The Best Prebuilt PCs for Students in 2025

This year, Dell regrettably changed the sanction of its full enactment of laptops and desktops. So portion this would person traditionally been known arsenic the XPS Tower, it's present the Dell Tower Plus Desktop. Despite the unspeakable name, this is inactive a coagulated prebuilt PC. It starts retired with conscionable an Intel Core i5 processor, integrated graphics and conscionable 8GB of RAM, which volition beryllium fine for airy enactment similar connection processing. However, you tin configure it to travel with up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, an RTX 5080 GPU and 64GB of RAM, which volition beryllium perfectly overkill for the immense bulk of students.

Where this PC shines is determination successful the middle. Picking a Core Ultra 7, 16GB of RAM, and an RTX 5060 is going to beryllium the saccharine spot for astir people, easy capable to enactment done immoderate specialized workloads your professors propulsion astatine you. At the clip of writing, that nonstop configuration volition acceptable you backmost $1,199, which tin beryllium a precocious terms tag to swallow. But support successful caput that this PC is utilizing modular hardware, which means you tin adhd a graphics paper oregon much RAM erstwhile you person the currency for it.

I emotion however galore ports are connected the beforehand of the Tower Plus Desktop’s case, though. While it’s existent that immoderate desktop PC is going to person a bounty of ports conscionable by virtuousness of being a desktop, astir of the clip they’re hidden successful the backmost of the machine. Instead, you’ll find 3 USB-As, a USB-C, a headphone jack and an SD paper scholar each connected the front, lined elegantly beneath the powerfulness button. You tin ever conscionable plug a instrumentality close into the beforehand of the XPS tower, without having to wrestle with the PC to get to its rear I/O.

The 24-inch iMac was the archetypal clip that Apple broke retired from grey successful the modern era, and arsenic a result, the all-in-one PC comes successful blue, green, pink, yellow, orange, purple, and the aforesaid boring metallic arsenic each different Apple product. That’s chill and all, but these desktops are besides packed with the aforesaid Apple M4 processor arsenic the MacBook Air, which is almighty capable for astir radical to get done their workloads. This spot besides allows the iMac to beryllium highly bladed for a instrumentality that’s some a desktop PC and a monitor.

There is simply a acheronian side, though. This is simply a desktop PC, but it’s utilizing the aforesaid spot arsenic Apple’s laptops. While the larger plan does let Apple to funnel much powerfulness into the chip, resulting successful amended performance, it inactive won’t clasp a candle to a Windows PC astatine a akin price. And due to the fact that Apple is Apple, you can’t simply unfastened the iMac and adhd a caller SSD if you request much storage, truthful you request to marque definite you know you volition lone ever request 256GB of retention earlier you bargain the entry-level model.

That being said, if you conscionable request a stationary Mac workstation with a gorgeous display, the iMac delivers. You get a 4.5K Retina, oregon a 4480x2520 IPS monitor, built into the device, redeeming precious abstraction connected your desk. Let’s beryllium real, you’re not going to person a batch of abstraction for some a operation and a show successful your dorm room, and this small AIO serves arsenic some a PC and decoration.

The iMac besides comes with a Magic Keyboard and a Magic Mouse. The keyboard is perfectly incredible, portion the rodent is simply a spot much divisive – it has a charging larboard connected the bottom, meaning you can’t complaint it portion you usage it. For packaged-in peripherals, these are awesome due to the fact that you don’t person to ammunition retired other conscionable to usage the machine you conscionable bought.

There are a batch of inexpensive desktop PCs retired there, but unluckily astir of them suck successful 1 mode oregon another. Some artificially propulsion the terms down by shoving successful older hardware that simply won’t past you arsenic long. The HP Victus 15L defies this by conscionable being a coagulated gaming PC that’s besides precise affordable.

Starting astatine $899, the HP Victus 15L provides an Intel Core i5-14400F, 16GB of RAM and an Intel Arc A380 graphics paper – not atrocious for a opening configuration. Without making immoderate changes to the hardware, this PC tin grip video editing, airy AI workloads and adjacent PC games, provided you’re comfy sticking to 1080p gaming. It’s uncommon that I spot an entry-level config that I really o.k. of, but this small gaming PC volition instrumentality you a agelong way.

Of course, you tin upgrade it with much superior hardware. You tin bump the CPU up to an Intel Core i7-14700F, which volition marque it overmuch amended astatine multitasking, and you tin configure it with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060, which makes this a superior contender astatine 1440p. However, due to the fact that of the tiny size of the PC case, you can’t configure it with a much almighty graphics card. More almighty graphics cards that could acceptable successful this chassis are retired there, but past you’ll tally into problems with the 350W powerfulness proviso HP includes.

On the beforehand of the HP Victus 15L is simply a wealthiness of ports, with 4 USB-As and a USB-C among them. There are adjacent much connected the backmost of the PC, but having truthful galore ports connected the beforehand sheet makes connecting accessories easy, particularly if it’s thing you don’t ever privation plugged in, similar a thumb drive.

The Lenovo Legion Tower 5i is simply a mid-range gaming PC, packed with up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super and an Intel Core i7-14400F. That’s a wholly good spec, but what makes this PC peculiar is however affordable it is crossed each of its specs. Its top-end spec is expensive, mounting you backmost $2,299, but if you dial your expectations backmost a bit, you tin get an highly coagulated RTX 4070 spec for conscionable $1,400 astatine the clip of writing.

With that RTX 4070, the Lenovo Legion Tower 5i is inactive an awesome 1440p gaming machine, without going overboard. At 1440p, you’ll beryllium capable to get a coagulated 81fps successful Cyberpunk 2077 with each the ray tracing goodness enabled. In fact, compared to the RTX 4070 Super, you’re lone truly losing 12% performance.

The Legion Tower 5i spec with the RTX 4070 Super is equipped with 32GB of RAM alternatively of 16GB, but due to the fact that the Legion Tower is truthful casual to unfastened up, you tin easy upgrade the representation later

As for the chassis, it’s a modular mid-tower lawsuit with a unsocial mesh plan connected the beforehand that makes the RGB lighting connected the beforehand lawsuit fans look incredible. On the side, you get a tempered solid broadside sheet that lets you peek successful connected the innards. For prebuilt gaming PCs astir this price, having a coagulated tempered solid sheet is rare, with galore having a flimsy integrative model instead.

Originally posted:

Jul 30, 2025 10:00 pm