Desktop PCs come in all shapes and sizes, but the best computers for most folks are capable, easy to use and look good on a desk.
I know because my team and I regularly review desktops from the top vendors, and while I generally recommend you get a boutique PC builder (or trusted friend) to build you a PC that's perfect for your unique needs, there are some off-the-shelf models we often recommend to folks who just want to buy a good PC for the home without thinking too hard.
For most folks, the Apple iMac M3 offers the killer value of being a capable all-in-one PC built into a lovely 4.5K display, so it's great as a family PC or something to give to an older relative. If you're on a budget, the Mac mini is nearly as good and far smaller, though you do have to provide your own display with this pint-sized PC.
Of course if you want a high-performance machine for serious gaming, I recommend the Alienware Aurora R16 because it looks and performs great and is highly customizable. But if you want something cheaper and simpler to get started gaming at 1080p, the Acer Predator Orion 3000 is an affordable gaming PC that runs the best PC games at good to great framerates.
Scroll down our full list below for more recommendations, fuller explanations and links out to full reviews replete with results from our performance testing lab.
The quick list
In a hurry? Here's a brief overview of the computers on this list, along with quick links that let you jump down the page directly to a review of whichever PC catches your eye.
The best computer for most people
Apple's 24-inch iMac is our top recommendation for a basic PC because the Apple M3 chip inside gives it plenty of power for work and play, while the 24-inch Retina display looks great in a family room or office. Plus, the webcam is great and the speakers sound good.
The best gaming PC
Alienware's Aurora R16 gaming desktop is our top gaming PC recommendation because it looks great, runs quiet(ish) and is configurable with the most powerful gaming hardware you can afford. It's also a great PC for playing VR games.
The best mini PC
If you need a computer and space is a concern, the mini PC we recommend most often is Apple's Mac mini M2. The M2 chip gives it plenty of power for most tasks, and this pint-sized metal box runs whisper-quiet and fits into most desk setups.
The best Mac for power users
If you want a Mac that can do more than the rest on this list, invest in the latest Mac Studio gets pricey, but few desktop Macs get more powerful than these pint-sized beasts. Sure, the M2 is older than the M3 powering the iMac, but these two machines are still neck-and-neck in terms of power.
The best starter gaming PC
Looking to get you or someone you love a first gaming PC? We recommend the Acer Predator Orion 3000 because it's affordable, quiet, easy to set up, and great for gaming at 1080p.
Alex Wawro is a lifelong journalist who's spent over a decade covering tech, games and entertainment. He oversees the computing department at Tom's Guide, which includes managing laptop coverage and reviewing many himself every year.
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The best overall
The Apple iMac M3 looks an awful lot like its 2021 predecessor, but under the hood this all-in-one is powered by the all-new Apple M3 chip that helps propel it to our top spot on this list.
That cutting-edge slice of Apple silicon gives the 24-inch iMac a much-needed shot in the arm, since the previous model was powered by 2020's Apple M1 chip. That model's still fine for basic work, but the M3 upgrade gives the 2023 iMac more power and more features than before, including upgraded wireless connectivity, better image processing and support for modern graphics tech like hardware-accelerated ray tracing.
Factor in the iMac's great speakers and beautiful 4.5K display and you start to see why it's so easy to recommend to families, students and teachers.
Read our full Apple iMac 24-inch review.
The best gaming PC
The Alienware Aurora R16 is an excellent gaming PC that, if you can afford it, can be kitted out with top-tier gaming PC components. Whatever you put inside, its whisper-quiet performance make it one of our top recommendations for folks looking for a great gaming PC.
If you can afford it, Alienware will fill the Aurora R16 with top-of-the-line components that make it a top-tier gaming PC. While the review unit we reviewed was actually fairly affordable at $1,899 as reviewed, you can easily spend over $3,000 on one of these rigs if you want all the best gear. And while it's a more boxy-looking Aurora than we're used to seeing, the squat rectangle wouldn't look out of place in a dorm room or office suite.
If you're interested in buying one, make sure you first check our Dell coupons page to find the latest discounts!
Read our full Alienware Aurora R16 review.
The best mini PC
Apple outdid itself with the Mac mini M2 ($599), a pint-sized powerhouse that’s cheaper and faster than its predecessor thanks to the speedy M2 chip. The option to upgrade it with an M2 Pro ($1,299) sweetens the deal, turning this into a decent Mac for gaming or light photo/video editing.
Of course, you get more than just speed when you pay for Pro: the entry-level Mac mini with M2 Pro is not only more powerful, it also has more memory and storage than the entry-level Mac mini, as well as more ports. It’s a great mini PC for Mac fans, one that delivers nearly as much power as the Mac Studio M2 in an even smaller chassis.
