Best Desktop PCs UK 2026
The best desktop PC depends entirely on the job: browsing and office work, gaming, or creative production each point to a different machine. We've tested office desktops, prebuilt gaming rigs and compact creative PCs, and ranked them on real performance, value and how upgradeable they are.
Here are our picks across budget, mid-range and premium, then how to choose, plus links to focused guides by use and price.
How we picked
We score on real performance for the intended job (office, gaming or creative), value at UK prices including any refurbished saving, and upgradeability, because a desktop you can add to lasts far longer than a sealed box. Quiet, cool running counts too.
Best budget desktop: Dell OptiPlex (refurbished)
For home admin, web and office apps, a refurbished Dell OptiPlex is unbeatable value. Business-grade build, easy to upgrade with more RAM or an SSD, and a fraction of new-PC money. The smart budget choice for a family or home-office machine.
Mid-range tierBest mid-range desktop: XUM Legend Prebuilt Gaming PC
Want to game without building it yourself? The XUM Legend is a sensible entry prebuilt: enough power for 1080p gaming out of the box, and room to upgrade the GPU later. A solid first gaming desktop at a fair price.
Best premium desktop: Apple Mac Mini M4
For creative work in the smallest possible footprint, the Mac Mini M4 is remarkable: fast, silent, and tiny enough to hide behind a monitor. Ideal for photo, video and music work where macOS suits the workflow.
Decision frameworkHow to choose the right desktop
- What's it for? Office and web: a refurbished business desktop. Gaming: a prebuilt with a dedicated GPU. Creative: strong CPU, plenty of RAM, fast storage.
- New or refurbished. Refurbished business desktops offer huge value for light use. Buy new for gaming and demanding creative work.
- Upgradeability. A tower you can add RAM, storage and a GPU to lasts years longer than a sealed mini or all-in-one.
- Form factor. Towers upgrade best; mini PCs and all-in-ones save space but limit future changes.
- Match the monitor. Pair the desktop's graphics to the resolution and refresh of the screen you'll use.
Desktops for every budget and need
