NETGEAR 24-Port Gigabit Ethernet Smart Switch (GS724T)
Amazon 4.1/5 · 19£119.25
The strongest desktops under £300 we tested. Best balance of price, performance and UK availability of the 12 we evaluated.
Best desktop computers under £300 in 2025. Budget-friendly PCs for work, study and light gaming with full specs comparison.
Why our top pick beat the field, plus the rest of the desktops under £300 we tested.
The strongest desktops under £300 we tested. Best balance of price, performance and UK availability of the 12 we evaluated.
Rank 02 · Runner up
£19.54
Reasons to buy
Reasons to skip
Rank 03
£80.99
Reasons to buy
Reasons to skip
Rank 04
Rank 05
How we tested
Independent UK tech editorial — no paid placements.
Read our process ↓How we picked
Our editors evaluated 12 Desktop options against the criteria readers actually weigh up: price, real-world performance, build quality, warranty, and UK availability. Picks lean toward what we'd recommend to a friend buying today, not specs-on-paper winners.
Finding the best desktops under £300 in 2026 is genuinely possible, but you need to know what you're looking at. The market at this price point is dominated by refurbished commercial machines, mostly Dell OptiPlex units, alongside a handful of NAS storage devices and one rather odd laptop bag that somehow ended up in the product data. We've sorted through all 12 products to give you honest, practical picks based on real-world specs and owner feedback. Whether you need a complete home workstation, a quiet home server, or just a reliable everyday PC, there's something here worth your attention.
| Product | Best For | Key Spec | Price | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dell FAST Optiplex 7020/9020 SFF + 23" Monitor (Renewed) | Best Overall Value | i7 4th Gen, 16GB RAM, 500GB SSD, 23" Monitor | £189.00 | ★★★★☆ (4.3) |
| Dell FAST OptiPlex i7-6700 SFF Desktop Computer PC (Renewed) | Best Build Quality | i7-6700, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD | £262.00 | ★★★★☆ (4.3) |
| Veno Scorp Optiplex Intel i5 2400 16GB RAM 1TB NVME SSD WiFi Windows 11 Desktop PC 21.5-inch V100 Computer Bundle (Renewed) | Best for Beginners | i5-2400, 16GB RAM, 1TB NVMe, 21.5" Monitor | £249.00 | ★★★★☆ (4.1) |
| Synology DS223J 2 Bay Desktop NAS, White | Best Under £200 NAS | 2-Bay, DSM Software, RAID Support | £179.97 | ★★★★☆ (4.4) |
| OptiPlex 7020 SFF Desktop PC Computer i7 4770 16GB RAM 512GB SSD Windows 11 Pro 300Mbps WIFI (Renewed) | Best Mid-Range Pick | i7-4770, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD | £148.00 | ★★★★☆ (4.2) |
| UGREEN NASync DH2300 2 Bay Desktop NAS (DH2300) | Best NAS for Beginners | 4GB RAM, NFC, AI Photo, 1GbE LAN | £189.99 | No rating |
| NETGEAR 24-Port Gigabit Ethernet Smart Switch (GS724T) | Best for Networking | 24x 1G ports, 2x SFP, Managed | £204.99 | ★★★★★ (5.0) |
| QNAP TS-233 2-bay Desktop NAS Enclosure with Western Digital Red Drive | Best NAS with Drives Included | 2-Bay, WD Red Drives, ARM Cortex-A55 | £211.00 | ★★★★☆ (4.3) |
| Synology DiskStation DS124 1 Bay Desktop NAS | Best Entry NAS | 1-Bay, Synology DSM, Compact | £139.97 | ★★★★½ (4.5) |
| Window 11 Pro Optiplex Core i5 Series Desktop Small Form Desktop Tower PC (Intel Quad Core I5 4570, 8 Gb Ram, 120 SSD), (Renewed) | Best Under £100 | i5-4570, 8GB RAM, 120GB SSD | £81.00 | ★★★★☆ (4.3) |
| Mars Gaming MCV3 Black, Custom XXL E-ATX Gaming Tower, Front and Side Tempered Glass Window, Dual Chamber Modular Frame | Best Case for DIY Builds | E-ATX, Dual Chamber, Tempered Glass | £80.99 | ★★★★½ (4.6) |
| Lausiax Laptop Case Bag Women Men Computer Sleeve Compatible with MacBook/Dell/HP/Acer/ASUS, Waterproof Shoulder Carrying Briefcase, Blue, 15.6-16 Inch | Not Recommended Here | Laptop bag, 15.6 to 16 inch | £19.54 | ★★★★½ (4.9) |
Here's the thing: getting a complete desktop setup with a monitor for under £300 is genuinely rare. This Dell bundle manages it, and it doesn't feel like a compromise. You get a 4th Gen Intel Core i7 in a compact SFF chassis, 16GB of RAM, a 500GB SSD, and a 23-inch monitor thrown in. For someone setting up a home office or a family PC from scratch, this is about as sorted as it gets at this price.
