The best PC 2021 offering isn't about getting the one with the highest price tag or the one with the most maxed-out components. After all, every user has different preferences and needs. An excellent gaming PC is going to be a better fit for a serious gamer, while a top-notch all-in-one works better for an artist or content creator. Of course, there are budget concerns too, so those who have a limited amount of money to spend on a PC will need a budget instead. Of course, with Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals now piled up, PCs are cheaper than ever.
If you are looking for the best PC for your needs then we are here to help you. There are a few things to consider such as price, performance, form factor, and size, not to mention future-proofing and expandability. It's easy to get overwhelmed with all the options available these days, especially if you're not familiar with everything out there so hopefully, this guide will point you in the right direction.
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Top 10 Best PC Right Now
1. Alienware Aurora Ryzen Edition R10 - Best PC in 2022
2. Dell XPS Desktop Special Edition - Best PC in 2022
3. Dell G5 Gaming Desktop - Best PC in 2022
4. iMac (24-inch, 2021) - Best PC in 2022
5. Mac mini (M1, 2021) - Best PC in 2022
6. Lenovo Ideacentre Mini 5i - Best PC in 2022
7. Lenovo Legion Tower 5i - Best PC in 2022
8. iMac Pro - Best PC in 2022
9. Intel Ghost Canyon NUC - Best PC in 2022
10. Intel Compute Stick - Best PC in 2022
1. Alienware Aurora Ryzen Edition R10 - Best PC in 2022
Powerful gaming for all budgets - Best PC in 2022
Pros
- Excellent all-around performance
- Best case design on the market
- Impressive Performance
- Alienware suite of software
- Competitively priced
Cons
- Expensive
- Noisy cooling fans
- Can run pretty loud even under menial task
| Alienware Aurora Ryzen Edition R10 Specification | |
|---|---|
| Desktop Class | Gaming/All |
| Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 5800X |
| Processor Speed | 3.8 GHz |
| RAM | 32 GB |
| Boot Drive Type | SSD |
| Boot Drive Capacity | 1 TB |
| Secondary Drive Type | Hard Drive |
| Secondary Drive Capacity | 2 TB |
| Graphics Card | AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT |
| Operating System | Windows 10 Home |
The Alienware Aurora R10 Ryzen Edition is similar to the Intel-focused R11 model in that it delivers extreme performance at an exorbitant price. Gamers with deep pockets looking for a powerful gaming PC featuring the latest powerful CPU and GPU from AMD should satisfy. A respectable variety of CPU, GPU, RAM, and storage are also available.
On the lower end, the R10 packs an AMD Ryzen 5 5600X, Radeon RX 5300, 8GB of RAM at 3200MHz, and a 1TB hard drive for $1,079 (£1,249.00). Users for around $3,949 (about £3,317) can get an 8-core AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080, 2TB SSD with 128GB of DDR4 RAM, and dual HDD storage. In Australia, there are only two Ryzen Edition R10 models available, including the 8-core AMD Ryzen 7 5800X priced at $3,599, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080, and the 512GB SSD with 1TB HDD. The other $3,999 option has similar components with an additional terabyte of HDD storage.
2. Lenovo Legion Tower 5i - Best PC in 2022
Plenty of power for the price - Best PC in 2022
Pros
- Amazing Performance
- Up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super
- Great design
- Six-core CPU and 6GB GPU for under $1,000
- Stylish case with customizable lighting
Cons
- No USB Type-C among front ports
- Finicky drivers
- Inadequate 8GB of RAM
| Lenovo Legion Tower 5i Specification | |
|---|---|
| Desktop Class | Gaming/all |
| Processor | Intel Core i5-11400 |
| Processor Speed | 2.6 GHz |
| RAM | 8 GB |
| Boot Drive Type | SSD |
| Boot Drive Capacity | 256 GB |
| Secondary Drive Type | Hard Drive |
| Secondary Drive Capacity | 1 TB |
| Graphics Card | Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super |
| Operating System | Windows 10 Home |
Lenovo Legion Tower 5i is a full-size desktop gaming PC that targets mid-range customers and firmly lives up to that expectation. While there's nothing in particular with the Legion Tower 5i, for gamers who want a great gaming PC that can start playing the latest AAA titles out of the box, you get value for your money here.
Starting at $1,069 / £1,139 / AU$2,299, you'll need to spend a little more to get the best configuration, including the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super and Intel Core i7 (the model we reviewed currently sells for $1,599 / £1,399) Will happen. / AU$3,799), but for the power, it's certainly well priced and especially for higher-end set-ups that make ray-traced gaming more accessible.
