While laptops still occupy the majority of our editors' time and effort with CNET's hands-on reviews, we've rounded up our favorite recent desktop products below. This list starts with models we've tested, and then moves on to more generic configurations. We haven't explicitly tested those specific models in the latter batch, but the specs listed should deliver considerable value for the price, based on our experience with similarly configured laptops we've tested.
Unless otherwise indicated, the products listed below don't include a monitor , keyboard , mouse or webcam. You'll need to bring your own or buy them separately. We update this list periodically. These are the best desktop PC models that we've recently tested and can recommend based on our hands-on experience.
For , Apple fully redesigned the iMac with a body so ultrathin that it could easily be confused with a jumbo-screen iPad. It's now built on the same superfast M1 chip found in Apple's late MacBook Air and Mac Mini see below , with a gorgeous inch screen replacing the previous The p webcam is a big upgrade over the MacBook's p model, and the rainbow of available colors -- hearkening back to the iMac G3 -- is a welcome addition. Just be prepared to spend up for the myriad storage and accessory upgrades.
Note that the larger inch iMac has yet to be revamped, and is still running an Intel processor. Read our Apple iMac review.
While we like all-in-ones for their convenience, they're not easy to upgrade, if they can be at all. Want to spend a bit less? Check out the more affordable options recommended further down the page.
If you're looking for the most affordable Mac out there, the news is good nearly all around. Apple's smallest desktop computer was among the first to get upgraded to the lightning-fast M1 processor, which runs rings around comparable Intel-powered Macs in terms of speed and performance.
Read our hands-on experience with the M1 Mac lineup. This Windows take on the basic iMac design hit stores in early , and it shows in its somewhat dated specs: a ninth-gen Intel CPU and a spinning hard drive backing up the GB solid-state drive. That said, you get a gigantic inch 4K display powered by an integrated Nvidia GTX video card which can handle some decent games in a reasonably attractive package.
We'd like to see a refresh with newer internals, but in the meantime, you'd be hard-pressed to find an all-in-one with a bigger screen. Read our review of the HP Envy What if the iMac had support for touchscreen and stylus input? New inch iMac is Apple's summer surprise Razer Tomahawk is the modular gaming desktop you've been waiting for.
Razer Tomahawk is the modular gaming desktop you've been waiting for Third-gen Threadripper CPU real-world tests. Third-gen Threadripper CPU real-world tests Mac Pro: Everything you need to know. Mac Pro: Everything you need to know Apple's iMac line gets spruced up a bit.
Apple's iMac line gets spruced up a bit Blade Shadow Ghost delivers great gaming performance in a little box. Blade Shadow Ghost delivers great gaming performance in a little box When it comes to laptops, screen size will be an essential factor in deciding which model is right for you.
Nowadays, laptops generally come in a range of sizes. See our laptop ratings , available to CR members, for more information, and also see our most recent guidance on the best laptops of all sizes and processing levels.
Battery life varies, but you should be able to get through at least a full workday nowadays. Such a laptop can easily be a desktop replacement. Until a few years ago, only inch and larger models had graphics processors with dedicated video memory, but now some to inch models have them, making them suitable for editing video and gaming.
Note, even if you're not into gaming or editing video, read our explainer on why you still might want a dedicated graphics processing unit on whatever you buy — and why it won't necessarily add much expense. For folks who want to replace their desktop with a laptop that would sit semipermanently in one place but be portable enough to take from room to room, these laptops will deliver.
They tend to have higher-end components, too, offering lots of storage and performance to spare. Beyond performance, a larger screen can make it more comfortable to work on multiple windows or large spreadsheets or kill some time watching Netflix. Lighter and less expensive than most laptops, these highly mobile devices offer an extra dose of portability and many—but certainly not all—of the features. Click here to check our computer ratings.
Chromebooks use Chrome OS, an operating system developed by Google and whose user interface largely resembles the Chrome web browser. See the best Chromebooks in our ratings here. Chromebooks typically have smaller amounts of storage than other laptops, so consumers should be prepared to stream, instead of download, content like music and movies.
