Missed a cart during the big sale? You still have a shot. Retailers are maintaining a number of desktop discounts into the extended Memorial Day sale across Acer, Alienware, Apple and HP with some decent price reductions on gaming towers, small form factor mini PCs and family friendly all-in-ones. And for shoppers trying to decide on an upgrade before Windows 10’s end of support, these last offers can be the sweet spot where customer urgency and sellers’ desire meet.
Why post-prime discounts linger for desktop PCs
After big moments, retailers usually broaden markdowns to clear inventory and price-test demand. Industry analysts, including both IDC and Gartner, have said that the PC market remains on an upswing after returning to gains based on replacement cycles (as old PCs are finally swapped out) and hardware that’s capable of running artificial intelligence (AI), while Microsoft’s imminent support sunset for Windows 10 has been urging fence-sitting customers into new machines. The result is a short “overhang” window in which prices often remain 10 to 25 percent lower than their pre-sale levels, particularly on popular configurations ordered in bulk.
Acer and Alienware gaming towers that stand out
And if you’re aiming for 1440p or high-refresh 1080p play, Acer and Alienware’s prebuilts are still the easiest way to plug-and-play performance. Acer’s Predator and Nitro families often supply midrange GPUs coupled with cases that offer good airflow or front mesh panels and lots of USB ports. You’ll want to find at least a Ryzen 7 or newer Intel Core processor, perhaps RTX 4070-class and up GPUs from the current generation or whatever else has similar throughput, 16GB+ of DDR5 memory, a 1TB NVMe SSD for current AAA installs.
Alienware’s Aurora line, the R16 and later generations in particular, is all about low noise and cleaner thermals compared to its predecessors. A solid gaming sweet spot is instead a current-gen Intel Core Ultra or Core i7-class CPU, an RTX 4070/4070 Ti or equivalent video card, and if you multitask alongside streaming or creative apps, 32GB of memory. Look at power supply headroom (750 watts or more for a higher-tier card), and make sure there’s a second M.2 slot available to expand your storage space — both will serve you better than cool RGB lighting.
Pro tip: If a discount model is cut-rate on memory or storage but comes with the right CPU and GPU, buy it anyway. RAM and SSDs should be user-upgradeable on most towers, and it’s often more affordable to upgrade yourself than to pay the OEM premium up front.
Apple and HP options for work and family use
macOS users, Apple’s small desktop computer is still a good value. The newest Mac mini with Apple silicon offers great single-core speed and an efficient design for productivity and lightweight creative work, in a silent chassis that fits basically anywhere. If you’re a content creator and like to juggle large media libraries, go for more unified memory and higher internal storage; an external Thunderbolt SSD can be a sensible supplement if you start off smaller to save moolah.
HP’s desktops range from budget towers to gaming rigs and all-in-ones. For office and school, shop 12th- or 13th-gen Intel Core i5 (or the current generation of Intel Core Ultra) processors and at least 16GB RAM to comfortably keep up with multitasking like browsers filled with dozens of tabs, video calls, and a collection of people working in a spreadsheet. Students and hybrid workers need to check for Wi‑Fi 6/6E support, as well as plenty of front I/O for headsets and flash drives, plus a tool-less chassis if access to components is important.
If gaming’s a part of the plan, HP’s Omen towers are easily recommendable when priced right. You’re going to want a midrange GPU, dual-channel DDR5 and a case with at least two intake fans first on your list of priorities. HP’s warranty and wide proliferation of parts are other pluses for long-term ownership.
Mini PCs and family all-in-ones worth considering
Mini PCs have spiked in popularity thanks to efficient chips and improved thermals. Intel’s N100 and the like in watt-constrained CPUs are fine for web, docs, and streaming; compact boxes featuring Ryzen 7000-series mobile silicon or upper-tier Intel parts can also tackle light photo/movie editing and casual gaming with a suitable iGPU or Thunderbolt eGPU config. Look for dual M.2 slots for expansion, dual HDMI/DisplayPort or USB-C display output, and quiet cooling profiles.
All-in-ones are still a neat option for families: you can use one power cord, they come with integrated webcams and screens that are big enough to do homework on or watch streaming video on. Those 24-inch models from Lenovo, HP, and Apple still stand out. Consider panel brightness (250 nits or better for rooms that have natural light), storage capacity (512GB is a more solid cornerstone for families) and, at least, 16GB of RAM to keep the multitasking moving smoothly. As usual, double-check to see if the RAM and drive are upgradable — an option on few AIOs.
How to quickly vet a post-prime desktop PC deal
Check the ingredients and not just the brand.
If there’s a familiar chassis here, remember that very different CPUs and GPUs can be installed inside, so pay attention to the exact processor, graphics, RAM (amount and speed) and SSD being offered, line by line. Now, contrast that with their use cases; competitive 1080p esports gaming, 1440p story-driven gaming, 4K video editing and office tasks — they all have different floors in terms of performance.
Scan price histories if you can, compare two or three retailers for the same SKU, and account for returns and warranty. A somewhat higher ticket at a store with a 30-day return window and easy exchange options might be better than a rock-bottom price with limiting policies. Also look for Wi‑Fi 6E/7, Bluetooth 5.x, front-panel USB-C and at least one spare M.2 slot — little things that help avoid early upgrade frustration.
Will prices drop again before Black Friday sales
History indicates that the largest additional declines come in short, product-specific bursts rather than uniformly across product lines. With replacement demand expected to be constant, and channel inventory normalization still in process, these post-event prices may not be too far off from late year promotions on mainstream builds. If the machine in your cart is configured the way you need it today, it’s fair to take action — especially if there’s a solid return policy as a backstop.
Bottom line: there’s still money on the table. Whether you’re after an Acer or Alienware tower for high-refresh gaming, an Apple mini for focused productivity or an HP system the whole family can use, these are the best buys that partner real savings with key components under the hood.
