Consumer Reports' 9 favorite desktop computers of 2026

Desktop computers are the workhorses of any serious home office or creative studio, built to handle workloads that routinely overwhelm laptops. All-in-ones, towers, and mini PCs represent the three main form factors, and each suits a different mix of needs, space, and budget. Performance gaps between the best and worst machines are wide enough to affect daily productivity, long-term value, and upgrade potential.

Consumer Reports tests dozens of desktop computers each year at its facilities north of New York City on performance, display quality, and keyboard and mouse ergonomics. Here are the nine highest-rated.

Credit: MSI

At $1,400, the MSI Codex R2 Gaming Desktop tops Consumer Reports' tower desktop rankings with the category's best overall score. Its Intel $INTC Core Ultra 7 265 chip, 32GB of memory, 2TB of solid-state storage, and Nvidia $NVDA RTX 5060 GPU placed it among the fastest machines CR tested, across spreadsheet work, video editing, and gaming workloads. CR notes that MSI's brand scores for dependability and customer satisfaction fall below average in member surveys, but adds that the modular tower chassis makes component upgrades straightforward, and a two-year warranty with free telephone support exceeds what most competing towers provide.

Credit: HP

Priced at $1,730, the HP $HPQ EliteStudio All-in-One Computer 27" earned strong marks in Consumer Reports' lab as a single-unit workstation built for demanding office and creative tasks. Equipped with an Intel $INTC Ultra 7 265 chip, 32GB of memory, and 1TB of solid-state storage, the machine finished video editing, 3D model rendering, and large-scale spreadsheet tasks faster than most desktops Consumer Reports evaluated. CR praises the 27-inch screen for color reproduction, glare-free performance in bright rooms, and HDR support, and notes that the three-year warranty and telephone support period exceed what most rivals provide.

Credit: ASUS

The Asus NUC 14 Pro AI Mini Desktop costs $1,165 and earns the top overall score among mini desktops in Consumer Reports' ratings. Its Intel $INTC Core Ultra 7 processor supports AI acceleration to speed up tasks in supported applications, and the 32GB of memory paired with a 1TB solid-state drive sustains demanding multitasking workloads. Consumer Reports says the model's graphics output surpassed what CR typically sees from chips with integrated graphics, making it a capable choice for casual gaming or creative work alongside everyday productivity.

Credit: Amazon

The Acer Nitro 60 Gaming Desktop runs on an Nvidia $NVDA RTX 5070 GPU and AMD $AMD Ryzen 7 7700 chip, backed by 32GB of memory and a 2TB SSD, at a price of $1,800. Consumer Reports' lab tests put the Nitro 60 at the top for speed among the tower desktops evaluated, with strong results across office tasks and multimedia production, and the RTX 5070's 12GB of video memory translated into top marks on the most demanding graphics tests. CR notes that Acer's reliability ratings fall above the category midpoint, the tower includes a two-year warranty and free technical support, and the full-sized design allows buyers to swap in upgraded components over time.

Credit: Apple

Starting at $2,000, the Apple $AAPL Mac Studio 2025 earned the best combined score in Consumer Reports' full desktop ratings, placing ahead of every all-in-one, tower, and mini PC in the test pool. Apple's M4 Max chip, backed by 32GB of memory and 2TB of fast internal storage, drove the strongest lab performance CR recorded in this category, sustaining excellent speeds through editing workflows, model rendering, and large-scale data work. CR reports that Apple leads all desktop brands in the organization's member reliability and satisfaction surveys, and adds that the machine's Thunderbolt 4 ports support high-resolution displays and a wide range of peripherals.

Credit: HP

Consumer Reports found that the HP $HPQ OmniDesk Tower M02-0127c handled gaming and multimedia tasks well, and that the $900 model did so without a dedicated GPU, relying instead on integrated Radeon 780M graphics. Its AMD $AMD Ryzen 7 8700G processor, running at 4.2GHz and paired with 32GB of memory and a 1TB solid-state drive, handled workloads capably in CR's lab without the help of a discrete graphics card. CR says it ships with a cordless keyboard and mouse, an inclusion the gaming towers above lack, along with 10 USB ports and a two-year warranty with bundled telephone support.

Credit: ASUS

The Asus ExpertCenter PN54, at $1,100, fits into a chassis 5.1 inches on each side and 1.5 inches high. Its AMD $AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 chip, 16GB of memory, and a 1TB drive sailed through office workloads and media production in Consumer Reports' evaluation, and CR notes the machine handled demanding games as well, a feat rarely seen at this form factor and price. CR adds that the port selection, including USB4, HDMI 2.1, and 2.5Gb Ethernet, covers the full range of connectivity needs, and its internal drive is swappable for owners who need extra capacity.

Credit: Apple

Apple $AAPL's iMac (M4) costs $1,300 and topped all desktop makers in Consumer Reports' surveys on predicted dependability and buyer satisfaction. The machine features an Apple M4 processor, 16GB of memory, and a 256GB solid-state drive in a 24-inch all-in-one design. CR says the 4.5K display is the standout element, rated at the top of all tested models for brightness, color fidelity, and glare resistance in bright conditions.

Credit: Dell

With a $770 price tag, the Dell $DELL 24" All-in-One Desktop EC24250 is built around an Intel $INTC Core i5 processor with 8GB of memory and a 512GB solid-state drive. Consumer Reports rated its speed as sufficient for everyday computing, including web browsing, email, and document work, and calls the display a genuine strength, with accurate, natural colors and richer contrast than the majority of all-in-ones CR evaluated. CR found Dell's customer satisfaction ratings sit above the industry midpoint, and built-in features like an SD slot, Wi-Fi 6E connectivity, and a retractable webcam provide useful convenience at a low price point.