Whether you’re buying a new laptop for school or trying to find a gaming laptop, Black Friday can be the best time of the year to find deals. This year, more than others, you should act fast! The ongoing supply chain shortages mean that there may be fewer PCs this holiday season and they might take longer to ship. Read on for shopping tips.
We’ll add new deals as we see them and remove older details once they’ve sold out. We’ll also keep close tabs on all laptop deals on Black Friday itself, of course!
Black Friday laptop buying tips
If you’ve shopped online before for Black Friday laptop deals, you’re probably aware that there’s a vast range of laptop configurations available.
A good place to start is with the processor. Buy laptops with Intel 10-series Core chips or higher, such as the Core i5-10510U, or the Core i7-11800H (for even more details see our Intel 10th-gen mobile CPU buying guide); or go with an AMD Ryzen processor (but not an AMD Athlon or A-series chip). Avoid laptops with Pentium or Celeron processors unless it’s a Chromebook (running Chrome OS). You’re going to need to pay attention with gaming laptops, too, as some GPUs, like the RTX 3050 Ti, don’t offer much boost over their RTX 2xxx-series cousins, and Nvidia has dropped the Max-Q designation on certain low-power options. Our laptop CPU and GPU cheat sheet can help you shop smart.
Don’t buy laptops with 4GB of RAM or 128GB of SSD storage—though on a Chromebook, this configuration is acceptable. We have more explanation in our laptops versus Chromebooks buying guide, as well as in our primer on how to buy a budget Black Friday laptop without getting screwed.
Reviews can be helpful. Even if you can’t find a review of a specific configuration, try related models. They’ll often give you a good idea of the build quality and performance. Also buy from brands you trust. Amazon’s daily laptop deals right now are full of brands we’ve never tested or talked to (Broage, Teclast, DaySky, Jumper) and it’s just a good idea to be wary.
Most older laptops will run Windows 10, and that’s fine—there’s no rush to upgrade. Windows 10 S, though annoying, can be switched out of easily if you find it on a budget laptop. If you want to buy a Windows 10 PC with the intent of upgrading it to Windows 11, we recommend you start here with a list of older laptops that are Windows 11-eligible.
Where can you find early Black Friday laptop deals?
- Amazon Amazon has quietly begun its Black Friday pre-sales, with a specific “computers and video games” section and a daily laptop deals page as well.
- B&H Photo B&H is currently running its “Holiday Head Start” deals.
- Best Buy Best Buy has begun its “Best Buy Black Friday Prices Guaranteed” sales where it will refund the difference of any product whose price dips before Nov. 26, when sales officially start.
- Costco Black Friday sales began Nov. 1 and will run through Nov. 29.
- Dell Dell’s sales are part of its “Black Friday Sneak Peek.”
- HP.com HP is hosting its own Black Friday sneak peek. The company has posted its Black Friday sales here, beginning Nov. 25.
- Microsoft Microsoft is running deals, though the company hasn’t shared its Black Friday sales yet.
- Target Target has yet to release its Black Friday deals and has not announced when that will occur.
- Walmart Walmart’s “Black Friday Deals for Days” is going on now.
Early Black Friday laptop deals
Gigabyte G5 MD
From: Newegg
Was: $1,199.00
Now: $949.00 (after rebate, $250 off)
Gaming laptops are tough to find at a discount right now, and this one is a decidedly mixed bag of pros and cons. Inside is a Core i5-11400H, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD behind a 144Hz 1080p screen. The RTX 3050 Ti is usually considered to be a bum deal compared to the RTX 3060…if you can find one? And, whoa — there’s a $100 rebate card you need to fill out? If you’re willing to jump through these hoops, though, the price and savings aren’t bad.
See the Gigabyte G5 MD at Newegg
Asus 11.6-inch Chromebook
From: Best Buy
Was: $219.00
Now: $99 ($120 off)
Great price! Best Buy users rate this Chromebook highly, and the specs (an Intel Celeron/4GB RAM/32GB eMMC storage) don’t really give us pause — you don’t typically store too many apps or documents on a Chromebook, so the skimpy storage isn’t a big deal. With Best Buy’s extended holiday return period (through Jan. 16) you’ll have plenty of time to decide whether this smallish Chromebook works for you.
See the Asus 11.6-inch Chromebook at Best Buy
Asus Chromebook Flip C434 2-in-1 laptop
HP
From: Newegg
Was: $499
Now: $449 ($50 off)
Chromebooks are the next frontier (that’s what I always say). Not only are they largely virus-free, but they also make great productivity machines, as they’re designed with everyday tasks in mind. The Asus Chromebook Flip C434 features a 14-inch full HD touchscreen display and an Intel Core m3-8100Y processor. Plus, the 360-degree hinge allows you to flip the screen around and use it like a tablet, making it a more versatile option.
