output and ports for individual speaker channels in a surround-sound setup. Make sure that these match up with any gear you may have; the number of surround-sound jacks can vary depending on the PC and its motherboard. Note that Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, while reliably present on even the cheapest laptops and many smaller desktops, is not a given on larger towers. High-end workstations and gaming desktops sometimes have a second Ethernet port for doubling network bandwidth or for always-connected redundancy, while business desktops sometimes include legacy connectors such as VGA video outputs, PS/2 peripheral ports, or serial ports. The throwback-style ports are included for people who still need to use them with older, specialized hardware such as point-of-sale scanners or industrial equipment. Of course, you can buy dongles and adapters for these special port needs, but the possibility of having them built in is a key benefit of choosing a desktop over a laptop. When evaluating a desktop, beyond looking at what ports are present, also evaluate where they are. Are they easily accessible? Towers tend to have a few commonly used ports on the top or front (usually a headphone jack and a few USB ports). Some AIOs, in contrast, have some of their key 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 only to certain types of desktops. For instance, deciding on a screen size and type is critical for AIO shoppers. A touch-enabled display with support for in-plane switching (IPS) to widen viewing angles is welcome for an AIO that serves as the family's calendar or photo album, but know that touch support is not currently available on Apple's iMacs. Give some deep thought to the screen resolution, whatever the panel size. A 4K or even 5K resolution makes for a breathtaking screen, especially one that's 27 inches or larger, but such resolutions often add significantly to the price. As a result, you may want to settle for a screen with a full HD or 1080p (1,920-by-1,080-pixel) native resolution and spend money to upgrade other components instead. Also look for multiple cameras, one facing the rear, that could make an AIO a smart choice, say, for an ID-card printing station. Fan noise is also a consideration with AIO since their computing components will be on your desk instead of hidden underneath it. The best desktop towers have many idiosyncrasies. Enthusiasts who like to tinker with components but aren't interested in building their own best PCs from scratch will need to pay special attention to the number and type of expansion bays and how easy it is to access power and data cables. They should also check the maximum wattage rating of the power supply unit (PSU) and whether the case has the clearance for bigger coolers (or the mounting points for liquid cooling gear) if they plan to add a more powerful CPU later on. A low-wattage PSU, such as a 300-watt model used in a desktop with integrated graphics, might preclude adding a graphics card later on without upgrading the PSU, too. Note also that some ultra-budget 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. Again, this is where a careful reading of reviews comes in. Desktop towers and mini PCs also require separate speakers or headphones to deliver audio. If you don't already have them, you'll have to spend extra money to buy some, and in the case of dedicated speakers, they'll take up room on your desk. For people who don't care as much about audio quality and just 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 Time to Buy a Desktop? For most people in the market for an inexpensive desktop tower, there is no single best time to buy. While traditional sale holidays such as Black Friday can net you the odd bargain, when you find a system whose features, price, and performance match what you're looking for, take it home. However, 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 announced new desktop CPU generations once a year, with the new chips showing up in PCs in the fall or early in the holiday shopping period. (This has shown more variance in recent years.) New graphics card releases are less frequent and depend on the vagaries of technical advances -- Nvidia's highly successful GeForce GTX 1000 series, for example, was the cutting edge for several years before the first GeForce RTX cards were announced. Keeping track of PC component release cycles helps you become aware of what's new before you buy and also what is going off-market. For shoppers seeking maximum value or on a tight budget, getting a desktop based on a discounted last-generation (but still powerful) CPU or GPU can be the way to go. Shoppers looking for an all-in-one PC, meanwhile, should pay attention to announcements from Apple. Many other manufacturers end up copying -- and, sometimes, improving upon -- the field-leading designs of the Apple iMac. Where Should I Buy a Desktop? Since you won't be lugging a desktop around nearly as much as you would a laptop, it's less important to handle the chassis and test-drive its build quality in the store before you bring it home. Still, if the desktop comes with peripherals included, it can be helpful to type a few lines and move the mouse around in the store. Setting eyes on an all-in-one desktop is more crucial than with a typical tower desktop or mini PC. The screen is an integral part of what you are buying, and eyes-on time 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 one. If you limit yourself only to the selection at your local electronics outlet, though, you'll miss out on many excellent desktops. Some configurations, such as Best Buy, Costco, or Walmart, can be exclusive to a single reseller. Other merchants, such as Micro Center, frequently have in-store-only deals that aren't available anywhere online. This is where return policies come in handy. If you find the best desktop for you online but can't test drive it locally, a seller with a liberal return policy is your best friend. Just make sure you've got adequate time to return it if it doesn't work out. How Long a Warranty Does My Desktop Need? Most desktop makers provide 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, check your credit card account benefits guide -- your issuer might cover mishaps for a short period after you buy a new product and possibly extend the manufacturer's warranty, too. (Many MasterCard accounts include a doubling of the standard warranty period, up to one year, for example.) If your card issuer doesn't cover you and you plan on keeping your desktop for several years, look into the cost of added coverage. Some manufacturers and resellers offer a wide range 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 15% of the desktop's purchase price, you're better off spending the money on backup drives or services that minimize downtime and protect precious data that you can't replace. Should I Buy a Refurbished Desktop? Many people considering desktops in the $200-to-$500 range should also consider a refurbished machine. In certain circumstances, they can be excellent values. Large corporations lease fleets of desktops for a few years at a time, after which third parties refurbish them and provide them for resale on eBay and via retailers such as Best Buy, Newegg, and TigerDirect. To find these systems, search or filter the product category pages for "off-lease" or refurbished systems. These refurbished PCs are often surprisingly cheap ($150 to $250 is common), and many are desktop towers, so they're easy to upgrade or service if a component goes south. They do come with drawbacks. Their components are usually several years behind the cutting edge, they may be in imperfect cosmetic condition (some refurbishers grade condition on an A-B-C scale), and different refurbishers can have varying levels of attention to detail. Still, refurbs can be a fine option if you're looking for a cheap desktop to stow in a cabinet or under a desk, used to check your email and calendar. Just be sure to buy from a seller with a reasonable return policy in case you get a dud. Ready to Buy the Best Desktop for You? Armed with all of the knowledge and decision points above, you're almost ready to shop. The final consideration is how well a desktop PC performs. We review dozens of PCs every year, evaluating their features and testing their performance against peers in their respective categories. That way, you'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 need is a small, powerful system you can get up and running quickly.