Even though the base model comes with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super, it's a great bit of hardware for a budget GPU, so you'll get solid gaming performance even on the latest AAA titles (though not at Ultra settings, obviously).
Being a full-sized rig, there's also plenty of room to move forward, making this a very upgradeable PC that can last for many years with some investment down the road.
The system is also well designed. There's nothing wrong with it for anything other than a gaming PC and it's packed with RGB lighting, but it's not obnoxious and you have plenty of control over it thanks to the Lenovo Vantage app. We'd love to see some difference from the vast crowd of similar-looking desktops, but apparently, we're not there yet. Maybe next year.
In the end, the Lenovo Legion Tower 5i isn't perfect, but it does offer consumers a lot of power at a fairly reasonable price, while still looking great. For an out-of-the-box gaming PC, you can do worse than the Legion Tower 5i.
3. Dell G5 Gaming Desktop - Best PC in 2022
Budget PC gaming at its best - Best PC in 2022
Pros
- Very Good Performance
- Compact size
- Neatly organized, compact case
- Highly configurable
- Good value
Cons
- Limited cooling solutions
- Default power supply caps future expansion options
- GeForce GTX 1650 Supergraphics and 8GB RAM limit performance to basic 1080p play
| Dell G5 Gaming Desktop Specification | |
|---|---|
| Desktop Class | Gaming/all |
| Processor | Intel Core i5-10400F |
| Processor Speed | 2.9 GHz |
| RAM | 8 GB |
| Boot Drive Type | SSD |
| Boot Drive Capacity | 256 GB |
| Secondary Drive Type | Hard Drive |
| Secondary Drive Capacity | 1 TB |
| Graphics Card | Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Super |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
Dell's G5 gaming desktop (starts at $749.99; $929.99 as tested) is a budget gaming PC that offers enough muscle for casual and multiplayer games at 1080p resolution in a mid-tower chassis at a competitive price. Our test system is built around Nvidia's GeForce GTX 1650 Super GPU and 10th generation Intel Core i5 processor. Despite its trim dimensions, the Compact Tower and MicroATX motherboard offer room for expansion, though we'd recommend springing for Dell's optional power supply (PSU) upgrade if you put off future expansion or upgrade plans. Dell offers several other configuration options for the G5, and we'd suggest a few additions to the PSU that would make our test system a more capable gaming rig and put it on a par with the NZXT BLD Starter PC Plus. The current Editors' Choice for value-priced gaming machines.
4. Dell XPS Desktop Special Edition - Best PC in 2022
Performance meets beauty and affordability - Best PC in 2022
Pros
- Excellent gaming and creative performance in tested configuration
- Gorgeous design
- Affordable extry-level build
- Powerful high-end build
- DVD or Blu-Ray drive option
Cons
- The best configuration is expensive
- Keyboard/Mouse are basic
- No AMD version
| Dell XPS Desktop Special Edition Specification | |
|---|---|
| Desktop Class | Gaming/all |
| CPU | Intel Core i7-10700K |
| Processor Speed | 3.8 GHz |
| RAM | 32 GB |
| Boot Drive Type | SSD |
| Boot Drive Capacity | 512 GB |
| Secondary Drive Type | Hard Drive |
| Secondary Drive Capacity | 2 TB |
| Optical Drive | Blu-Ray Disc |
| Graphics Card | Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 |
| Operating System | Windows 10 Home |
The Dell XPS 8940 Special Edition Desktop PC is the one-of-a-kind PC that has made Dell such a major player in the PC market. Matching its well-earned reputation for building solid, stable, and powerful systems with an increasingly keen eye for elegant design, this PC is one of the best PCs Dell has ever produced.
It's a Dell, so it's more at home in an office or campus library than at an eSports tournament. That said, higher-end configurations can get you some pretty powerful hardware — up to an RTX 3070 and an Intel Core i9-11900K — so it'll play with the best of them.
The abundance of ports on both the front and back make it an excellent workstation with plenty of options for USB peripherals, a full-sized SD card slot, an easily accessible USB Type-C port on the front, and even an optional DVD drive too. - Upgradable to Blu-ray - for those times when you still need to install software from a CD or burn data/video to disc.
The real showstopper is the chassis. It's simply a beautiful PC, as far as the office system is concerned. You won't find anything like the dazzling dazzle of RGB lighting on other systems, but it's a more elegantly designed PC than the black monolith look of most XPS desktops.
Keyboard and mouse are standard issues Dell keyboard and mouse combos, and while they match the look of the system, they're good enough for the task at hand but nothing more. There's nothing wrong with swapping these out for the best keyboard and mouse best suited to your tastes.
