The 6 Best Budget PCs in 2021

Best Overall: Acer Aspire TC-895-UA91

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The Acer Aspire TC-895 gives you all the power and upgradability you could ask for. It's a full-size tower, measuring 13.39 inches x 6.42 inches x 13.78 inches (HWD) so there's plenty of room on the inside for upgrades. Initially, you have a 10th generation Intel Core-i3 processor, 8 GB of DDR4 RAM, and a 512 GB SSD. Really the only downside in these specifications is the Core-i3 processor. That's both because it's not the fastest you can buy but also, of all the specifications in a computer, the processor is typically the hardest to upgrade later.

The computer does come with an optical drive, which is something of a rarity these days. With all the downloading and streaming going on these days, it's nice to know you can pop in a DVD or CD and kick back and enjoy the media. The DVD reader/writer also allows you to burn discs for data backup. It's one of those things you don't really appreciate until you don't have one.

You also get Wi-Fi 6 which is great for future-proofing and there's a lot of I/O. There's a single USB-C port, seven USB-A ports, two HDMI ports, and a full-sized SD card reader. The tower comes with a mouse and keyboard, but no monitor, so be sure to factor that into your budget. The tower itself sits at an odd angle for better airflow, so it might not look right on your desk or floor, but that's really the only downside here. Overall, this is a great starter PC for under $500.

_{CPU: Intel Core-i310100 | GPU: Intel UHD Graphics 630 | RAM: 8GB | Storage: 512GB SSD}

Best Dell: Dell Inspiron Desktop 3880 (2021)

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Of all the iconic Dell lines of desktops and laptops, the Inspiron remains at the top of the class. You get a slightly smaller than normal tower that measures 12.77 x 6.06 x 11.54 inches (HWD). That hasn't changed from the previous generation. The Inspiron desktop is sold in a wide variety of configurations so you can upgrade as far as your budget allows on the outset and then continue to upgrade down the line as you can.

The base configuration comes with a terabyte of storage, though it is a hard disk drive as opposed to a faster SSD. You can upgrade that to an SSD if you want, but if you're looking to upgrade from the base configuration, we recommend upgrading the processor first. You can even add a 256GB SSD for around $30 and use that to run apps, while you use the HDD for storage. One of Inspiron's best traits is the sheer number of options you can set up from outset. 

You also get a lot of I/O in the tower itself. There are eight USB-A ports, but no USB-C which is a gross oversight in 2021. There's also an SD card reader, HDMI, and VGA video outs, integrated Ethernet, and two audio output jacks. What you get with this desktop is a ton of versatility both in the initial setup and in upgradability down the road.

_{CPU: Intel Core i5-10400 | GPU: Intel UHD Graphics 630 | RAM: 12GB | Storage: 1TB HDD}

Best Apple: Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020)

4.7

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Apple introduced the M1 chip in late 2020 and since then has expanded most of its product line to the M1. That's because it's extremely powerful and fast. Our reviewer, Jeremy, put the Mac Mini through a series of benchmarks and they confirm that. He writes, "First up, I ran the Cinebench multi-core test. The Mac mini achieved a score of 7,662 in that test, putting it between an Intel Xeon E5-2697 at 3GHz and an X5650 Xeon processor at 3.66Ghz. That’s almost within spitting distance of an eight-core AMD Ryzen 7 1700X, but only about half the score of a 1950X Threadripper." Those scores put the Mac Mini in contention with some of the most powerful PCs out there. 

Unlike most of the PCs in this list, you simply cannot upgrade it beyond what you order initially. Not only is it a mini-computer, meaning there's no room inside the case for more components, but the components that are there are soldered to the motherboard. From the review, "the biggest disappointment here, aside from the fact that the M1 Mac mini didn’t receive any sort of aesthetic update, is that Apple removed two Thunderbolt ports and the ability to upgrade your memory. The first isn’t that big of an issue, since the Mac mini looked great before and still looks great. The lack of Thunderbolt ports, similarly, isn’t a huge deal, because there are a ton of ways to get around such a limitation. The lack of upgradeability certainly removes a degree of flexibility from the hardware, though, making it much more important to select the amount of memory and storage that you’ll be comfortable with for the life of the device."