See the Asus Chromebook Flip C434 2-in-1 laptop at Newegg
Asus Vivobook Home & Business
Asus
From: Newegg
Was: $1,639
Now: $899 ($740 off)
If you’re in the market for a budget work notebook, you’ll want to check out the Asus Vivobook Home & Business. It’s packing 32GB of memory, 512GB of PCIe SSD storage (plus 1TB HDD), and a 10th-gen Intel Core i7 processor. That’s a powerful combination if you need fast processing and storage speeds, but aren’t doing any fancy video editing or other GPU-heavy work tasks.
See the Asus Vivobook Home & Business laptop at Newegg
HP Pavilion x360 15t-er000 touch
From HP.com
Was: $749.99
Now: $599.99 ($150 off)
HP’s Pavilion laptops and desktops aren’t particularly fancy, though the inclusion of a dedicated number pad on the keyboard is a nice, productive touch we appreciate. Otherwise, you’ll find a basic configuration here for a decent price: 8GB of memory, 256GB of storage, all driven by an 11th-gen Core i5 mounted underneath a 15.6 HD display. (Yes, HD: 1,366×768. If that’s a little skimpy — and it certainly may be at this resolution — a 1080p display option can be added for $60 more.)
See the HP Pavilion x360 15t-er000 touch at HP.com
Microsoft Surface Pro 7 + Signature Type Cover + Surface Pen bundle
From: Target
Was: $1,179.97
Now: $849.99 ($329.98 off)
Microsoft’s Surface Pro 7 debuted in Feb. 2020, and our Surface Pro 7 review showed that it absolutely dominated the laptop market. Sure, we now have the Surface Pro 8 (with Thunderbolt), but this is the right SP7 configuration at a very good price.
See the Surface Pro 7 bundle at Target.com
Microsoft Surface Laptop Go (Platinum)
Microsoft
From: Microsoft Store
Was: $899.99
Now: $699.99 ($200 off)
We gave the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go, Microsoft’s 12.4-inch budget laptop, 3.5 stars out of 5 in our Surface Laptop Go review. We felt it was a little overpriced. Dropping the price by $200 on its premium version (Core i5/8GB RAM/256GB SSD) certainly helps! Just be aware that the Laptop Go’s display is sub-1080p quality — but, in our experience, it didn’t really matter.
See the Surface Laptop Go on Microsoft.com
MSI GP66 Leopard 11UH-032
MSI
Was: $2,299
Now: $1,799 ($400 off plus $100 after rebate)
If you’re looking for a powerful gaming laptop to take with you to college, the MSI GP66 Leopard 11UH-032 is where it’s at. Under the hood, you’ll find 16GB of memory, 1TB of NVMe SSD storage, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 GPU. It also has a diverse selection of ports, which eliminates the need for an adapter.
See the MSI GP66 Leopard 11UH-032 on Newegg
Lenovo Ideapad Slim 7i 82A60015US
From: Microsoft Store
Was: 949.99
Now: $629.99 ($320 off)
If you’re looking for a steady, dependable, general-purpose PC, the Lenovo Ideapad Slim does the trick. With an 11th-gen Core chip, 14-inch 1080p screen, 8GB of memory, and a 512GB SSD, there’s nothing that particularly stands out. At the same time, nearly a third off the price is simply a solid deal. For reference, here’s our review of a related IdeaPad Slim.
See the Lenovo Ideapad Slim 7i 82A60015US at Microsoft
Dell Vostro 3400 Laptop
From: Dell.com
Was: $1,184.28
Now: $629 ($555.28)
If you were considering the Lenovo deal above but prefer a Dell instead, basically the same configuration (Intel 11th-gen Core i5/8GB RAM/512GB SSD) with a 14-inch display is on sale for the same price. For a larger 15.6-inch display and 512GB of storage, Dell is also offering the Vostro 3510 for $729.00, or $626.71 off.
See the Dell Vostro 3400 at Dell.com
Dell Inspiron 7000 2-in-1 14-inch
Dell
From: Best Buy
Was: $799.99
Now: $599.99 ($200 off)
The Dell Inspiron 7000 2-in-1 is a good option for most people, as it’s pretty well-rounded. The AMD Ryzen 5 5000 Series is considered a medium tier processor that’s zippy enough to handle most tasks. The Inspiron is also packing 8GB of memory, and integrated Radeon graphics in its processor. In other words, it’s capable of multitasking and some light gaming.
See the Dell Inspiron 7000 2-in-1 13-inch on Best Buy
Updated November 22nd with additional deals.
As PCWorld’s senior editor, Mark focuses on Microsoft news and chip technology, among other beats. He has formerly written for PCMag, BYTE, Slashdot, eWEEK, and ReadWrite.
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