To get the most out of the Dell XPS 8940 Special Edition, you'll have to spend some money, though more than $2,000 separates the entry-level configuration from the highest-end builds, it also means that an XPS is worth almost everyone. The 8940 is a special edition model for the point, and neither of them is lightweight when it comes to hardware for the price.
Whether you're looking to replace a family PC, upgrade your home office space, upgrade or upgrade your business or organization's workstation, or simply want a powerful PC without turning your desk space into a carnival, we can't recommend the Dell XPS 8940. Special Edition Highly Enough.
5. Mac mini (M1, 2021) - Best PC in 2022
Small, but with big ambitions - Best PC in 2022
Pros
- Very good performance
- New, lower starting price
- Same lovely design
- Much improved overall performance from the 2018 model
- Surprisingly quiet and cool operation under load
Cons
- Boosting RAM and SSD capacity at purchase time is pricey
- Can't use eGPUs
- Maximum of 16GB memory
| Mac mini Specification | |
|---|---|
| Desktop Class | Small Form Factor |
| Processor | Apple M1 |
| Processor Speed | 3.2 GHz |
| RAM | 8 GB |
| Boot Drive Type | SSD |
| Boot Drive Capacity | 256 GB |
| Graphics Card | Apple M1 |
| Operating System | macOS Big Sur |
The Mac mini (M1, 2021) has been out for a year now and the update is expected early next year. So, although it's usually a little harder to find sales on Apple products during the shopping holiday, this tiny PC is a prime candidate for this Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Some retailers have already started slashing prices on Apple's most affordable PC.
If there was an Apple product in need of an update, it was its smallest desktop PC. And, with the Mac mini (M1, 2021), the company not only did that but set the bar high for future iterations, especially considering Apple's claims that its CPU performance is three times faster and GPU performance is up to six times faster than the previous Mini.
What makes this update so special is the introduction of Apple's in-house M1 system on a chip (SoC), not only with the Mini but also the MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1, 2021) and MacBook Air (M1, 2021) started with. Notebook This Mac mini may be just as thin as its predecessor, but it's a powerful machine, compiling Xcode three times faster than previous models, delivering Final Cut Pro projects, and even That runs even deeper games.
As the Mac mini has developed a following over the years, its fans are certainly excited about the inclusion of the M1 chip in this model. And, considering how much performance has come from such a small PC since its debut, we're pleased with the added power of the M1 model. It remains one of the most versatile options in Apple's computing line.
The Mac mini is also one of Apple's most unusual devices, which is what makes it special but that's probably why it's often overlooked by the company. Although we did a refresh a few years ago with the Mac mini (2018), that refresh took four years to make. So, it is good to get such a major update, not to mention seeing the macOS 11 Big Sur operating system on display in Mac mini 2021. Don't forget that there's a new OS you can upgrade to for free, macOS Monterey if you want to get the most out of the Mini.
When it comes to price, Apple is asking $699 / £699 / AU$1,099 for the model with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. This Mac mini is cheaper than the 2018 base model, so the performance boost for less money is impressive.
And, it's got a performance boost. Even though the M1 chip powering the Mac mini is Apple's first chip for a desktop PC, it has hit it out of the park. This little PC feels fast and responsive, and it was able to punch above its weight when it comes to intensive video rendering tasks.
However, we should note that moving to the M1 chip means memory is capped at 16GB, and you can no longer use an external graphic card (GPU). This will frustrate anyone who needs to upgrade their Mac Mini.
Overall, the Mac mini (M1, 2021) is an impressive bit of kit, with the latest hardware and software from Apple taking center stage. It's great to see Apple embracing its quirky little PC and using it as a showcase for its M1 hardware in desktop PCs.
In many ways it continues to offer what we love about the Mac mini: It has a compact, attractive design, has some great components, and the ability to run legacy Intel apps alongside M1 apps and iOS apps. it is. exciting.
However, for those who want a productivity machine, the fact that the Mac mini no longer supports eGPU will be a major disappointment. Sure, most owners will never use one, but it's a PC that has developed a cult following among video editors and photographers thanks to its scalability via GPU. With that feature now missing (and memory limited to 16GB), the Mac mini (M1, 2021) can't offer everything that more demanding users need.
