Amazon’s October Prime Day sales event is here and there are tons of great deals on desktop PCs. This year, Prime Big Deal Days will kick off on October 8, and include solid discounts on everything from gaming PCs to all-in-ones to traditional desktop computers.
I’ve built multiple PCs from scratch, and at PCWorld I’ve used my desktop knowledge to curate a list of the best available computer deals for several years. You can have confidence that these are the best computer deals during Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days.
Be sure to check out our Prime Big Deal Days 2024 hub for more great sales across all the tech categories.
First published September 24, 2024. Last updated October 8, 2024.
The Thermaltake LCGS View i460 for $100 off is a killer budget gaming PC deal. You can expect excellent 1080p or even solid 1440p frame rates thanks to its Core i5-13400F CPU and the latest-gen RTX 4060 GPU.
If you’re on the hunt for something with more oomph, look no further than the other solid Acer deal on the Nitro 70 model for $210 off on Amazon. Sporting a Ryzen 9 7900 CPU and RTX 4070 GPU, this midrange build from the trustworthy Acer brand will have you running games at buttery smooth 1440p or maybe even entry-level 4K.
Mini-PCs are all the rage and the absolutely loaded Minisforum Venus UM773 is on sale for $124 off on Amazon. This Minisforum is stacked with performance features including a Ryzen 7 7735HS CPU, 32GB of RAM, and a generous 1TB of SSD storage.
Mac fans can also find good deals leading up to Prime Day, with Amazon offering the 2023 M2 Mac Mini for $100 off on its website. The M2 is still a solid CPU and considering that, if rumors are true, the M4 Mac Mini isn’t set to be released until later this year, it’s the perfect time to buy an older version model at a discount—you’ll still get a great mini desktop without the exorbitant price of a new-gen Apple product.
Amazon is offering two great deals on HP’s latest AiO desktop model. The first is $120 off and comes with an Intel Celeron J4025 CPU and a powerful 32GB of RAM. The second is even more budget friendly at $208 off and also comes with the same CPU, but only 8GB of RAM and much less onboard storage. While both would be solid all-in-one computers, I’d recommend opting for the more powerful option if you can swing it, as you’ll get a noticeable performance boost for not too much more money.
PCWorld has searched for great deals across all the major PC tech categories, so check out some other Prime Big Deals Day roundups:
You’ll see a ton of options when searching for a desktop computer, but they all mainly fit into four main categories: gaming PCs, productivity PCs (towers or mini PCs), and all-in-ones (AiO). Which you should end up buying is entirely dependent upon what your needs are and what you want to do with your computer.
If you’re looking for something that will work in a home office or family room, then a productivity PC or AiO with a solid CPU and a decent amount of RAM and storage is probably the way to go. If gaming is your main concern, a gaming desktop PC can offer a lot more bang for your buck than a laptop and you should focus on getting the best GPU possible. Or if you just want something that can fit anywhere and provide basic computing then a mini PC is a good bet.
If you’re after CPU power, look for processors with higher numerical labels. A Core i7 is more suited to gaming and more intense work than everyday tasks. Intel processors are available in Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, and Core i9. Typically, the higher the number, the more powerful the CPU.
If you don’t need a ton of power, Intel Core i5 processors are your best bet, as they offer good performance at a decent price. You can get along just fine with a Core i3 for basic office and web browsing.
As for AMD options, the Ryzen 3 is good for basic productivity and web browsing, while Ryzen 5 chips rival Intel’s Core i5 as solid all-arounders. If you need more power, the Ryzen 7 chip is well suited for content creation like video editing. Finally, if you’re dealing with 4K video, spring for a Ryzen 9.
If you don’t intend to do any gaming on your computer, then feel free to save some money by going with integrated graphics. However, if you are looking to get your game on, then we recommend at least an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 or RTX 4060 as these are the least expensive discrete graphics cards that can handle 1080p gaming on High graphics settings in most games.
Thankfully, the latest-gen GPUs have dropped significantly in price in pre-built systems so opt for those if you have the money and want a performance boost. But if you’re on a tight budget, then opting for a rig with a previous-generation card can allow you to save some money while still providing decent graphics quality.
As for RAM, nowadays I think it’s best to shoot for 16GB at the minimum for all systems. If you’re on a budget or just need a basic browsing machine then 8GB can suffice. Those looking to do heavy content creation such as video editing should aim for 32GB.
Storage size is dependent upon your personal needs, but it is generally a good idea to opt for an SSD over a standard HDD as they are much faster and don’t significantly affect the price of a desktop. Before deciding, it’s best to consider what your intended use of the computer will be. Are you just storing documents or doing web browsing? Then something like 512GB will be plenty.
If you want to load up a lot of large files such as games or content creation projects, then you’ll need at least 1TB to 2TB of storage. However, just remember that even if your computer doesn’t have enough storage built-in you can always upgrade your SSD or go with an external drive to increase your available storage options.
