Best Gaming Desktop: The HP Omen 45L gaming desktop is the best gaming desktop money can buy on the market now. It’s outfitted with the most recent CPUs and GPUs from Nvidia, AMD, or Intel, and it boasts a one-of-a-kind case design that allows for far greater cooling than typical chassis.
Although the Omen 45L is our current top gaming PC, there are plenty of other fantastic options. We assembled the best desktop PCs for gaming, from high-end custom behemoths to bang-for-your-buck budget setups, using some of the picks from our roundup of the best desktop PCs.
Best Gaming Desktop: HP Omen 45L
The fantastic new Omen 45L has overtaken HP’s Omen 30L at the top of the list of the best gaming desktops. It is, as the name implies, a larger PC than its 30-liter sister. HP, on the other hand, makes full use of the extra area with a unique Cyro Chamber that keeps temperatures and noise low.
This chamber isolates the all-in-one liquid cooler from the rest of the chassis, allowing for continuous access to clean airflow. HP used the change to make the casing even easier to open, with a better tool-less design that simplifies upgrades.
It’s also outfitted with the most up-to-date and powerful components. HP provides both AMD and Intel processors, with Intel offering up to a Core i9-12900K and AMD offering up to a Ryzen 9 5900X. The CPU may be paired with any of Nvidia’s RTX 30-series cards, up to the powerful RTX 3090, and up to 64GB of storage.
The Omen 45L’s only drawback is that Intel 12th-generation systems do not support DDR5 memory. In the grand scheme of things, this isn’t a major concern because the Omen 45L has some of the best gaming and content creation capabilities we’ve seen from a desktop.
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Falcon Northwest Talon
The Falcon Northwest Talon is an AMD powerhouse, especially if you plan on doing some work in addition to gaming. Falcon has built a name for itself in the world of custom PCs for its superb build quality. Falcon Northwest can construct a PC specifically for you, not just another consumer.
It’s a prebuilt PC put together with the same passion as if you built it yourself. None of the cords overlap, and Falcon Northwest even includes a cable extender to keep your build appearing neat. The Talon case also has plenty of capacity for expansion, including support for expanded motherboards.
We looked at the AMD model, but Falcon Northwest also has Intel and AMD setups, as well as AMD and Nvidia graphics cards (including Quadro options). Falcon Northwest provides the most recent hardware, but only the top-tier of that hardware. Falcon Northwest isn’t the place to go if you’re searching for a good offer.
Even the Origin Neuron is substantially more expensive than the Talon. It’s not a PC attempting to fit a budget. It strives to be the best of the best in terms of both performance and quality, and it succeeds.
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Best Custom Gaming Desktop: Origin Neuron
There are plenty of PC builders that use components that you can buy and assemble yourself, yet Origin manages to stand apart. You can buy and construct an exact clone of the Origin Neuron, but Origin’s meticulous attention to detail, extensive customization possibilities, and outstanding support argue against it.
Because Corsair owns Origin, the Neuron is outfitted with Corsair components throughout. That’s a good thing in this situation because Corsair produces some of the greatest PC fans, power supplies, and RAM modules available. All of these third-party components work together to provide the Neuron with a unified look that is free of software conflicts that may wreak havoc on your RGB lighting.
You can also design the machine precisely the way you want it. Origin provides the most recent CPUs from AMD and Intel, as well as the most recent GPUs from Nvidia and AMD. Aside from that, you can change anything — power supply rating, memory speed, you name it.
The Neuron is more expensive than a standard PC such as the Omen 45L. That extra cash gets you greater construction quality, more flexibility, and some modern furniture. The Origin Neuron is our favorite of all the custom PC builds available.
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Best Mini Gaming Desktop: Intel NUC 11 Extreme Barebones Kit
The NUC concept from Intel has gone through numerous versions, and the Beast Canyon NUC 11 Extreme feels like a tipping point. It’s bigger than prior NUCs, but it’s still surprisingly compact for the power within. You’ll get a beefed-up 11th-generation CPU as well as support for a full-size graphics card.
You can create a compact PC that is more powerful than the NUC 11 Extreme, but it will be a more difficult procedure. Intel dedicated close attention to the build process with the NUC 11 Extreme, making updates and troubleshooting a breeze, despite the compact size of the chassis.
Despite the fact that the internal components get hot, the NUC 11 Extreme never became overly loud throughout our testing, and it never limited the components based on thermals. Despite the components being tightly packed inside, the three fans on the top of the case and open airflow design provide ample area for cooling.
The disadvantage is the cost. The barebones package costs more than $1,000 without a graphics card or storage. This is one of the most unusual PCs on the market, and it comes at a high price.
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Lenovo Legion Tower 5i: Best Budget Gaming Desktop
If you want a well-rounded PC but don’t need the most up-to-date features, Lenovo has a range of balanced desktops at a fair price. These PCs, which are available in seven various configurations with varying starting prices, may not have all of the latest components, but they can still handle numerous games on high settings.
You can get a Legion Tower 5i for $1,000, which is a steal considering how costly most graphics cards are. For that money, you can obtain a good six-core Intel Core i5-11400 processor and an Nvidia GTX 1660 Super graphics card, which is ideal for 1080p gaming.
However, because Lenovo is gradually replacing this computer with the most up-to-date components, finding one is a bit difficult. We found plenty of versions in stock at a few outlets, but at the time of writing, Lenovo didn’t allow you to customize your own.
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Best Gaming Desktop: Corsair One i300
Corsair has been producing the One for several years, and despite updating to newer, more power-hungry hardware throughout the years, the design has remained consistent. It’s proof of how good the Corsair was and still is, and it’s the go-to compact form factor gaming PC in 2022.
It’s too large to be a genuine small PC like the Intel NUC, but it may still serve as a great home theater PC and console replacement. It’s barely bigger than a console, but it packs an Intel Core i9-12900K, 64GB of RAM, and an Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti.
Corsair does not technically support upgrades on the One, but experienced PC builders should have no trouble upgrading the GPU, RAM, or storage in the future, as long as everything fits in the case. Even if replacing some components voids your warranty, that’s more than many small form factor PCs can say.
Small form factor gaming PCs aren’t new, but the Corsair One has withstood the test of time because it never seems like a toy. It’s small, but thanks to Corsair’s smart cooling design and high-quality technology, it operates as a full PC without becoming significantly hotter.
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Dell XPS Desktop
If you want to buy a gaming desktop but don’t want to learn about upgrading or customizing it with RGB lighting, the Dell XPS 8940 Desktop is a wonderful choice. It’s a stealth gaming PC that seems to be an office desktop on the surface while concealing some of the most powerful components available.
The Dell XPS Desktop does not support large component upgrades, which is nearly always a disadvantage. However, you can outfit this PC with up to an Intel Core i9-12900K and an Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti for around $1,000 cheaper than the competitors. It can even be outfitted with liquid cooling.
Configurations begin as low as $750, with the first featuring a separate graphics card costing roughly $1,100. You’re foregoing all of the extras that make a gaming PC appear like a gaming PC, but if you’re happy to recycle your PC and upgrade a few years down the road, it’s not a big problem.
Although the XPS Desktop may be used in any workplace environment, we recommend it, especially for remote employees. You might not want to ask your boss to pay for an RGB-enhanced gaming monster; the XPS Desktop is far more affordable, and it still has adequate power for after-hours gaming.
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