Best desktop PC computer deals for October 2023

1. What are good sites for finding computer deals?

There are a ton of websites that sell computers, and sifting through them all would take a lot of time – that’s why we do it for you here and highlight the best deals we find. However, to save yourself some time and frustration, you need to be smart about where you look at any time of year.

If you’re looking for a new computer during the holidays or popular sales periods like Black Friday or back to school, you’ll likely find great deals directly on first-party vendor websites. This includes the retail storefronts of popular computer manufacturers such as HP, Dell, and Lenovo.

However, if you’re looking between sales periods, it’s usually a good idea to research large third-party retailers like Amazon, Adorama, Walmart, BestBuy, and Newegg. Often, these sites offer limited Deals of the Day sales in hopes of getting rid of excess inventory. On the plus side, you can get still decent PCs at a big discount.

2. When are the best times to find computer deals?

Generally speaking, the best deals are offered during the big sales events each year. These include Prime day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday and back-to-school period, among others. You’ll typically see the lowest prices of the year for computers during these events.

That said, there are opportunities to find one-off computer sales throughout the year from both third-party and third-party vendors. These sales are much harder to predict and usually have a time limit, like a day or a week. Realistically, the only way to find these sales is to check vendor websites every day.

3.What specs should I look for in a good gaming computer?

Since desktop computers don’t have the same size restrictions or component portability as laptops, the price/component ratios are mercifully cheaper than on gaming notebooks. This means you can get more gaming bang for your buck in a desktop gaming PC.

When it comes to gaming, the two most important pieces of hardware you should focus on are the CPU and the GPU. Think of the CPU as the heart of your computer, determining how well your system performs when running software. When looking at a computer’s CPU, you should pay attention to the processor’s core count, which generally ranges from two to 16 cores. At a minimum, you’ll want four cores, but you can get up to eight cores without putting too much of a strain on your budget. For high-end systems, you should look at between eight and 16 cores. Although even for high-end gaming, having more than eight cores doesn’t add much benefit.

A good GPU is essential for gaming and will be the component you’ll want to spend the most on. For gamers on a budget, a card that offers accessibility and ray tracing is the sweet spot. These include the Nvidia RTX 3060 or AMD RX 6600 or 6600 XT. If you want to game in 4K, you’re probably better off with Nvidia’s RTX 3080 or AMD’s RX 6800 XT.

Apart from the CPU and GPU, the other hardware components are less crucial. As for RAM, you should go for a minimum of 8GB, but ideally 16GB is better – anything above 16GB is largely unnecessary for gaming purposes. RAM is also relatively cheap and easy to upgrade if you need more in the future.

For your hard drive, you should have at least one SSD, preferably an M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD if you can afford it. SSDs are faster than their spinning disk predecessors and will boot your games faster and provide improved load times. Storage size is more of a personal preference. You should consider the types of games you want to play and how many you want to download. If you plan on storing a lot of games on your computer, you’ll probably want a 1TB or larger drive. Note that it is not uncommon for modern games to have file sizes over 100GB.

4. What makes a good home office computer?

A home office computer should meet all the needs you have for your work. If you work with spreadsheets and various programs, you’ll want a good processor. If you’re a content creator, you’ll need a lot of RAM and a lightning-fast hard drive.

You should also consider other points, such as available space and portability. If space is limited, consider an all-in-one that combines the computer component and monitor into one compact unit. If you don’t want to be fixed in one location, consider purchasing a laptop over a desktop. If so, check out our best laptop deals section.

5. What are the benefits of buying a desktop computer over a laptop?

The main benefit is the cost-component ratio. Due to the nature of their use, laptops have design constraints that desktops simply don’t have. This means you can generally find better hardware in a desktop for a cheaper price than you can in a laptop.

Desktops also have the unique advantage of being able to include better cooling systems. They dissipate more heat and allow your hardware to run more efficiently. Additionally, desktops are easier to upgrade and expand if you choose to do so.

For a more in-depth analysis, you can read our 5 reasons to buy a desktop PC over a laptop.