THE BEST DESKTOP COMPUTERS UNDER $2000

Today, we’re going to talk about desktop computers. A desktop computer modelizes after the traditional computers that separate two parts: the case and the monitor. They are connected using a special wire and use separate power cords, along with the additional components such as the speakers, the webcam, the fingerprint reader, the sketch tablet, the eye tracker, etc. 

Desktop computers show themselves a great candidate for expanding, upgrading, recycling over time for more than 20 years. These are the  best prebuilt gaming pc under $2000.( Read more:  best prebuilt gaming pc under $1000)

1. The CPU

For $2000, you can treat yourself with a premium desktop computer set, including a premium and powerful case, premium FHD or 4K monitor and some set of high-end speakers. Therefore, you should consider buying ones with the latest CPUs from either Intel or AMD. Intel or AMD differ in the way they make processors, resulting in significantly different performance. Intel CPUs are much more feature-rich, with great security for both personal uses and enterprise uses. On the contrary, AMD CPUs are somewhat cheaper than Intel’s counterparts with the same performance; therefore, if you’re on a budget, it’s recommended to get an AMD CPU. Here’s the list of the latest CPU lineups:

• Intel Tiger Lake (11th) Core i9

• Intel Tiger Lake (11th) Core i7

• Intel Xeon

• AMD Ryzen 9 5000 series

• AMD Ryzen 7

A major difference between Intel with AMD CPUs is that Intel CPUs are flat, which means there are thousands of little springs made into the socket, while AMD sockets are flat, making the CPU embedded with thousands of tiny little pins. Therefore, the Intel socket easier to be damaged, while the AMD CPUs are easier to be broken. In both situations, the CPU-socket pair wouldn’t work. However, considering that high-end CPUs are much more expensive than high-end motherboards, and Intel’s way might be better.

In exchange for the higher prices of Intel CPUs, we get better compatibility as well as other exclusive features on the Intel name as Intel has been around for more than anyone in the field. So it’s been collaborating with a lot of companions. 

2. Storage

RAM is not the only memory in a computer that makes it work. There are more than 10 levels of memory that run at different speeds, principles, and feature different capacity ranges. Each of them has its own responsibility and requires its own type of manufacturing. Here is the list of the memory levels:

• The L1, L2, L3 cache: The first 3 levels of cache are the fastest memory spaces that can be accessed with the CPU - the former is faster than the latter - meaning if the CPU reads or writes a value into those spaces. It would be even faster than writing or reading on RAM.

• The Random Access Memory (RAM): As you know that the term “Random Access” has meanings hidden. Unlike rotating devices, the traditional HDD for instance, the Random Access Memory can read as well as write a value to anywhere on its storage instantly. Because it’s different from the rotating devices, when you have to wait for the disk to rotate to the position you need. Then, you’ll be able to read or write, that reduces dramatically the speed and most importantly the price of the storage. Therefore, RAM is expensive and people don’t make these 512 GB RAMs to store your games, photos, but only 8GB or 16GB RAMs to store things temporarily to assist the CPU. A RAM has a bus speed, at which it communicates with the CPU, as well as the capacity such as 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB.

• Read-Only Memory: It makes our developers so itchy when someone says the ROM capacity of the computer is 256GBs, and which is ridiculous. The thing that they were referring to is the external storage, which definitely is not ROM. ROM is the abbreviation for Read-Only Memory. Read-only is suggested by the name. It’s the first ever code which every CPU has to read right after you press that power button. It contains every piece of start-up commands, BIOS settings of what operating system to boot, what the brand name is… The BIOS size is typically small; therefore, the quality of this memory doesn’t usually matter. However, you would not want your BIOS to fail during usage, therefore, you’d better understand it.

• Attached storage: Traditionally, an HDD was used in the situation. The SSDs are becoming more popular. The SSD is used for gaming. SSDs work just like RAM, for the Random Access thing, but at a lower speed. SSDs are connected to the computer by the PCIe interface, that is the similar interface used to RAM and ridiculously fast, or the SATA, which is the interface used to be used for HDD, for a lower speed. 

Among those types of memories, L1, L2, L3 caches are usually made to be already perfect with the CPU, so the values are not really meaningful to average users. What you would want to know is the RAM capacity, which needs to be huge when you want to play high-quality-graphics-demand games, and the capacity of the storage. Typically, 512GBs is enough for you to store games, some videos, and apps; However, if you’re a content creator, you should consider more.

3. The motherboard

The motherboard is the common playground for computer components to cooperate. A good motherboard can work consistently for years, and be able to pair perfectly with many generations of CPU. These are the requirements the motherboard should satisfy:

• High bus speed (RAM, PCIe): The bus speed is not only for the current CPU flagships but for the future CPUs. 