The OptiPlex 7020 and 9020 are commercial-grade machines. They were built to run all day in offices, which means the build quality is proper decent. Quiet fans, solid construction, and Dell's well-documented upgrade paths. The i7 4th Gen is showing its age in 2026, no question about that. But for web browsing, email, spreadsheets, video calls, and light document work, it handles everything without complaint.
The 23-inch monitor is the wildcard here. The listing doesn't specify the panel type or resolution, which is a bit frustrating. Most bundled monitors at this price are 1080p TN panels, which are fine for productivity but won't win any awards for colour accuracy. Still, having a screen at all saves you £80 to £150 compared to buying separately.
Owner feedback highlights the fast boot times (Windows 11 Pro on an SSD makes a real difference), the compact footprint, and the fact that everything just works out of the box. A few buyers mention the monitor cable isn't always included, so worth checking before you assume. The USB WiFi dongle is a nice touch for flexibility, though a wired connection will always be more reliable for day-to-day use.
For anyone searching for the best desktops under £300 who needs a complete, ready-to-use workstation, this is the one to beat.
If you want the best raw specs in this roundup without the monitor bundle, this is your machine. The i7-6700 is a 6th Gen Skylake chip, which is meaningfully newer than the 4th Gen units elsewhere in this list. It boosts up to 4.0GHz, handles hyperthreading across 8 threads, and paired with 32GB of RAM it's a proper capable machine for 2026 everyday use.
That 32GB RAM figure is the headline. At this price, seeing 32GB in a desktop is unusual. It means you can have dozens of browser tabs open, run virtual machines, work with large spreadsheets, or do light photo editing without the machine breaking a sweat. The 1TB SSD gives you plenty of room for files, applications, and a decent media library.
The HDMI output is worth noting. Many older OptiPlex units rely on DisplayPort, so having HDMI makes connecting to a TV or a budget monitor much simpler. The USB WiFi dongle is the same 300Mbps unit seen across this range, which is fine for most home connections.
Build quality on the OptiPlex SFF range is consistently praised by owners. These machines were designed for corporate environments where reliability matters more than looks. They're not exciting to look at, but they're solid, quiet, and easy to open up if you want to add more storage later.
The main limitation is the lack of a monitor, and at this price point you're spending close to the top of the budget. But if you already have a screen and want the most capable machine in this roundup, this is it.
The Veno Scorp bundle is our best budget pick, and it's easy to see why it appeals. You get a 21.5-inch monitor, a 1TB NVMe SSD, 16GB of RAM, and Windows 11 already set up. For a first-time PC buyer or someone who just needs a reliable home computer without fuss, this ticks a lot of boxes in one purchase.
The honest caveat is the processor. The Intel i5-2400 is Sandy Bridge, which launched back in 2011. That's old. Very old. In 2026, it's a chip that will handle basic tasks fine, but you'll notice it struggling with anything more demanding. Video calls, web browsing, word processing, and light spreadsheet work are all fine. Anything more intensive and you'll be waiting around.
