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That amounts to the same power you'd get from something like an ultrabook or a comparable business laptop for about half the price (though you do need to provide a monitor, keyboard, and mouse). Every NUC has four USB ports, a Thunderbolt 3 port, a microSD port, and an HDMI port. But for people who want a prebuilt PC with Windows 10 already installed, we recommend the model with a quad-core Intel Core i5-8259U processor, 8 GB of RAM, and a 256 GB solid-state drive. Intel offers a few different NUC configurations, many of which don't come with memory, storage, or an OS. The Intel NUC8i5BEKPA1 is the best because it strikes a balance of cost, processing power, and compact design. They're powerful enough for most people and take up much less space than a full-sized desktop computer. If you're shopping for a desktop computer rather than a laptop because you prefer to work at a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, consider a mini PC. Read the full mini desktop PCs guide here. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commission.
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This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter.
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