• Durable design for intense power: A good motherboard should be able to handle lots of power to deliver to the CPU, cooling system, RAM, or storage and graphics cards

• Latest sockets: for the ability to be compatible with latest CPU generations

4. Cooling system

Because we’re talking about gaming PCs today, we suggest the buyers go for a water cooling system; however, a water cooling system is an expensive solution, hence, you should think of it thoroughly. You should consider upgrading the cooling system in the future instead of buying it prebuilt.

Editing videos or playing games are among others the most extreme tasks pressuring the computer. Consequently, the computer produces a lot of heat doing the tasks, and the need now is to distribute the tremendous amount of heat to cool the system down, helping prevent the system from exploding and performance dropping; these efforts are made to achieve one true goal, to keep the system performance stabilized. Two types of cooling system are used, which are:

• Air cooling system: The noise you often hear when turning on the computer is the noise of the fan or fans. The fans are designed to make an air flow around the computer to distribute the heat and eventually for the heat to escape through the tiny holes on the mainframe. The aluminum case on some modern laptops also helps to do it because metals conduct heat better than plastic, and metals are thinner.

• Water/Liquid cooling system: This type of cooling system has no disadvantage at all, provided that the price is excluded. Water cooling provides a silent solution to flow the heat out of the mainboard; it does that much more effectively than air cooling without making any sound at all. Heat is taken out of the CPU by a special type of liquid or on some cheaper version, water, that always flows around a closed set of tubes, carrying the heat outside. Again, this type of system has nothing to be criticized, but the drawback here is the price. It’s so expensive that it can’t be used in normal affordable computers.

5. Monitor

A monitor is the means of viewing what’s happening inside the computer. Here are a few types of monitor you should take a look at:

• HD monitor, featuring 720p resolution running at the refresh rate of 60Hz, the lowest standard in the world of gaming monitors.

• FHD monitor, the most popular kind of monitor. The refresh rate is usually around 120Hz; however, some monitors might feature higher refresh rates at up to 240Hz.

• 4K monitor: the premium kind of monitor, featuring 3840x2160 pixels for detailed images and sharp motions

A monitor can sometimes be purchased with the PC while sometimes it is bought separately. A monitor would significantly increase the price of the set, so it would be wise to look for the individual prices of each component before buying the combo.

1. Dell XPS 8940 Tower Desktop Computer 

You won’t be surprised about this one. Dell XPS 8940 Tower Desktop Computer  was born in the XPS family, with the siblings being the most powerful PC and laptops ever made by Dell, and to some extent, ever made in the world. 

This XPS 8940 features an Intel Core i7-10700 with 8 cores and the turbo capability to 4.8GHz. It offers a surprisingly 64GBs of pre-installed RAM, and is expandable. However, we don’t think anyone would ever need to expand the RAM in the tower. 

To the PCI section, it is made with a NVIDIA GTX 1650 and a Dell Wireless card which is compatible with WiFi AC and Bluetooth 4.1. For storage, it offers you 1TB of SSD, 3TB of HDD and a DVD burner, which many people think is unnecessary, but still included. It offers you HDMI ports, DVI ports, 7 USB 3.1 type-A, 1 USB type C 3.1, two USB 2.0, one SD card reader and of course, on Ethernet RJ-45. A two-year warranty period is made available with free lifetime technical support.

• Core i7-10700

• 64GBs of 2666MHz RAM

• NVIDIA GTX 1650

• WiFi AC + Bluetooth 4.1

• HDMI + DVI + USB 3.1 (type A + type C) + SD Card reader

• Two years of warranty + lifetime technical support

2. SkyTech Shadow 3.0 Gaming Computer PC Desktop

The SkyTech Shadow 3.0 Gaming Computer PC Desktop is another one of the best desktop computer under $2000, when it features the latest NVIDIA GTX 3060 as its graphics card. The computer is powered by an 8-core 3.6GHz Ryzen 7 3700x processor, which would be a huge competitor with some premium Intel Core i7 models. 

As we said, the computer comes with a GTX 3060 graphics card with 12 GBs of dedicated memory, 16GBs of DDR4 RAM, 1TB of SSD for all your movies, apps, games, and other content. On the inside, it offers you the B550 motherboard, advanced heatsink with 3 RGB fans, WiFi AC built-in for almost no delay to your games.

The power supply unit is rated 600W, and all the components are shielded inside a tempered glass cover panel. For the warranty policy, all the components are warranted for at least 1 year and a free technical support for a lifetime is available.

