Best Overall Value
£94.00 | ★★★★☆ (4.3)
Here's the thing: when you're hunting for the best desktops under £300, you don't always need to spend anywhere near the limit. This refurbished OptiPlex with an Intel Core i5-4570 lands at a price that makes it almost unreasonably good value. Yes, the i5-4570 is a 4th-generation chip from around 2013. But it's a proper quad-core processor with a 3.2GHz base clock, and it handles web browsing, email, spreadsheets, video calls, and light photo editing without breaking a sweat.
The 8GB of RAM is the sweet spot for everyday Windows 11 use. You'll notice multitasking is fine, browser tabs don't cause slowdowns, and the system generally feels responsive. The 120GB SSD is the one genuine compromise here. It's tight. Windows 11 Pro takes up a chunk of that, and you'll want to be disciplined about what you install locally. An external hard drive or USB storage is a sensible addition if you have files to store.
What makes this stand out in the best desktops under £300 category is the inclusion of Windows 11 Pro. That's not a given at this price. Pro gives you BitLocker encryption, Remote Desktop, and better business features if you need them. The small form factor chassis is compact enough to sit behind a monitor or on a shelf without dominating your desk.
Owner feedback is broadly positive. Most buyers report the machine arriving in good condition, booting quickly, and performing well for basic tasks. A few mention the SSD size as a limitation, which is fair. But for the price, this is genuinely hard to fault as a starter or secondary PC.
Pros
- Exceptional price for a capable quad-core machine
- Windows 11 Pro included, not Home
- Compact small form factor design
- SSD means fast boot and load times
- Solid real-world performance for everyday tasks
Cons
- 120GB SSD is very tight for storage
- i5-4570 is an older generation chip
- No monitor, keyboard, or mouse included
- Limited upgrade headroom
Buy on Amazon£94.00
Best Build Quality
£252.96 | ★★★★☆ (4.3)
This is the machine that makes you do a double-take. 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD in a refurbished desktop for under £300? That spec sheet looks like a mistake, but it's real. The Dell OptiPlex range was built for commercial environments, which means the chassis quality, thermal management, and component reliability are all a step above what you'd get from a cheap consumer desktop.
The i7-6700 is a 6th-generation Intel chip, which is meaningfully newer than the 4th-gen processors found in several other machines on this list. It boosts up to 4.0GHz and handles demanding productivity tasks, video conferencing, light video editing, and serious multitasking without complaint. The 32GB RAM means you can have dozens of browser tabs open, run virtual machines, or work with large spreadsheets without any slowdown.
The 1TB SSD is a proper quality-of-life upgrade over the smaller drives in cheaper options. You're not going to run out of space doing normal things. Windows 11 Pro is pre-installed, and the USB WiFi adapter means you're not tied to an ethernet cable, though a wired connection will always be faster and more stable for heavy use.
For anyone looking at the best desktops under £300 for serious work use, this is the one to beat. The build quality of the OptiPlex platform is genuinely excellent, and the specs here are hard to match at this price point. The main caveat is that the 6th-gen i7, while capable, is still an older chip, and you won't be doing any GPU-intensive work without adding a graphics card.
Pros
- 32GB RAM is exceptional at this price
- 1TB SSD gives plenty of storage headroom
- 6th-gen i7 is the newest CPU in this roundup
- Commercial-grade Dell build quality
- Windows 11 Pro included
Cons
- No dedicated GPU for graphics work or gaming
- USB WiFi adapter is less ideal than built-in WiFi
- Approaching the top of the £300 budget
Buy on Amazon£252.96
Best Under £100
£147.00 | ★★★★☆ (4.2)
The OptiPlex 7020 sits in an interesting spot. It's priced well below the mid-point of our best desktops under £300 roundup, yet it packs 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. That's a genuinely useful amount of storage, and 16GB RAM means this machine handles multitasking properly rather than just about managing it.
The processor is an Intel Core i7-4770, which is a 4th-generation chip. It's older than the i7-6700 in the Dell FAST model above, and you'll notice the difference in more demanding tasks. But for the vast majority of everyday use, web browsing, office applications, video calls, and media playback, it's more than adequate. The 7020 chassis is a proper commercial Dell unit, so build quality is solid.
Windows 11 Pro is included, which is good to see. The 300Mbps USB WiFi adapter handles wireless connectivity, though as with the other OptiPlex units, a wired connection is preferable if your setup allows it. The small form factor means it's easy to position on or under a desk.
Where this sits in the best desktops under £300 conversation is as a sensible middle ground. You get more storage than the cheapest option, more RAM than you'd expect, and a machine that will genuinely last several more years of everyday use. It's not the most exciting pick, but it's a reliable one.
Pros
- 16GB RAM handles multitasking well
- 512GB SSD is a comfortable amount of storage
- Good price-to-spec ratio
- Solid Dell commercial build quality
- Windows 11 Pro pre-installed
Cons
- i7-4770 is older than alternatives at similar prices
- No dedicated graphics
- USB WiFi rather than integrated
Buy on Amazon£147.00
Best for Beginners
£229.00 | ★★★★☆ (4.2)
If you're setting up a PC from scratch and don't have a monitor, this bundle makes a lot of sense. You get a capable refurbished OptiPlex desktop plus a 23-inch monitor for £200, which is genuinely competitive when you price up the components separately. For beginners especially, the appeal of a complete setup that just works is real.
The specs are solid for the price. A 4th-gen Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, and a 500GB SSD cover the basics well. You'll handle everyday computing tasks without frustration. The 23-inch monitor is a decent size for home use, though the listing doesn't specify the panel type or resolution, so manage expectations accordingly. It's unlikely to be an IPS display with great colour accuracy, but for general use it'll be fine.