Read our full Mac mini M2 review.
The best Mac for power users
Apple's Mac Studio M2 looks identical to the original Mac Studio 2022, but if you peek under the hood you'll find an all-new set of Apple M2 chips that deliver more power than ever in the same squat silver chassis.
Configurable with up to 192GB of RAM, up to 8TB of storage and a top-tier M2 Ultra chip ((20-core CPU, 64-core GPU), the Mac Studio M2 sets a new high-water mark for power in Mac desktops. It has more than enough ports for most creative pros, but beware: If you want the power of M2 Ultra (which starts at $3,999) this pint-sized Mac gets pricey fast.
Read our full Mac Studio M2 review.
The best starter gaming PC
The Acer Predator Orion 3000 ($829 to start, $1,949 as reviewed) is a mid-sized gaming PC that's attractive, (relatively) affordable, and great for playing games at 1080p to 1440p.
It's not a great choice if you're looking to play games at 4K, however (for that, go for something like the Aurora R15) and its packed-in keyboard and mouse leave much to be desired. The Orion 3000 also fared slightly worse in our suite of performance tests than some similarly-priced gaming PCs, perhaps because our review unit arrived with just 16GB of RAM.
The case is well-organized and easy to open though, so it should be pretty easy to upgrade this machine with more RAM when you need it. With its sub-$2,000 price, beefy components, and stylish, accessible case, Acer's Predator Orion 3000 is a great first gaming PC for someone looking to get into the hobby.
Read our full Acer Predator Orion 3000 review.
How to choose the best computer for you
Finding the right computer is mostly about form and function: What do you want it to look like, and what do you want it to do? In our roundup of the best desktop computers, we look at a free different styles of computer, each offering unique designs and tailored to specific use cases.
Standard PC towers are often the most affordable desktop option, as well as the most basic. With simple designs and plenty of configuration options, a basic desktop tower is still the best option for cost-effective computing power. And thanks to the flexibility of the design you can outfit these standard computers for everything from basic web browsing and media streaming to incredibly demanding uses such as gaming and animation.
All-in-one desktops, as the name suggests, provide a combination of PC and monitor in the same device. These all-in-one designs give you a powerful desktop without the bulk of a tower or the tangle of cables that come with a separate monitor. The best all-in-one computers range from budget-friendly systems to high-powered workstations, so check out our in-depth reviews of the best all-in-one computers.
Gaming desktops, by and large, use the traditional tower design, but are outfitted with powerful components optimized for high performance gaming. These high octane systems are built to accommodate the latest discrete graphics cards, potent processors, large volume storage, and all of the cooling necessary for a high performance machine. There are several options for gaming, whether it's your choice of hardware, or the stylized design that fits your taste. check out our in-depth reviews for all of the best gaming PCs.
Mini PCs take a very different approach, leveraging the tiny components used in laptops and tablets to provide a desktop experience that fits in the palm of your hand or into a pocket. These pint-sized or smaller desktop computers can be easily stashed out of sight or incorporated into less traditional arrangements, such as into a home theater system for streaming movies. Whether it's a small box on your desk or a stick PC in your pocket, our reviews layout the features and performance of the best mini PCs.
Once you know what type of computer you want to get, it's a question of what you want to do with it. While any of the systems on the list above can be used for web browsing and basic productivity uses like typing up documents or putting together a PowerPoint presentation, different use cases have slightly different demands.
The best desktop for gaming will feature graphics cards built for gaming performance, while systems for video editing or animation may use equally powerful GPUs, but with models that focus on reliable performance and certification for different applications. A great desktop for kids will keep things fairly basic, focusing on speedy web browsing and streaming capability, with less of an emphasis on raw horsepower.
How we tested these computers
As we evaluate and review all sorts of computers, we run a series of standardized tests to measure how each machine performs, what uses it's best suited to, and what sort of capability you get for the price.
These standard tests include generalized performance benchmark tests, like Geekbench 4 and 5 (for processor performance), 3DMark Fire Strike Ultra (for graphics), and a custom file transfer test to measure hard drive performance.
Gaming-oriented benchmarks test the performance of systems using current games, measuring the frame rates each desktop will produce in games like Tomb Raider, Far Cry: New Dawn, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Middle-earth: Shadow of War. We'll also run individual game tests and the SteamVR performance test to evaluate how well-suited they are to the unique demands of virtual reality.
Most importantly, we spend a ton of time simply using each desktop computer for everyday activities. We watch movies, do work, play games, and blast music on the speakers, all to get a better sense of which ones are worth your money.
For more information, check out our how we test page for Tom's Guide.
