Back to school on a budget: Our top 5 mini PCs under $600 for work and study

We've tested over 100 mini PCs, and with back-to-school season now in swing, I've spotted plenty of deals under $600 on these compact machines that are pitch-perfect for dorm rooms and home offices, providing the performance needed for studying and working.

So, I've rounded up some of my favorite mini PC deals, including the excellent Geekom A6 for $549 (was $649) , and the recently reviewed Beelink EQi Wild Cat, now $469 (was $549) , both scored 4.5 stars in our review, and both are discounted at Amazon.

Whether you need an inexpensive computer for homework and browsing or something more powerful for more demanding workloads and creative projects, these are the top mini PCs you can get for less than $600 right now.

Top mini PC deals under $600 A6 mini PC: was $649 now $549 The A6 packs a Ryzen 7 6800H, Radeon 680M graphics, 16GB DDR5 RAM, a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, USB4, 2.5GbE, Wi-Fi 6E, and support for four 4K displays.

Read our full 4.5-star review View Deal EQi mini PC: was $549 now $469 The EQi packs an Intel Wildcat Lake 304 processor, 16GB LPDDR5 RAM, 500GB UFS 3.1 storage, Thunderbolt 4, Wi-Fi 6E, 2.5GbE, and support for three 4K displays.

Read our full 4.5-star review View Deal M5 Ultra Mini PC: was $499.99 now $449.99 The GMKtec M5 Ultra packs a Ryzen 7 7730U, 16GB RAM, a 512GB SSD, Radeon graphics, dual 2.5GbE LAN, Wi-Fi 6E, and support for three 8K displays.

Read our 4-star review View Deal Deskmini UM760 Slim mini PC: $535.9 DeskMini UM760 Slim packs a Ryzen 5 7640HS, Radeon 760M graphics, 16GB DDR5 RAM, a 512GB PCIe 4.0 SSD, USB4, 2.5GbE, Wi-Fi 6E, and triple-display support.

View Deal A5 Mini PC: was $549 now $448.99 Geekom A5 packs a Ryzen 5 7430U, 16GB upgradable RAM, a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, six USB ports, an SD card slot, 8K output, and a three-year warranty.

Read our 4-star review View Deal Why we recommend these mini PCs for work and study These five hand-picked mini PCs cover a surprisingly broad range of needs, from an inexpensive back-to-school computer to something capable of handling more demanding creative work.

The Geekom A6 is one of the strongest all-rounders, combining a Ryzen 7 6800H with Radeon 680M graphics, USB4 and support for four 4K displays.

Its upgradable memory and storage also give it plenty of room to grow.

In his four-and-a-half-star review , our expert Alastair said it: "packs in an impressive amount of power, which is more than enough to handle MS Office and light use of Adobe Creative Suite Apps." The Minisforum UM760 Slim is similarly capable, with a newer Ryzen 5 7640HS and Radeon 760M graphics making it a good option for productivity, creative work and some lighter gaming.