price
You can find a quality PC tower on brands like Acer, Asus, Dell or HP, for a price ranging from $500 to $600, which is useful for years of general use. We recommend the recommended specifications for basic Windows 11 computers:
- Intel Core i5 (13 or 14th generation) or AMD Ryzen 5 (6000, 7000 or 8000 series)
- Default integrated graphics (such as Intel UHD or IRIS or baseline AMD Radeon)
- 16GB of RAM or more
- NVME SSD drives with 512GB or larger
- Four or more USB 3.1 or 3.2 ports with USB-C and USB-A formats (at least one or two in front)
- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless
- At least one PCI-E (X16) expansion slot (for adding video cards)
Do you want to make some PC games or take the time to edit photos or videos? You need to upgrade the configuration with more RAM and better graphics options. If you buy more bleeding video cards, the estimated price point is between $800 and $1,200 (or even higher).
- NVIDIA RTX or AMD RADEON RX graphics card (GPU)
- 16GB of RAM or more
- 450 watts (or more) power supply
operating system
Microsoft Windows and Apple’s Macos basically do the same thing, but they do differently. Unless you need to use an operating system-specific application, choose the one that is most comfortable to use. Most desktops run Microsoft Windows when Apple’s iMac, Mac Mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro Desktops. Google-based Chromeos also offers weird Chromebox products. Chromebox is easier to use and is usually cheaper than a Windows PC or Mac, but it doesn’t run Windows or Mac software.
processor
A processor (also known as a CPU) is the brain of the desktop. Intel and AMD are the major CPU manufacturers for Windows desktops. Both offer amazing processor options. You can go to Intel or AMD’s website to explain to get the performance you want. Intel’s current lineup is its 13th-generation core chip, which is expected to have 14th-generation processors in early 2024. AMD’s current desktop processor is its Ryzen 7000 series. However, overall, the faster the processor is, the more cores it has, the better the performance will be.
Apple makes chips for Mac, which makes things easier. The iMac and Mac Mini have Apple’s latest M4 processors. Mac Studio has an M2 Max or M2 Ultra, while MAC Pro is based on the M2 Ultra. Again, in general, the more cores it has, the better the performance.
Graphics
Graphics processors (GPUs) handle all the work of driving the screen and generating the displayed content, and accelerates a lot of graphics-related (and increasing AI-related) operations. For Mac, Apple’s M-series processors integrate GPUs. For Windows desktops, there are two types of GPUs: Integrated (IGPU) or Discrete (DGPU). As the name implies, an IGPU is part of the CPU package, while a DGPU is a separate chip that is faster than sharing memory with the CPU than the dedicated memory (VRAM) it communicates directly.
Since IGPUs allocate space, memory, and power with CPU, they are constrained by these limitations. It allows for smaller desktops, such as one-to-one or SFF PCs, but has less performance than DGPUs. In fact, there are some games and creative software that won’t run unless they detect DGPU or enough VRAM. Most productivity software, video streaming, web browsing, and other non-professional applications will work well on IGPUs.
For craving graphics needs such as video editing, gaming and streaming, design, etc., you need DGPU. While Intel offers some IGPU technology based on the XE brand (or older UHD graphics brand) IGPU technology, only two real companies have made it out: Nvidia and AMD.
memory
For memory, we strongly recommend at least 16GB of RAM. RAM is where the operating system stores all the data that is currently running the application and can be filled quickly. After that, it starts swapping between RAM and SSD, which is slower. Some low-end models offer only 8GB, which can slow down windows when combined with slower disks.
Tower PCs usually have free internal slots to add more RAM, but there is no need to use All-Onnos and SFF PCs. Even if you do this, these DIMM slots can be difficult to access.
Storage
You may still find a cheaper hard drive in the larger hard drives in budget desktops and gaming PCs, but faster solid-state drives (SSDs) almost all replace hard drives. They can have a big impact on performance. Not all SSDs are equally fast, and cheaper desktops usually have slower drives. If your PC only has 8GB of RAM, you may end up switching to that drive and the system may slow down quickly while you are working.
Get something you can afford, but we recommend offering a desktop of at least 512GB for most users. For storing large media or game libraries, we recommend using 1TB or more. If you need to use a smaller drive, you can usually add a second internal drive on the tower PC. For full-copy and SFF PCs, external drives or cloud storage are often easier options to strengthen small internal drives.
exhibit
An all-in-one display with computer components is not placed in a tower or small fence, but is placed behind or at the bottom of the display. This space-saving design tradeoff is that there are fewer options for upgrading. For monitors, you need a large screen with good resolution. Our recommended desserts are:
- 24 inches of 1,920×1,080 pixels (also known as 2K or 1080p)
- 27-inch 2,560×1,440 pixels (aka 1440p)
- 32-inch, 3,840×2,160 pixels (also known as 4K)