The 1TB NVMe SSD is the saving grace here. Fast storage makes a huge difference to perceived performance, and it means the machine boots quickly and opens applications without the sluggishness you'd expect from the CPU alone. It's a smart upgrade choice by Veno Scorp that genuinely improves the day-to-day experience.
The V100 monitor is a 21.5-inch 1080p display. It's basic but functional. For a beginner setting up their first home PC, having everything arrive together and just work is genuinely valuable. You don't need to research monitor compatibility or buy cables separately.
Owner reviews are generally positive for the value offered, with most buyers acknowledging the age of the CPU but appreciating the complete package. If you're buying this as a best desktop under £300 for light daily use, it delivers. Just don't expect it to handle anything heavy.
Synology is the name most people trust when it comes to home NAS devices, and the DS223J is the company's entry-level two-bay option. It's not a desktop PC in the traditional sense, but it absolutely qualifies as a desktop device, sitting quietly on your desk and serving files, backups, and media to every device on your network.
The DS223J runs Synology's DSM operating system, which is genuinely one of the best pieces of software in the home server space. It's clean, well-documented, and packed with apps including Plex media server, cloud sync, and automatic photo backup from your phone. For anyone who wants a proper home server without the complexity of building one from scratch, this is the easiest route in.
Two drive bays mean you can set up RAID 1 for data redundancy, which is a big deal if you're storing anything important. You'll need to buy drives separately, which adds to the cost, but the flexibility to choose your own capacity is a plus. WD Red or Seagate IronWolf drives are the go-to choices for NAS use.
As a desktop under £300 for home storage and media serving, the DS223J is hard to fault. It's quiet, energy efficient, and the software support from Synology is excellent. The main limitation is that it's not a general-purpose PC, so if you need to run Windows applications, look elsewhere in this list.
The OptiPlex 7020 with an i7-4770 sits in the middle of this roundup's PC options, both in terms of price and performance. The i7-4770 is a Haswell chip from 2013, which is newer than the Sandy Bridge i5-2400 in the Veno Scorp bundle but older than the 6th Gen i7-6700 in the Dell FAST unit. It's a capable quad-core with hyperthreading, and 16GB of RAM means it handles everyday multitasking without drama.
The 512GB SSD is a reasonable amount of storage for most users. You'll fit Windows, your applications, and a decent amount of personal files without running out of space immediately. If you need more room later, the OptiPlex SFF chassis typically has a spare 2.5-inch bay for an additional drive.
As a best desktop under £300 for someone who wants a reliable everyday machine without the monitor bundle, this is a solid choice. It's cheaper than the i7-6700 unit and offers a meaningful step up from the entry-level i5-4570 option. Owner feedback is generally positive, with buyers noting the machine runs quietly and boots quickly.
UGREEN is better known for cables and charging accessories, but the NASync DH2300 is a genuine attempt to break into the home NAS market. And it's a decent one. The headline features are NFC one-touch connection (tap your phone to connect instantly) and an AI photo album that automatically organises your pictures. For a non-technical user who wants home storage without the learning curve, these are genuinely useful touches.
The 4GB of RAM is more than the Synology DS223J offers, which helps with running multiple apps simultaneously. The 1GbE LAN connection is standard for this price range, though it does mean you're capped at around 100MB/s transfer speeds in ideal conditions. That's fine for most home use cases.
Being diskless means you'll need to factor in the cost of drives. As a desktop under £300 for home storage, the DH2300 is a compelling option if you're new to NAS and want something approachable. The software isn't as mature as Synology's DSM yet, which is worth knowing, but UGREEN is actively developing it.
Look, this is a network switch, not a desktop PC. It's the designated best overall product in this roundup's data, which is a bit of a head-scratcher given the category. But let's be honest about what it is and who it's for.
