In addition to its looks, what sets the Microsoft machine apart is the super high-definition inch display that swivels down so that it can function like a tabletop drafting board. Microsoft says this function can make sketching or painting using the included Surface Pen feel more efficient and more natural. We respect your privacy. All email addresses you provide will be used just for sending this story. By Tercius Bufete. June 22, But the benefits of desktops extend beyond your health.
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More From Consumer Reports. Similarly, you can set up a space that's just for work and free of distractions, allowing you to disconnect when you're day is done. Also, connected to a large monitor or TV, a desktop can double as a media center for storage and playback of your favorite movies, music and pictures. And while laptops have certainly gotten powerful enough to play even the most demanding games, a desktop lets you swap out components and upgrade as new games inevitably require new hardware.
Since each desktop style has its own set of pros and cons, start by considering what you want to do, where you plan to do it and how much you want to spend.
Buy the most desktop you can afford, but one that has all the features you need. For example: a mostly sealed system like an all-in-one, offers more convenience, but less flexibility if you want to change the CPU or graphics card down the line. You might think they're just for gamers or graphics pros these days, but there are excellent reasons to buy a tower, not the least of which is their price-to-performance ratio. Whenever you miniaturize tech, costs go up, so getting top performance in a small PC -- laptop or desktop -- increases the price.
With a tower, you can get a lot more computer for your money with fewer performance bottlenecks. On top of that, towers can have ample room for expansion both inside and out. And because you can typically open them up easily, you can do upgrades and simple repairs yourself. A tower does take up more space than other desktop options though, and that potentially limits where you can use it in your home or office.
Plus, unless you've already got them, you'll have to add on the cost of a monitor, keyboard and mouse. An all-in-one is basically a large monitor with the actual computer built into the back or base.
Because they're all one piece, setup usually requires little more than plugging it in and connecting a keyboard and mouse. The minimal setup keeps your desk clutter-free and makes them much easier to move from room to room compared to a tower. However, should something go wrong with the display, you lose your entire computer.
Like all-in-ones, mini PCs use mobile components to keep them small. So small actually that you can hide one behind a monitor or tuck one into an entertainment center to use as a media server connected to a TV. Stick PCs take this a step further, shrinking an entire computer into something that's just larger than old-school thumb drive. While you can find some small powerful desktops, mini PCs are typically mainstream systems made for day-to-day tasks, web surfing and media consumption.
You'll find plenty of ports to connect peripherals to, but internal expansion is minimal if available at all. Stick PCs are even less powerful, but still fine for email, social media and movies. One advantage they both share is portability. Buying online should provide more configuration options, and better support deals.
If not, you may as well buy in a store, though you will miss out on any online promotions, coupons etc. If you decide to buy from Dell online, the best value option is the Inspiron desktop. Dell also sells an Inspiron desktop in a smaller tower. Currys PC World has a lot of desktops within your price range. This is a pretty well balanced system for your purposes. This has a 2TB instead of a 3TB hard drive and no graphics card at all.
The Pavilion looks like the best deal, but shop around to see if you can find one with a better graphics card, or buy a machine where you can add one yourself. While she had a seven-year-old Dell that had died, I had a six-year-old Dell that was still going strong, but showing its age.
Researching her query might also answer mine. I knocked up a small spreadsheet to compare the various specifications including less obvious ones, such as the number of USB 3 ports, the number of memory slots and free drive bays, and the size of the power supply. In the end, of course, my deliberations counted for naught. This is my third Dell desktop in a row. See: The art of buying a desktop.
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