Since upgradability is an attractive feature in a budget PC, we felt it necessary to point out that it simply isn't the case here. Plus, the Mac Mini starts at a higher price point than just about every other computer on this list. But, it's also the only Apple PC on this list, and we wanted to make sure Apple was represented. It is amazingly powerful hardware after all. So if you have a little extra money to spend, the Mac Mini is definitely worth considering and it will be powerful enough to last a long time. 

_{CPU: Apple M1 | GPU: Integrated 8-core GPU | RAM: 8GB | Storage: 256GB SSD}

Best Chrome OS: Acer Chromebox CXI3

4.2

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ChromeOS fans have a choice on this list as well. In fact, ChromeOS was basically designed from the ground up to run on hardware that would otherwise be considered "underpowered" and "budget." It's the youngest operating system of the "big three", having just recently reached its 10th anniversary, but much of what you can do in a web browser, you can do on ChromeOS with ease. In fact, one of ChromeOS's main advantages is that it can run on hardware that would choke a Windows machine. 

Our reviewer, Erika, likens it to driving a sports car through a quiet neighborhood. She writes, "It won’t miss a beat as you open applications, search the web, or watch videos. With an 8th generation Intel Core i3 chip, 8GB of DDR4 RAM, and 64GB of Intel Optane storage, the ChromeBox handles lightweight productivity tasks well. According to Acer tech support, you can upgrade the RAM to up to 16GB for improved performance, but the 8GB should be sufficient for most users."  This is also a mini PC, so there isn't much room for upgradability, but that doesn't concern us nearly as much as a different PC. Chrome is so lightweight by design, that there won't be much call for upgrading this computer. It will run great for years. 

One really cool space saver that we love is that this PC comes with a VESA mount which means you can mount it to the back of the monitor you're using. That turns it into a sort of all-in-one computer, which saves space on the desk and makes the computer itself more manageable. Erika writes, "On each side of the CX13 sit the ports—two super-speed USB ports, a headphone jack, and a microSD card slot on one side; and, on the other side sits an Ethernet, HDMI, USB-C, three USB ports, and the connection for the power supply. Because the ports sit on both sides, when you place the CX13 in the stand or lay it flat on your desk, it kind of feels like wires are coming from everywhere. However, if you mount the CX13, this isn’t as much of an issue."

The base model of this ChromeOS computer can be had for less than $500. While the spec sheet doesn't look impressive, it doesn't have to be. The Core-i3 processor is more than enough to push this machine. We'd like to see more than 64GB of local storage. The cloud is great, but local storage works when the internet goes down. The Android app store helps considerably in terms of sheer functionality. If you're looking for a cheap little PC to run some games and surf the web, this is a great option.

_{CPU: Intel Core i3-8130U | GPU: Intel UHD Graphics 620 | RAM: 8GB | Storage: 64GB Flash Solid State}

Best Mini: Intel NUC 8 Mainstream Kit

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Intel is a huge name in processor development, but, like many other manufacturers, it also builds hardware to showcase its processors. The Next Unit of Computing or NUC is Intel's showcase for its latest processors. In this case, we're recommending a NUC that is a few generations older. The main reason is that the only difference between generations of hardware is the generation of the processor. Accordingly, the NUC 8 is the 8th generation of the processor which is upgradable to Windows 11. 

The NUC is a mini PC that typically doesn't allow for number upgradability, but in this case, Intel designed the NUC so you can put in whatever hardware you want in there. It does not come with a hard drive, RAM, or any peripherals. The NUC is really designed for people who want to build out their own hardware, and have the knowledge set to do it.

There's an M.s 22x42/80 slot for NVMw or SATA SSD. That's a standard-sized slot and it gives you a lot of flexibility for the physical connections you need to make. There are dual channeled 2400 RAM slots that can take up to 32 GB of RAM.  You get a lot of included components here including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, USB Type-A, Thunderbolt 3, and Ethernet. You also get HDMI out and you can connect up to three monitors with it. 

Overall, this is a tinker's kit.  You can pop open the top and install any components you want (that will fit). This is definitely not a computer box for someone who doesn't know what they're doing. This is for people who want to build their own PC and have the chops to do it.

_{CPU: Intel Core i7-8559U | GPU: Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 | RAM: None | Storage: None}