If there’s one thing we’re learning about the future of the personal computer industry right now, it’s that good things really do come in small packages. Among the ever-expanding range of laptops for sale by the world’s leading brands, Chromebooks running Google’s Chrome OS have proved to be a surprise hit. And while the same dizzy heights haven’t quite been reached by Chromebox desktop PCs as of yet, manufacturers see it as only a matter of time until small becomes the new big, in terms of size and price alike.

One of the latest examples to join the pack is the new Dell Inspiron Micro Desktop, which looks set to face-off against not only a larger Chromebox range than ever before, but also the popular HP Pavilion Mini Desktop. They’re both gunning for the same crowd and while it’s fair to say that the new Dell Micro isn’t quite as powerful as its HP rival, it’s considerably less expensive.

Built around Windows 8.1, the HP Pavilion Mini is available with Core i3 or Pentium processors from Intel, but those buying the Inspiron Micro are limited to Pentium and Celeron chips. In addition, there’s 2GB of RAM to play with in the Inspiron Micro, while the HP combatant packs 4GB. There’s also much to be said for the 500GB or 1TB storage space you get with the HP unit, which towers over the 32GB SSD that comes with the Dell.

Other than this however, the two are nigh-on identical in terms of features, conveniences and connectivity, so what’s the appeal of the Dell hybrid if the HP packs a bigger punch?

Simple really – it’s an incredible bargain.

The cheapest Pavilion Mini Desktop you can pick up starts from just under $320, but the Inspiron Micro Desktop has been listed from as little as $180. This is of course a massive difference considering the fact that these are the kinds of PCs folk tend to buy to tick a few basic boxes, or as second computers to back up a laptop. Bump it up to $380 and you can get the Inspiron Micro Desktop with a 23-inch HD monitor, keyboard and mouse to boot – a pretty impressive bargain whichever way you look at it.