Dell makes some of our favorite 2-in-1 laptops and other bleeding-edge PC designs, but this decades-old brand’s bread and butter is still its well-made traditional computers built for gaming and everyday use. It doesn’t get much more traditional than a desktop PC, either, and while laptops may be more popular in today’s fast-paced world, desktops still have their place. Though a decent Samsung Chromebook is always nice to have.
The reasons that some people still prefer desktop computers are relatively straightforward: First, if you don’t explicitly need the portability of a Surface Pro laptop, then a desktop PC will always offer more bang for your buck in the performance department. Secondly, roomy desktop towers allow for better hardware and customization than cramped laptops, making them the best choice for PC gaming.
If you’re in the market for a no-nonsense work machine or are looking for a good gaming desktop that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, Dell’s ongoing Black Friday in July sale has you covered. We’ve rounded up a few of the top desktop PC deals from the event, all of them coming with the latest hardware and some solid discounts to rival any Prime Day deals.
Dell XPS 8930 Tower Desktop PC— $200 off
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The Dell XPS line features some pretty great laptops, but the XPS 8930 Tower is the unsung hero of the family (at least for desktop users). It’s a great machine for work, entertainment, and everyday use with its 9th generation Intel Core i5-9400 6-core CPU and solid 16GB of DDR4 RAM which delivers more than enough juice for multi-tasking. You also get two hard drives: A speedy 256GB SSD for your OS and programs and a generously sized 1TB 7,200rpm HDD for all your other stuff.
This configuration of the Dell XPS 8930 Tower rings in at $700 ($200 off) right now, meaning you easily could put together a whole desktop setup for less than a grand. Note that the version we reviewed came with a dedicated video card while this particular XPS Tower comes with an integrated one – if you want a desktop PC with a proper GPU for gaming, our other picks are great alternatives to this one.
Dell Inspiron 5680 Gaming Desktop PC— $280 off
Bill Roberson/Digital Trends
As stated earlier, desktop PCs offer the best price-to-performance ratio for gaming, as well as more future-proofing options since a desktop tower gives you the option of upgrading components rather than having to buy a whole new computer. If you don’t want to build your own PC, then the Dell Inspiron 5680 is a great choice for a mid-range setup: It has the same 9th-gen i5-9400 6-core CPU as the XPS Tower, but with a dedicated GeForce GTX 1660 Ti graphics card (one of Nvidia’s new 16-series GPUs).
Other than that, you’ve got one stick of 8GB DDR4 RAM (easily upgradable if you need a boost for more demanding games) as well as a 256GB SSD and a 1TB 7,200rpm HDD. A $280 Black Friday in July discount knocks the Dell Inspiron 5680 desktop down to $900, making it our favorite gaming PC you can get right now for less than $1,000.
Alienware Aurora R8 Gaming Desktop PC— $250 off
Riley Young/Digital Trends
Dell’s Alienware line represents some of the beefiest gaming machines money can buy, but a lot of them are prohibitively expensive. The Alienware Aurora R8 is an exception, though, representing a solid value that won’t break the bank. Its 9th-generation Intel Core i5-9400 CPU, 16GB of DDR4 RAM, and Nvidia GeForce GT 1660 Ti provide plenty of power for easily handling the latest games at high settings (similar specs to the Inspiron 5680, but with twice the RAM and what we recommend for most modern builds).
The Aurora R8’s case also features the neat aesthetics of the Alienware series if you’re into that, but more importantly, it offers plenty of ports as well as a second GPU slot for adding another graphics card if you’re a serious customizer or just want that option for future upgrades. You can score the Aurora R8 desktop PC on sale right now for $1,080 – far cheaper than most Alienware computers – and save $250.
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