Best Budget Desktop PCs

A Selection of Desktops Under $500 for a Variety of Prices and Tasks

For those on a tight budget, the Compaq Presario CQ5110f offers a surprising amount of features for a price tag that could be found for under $300. The systems comes equipped with an older AMD Athlon X2 7750 dual core processor and 3GB of DDR2 memory but it still performs quite decently. It is at a disadvantage in terms of storage space with just a 320GB hard drive but there still is a DVD burner. Don't expect to be able to expand this system much due to its limited internal upgrade space and older integrated graphics with VGA connector. A suitable alternative if the Compaq can't be found is the eMachines ET1810-03 just above $350 with similar features save for an Intel Pentium E2210 dual core processor instead of the AMD.

HP's Pavilion p6110f may not excel in any one feature but it does do better than most in many of them. For instance, its Intel Pentium Dual-Core E5300 processor is faster than most and the 6GB of DDR2 memory and 640GB hard drive are also larger than is typically found in the under $500 price range. These features combine to give the Pavilion p6110f an edge in most tasks that either need more memory, faster processor or just more storage space. The one area that the system does not meet expectations is the graphics with an older GMA 3100 integrated graphics and only a VGA connector. If this is important, than the Acer Aspire M3800 may be a good choice with a slightly slower processor, faster DDR3 memory and a GMA X4500 integrated graphics.

Those wanting to do high performance tasks such as desktop video or lots of multitasking can really benefit from a quad core processor. This is where the Zt Systems Affinity 7304Mi-37 has the advantage over the competition. It is one of few systems available for under $500 that features an Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 processor combined with 4GB of DDR2 memory for strong performance. The big disadvantage that the system has is an older GMA 3100 integrated graphics that isn't capable of HD video streams and no digital video outputs. A good alternative, if it can still be found, is the Gateway DX4200-11 that features an AMD Phenom X4 9550 quad core processor with 6GB of DDR2 memory.

Gaming is something that most budget desktops are not well suited to because of the reliance on integrated graphics. The Cyberpower Gamer Ultra 7209 may not be a gaming powerhouse but the dedicated ATI Radeon HD 4550 graphics card does give it the ability to play most of today's 3D PC games at moderate resolutions up to 1440x900, the standard resolution for 19-inch LCDs. Performance is not overpowering because of its reliance on an AMD Athlon II X2 240 dual core processor with 4GB of DDR2, but it gets he job done just fine for gaming that isn't reliant on quad core processors just yet. An alternate choice would be the iBuyPower Gamer Mage D230 but it does require the addition of a dedicated graphics card which it can handle.