All of the same rules for buying a PC apply here, a solid CPU and a good amount of RAM are a must for multi-tasking. and If you plan to do any gaming, you’ll want a good GPU as well. Form factor is also something to pay attention to, if real estate is at a premium you may want to invest in an AIO. If you’re buying one of these workstations for a newly established home office, make sure to add our guide to home office layout ideas to your reading list before taking a look at our picks for the best $400 to $1000 desktops. The desktop feels perfect for either the home or office, with plenty of storage and memory all at a value price. Unfortunately, at budget pricing levels you don’t always get as much room for expansion in the future in terms of additional RAM or extra hard drives. What it lacks in expansion, it more than makes up for with daily use that is perfect for the budget category. Sizing up at 6 x 13 x 12 inches, the 15-pound Pavilion is no lightweight, but it’s small enough to fit underneath a desktop and be completely out of sight. The inclusion of 802.11ac offers a higher-speed connection, which is ideal for computers in an office environment where faster speeds are essential for downloading and uploading large files. While its insides are pretty mainstream for the price bracket — although the Qi built-in charging pad is a nice surprise — the outside matters quite a bit, too. The 27-inch full HD display measures a slim 0.3 inches, creating a statement piece for your home or office, though 4K and touchscreen options are not available. The bezel is equally thin at 0.12 inches, resulting in a 90 percent screen-to-body ratio, and the display can tilt between -5 and 25 degrees. Though its UHD graphics are best just for casual use, Acer has included features like Acer ExaColor to increase color saturation and Bluelight Shield to diminish blue light at night. The 1TB SATA hard drive can store high volumes of media files, and there’s an HD Graphics 630 card for decent visual rendering. Of course, that screen we mentioned gives you 24 diagonal inches of real estate, and even though it is only full HD, the bright IPS display tech gives you great viewing angles for the pixels you have. There are a ton of USB ports, HDMI, Ethernet, etc. HP even includes a wireless keyboard and optical mouse to get you started right out of the box. This sleek powerhouse will give you plenty of features and will be a welcome addition to any creator’s desk.
Monitor
If you have an extra external computer monitor lying around the house, then you don’t need to think about this. Otherwise, you might want to buy a system that includes one. If you don’t, you should factor a separate monitor into the price you’re paying.
Specs
When you’re buying a new machine, it’s always important to look at hard drive space, RAM, and processor power. If you’re planning on using the computer to check email and browse the web, you can get away with much less power than if you want to play resource-heavy computer games or edit video.
