With that in mind, you won’t go wrong if you just buy the Acer Aspire TC-895-UA91. You’ll need to add a monitor and any apps you might want to run, but other than that, it’s a solid deal that won’t break the bank. This tower computer comes complete with everything except a monitor. A few features caught our attention and pushed it to the top: It’s got a SSD (Solid State Drive, so is rather like a giant USB stick with silicon memory rather than a spinning disc) rather than an old-fashioned Hard Disk, so the system should feel more responsive, along with a DVD player/burner, and plenty of ports for anything you might want to plug in. It’s simple, straightforward, cheap, and gets the job done. CPU: Intel Core-i310100 | GPU: Intel UHD Graphics 630 | RAM: 8GB | Storage: 512GB SSD The base configuration comes with a 1TB hard drive, and it’s a traditional drive rather than a more modern (and much faster) SSD, which uses silicon storage just like a giant USB stick. You can add an SSD for a small increase in price, but if you want to upgrade your computer, we recommend upgrading the processor first. There’s also a lot of ports on this tower. You get eight USB-A ports, but no USB-C unfortunately, which is used by most newer peripherals. That’s a big oversight, for sure, but you also get an SD Card reader, HDMI and VGA outputs, Ethernet, and two audio out jacks. Overall, this feels like a slightly outdated option. CPU: Intel Core i3-10100 | GPU: Intel UHD Graphics 630 | RAM: 8GB | Storage: 1TB HDD If you are not set on using Windows, this Mac will not at all disappoint. Our reviewer Jeremy reported the unit handled every office task he threw at it without ever getting hot or having the fan spin up. In fact, we’re so enthusiastic about this machine we’re going to tell you only about the downsides. You can’t upgrade it after you buy it, it doesn’t have a lot of ports, and it does not come with a keyboard, mouse, or monitor. If you have those components from your old setup, this is a great machine at a good price. If you still have to buy those other pieces, it does get on the pricier side (it’s a budget machine from Apple’s point of view, likely not yours). Again, this Mac mini has handled everything we’ve thrown all while being in a pretty unassuming box. CPU: Apple M1 | GPU: Integrated 8-core GPU | RAM: 8GB | Storage: 256GB SSD One spec we didn’t love was having just 64GB of offline storage—so you’ll need to be comfortable storing all your data online rather than on your own machine. However, ChromeOS makes this process almost invisible to the user, so you don’t really have to worry about it. CPU: Intel Core i3-8130U | GPU: Intel UHD Graphics 620 | RAM: 8GB | Storage: 64GB Flash Solid State Jason Schneider has a degree in music technology and communications from Northeastern University. He has been writing for tech websites for nearly 10 years and brings even more years’ of consumer electronics expertise to the table. Jeremy Laukkonen has been covering consumer technology and gadgets for Lifewire since 2019. He previously worked for an automotive blog, wrote for major trade publications, and co-founded a video game startup.
What to Look for in a Budget Desktop PC Under $500
All-in-One
Most budget PCs that clock in under the $500 mark doesn’t come with a monitor, and adding even a small one can end up breaking your budget. All-in-one PCs are the exception because they’re literally monitors that have all of the necessary computer hardware built right in.
Ports and Connections
Manufacturers invariably end up cutting corners on budget-priced PCs to save you money. You may have trouble finding a PC under $500 that comes with USB-C ports, but there are a lot of options that include multiple USB 3.1 connections, built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and more.
Upgradability
The great thing about buying a budget desktop is that you have the ability to upgrade most of the components later on. If you want the option to install a video card, an SSD, additional USB ports, or anything else, look for a PC that’s built-in an ATX tower case. If you go with an all-in-one or a mini PC, you’ll have more difficulty upgrading.
