Anyone on the hunt for a new rig this season knows that Black Friday gaming laptop deals can offer up some stunning prices. However, if you're wondering whether to buy a gaming laptop before the big day, there's plenty of data and context you need to know about before you dive into the early sales. From the configuration you're looking for, to the brand and price point, there are plenty of factors that go into your decision to buy before November 25 rolls around. We're helping you navigate these early sales to make sure you're getting the best value for money no matter when you get your wallet out.
Those looking to get ahead of the crowds may be onto something. Adobe noted in its 2022 Holiday Shopping Report that computers generally took the biggest discounts from the start of November last year, and that average 20% saving amount stuck through to the end of the month. While pricing will remain steady over the next few weeks, though, the actual configurations on offer will vary.
That means those 20% discounts may be reserved for smaller configurations or older models - in essence, a saving that's not going to offer the same level of value as the same percentage off a more impressive rig. We tend to see these higher value offers closer to Black Friday itself, but we've already celebrated several Black Friday-esque discounts in October so it's anyone's game this year.
To help you navigate these early sales, we're showing you what factors need to go into your decision to buy a gaming laptop before Black Friday. If you're really playing it risky, we're also getting you prepped for this year's Cyber Monday gaming laptop deals as well.
Should you buy an RTX 30-Series gaming laptop before Black Friday?
In most cases, you should wait for Black Friday before buying a gaming laptop because we tend to see some of the most valuable discounts of the year on everything from budget gaming laptops to more high-end offerings on the day. While it's true that some gaming laptops appear to be perennially discounted from certain retailers beforehand, the best offers are typically reserved for Black Friday itself as the deals present last year have shown us.
If you're after an RTX 3060 or RTX 4060 machine, make sure you're spending no more than $800 on a baseline spec, and no more than $650 on a particularly entry-level rig. That means an i5 processor, 8GB RAM, and a 256GB SSD. Meanwhile, those on the hunt for an RTX 3070 laptop should hold off until they spot an i7 / 8 - 16GB RAM / 512GB SSD configuration at around $800 or $900. RTX 3070 Ti rigs have already seen some serious discounts in this year's early sales. That means this is the sweet spot for buying a gaming laptop before Black Friday - there's some excellent value on the shelves right now. Official discounts will likely hit at between $900 and $1,100 in the lowest end of the price range, so aim for this budget if buying beforehand.
RTX 3080 rigs could crash in price this year. Black Friday gave us some of the best prices of the year on these top-end rigs last time around and now we've got the 40-Series on the shelves kicking older models off. Since last Black Friday we've seen prices bottoming out at between $1,500 and $1,700 and we've seen even lower prices on machines from MSI and Asus, so we'd recommend aiming for $1,500 - $1,700 if you're after a top shelf machine. Any deals that offer solid components for this price before Black Friday should be seriously considered.
While there have been exceptions, the most that you can expect to be discounted on lower-end gaming laptops is anywhere between $50 - $100 which is a far cry from deeper discounts that we've seen on some of the more powerful machines. Plus, these cheaper machines tend to sell out a lot quicker during the holiday sales, which means you'll need to be right in the centre of the mix to make it out with the more competitive offers. If you don't want to be watching for flash sales all weekend for the sake of an extra $50, we'd recommend checking out the latest cheap gaming laptop deals.
Should you buy an RTX 40-Series gaming laptop before Black Friday?
If you're after something a little newer, you'll want Nvidia, AMD, and Intel's latest generation components. That means an RTX 40-Series GPU with Intel 13th generation processing or AMD Ryzen 7000 series. Thankfully, these rigs are also seeing some considerable early savings, though naturally you're spending more to get those brand new insides.
A budget-minded RTX 4060 machine, like an Asus TUF, Acer Nitro 5, or Dell G15, shouldn't cost you more than $900 this Black Friday, so watch out for anything offering a solid i7 or i5 processor and 16GB RAM in this price range over the next few weeks. However, if you're going for something a little pricier like the Razer Blade 14, Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 or HP Omen 16 Transcend we'd recommend holding off. These are big releases and while discounts will likely flash on and off the shelves over the next few weeks, it's well worth seeing what Black Friday has in store for us.
It's a similar story with most RTX 4070 and RTX 4080 rigs. These machines generally cost upwards of $2,500 so you'll want to make sure you're getting the best price possible. So far, we haven't seen quite so many discounts on rigs sporting the latter GPU, but cheaper RTX 4070 machines have been spotted closer to $1,000 in recent weeks. If you spot a 4070 machine with a solid spec overall (though it's likely you'll be dropping down to a 12th generation processor) for under $1,500 we'd go for it ahead of time. Similarly, if an RTX 4080 machine is hovering around the $2,000 mark you're likely getting a good rate (provided the rest of the configuration can support it).
The RTX 4090 is a different beast all together. Because these machines generally take us to the $3,000 mark, discounts are poised to offer far more cash off your rig overall. It seems obvious, but the more expensive the laptop the more you can save on Black Friday, which means jumping in early isn't always the best option. If you do spot an RTX 4090 machine on sale for around $2,500 you're getting towards Black Friday level pricing already, though, but make sure you're getting the screen, RAM, and processor to support all that power.
Today's best gaming laptop deals
Our price comparison technology does the legwork to bring you the best deals across the internet on some of our favorite gaming laptop models this side of Black Friday.
Gaming laptops are great on the go, but you can maximize their power potential on the big screen for less with Black Friday gaming monitor deals. Or, if you're after something more permanent, check out the Black Friday gaming PC deals we're expecting to see in November. Of course, we're also rounding up all your everyday Black Friday laptop deals as well.