You need access to the internet to get the best work out of one of these machines, and store files in the cloud with services like Google Drive, Dropbox, or Microsoft OneDrive. Laptops known as 2-in-1s either have a keyboard that can be bent around the back of the display or a keyboard that can be detached entirely.
These are called convertibles and detachables, respectively. They may be useful if you want to use your laptop in bed while holding it like a tablet to stream video, say or if you want to prop up the laptop like a "tent" to more easily show off the display to other people nearby.
You may even find scrolling through photos or merely swiping around the web to be easier than using a mouse and keyboard. For some, a tablet can take the place of a laptop.
See our tablet buying guide for detailed information about shopping for one. These machines are lightweight and highly portable. Their weight can vary between just less than a pound to about 1. In our tests, their batteries can last more than 10 hours per charge. For office productivity tasks, you can add a keyboard to many of them. Desktops typically offer a better bang for your buck compared with laptops, delivering more power and performance per dollar spent. You may not need a ton of power if, say, you spend most of the day inside office productivity software, but they often cost less.
Lastly, given the rise of video chatting, you may also need a standalone camera, since freestanding monitors typically don't come with one. See our desktop ratings , and monitor ratings , available to CR members, for more information. Though they require a lot of room under or on top of your desk, full-sized desktops are the least expensive computers and the easiest to upgrade and repair.
At less than half the size of full-sized desktops, compact or slim desktops are ideal if you lack space under your desk or if you plan to put the computer on your desk. All-in-one desktop computers, also known as "all-in-ones," combine the computer and monitor. The components are tightly packed behind and underneath the display, making them difficult to upgrade or repair.
Meant to be space-savers, they're also designed to look less stodgy than traditional computers. The sky's the limit for gaming systems. You get the fastest processors, the most sophisticated graphics cards, multiple large hard drives, and lots of RAM. Cases are usually large and offer room for additional components like extra memory or dedicated sound cards.
These tend to be quite expensive. Speed matters. Processors with multiple cores can process more data simultaneously, with four cores now increasingly common on laptops.
Our ratings say how many cores a laptop's processor has. Clock speed, measured in gigahertz GHz , along with the number of cores and other factors, determines how quickly a processor can process information. Many processors can up the speed a bit for a brief time to yield maximum performance. Generally, within a processor family, the higher the clock speed, the faster the processor.
Clock speeds typically start at around 1 GHz for a mobile processor. As you'd expect, higher resolution laptops and monitors cost more, so base this decision on your budget.
If portability is what you're after, you're probably better off with a laptop with a inch or smaller display.
Most importantly, some "ultrabook" laptops can be incredibly thin and light. Just be wary that those ultrabook laptops might have CPUs with less power than thicker and heavier laptops, even if they have the same CPU model numbers. That's because slim laptops can't cool the CPU as well as larger laptops, so the chip speed needs to be dialed down a little to prevent damage from heat. But if you prize performance, you'll have to sacrifice a little portability. It depends on what you're comfortable with and how much performance you're willing to part with.
Again, this is totally up to you, but you can mostly do anything you want on either operating system; it just depends on what you're comfortable with. Some professional apps only work on Apple devices, but the professionals know what they're looking for and what works on what systems.
It can also depend on what other devices you're using, too. If you're an Apple fan with an iPhone and Apple Watch, it makes a lot of sense to look into Macs because of the seamless integration between all those devices.
For laptops specifically, I will say that MacBook laptops have significantly better trackpads than any Windows laptop I've tried.
It's almost worth the entire premium pricing of Apple laptops compared to Windows machines. Casual computer users have the luxury of spending less on their computers, as they don't need a powerful computer. But those who use computers often for intense work and play aren't so lucky when it comes to price tags. The truth of the matter is that better performance or lighter designs usually comes with higher prices.
But more often than not, you get what you pay for when it comes to computers. For you. World globe An icon of the world globe, indicating different international options. Get the Insider App. Click here to learn more.
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