Windows Mini PC Desktops
Lower cost but requires purchasing a separate monitor. Mini PCs use laptop components but don’t include the screen, camera, or speakers. This reduces the cost considerably, and you can connect up to 3 monitors! Cameras and speakers are cheap and easily connected.
Budget – about $200
Best Budget
Midrange – about $300
Best Midrange
AMD Ryzen 7430U Processor
32GB RAM
512GB SSD
Triple Display
Amazon $319.99 as of 11/18/2025
Gaming – $400 – $600
What makes a “gaming” computer is the “dedicated graphics card”. Many high-end games won’t play on a computer with “on board graphics”, which non-“gaming” computers have.
Radeon Graphics
AMD Ryzen 7 5825U Processor
32GB RAM
1TB SSD
Radeon Vega 8 Graphics
Quad Display
Amazon $429 as of 11/19/2025
Nvidia Graphics
Intel I7-8750H Processor
Nvidia GTX1050
16GB DDR4 RAM
512GB SSD
Triple Display
Amazon $559 as of 11/19/2025
Recommended display monitors
The cost is generally based on the amount of RAM = Speed, Storage Capacity, and CPU = Brain.
RAM: the more the better, but gets pricey!
Absolute minimum is 8 GB, but I recommend 16 GB even in a budget model.
32 GB is great.
64 GB is extravagent but amazing if price isn’t restrictive.
Storage Capacity: Take what you currently use and add on space to grow. But consider “cloud storage” and “external hard drives”, which can be much cheaper ways to store.
Written as “512GB SSD”, “1TB SSD”, and so on.
Minimum 128 GB – room for Windows itself and a some documents.
Basic 256 GB – room for more documents and a few photos.
Good 512 GB – now room photos, music, and a few videos.
Great 1TB (999GB) – Plenty of music or videos. Highly recommended if working with Adobe products like Photoshop, Lightroom, and Premiere
Fantastic 2+ TB – Room for long movies or huge collections