Table of Content
The throwback-style ports are there 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. A 4K monitor or one with a high refresh rate will require a very powerful GPU 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 , a mainstream card like those in Nvidia's GeForce GTX series will do just fine. At the high end, current GPU choices for gaming desktops comprise Nvidia's GeForce RTX 3000 series, and AMD's Radeon RX 6000 series. The RTX 2000 series and RX 5000 series respectively indicate previous-generation cards.
Prices start at $1,800 for an AMD Ryzen X and Nvidia RTX 3060, but you can scale much higher. At the top end, you can spend as much as $4,000 or more with an Intel Core i K and Nvidia RTX 3090. The great thing is that HP offers the Omen 45L with an AMD or Nvidia graphics card, as well as an AMD or Intel processor. As home gaming computers go, Lenovo’s option is an attractive one – you’ll need a monitor and speakers, but at this price point there are definitely reasons to be cheerful.
Best Chrome OS All-In-One Desktop
Packing that small design with gaming-grade performance is no mean feat, but with a full-length graphics card and an "Alder Lake" desktop CPU, this is one scorcher of a mini PC. This little Dragon can hang with the big boys, providing as much gaming performance as larger systems. The latest Intel NUC is another entry in Intel's long line of mini PCs, and another that comes highly recommended. Leveraging laptop components to create a truly compact desktop experience, the Intel NUC 12 Pro is surprisingly powerful, and ready for everything from media streaming to professional work.
That means the PC "guts" are essentially built into a monitor or its base. Unlike the PC towers listed above, all-in-ones generally offer no ability to upgrade the graphics card, and maybe not even the storage or RAM. The advantage is having fewer cables, however, since everything is integrated into the body.
Do I Need a Powerful Graphics Card?
Prices start at $1,299 for the base model with Apple's M1 chip — an 8-core processor that is also found in the Macbook Air — but you can spend up to $2,499 if you want extra RAM and storage. In late 2020, Apple introduced the M1 Chip, its first ARM-based processor built specifically for Apple hardware. That hardware included the Mac mini, making it a formidable little machine. However, the design of the Mac mini is a little disappointing, given that it's less upgradeable and has fewer available ports than the previous generation of this PC. Compact all-in-one desktops make good centralized family computers. The HP Chromebase takes it a step further by pairing one with the simple and secure Chrome OS -- the same operating system found on the Chromebooks your kids are probably using at school.
We ran the display through our tests, and its color accuracy was fantastic, matching the impressive accuracy of MacBook Pro displays on a much larger screen. Built into the bezel just above the screen is a 1080p webcam that works well even in low-light settings , along with a decent-quality microphone for video calls. Both computers work well as a home or office computer but can also handle some more intensive tasks such as editing vacation photos or video you’ve taken on your phone. Apple also plans to support the M1 chip for years to come, so you don’t have to worry about the hardware becoming unsupported for at least five years. The device features ports for Gigabit Ethernet, USB-A, USB-C, HDMI and a microSD card slot, which offers some great connectivity for casual computing and basic workloads.
The best mini gaming PC
Macs aren’t great for serious gamers who want to play the latest AAA titles or to play online with friends. A few games are supported on macOS, but Windows supports a vastly larger selection, gives you more options for upgraded hardware, and offers integration with gaming services like Xbox Game Pass. But since this desktop PC launched back in 2018, the specs do look outdated compared to the competition, with a 7th Gen Intel Core chip, and Nvidia’s 10-Series GPU. Between $30 and $100, you’ll find a lot of good desktop microcomputers , as well as computer sticks . If you just need a desktop computer for web browsing and basic tasks like word processing, a computer in this price range will definitely work. If you’re looking for a more powerful computer with plenty of file storage, or you want a machine that runs Windows or MacOS, you’ll need to spend a little more.
Adam Doud has been writing in the technology space for almost a decade. When he's not hosting the Benefit of the Doud podcast, he's playing with the latest phones, tablets, and laptops. When not working, he's a cyclist, geocacher, and spends as much time outside as he can. Typically, you want to have at least 8GB unless you’re considering a low-power Chrome OS device. If you're going to do more multitasking, content creation, or gaming, then you want a minimum of 16GB.
Dell is offering this new XPS desktop with Intel Alder Lake and DDR5 RAM for those who are in search of the best gaming PC. You can add in up to an RTX 3090 graphics card as well, which is a serious amount of power considering the size of the machine. Powerful hardware means more heat, but the XPS 8950 gets rid of it well with optional liquid cooling and a case with plenty of room for airflow. Desktop PCs come in a mind-boggling array of shapes and sizes, from streamlined all-in-ones to giant towers.
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. The thing with desktops is, opting for a cheap one does not carry some of the same risks you'd face with a like-priced laptop. That inexpensive laptop would be subject to the vagaries of daily commuting and the occasional drop from a coffee table. As long as they don't mind buying a monitor, keyboard, and mouse a la carte, both consumers and small-office entrepreneurs will be delighted with the Mac mini. It's an elegant all-around solution that forms an unbeatable ecosystem with your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.
That kind of top-shelf hardware blew the roof off our benchmark charts, making it the clear choice for cost-no-object gaming desktops. Speaking of taking almost no space, the Corsair One a200 is the derringer of gaming desktops. Our most recent test unit ($3,799) paired a 12-core AMD Ryzen X processor with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 graphics card for blazing-fast, silky-smooth 4K gameplay. It even made room for 32GB of memory and a 1TB SSD plus 2TB hard drive.
Obviously, ordinary workstations like Dell's more mainstream Precision or HP's Z or Lenovo's ThinkStation desktops can handle almost all creative, architectural, and data analysis jobs. Many software applications actually can't take full advantage of the P620's power. But when only the ultimate will do, scientists and engineers will be grateful for this monster's muscle.
If you’re looking for a desktop computer specifically for playing video games, you’ll need to limit your search to gaming computers. Gaming computers are built for the task, so they include things like powerful video cards, mechanical keyboards, and multiple ventilation options. Games push the limits of every aspect of PC hardware, making gaming computers ideal for gaming and just about any other task you can imagine.
No comments:
Post a Comment