Best desktop PC computer deals for December 2024

There are tons of websites selling computers, and scouring them all can take a lot of your time – that’s why we’re here to do it for you and highlight the best deals we’ve found. However, to save you time and frustration, you need to be smart about where to look at any given time of year.

If you’re looking for a new computer during the holidays or during popular sales like Black Friday or Back to School, you’ll likely find great deals directly through first-party vendor sites. These include retail locations from popular computer manufacturers such as HP, Dell and Lenovo.

However, if you’re looking during a sale, it’s usually best to search for large third-party retailers, such as Amazon, Adorama, Walmart, best buyand newegg. Typically, these sites will offer limited daily deal type sales in hopes of getting rid of excess inventory. On the plus side, you can buy a PC that’s still great at a significant discount.

Typically, you’ll want to buy a PC during important sales periods. The biggest sales periods are Black Friday/Cyber ​​Monday in late November and Amazon Prime Day in early to mid-July. The best sales tend to happen before and during these two events, making it a great time to buy a new PC at a bargain price. Other holiday shopping periods, such as January’s New Year’s Sale, April’s Presidents’ Day Sale and August’s Back-to-School Sale, are also good times to look for discounts on computers.

When searching for desktop computers, you’ll see a ton of options, but they fall into four main categories: productivity towers, gaming PCs, mini PCs, and all-in-one PCs (AiOs). Which one you should ultimately buy depends entirely on your needs and what you want to do with your computer. If you’re looking for something suitable for your home office or family room, an efficient PC or AiO with a solid CPU and plenty of RAM and storage may be your best choice. If gaming is your main concern, then a gaming PC is a better deal than a laptop and you should focus on getting the best GPU possible. Or, if you just want something that fits anywhere and provides basic computing capabilities, a mini PC is a great choice.

When choosing a CPU for your new computer, look for at least an Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 5, both of which will provide plenty of processing power for everyday computing tasks. If you don’t plan on playing any PC games, then feel free to save some money by getting an integrated graphics card. However, if you’re looking to run games, we recommend at least an Nvidia GeForce 3060 or AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT, as these are the cheapest discrete graphics cards that can handle ray tracing well. However, if you’re not interested in those cutting-edge lighting effects, the RTX 3050 and Radeon RX 6600 also offer good 1080p gaming performance at a lower price.

As for RAM, we think it’s best to go for at least 16GB for productivity and gaming, but for home computers and web browsing, 8GB will suffice.

Storage size depends on your personal needs, but it’s generally a good idea to choose an SSD instead of a standard HDD because they’re faster and don’t significantly affect the price of a desktop computer. Before making a decision, it’s a good idea to consider your intended uses for your computer. Are you just working or browsing the web? Then something like 512GB is enough. If you want to load a lot of large files (such as games or content creation projects), then you will need at least 1 or 2TB or storage space. However, remember that even if your computer does not have enough built-in storage space, you can always Upgrade your SSD or go external drive Increase your available storage options.

Refurbished computers are used machines that have been repaired, upgraded, and cleaned for the purpose of resale. They are usually open box returns, overstocked models, or models with minor cosmetic damage (scratches, scuffs, etc.). Refurbished computers can be a bargain hunter’s dream because they’re likely to still be in good (or great) condition and you can save a lot of money. That being said, refurbished computers have their drawbacks. In addition to cosmetic blemishes, some internal components may be a little old or outdated, and they may not be in the best condition due to previous use.

If you do consider buying a refurbished computer, I recommend checking out eBay as they offer a one-year warranty. You can also check out the manufacturer’s retail storefront, e.g. Dell Direct Store and Apple Refurbishment Store– Please be sure to check the warranty terms offered before purchasing.