Windows 11 Pro is included, so you're not stuck with an unsupported OS or a Home licence. The USB WiFi adapter handles wireless connectivity. As a complete beginner setup in the best desktops under £300 space, this is one of the most practical options available. You plug it in, turn it on, and you're ready to go.
The main consideration is that you're paying a premium for the monitor bundle. If you already have a screen, the Dell FAST i7-6700 above gives you better specs for a similar or lower price. But for a first-time buyer or someone replacing an entire setup, this bundle is genuinely convenient.
Pros
- Complete setup including 23-inch monitor
- 16GB RAM and 500GB SSD are solid specs
- Windows 11 Pro included
- Great plug-in-and-go option for beginners
- Good overall value as a bundle
Cons
- Monitor specs not fully detailed in listing
- 4th-gen i7 is older than the 6th-gen option above
- Poor value if you already own a monitor
Buy on Amazon£229.00
Best Under £50
£279.00 | ★★★★☆ (4.1)
The Veno Scorp bundle with a 21.5-inch monitor looks attractive on paper. A 1TB NVMe SSD is genuinely fast storage, and 16GB RAM is plenty for everyday use. The bundled monitor adds convenience for buyers who need a complete setup. So far, so good.
But here's where we need to be honest. The processor is an Intel Core i5-2400. That's a 2nd-generation Sandy Bridge chip from around 2011. It's not just old, it's very old. For basic tasks like browsing and word processing it'll manage, but you'll feel the age of this chip compared to the 4th and 6th-gen options elsewhere in this roundup. Anything more demanding will expose its limitations quickly.
The NVMe SSD does help mask some of that CPU slowness in day-to-day use. Boot times are fast, and applications open quickly. But the processor is the bottleneck, and no amount of fast storage changes that. At £249, you're paying a fair amount for the monitor bundle, but the underlying PC hardware is weaker than cheaper options in this best desktops under £300 comparison.
If you genuinely need a monitor included and the Dell bundle above is out of stock or over budget, this is a reasonable fallback. Otherwise, the money is better spent elsewhere in this list.
Pros
- 1TB NVMe SSD is fast and spacious
- 16GB RAM handles multitasking
- Monitor included in the bundle
- Windows 11 included
Cons
- i5-2400 is a very old processor
- Weaker CPU than cheaper options in this roundup
- Premium price for the bundle doesn't fully justify the specs
Buy on Amazon£279.00
Best for Gaming
£289.00 | ★★★☆☆ (3.0)
This is the only machine in our best desktops under £300 roundup with a dedicated graphics card. The GTX 750 4GB is a very old GPU, but it's still a dedicated card, which means it can handle games that integrated graphics simply can't. Older titles, indie games, and less demanding esports games will run on this. Don't expect to play modern AAA games at decent settings though. The GTX 750 is genuinely ancient by current standards, as TechPowerUp's GPU database confirms.
The ARGB gaming case looks the part, which will matter to some buyers. It's a proper tower rather than a small form factor unit, giving more room for airflow and potential future upgrades. The 22-inch monitor is bundled in, which is useful.
The storage situation is a problem though. A 120GB SSD as your primary drive is not enough in 2026. The 500GB HDD helps with bulk storage, but it's slow. You'll want to install Windows and your most-used applications on the SSD, and everything else on the HDD. It works, but it's not ideal. The i5 processor isn't specified by generation in the listing, which is a bit dodgy and worth querying before buying.
At £289, this is close to the top of the best desktops under £300 budget. For light gaming with a monitor included, it's the only real option here. But go in with realistic expectations about what the GTX 750 can actually do in 2026.
Pros
- Only machine in this roundup with a dedicated GPU
- 22-inch monitor included
- ARGB case looks good
- 16GB RAM is solid
- Windows 11 included
Cons
- GTX 750 is a very old graphics card
- 120GB SSD is too small as a primary drive
- Processor generation not clearly specified
- Near the top of the £300 budget
Buy on Amazon
Best for Beginners (Niche Use Only)
£199.99 | No rating
We'll be straight with you. The Lenovo Q190 is very difficult to recommend in 2026, and we've placed it last for good reason. The headline problem is the operating system. Windows 8.1 reached end of life in January 2023. Microsoft no longer provides security updates for it. Running an unsupported OS on a machine connected to the internet is a genuine security risk, not just a minor inconvenience.
Beyond the OS issue, the specs are weak even by budget standards. The Intel Celeron 1017U runs at 1.60GHz and is a dual-core chip with no hyperthreading. It's slow. 4GB of RAM is the bare minimum for Windows 10, let alone anything more demanding, and this machine doesn't even run Windows 10. The 500GB HDD is a spinning hard drive, which means slow boot times and sluggish application loading compared to any SSD-equipped machine.
The Q190 is a compact, quiet little machine, and it does have built-in WiFi, which is a plus. In a very specific scenario, such as a dedicated offline media player or a kiosk-style device that never touches the internet, it might have a use. But as a general-purpose desktop in the best desktops under £300 category? There are far better options at lower prices.
At this price, you're paying more than the top-ranked i5 OptiPlex for a machine that's objectively worse in almost every measurable way. That's a hard sell.
Pros
- Compact and quiet form factor
- Built-in WiFi (not a USB adapter)
- 500GB HDD gives reasonable storage capacity
Cons
- Windows 8.1 is unsupported and a security risk
- Celeron 1017U is very slow by modern standards
- 4GB RAM is insufficient for modern use
- Spinning HDD means slow performance
- Overpriced relative to better alternatives in this roundup
Buy on Amazon£199.99