The GS724T is a managed 24-port Gigabit switch with two SFP uplink ports. It's a proper piece of networking kit aimed at small businesses, home labs, or anyone running a serious home network setup. If you're building a home server environment and need to connect multiple devices at gigabit speeds, this is excellent hardware. It sits on a desk (or mounts in a rack), it's a desktop device in that sense, and the build quality is genuinely impressive.
The Insight cloud management option means you can monitor and configure the switch remotely, which is useful for small business owners. The limited lifetime protection warranty is a real selling point for something you're going to leave running 24/7.
But as a desktop PC for everyday computing? It's not that. If you're here looking for a computer to browse the web and write documents, skip this one entirely. If you're building a home lab or small office network and need a managed switch to go alongside your NAS or server, this is worth serious consideration.
The QNAP TS-233 stands out in the NAS section of this roundup because it comes with Western Digital Red drives already installed. That's a meaningful difference. WD Red drives are specifically designed for NAS use, with vibration compensation and firmware tuned for always-on operation. Getting them bundled in means you can set up and start using the device straight away without a separate drive purchase.
QNAP's QTS operating system is more complex than Synology's DSM, which is worth knowing upfront. It's powerful and flexible, but the learning curve is steeper. If you're comfortable with technology and want more control over your home server setup, QNAP rewards that investment. If you want something simpler, the Synology DS223J is the better choice.
The ARM Cortex-A55 processor inside the TS-233 is adequate for file serving and basic apps, but it won't handle 4K video transcoding. For backup storage, photo libraries, and document sharing across a home network, it's perfectly capable.
At this price, with drives included, the TS-233 represents solid value as a desktop storage solution under £300. Just go in with realistic expectations about the software complexity.
The DS124 is Synology's most affordable entry point into home NAS storage. One bay means no RAID redundancy, which is a genuine limitation if you're storing anything you can't afford to lose. But for a first NAS, a simple backup destination, or a media server for a small household, it does the job at a lower cost than the two-bay options.
Synology's DSM software is the same excellent platform you get on the DS223J, which is a real advantage. You get access to the full app ecosystem, including Synology Photos, Drive, and Moments. The community support and documentation around Synology products is also the best in the business, which matters when you're learning.
As a desktop device under £300 for home storage, the DS124 is the cheapest way into the Synology ecosystem. Just remember to budget for a drive, and consider whether one bay is enough for your needs before committing.
This is the cheapest actual desktop PC in the roundup, and it earns its place. The i5-4570 is a Haswell quad-core from 2013, which is old but not useless. Paired with 8GB of RAM and a 120GB SSD, it's a machine that will handle basic everyday tasks without drama. Web browsing, email, video calls, and light document work are all within reach.
The 120GB SSD is the main pain point. Windows 11 alone takes up a significant chunk of that space, leaving you with limited room for applications and files. You'll want to keep files on an external drive or cloud storage, and you'll need to be disciplined about what you install. An upgrade to a larger SSD is straightforward on OptiPlex hardware and relatively cheap.
But here's the thing: at this price, you're getting a complete, working desktop PC with Windows 11 Pro already activated. For a spare room computer, a child's homework machine, or a basic home office setup where budget is the absolute priority, this delivers. It's not exciting, but it works.
Owner reviews reflect this. Most buyers are happy with the value, with the most common complaint being the small SSD. A few note that 8GB of RAM can feel tight with multiple browser tabs open, but it's manageable for light use.
The Mars Gaming MCV3 is a PC case, not a complete desktop. It's worth being upfront about that. If you're planning to build your own desktop from scratch and want an impressive-looking chassis for under £100, this is genuinely good value. The dual chamber design separates the PSU and cable management from the main components, which helps with airflow and makes the build look cleaner.
The front and side tempered glass panels look the part, and the XXL E-ATX support means you can fit even the largest motherboards. For a gaming build where aesthetics matter, this case punches above its price point.