6. Lenovo Ideacentre Mini 5i - Best PC in 2022
The mini PC for mere mortals - Best PC in 2022
Pros
- Solid performance for productivity and casual use
- Tactile, space-saving design
- Surprisingly spacious storage
- Affordable price
- A useful mix of ports
Cons
- No high-end configurations are available
- No SD card
- Not powerful enough for demanding tasks
| Lenovo Ideacentre Mini 5i Specification | |
|---|---|
| Desktop Class | Small Form Factor (SFF) |
| Processor | Intel Core i5-10400T |
| Processor Speed | 2 GHz |
| RAM | 12 GB |
| Boot Drive Type | SSD |
| Boot Drive Capacity | 256 GB |
| Secondary Drive Type | Hard Drive |
| Secondary Drive Capacity | 1 TB |
| Graphics Card | Intel UHD Graphics 630 |
| Operating System | Windows 10 Pro |
The Lenovo IdeaCentre Mini 5i's phrase is "mini but mighty," which is quite accurate. Lenovo has certainly mastered the art of making capable yet affordable PCs, and this mini PC is more proof.
However, by "powerful", we are not talking about Apple Mac mini M1-level performance. Apple's offering can play graphically intensive games at high settings and handle Final Cut Pro workloads like a pro. Meanwhile, Lenovo IdeaCentre Mini 5i is best for office and home use where a normal user would use it for sending emails, typing documents, researching, and streaming movies or shows.
Still, for those in the know, the Lenovo IdeaCentre Mini 5i is certainly up to the task, giving users on a budget a compelling option with very few sacrifices. It comes with a lot of ports and storage for the price, which makes it worth your money.
7. iMac (24-inch, 2021) - Best PC in 2022
The iMac gets a welcome redesign - Best PC in 2022
Pros
- A perky reimagining of the classic iMac design
- Excellent screen
- Great 1080p webcam
- Snappy Apple M1 processor
- M1 chip offers speedy performance
Cons
- Expensive as configured, and for screen size
- Lack of ports remains
- Limited port selection
| iMac 24-inch Specification | |
|---|---|
| Desktop Class | Gaming/Personal/all |
| Processor | Apple M1 |
| RAM | 16 GB |
| Boot Drive Type | SSD |
| Boot Drive Capacity | 512 GB |
| Screen Size | 23.5 inches |
| Screen Native Resolution | 4480 by 2520 |
| Screen Type | Non-Touch Screen |
| Graphics Card | macOS Big Sur |
Apple products don't see the same sales as devices from other manufacturers, especially brand new offerings like the iMac (24-inch, 2021). However, with Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals affecting every retailer, it is possible to see that this iMac also gets a discount, though it will be minor.
Apple has managed to do so by not only improving upon its predecessor but in surprising fashion, one of its most iconic products with the release of the iMac (24-inch, 2021). While the previous iMac seemed out of date with its hands-me-down look, the 2021 model is refreshing with its modern and larger size.
Part of this design overhaul is the size of the screen. The 21.5-inch display is now gone, being replaced by the larger 24-inch display (though the 27-inch iMac is still available). While the screen is huge, the dimensions of the iMac (24-inch, 2021) aren't notably different from its predecessor, coming in at 54.7 x 46.1cm with a depth of 14.7cm, compared to the earlier 21.5-inch model at 52.8 x measure. 45cm with a depth of 17.5cm. Incredibly, the screen on this iMac is only 11.5mm thin.
So, this model gives you extra screen real estate without taking up much desk space. And, because it's thinner and lighter too—the 24-inch model weighs 4.48kg compared to its predecessor's 5.68kg—it's an, even more, portable and flexible all-in-one PC.
Apple has also released the iMac (24-inch, 2021) in seven vibrant colors, which harks back to the days of the iMac G3 and shows off the confidence and playfulness from Apple that is very welcome. In a nice touch, the Magic Keyboard, mouse, and trackpad all come in the same color as the iMac you choose, and elements of the macOS Big Sur user interface are also in the same color. It's a lovely overall effect.
The iMac achieves the feat of being almost as small (and thinner and lighter) as its smaller predecessor, perhaps because of the biggest change under the hood: It's powered by an Apple M1 chip instead of Intel hardware. As we've seen with the MacBook Air (M1, 2020), MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1, 2020), and Mac mini (M1, 2020), Apple's move to silicon has been largely successful. The macOS Big Sur operating system is fast and fast – you should also be looking for something with macOS Monterey if you choose to take advantage of the free upgrade – and apps designed for the M1 hardware run wonderfully. Even older Intel-based apps go well thanks to Apple's Rosetta 2 tool, and you can also run iOS apps and games, giving you access to thousands of titles.
Thanks to the gorgeous 4.5K Retina screen, great speakers, and a great webcam, this iMac is a pleasure to work with and build on. Although it's not the most powerful PC, however, it doesn't come with a dedicated graphics card, nor can you use an external GPU. Memory is also capped at 16GB, so if you're looking for a powerful workstation PC this may not be for you.
8. iMac Pro - Best PC in 2022
Raw power - Best PC in 2022