A ton of Cyber Week gaming laptop deals followed in the wake of Black Friday weekend, but with the first day of Cyber Week behind us, right now is your best (and likely your last) chance before Christmas to score a sweet discount on a portable laptop that’s powerful enough to handle graphically demanding games like Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, or even a more budget-friendly machine built for casual games like Fortnite and Minecraft. To save you precious time as well as some of your hard-earned money, we’ve rounded up all the very best extended Cyber Week gaming laptop deals right here so you can get shopping right away.
These Cyber Week laptop deals (and Cyber Week deals in general) don’t last long even under normal circumstances, and that’s even more true this year despite stores extending their sales a bit longer to keep up with the recent increase in online shopping. If something catches your eye, it might go out of stock if you wait too long before hitting the “buy now” button, so act fast — and consider grabbing a new keyboard, mouse, or router to go with it, too.
Best Cyber Week gaming laptop deals
Some of the hottest sales today are an Alienware M15 R3 deal and an HP Omen 15 deal. See more discounts below:
How to choose a gaming laptop
You naturally want to stretch your dollar as far as you can (and Cyber Week gaming laptop deals are the best way to do it), so it’s a good idea to have in mind some hardware specs, features, and even specific models you want before your bargain hunt begins. We recommend taking a look at our list of the best gaming laptops or best gaming laptops under $1,000 to check out the top options.
Last-generation models get the biggest discounts during these sales, but carefully consider whether these are worth getting: Buying something old that does not last very long is not much of a deal, regardless of its price. For hardware, stick with AMD Ryzen CPUs, 9th- to 11th-generation Intel Core CPUs, Nvidia 16- and 20-series GPUs, AMD Radeon 500 and 5000 series GPUs, and between 8 and 32GB of RAM (16GB is the sweet spot). Don’t focus on what’s under the hood to the point of ignoring the screen: You ideally want a gaming laptop with an IPS display panel that will deliver the most color accuracy and the best viewing angles. Boosted refresh rates of 120Hz or more are also nice to see, and these are increasingly common, even on sub-$1,000 laptops.
As far as specific models, some of the best gaming pc brands and lineups to keep an eye on are the Razer Blade and Blade Stealth, Dell G5 and G3, Lenovo Legion, Asus ROG and TUF, HP Pavilion and Omen, Acer Predator, MSI G-series, and Alienware, to name a handful. Any gaming laptops you find from these makers are likely to be capable, well-designed, and sturdily built PCs so long as they’re packed with up-to-date hardware. Beyond that, you’ll have to make a decision on what you need as far as screen sizes, storage space, and value-added features (such as displays with higher resolutions or refresh rates).
How much should you spend on a gaming laptop?
Due to their more advanced hardware, gaming laptops almost always cost more than your standard notebook fare. Prices over $1,000 are standard (although there are plenty of solid cheap gaming laptops that can handle modern games), and if you need really top-notch parts or upgrades such as a 4K display, it is not unusual to go over the $2,000 mark. That is why it is important to understand what you need from a gaming laptop before spending your hard-earned cash.
The most important component when it comes to gaming is the graphics card (GPU). This is what you should focus on when buying a gaming laptop, and don’t be afraid to spend more if it means getting a GPU that meets your needs (make sure to read our gaming laptop reviews to see what you should be going for). Those reviews should give you an idea of what sort of performance you get when you spend a certain amount of money, which in turn helps you set a budget.
Are any gaming laptop deals too good to be true?
Cyber Week is among the best times of the year to buy a gaming laptop, with deals galore. However, with so many bargains and discounts doing the rounds, some are naturally going to be better than others. Many retailers slash the prices on old or outdated devices, so while a gaming laptop with a huge price cut may look tempting, you need to ensure it is right for you. Has it had good reviews? Is it years old and will it struggle to keep up with your demands due to dated, last-gen hardware? And even if it has had a huge discount, is it still within your budget? Make sure to check all of these things before pulling the trigger.
Another thing to be aware of is the high-pressure tactics some retailers use to coax people to buy. You may see gimmicks such as countdown timers or warnings that other shoppers are ready to buy the device you are looking at. Don’t fall for these tricks — if a deal is not right for you, it doesn’t matter how many other shoppers have it in their baskets. Take the time to find the right deal (the page you are reading right now will help!) and you will be much happier.
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