• 8-core 3.6GHz Ryzen 7 3700x

• 16GBs of DDR4 RAM

• 1TB of SSD

• B550 + heatsink + RGB fans

• WiFi AC

• 1 year warranty + lifetime technical support

3. iBUYPOWER Gaming PC Computer Desktop MR 9320

The budget choice that we introduce today is the iBUYPOWER Gaming PC Computer Desktop MR 9320. This is the best gaming PC we can find within the price range of under $1000. The reason why is that most PCs under $1000 are made with an i5 or worse, and this computer set is one of a few that offer you a Core i7-10700F. 

The CPU’s frequency is 2.9GHz, but it can be turbo boosted up to 4.8GHz. It comes with a prebuilt 16GB of RAM and can be upgraded up to 64GBs. The set is made to be gaming ready out of the box with an NVIDIA GeForce 1660Ti and 6GBs of dedicated memory. 

The video card supports one DVI, one HDMI as well as one DisplayPort, meaning that you can simultaneously mirror 3 screens at the same time, of course if your computer is strong enough to handle it. A standard 240GB of SSD drive is ready for you to store your operating systems and 1TB of HDD for you to put your data in. 

The ports are various, including 4 USB 3.0 ports with backward compatibility, 2 USB 2.0 as well as 1 Ethernet RJ-45. I never understand that why brands have to manufacture mainboards with 2.0 USB ports while the backward compatibility is so great. The ethernet card is the standard 1Gbps; plus, you get an additional set of mouse and keyboard, and a Wi-Fi card for free. You get a 16-color RGB case to make your computer look cool.

• Intel i7-10700F

• NVIDIA GTX 1660Ti 6GB dedicated memory

• 240GB of SSD + 1TB of HDD

• Lots of ports

1. Can I upgrade my PC’ configurations?

Yes; However, it might be a little harder to prebuilt gaming PCs than hand-built gaming PCs. Upgrading is the most important feature of a hand-built PC because the needs vary among people. All the products that we have recommended have support for upgrading with additional RAM slots, SATA ports, and openable cases.

2. How can I set up the computer after I get it?

If the set you bought didn’t come with a monitor., you need to buy a monitor to work with your computer.

Another option for you is to buy a laptop. However, the compromises are the price, the size, and the stability on intense tasks. Here are the monitor options for you.

• Refresh rate: 120Hz or 240 Hz

• Resolution: 1080p, 4K or even 8K

• HDR compatible or not

When you have your monitor, these are what you need:

• Power cords for your PC with monitor, which usually come with the product

• HDMI cable, also often comes with the product

• Ethernet cable which you can easily buy off any PC stores

Firstly, you can plug everything in, including but not limited by the HDMI cable connecting the PC and the monitor, the Ethernet cable connecting the PC to the network router, the power cord for the monitor and the power cord for the PC. Secondly, you need to press the button to power on the PC. Finally, you complete the setup by doing some software setup and tweaks for your best PC.

3. What about the warranty?

Typically, the PCs come with 1 or 2 years of warranty for components, and a free lifetime technical support. You would not have to call the services everyday, but its good to know you have it.

4. How much power do I need?

Gaming takes up a lot of power, so you can’t be expecting that it would be an energy-saving option for you to own a cool gaming set. The CPUs and GPUs nowadays are programmed to cut down a hefty percentage of their power usage when they’re in idle states. The power consumption, on average, should be expected to be around 500W to 750W.

5. What operating system comes with the PCs?

All the computers we have recommended include Windows 10 operating system OOB. Sometimes, the brands don’t want to do that. Some others cut the cost of the PCs by installing freeware operating systems, Ubuntu for instance.

 If you have bought a Linux pre-installed PC, you'll probably end up with buying a genuine version of Windows because games built to run on Linux operating systems are not many. Fortunately, Steam has been available to Linux users for a while, despite the fact that many games on the platform are only available to Windows users.

Desktop computers are bigger, require more space and power, but outclass laptops in many aspects. Desktop computers are convenient, feature much better cooling solutions, thus, allow them to run the latest and most powerful CPUs. We have talked about the best desktop computer under $2000, and this is the final list.

• The best desktop computer under $2000: Dell_XPS 8940 Tower Desktop Computer

• The best prebuilt gaming pc under $2000: SkyTech Shadow 3.0 Gaming Computer PC Desktop

• The budget choice: iBUYPOWER Gaming PC Computer Desktop Element MR 9320 or Skytech Shiva Gaming PC Desktop

• Another one priced under 1000: CyberpowerPC Gamer Xtreme VR Gaming PC

I hope you liked our article about the best desktop computer under $2000. Hope to see you in the next article, and Good bye!