Black Friday gaming PC deals only come once a year, so they're worth preparing for in advance. With the price of computers and components as high as they are these days, saving in advance can be a godsend for your bank balance, and that's exactly why we're here to help. Gaming PC deals are some of our favorite things to keep tabs on, so you've come to the right place.
At GamesRadar+, we prefer to keep our PC gaming experiences affordable, and that's why Black Friday gaming deals are so important. While we could point you towards premium builds with money off that still require a small car loan, we tend to focus on the best value out there. That's not to say we wouldn't recommend the right RTX 4090 deal if one popped up, but we're hellbent on making sure you find appropriate hardware for your needs. When we're this far out, our main priority is to help you understand what to expect.
The land of the best gaming PCs is prone to change from year to year, so it's difficult to say exactly what will and what won't be available. Nonetheless, we've tried to answer frequently asked questions down below and supplied a list of the best offers we came across during 2023's event.
Black Friday gaming PC deals: FAQs
When will Black Friday gaming PC deals start?
Black Friday officially falls on November 29 this year, which means Black Friday gaming PC deals will roughly start appearing the week or so before. Cyber Monday will no doubt have its place, but the best deals, steepest discounts, and most secure stock levels always come from Black Friday.
Where to get the best Black Friday gaming PC deals?
When it comes to the best Black Friday gaming PC deals, Newegg, Best Buy, Overclockers, and eBuyer are the ones to watch. We have seen that Dell has some deep discounts on their high-end Alienware rigs (namely the Alienware Aurora R13 and R14 in 2022), but the big retailers are always a safe bet as well. Amazon is a given, although we found that their deals weren't as plentiful or powerful as the first four we mentioned. In the UK, Box is another one to watch.
US:
Amazon: Fair prices on boutique built and branded prebuilt gaming PCs
Dell: Regularly has some of the best-value deals on Alienware Aurora builds
Best Buy: Low starting prices on iBuyPower, HP, and Lenovo rigs
Walmart: Competitive prices on all the major brands with the newest GPUs
Newegg: Big savings on ABS Legend and Gladiator gaming PCs
UK:
Amazon: savings on Admi, Vibox, CyberPowerPC, and more
Currys: Few deals but competitive prices on high-end gaming PC builds
Overclockers: Low starting prices for OcUK custom gaming PCs
eBuyer: Decent savings to be made on AlphaSync boutique builds
Very: Savings on PC Specialist, Zoostrom, and MSI gaming rigs
BOX: A high number of discounts on a massive range of gaming PCs
Should you wait for Black Friday gaming PC deals?
Given what we’ve seen in recent years, prebuilt gaming PCs see their biggest price reductions around Black Friday. According to the 2022 Adobe holiday shopping report, computers saw up to a 15% reduction across the board in the US between the end of October and the end of November. By a fair margin, the lowest prices are seen in the last weeks of November, right when Black Friday always hits.
Unless it’s an absolute emergency, we’d strongly advise you to wait to buy a gaming PC during Black Friday week. This is especially true if you’re looking at the higher end of the specs scale, or at PCs that include RTX 30 series GPUs.
Black Friday gaming PC deals 2023: What to expect
Black Friday gaming PC deals in 2024 could largely depend on how components sell throughout the year. In 2023, we saw really reasonable prices on PCs with the latest components, most likely due to the fact that component sales were down throughout the year. This year, a new wave of GPUs isn't mid-release, so we're likely to see more intermittent sales than we have previously. When it comes to prebuilt PCs, it's still likely we get good prices, but they may not be quite as widespread when we reach November.
CPUs will be a big market to watch in 2024. With both AMD and Intel having multiple generations available for current-gen motherboards, there will be plenty of affordable prices and great incentives to upgrade.
The same can be said of DDR5 RAM. If 2023 was the year when it became more advisable to think about upgrading, 2024 is the year to definitely pull the trigger if you can. With all those new DDR5-compatible CPUs likely being cheaper than ever, DDR5 could get a lot cheaper too.
Storage is a trickier one to predict. We didn't see the low prices we wanted during Black Friday 2023, and now with more Gen 5 SSDs beginning to pop up, it could be a more expensive year to try and get your hands on SSDs.
Is it cheaper to build a gaming PC or buy one in 2024?
In the short term, buying a gaming PC will definitely work out cheaper - especially around Black Friday. PC components, especially ones that are geared at the gaming market, are undeniably expensive. For example, an RTX 3050 graphics card is on the entry-level end of the 30 series (last generation). That component alone will set you back between $200 and $300. When you look at prebuilt gaming PCs, you can get pretty decent entry-level options for between $550 and $750 (£700-£1000 in the UK), especially during Black Friday.
In the long run, building your PC can work out cheaper, but especially if you’re looking for your first gaming PC, we’d suggest paying more attention to the prebuilt market. If building is the road you choose to take, you can find great Black Friday CPU deals and amazing Black Friday SSD deals too.
No matter which route you take, we'd sure you to think about futureprofing. DDR5 and Gen 5 SSDs will start to become a lot more common in the years to come, and if you want something that you'll be able to upgrade down the line, you need to ensure you're set up with a motherboard that can harness those components.
Last year's best Black Friday Gaming PC deals in the US
Last year's best Black Friday gaming PC deals in the UK
If you're looking to upgrade your gaming set up in other ways this Black Friday, why not check out our Black Friday gaming chair deals page, or our Black Friday Secret Labs deals roundup.
You can also find all the best deals for these this sales season, in the Black Friday CPU deals, Black Friday graphics cards deals, and Black Friday SSD deals.