The only way you can beat the value, customizability, and power of a desktop is by dropping that price tag with a big old discount just in time for the holiday shopping season.
Black Friday doesn't officially start until the last week of November, but that doesn't mean retailers aren't already pulling out all the stops when it comes to the seasonal sales. Like laptops, we're already seeing sizable discounts on desktops. Take a look at our top early picks and get in on the savings ahead of the holiday rush.
The XPS line is Dell's workhorse and one of PCMag's Editors' Choice for desktops. This Dell XPS 8960 earned high marks for its upgrade potential and ample port selection -- two things that will help you to make the most of your desktop for years to come. If you want to upgrade your productivity at a steep discount, give this one a look.
A sleek chassis and solid productivity performance earned this HP Envy TE01 high marks when we reviewed it. The inclusion of a dedicated graphics card enables graphic designers and the like to flex their creative chops and even gamers will benefit.
This all-in-one PC is a great solution for content creators with limited desk space. The components are built into a 27-inch 1080p touch display and make for powerful tools whether you're editing videos, rendering designs in AutoCAD, or using your Wacom tablet to draw your graphic novel. Also included is a wireless keyboard and mouse.This is a truly all-in-one purchase, giving you everything you need to start computing.
Hi, I'm Joe Osborne, one of PCMag's deputy managing editors focused on computing hardware. I have more than a decade of experience testing and evaluating computers of all kinds, and here are my answers to three of the most frequently asked questions about buying a new desktop this Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
If you're not in an urgent situation that requires an immediate upgrade, like a failed component, then it certainly helps to wait until the biggest shopping days of the year to make the jump. Particularly on Cyber Monday, desktops see steep discounts ahead of the holidays, which can either help your bottom line or leave room for ritzier configurations than you could have managed otherwise. But there are always deals on cheap desktops all year round.
Whether you're looking for a Workstation or an All-in-One, like most deals on tech products, a favorable desktop deal is a combination of its price and its listed spec sheet. Because the desktop size you're looking for is already dictated by the space you have, size is less of a factor in whether it's a decent deal; you'll want to search by what you can fit and go from there. Regardless of form factor, the best deals in desktops provide features and capabilities, like advanced connectivity or more potent silicon, more often found in the next price tier above them.
Sometimes, you'll find retail listings for desktops that don't match what you might know about the product or what's on the official manufacturer's web page. When hunting for desktop deals, cross-reference prices you find on retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart with manufacturer webpages for the product you're researching. This helps put the deals you see on these retailer pages into perspective, price-wise, and ensures you're buying the configuration you're looking for.