The best mini PCs are small and quiet, yet give you power for everything from web browsing to gaming in pint-sized cases that are way more convenient than a clunky PC tower. With compact designs that range from smaller desktops to stick PCs that can be slipped in a pocket, mini PCs leverage the small, energy-efficient components from laptops to give you a surprising amount of power in a size that can be hidden behind a monitor. And with mini PCs made for everything from media streaming to gaming and VR, there’s a stick PC or mini desktop for just about everyone.
We’ve found the best mini PCs for everything from home entertainment to gaming and professional workstations. Every review involves extensive testing and hands-on evaluation, so we can tell you exactly what the best systems are. For every mini PC on this list, we’ve put it through its paces, and have found the top models you can get today.
The best mini PC overall is the Apple Mac mini, the late 2020 version of Apple’s compact desktop computer. As one of the first Macs outfitted with Apple’s M1 processor, it offers a lot of power at a more affordable price than ever before.
