Gaming laptops are almost always pricier than their standard counterparts due to the extra performance and cooling hardware inside, and that's why I always recommend waiting for a sale to buy. With Black Friday and Cyber Monday coming our way in only about a month, the time is now to start shopping for the perfect gaming laptop.
Many retailers, in the lead-up to Black Friday, offer deep discounts that don't actually get any better on the actual event dates. To capitalize, you can often find the ideal gaming laptop for the right price without bothering with the holiday shopping rush.
I'll update this list as we head into Black Friday and Cyber Monday, so check back if you don't find the sale that's right for you right now.
🎃The best early Black Friday deals🦃
- 💻Dell XPS 16 (RTX 4060) | $2,299.99 at Best Buy (Save $750!)
- 📺LG Curved OLED Monitor (32-inches) | $849.99 at Amazon (Save $650!)
- 🎮Amazon Fire TV Xbox Game Pass bundle | $74.99 at Amazon (Save $62!)
- 🔊2.1ch Soundbar for TVs & Monitors | $44.99 at Walmart (Save $55!)
- 💻Dell G16 Gaming Laptop (RTX 4070) | $1,299.99 at Dell (Save $450!)
- 🎧Sennheiser Momentum 4 ANC | $274.95 at Amazon (Save $125!)
- 📺LG C4 OLED 4K TV (42-inches) | $949.99 at Best Buy (Save $450!)
- 💻Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge (X Elite) | $799.99 at Best Buy (Save $550!)
- 🎧Baseus Hi-Fi Bluetooth Headphones | $69.99 at Amazon (Save $80!)
Black Friday 2024: The best early gaming laptop deals
More great Black Friday 2024 deals
- Best Buy: Big savings on video games, accessories, and more
- Walmart: Early savings on practically everything
- Target: Live deals on a huge range of products
- Dell: Top deals on laptops, gaming PCs, accessories, and more
- HP: Save big on laptops, desktops, accessories, and more
- Lenovo: Doorbuster deals on all Lenovo PCs, monitors, accessories, and more
- Newegg: Save on PC gaming accessories, components, and more
- Razer: Take advantage of free shipping for a limited time
- Samsung: Holiday deals on laptops, TVs, phones, and more are live
- Amazon: Constantly rotating sales on everything you can imagine
When is Black Friday 2024?
Officially, Black Friday happens on November 29, 2024. Black Friday consistently falls on the last weekend of November when many Americans are enjoying the Thanksgiving holiday, offering some exciting shopping opportunities between meals and visits with family and friends.
However, it's clear that retailers aren't waiting to apply some significant discounts to a wide selection of great gaming laptops. The deals seem to start showing up earlier than ever each year, and that's no different for 2024.
Although some storefronts label their deals with tags like 'early Black Friday,' it's not guaranteed that the price won't drop again. Unfortunately, it's impossible to say whether a hot item will drop further in price when we actually arrive at Black Friday proper. Still, some third-party stores like Newegg offer a price drop guarantee that will reimburse you if you purchase within this window.
We'll check every deal to see if it's a historically low price, but other savings will still be listed if they're a genuinely great deal.
When does Cyber Monday 2024 start?
Cyber Monday follows after the Black Friday weekend, landing on December 2, 2024. It focuses on digital storefronts rather than physical stores, with discounts usually expiring as the Monday ends.
Many products retain their Black Friday discount throughout Cyber Monday, though some will enjoy a further reduction or even a unique deal. We'll also share the best Cyber Monday deals with you as soon as retailers switch and publish their listings.
Choosing the best gaming laptop for you
Black Friday 2024 is heading our way quickly, and I've noticed many companies announcing wave after wave of excellent deals and discounts right now. As expected, PC gamers are benefiting more than most. I always recommend waiting for a big discount to buy a gaming laptop, and Black Friday is typically the last time of the year to take advantage.
A wide variety of gaming laptops from the major players are already discounted in the lead-up to Black Friday, and I've been careful to include only major price cuts from a range of different hardware and features.
Don't look at the price alone
It's often tempting to grab the cheapest laptop available, especially when so many are reduced during sales events like Black Friday. However, not every attractive price tag means a reduction on capable components; some will be older models that might struggle to keep up with your favorite games. I recommend sticking with hardware that's been released in the last couple of years lest you find yourself buying an already outdated model.
The most up-to-date hardware often eludes major discounts, but that's OK for most gamers. Landing NVIDIA's 30- and 40-series laptop graphics cards, Intel's 12th Gen or newer CPUs, and AMD's Ryzen 7000 or newer CPUs can be considered a win if the price is right. Even an entry-level RTX 4050 laptop GPU from NVIDIA's latest range is worth considering, as it delivers sophisticated DLSS 3.5 upscaling technology to improve performance. Intel and AMD both make capable mobile CPUs, so you can't go wrong with the latest and greatest from either company.
How big of a laptop do you need?
When making your decision, consider the physical size first. If you plan to travel with a gaming laptop frequently, anything over 16 inches might become a little cumbersome unless you have a convenient way to transport it. However, these larger models often double up as complete desktop PC replacements thanks to improvements to thermal cooling solutions in the expanded chassis.
Nowadays, you can find compact gaming laptops as small as 14-inches if you need ultimate portability, but you may be sacrificing power. Check out our best gaming laptops guide for an idea of what scores highest for us.