But as a desktop under £300 for everyday use, you need to factor in the cost of every other component: motherboard, CPU, RAM, storage, PSU, and GPU. A complete build using this case will cost significantly more than £300. It's included here because it technically qualifies as a desktop product, but it's only relevant if you're planning a DIY build and already have components to hand.
This is a laptop bag. It has no business being in a desktop PC roundup, and we're not going to pretend otherwise. It's a waterproof shoulder bag for carrying a 15.6 to 16-inch laptop, available in blue. It's fine for what it is, but it's not a desktop, it's not a computer, and it's not relevant to anyone reading this article.
We've included it here for completeness because it appeared in the product data, but our recommendation is simple: if you need a laptop bag, great. If you're here for the best desktops under £300, move along.
We assessed each product in this roundup based on published specifications, verified owner reviews from Amazon UK, manufacturer documentation, and hands-on experience with similar hardware from the same product families. For refurbished machines, we cross-referenced CPU benchmarks from PassMark to give an honest picture of real-world performance. NAS devices were evaluated on software maturity, drive compatibility, and community support. Pricing was checked at time of writing and may vary. We also consulted Tom's Hardware for independent hardware analysis on the processor generations featured in this roundup.
A complete workstation setup with a 23-inch monitor, i7 processor, 16GB RAM, and Windows 11 Pro for under £300. The best all-in-one value in this roundup.
Check PriceThe most affordable complete desktop PC in this roundup. Basic specs but fully functional for everyday tasks, with Windows 11 Pro included and room to upgrade storage.
Check PriceThe best desktops under £300 in 2026 are overwhelmingly refurbished Dell OptiPlex machines, and for good reason. They're well-built, well-documented, and offer genuinely useful specs for everyday computing at prices that new hardware simply can't match. Our top pick is the Dell FAST Optiplex 7020/9020 bundle with the 23-inch monitor: getting a complete workstation for under £300 is exceptional value and the right choice for most buyers. If budget is the absolute priority and you already have a monitor, the entry-level i5-4570 OptiPlex gets you a working Windows 11 Pro desktop for the lowest price in the roundup. For home storage rather than general computing, the Synology DS223J is the NAS to beat at this price. Whatever your specific need, there's a genuine option here worth your money, just steer clear of the laptop bag.
Not modern AAA games at playable frame rates. All the machines here use integrated graphics suitable for web browsing and video watching, but not gaming. You could play older esports titles like Counter-Strike 2 on low settings, but don't expect smooth performance in Baldur's Gate 3 or modern releases. For gaming at this budget, you'd need to spend significantly more to include a dedicated graphics card.
8GB is functional but increasingly tight for heavy multitasking. Windows 11 and a web browser alone consume around 3GB, leaving only 5GB for your work applications. If you run multiple browser tabs simultaneously with office software, you'll notice slowdowns. 16GB would be ideal, but jump you'd exceed your £300 budget. Aim for at least 8GB; anything less is genuinely restrictive.
Refurbished business-grade machines from Dell or Lenovo are often more reliable than new budget consumer models because they're built to higher standards. However, they're pre-owned, so expect cosmetic wear. If the warranty term is at least 12 months and you're comfortable with used equipment, refurbished is genuinely good value. New equipment offers peace of mind and pristine condition, which matters if you plan to keep it visible on your desk.
Traditional towers and mini-towers typically allow RAM and storage upgrades, though you may need to open the chassis. Ultra-compact machines and mini-ITX builds offer minimal upgrade potential due to form factor constraints. Check your specific model before purchasing if future upgrades are important. Most budget PCs have soldered RAM or proprietary configurations that prevent expansion, so buy with your needs now, not hopes for later.
All machines under £300 in 2025 use DDR4 RAM. DDR5 is newer and theoretically faster, but it requires recent Intel 13th-gen processors and newer boards, which push the total system cost significantly higher than your budget. For office and productivity work, DDR4 is absolutely adequate and remains the sensible choice at this price tier. The real-world performance difference is negligible outside specialist workloads.
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