Gaming laptop deals usually target the budget builds for their lowest prices on mid-range configurations, but Best Buy is bucking the trend this Presidents Day. Rather than opting for a record-breaking discount on an affordable Asus TUF or Acer Nitro rig, the retailer has dropped the price of a slightly older, but still particularly powerful, Asus ROG Zephyrus G16.
You'll find the RTX 4070 gaming laptop available for $1,079.99 on Best Buy's shelves right now, a full $520 off its original $1,599.99 MSRP in time for Presidents Day. This is a 2023 model, so you're dropping the 14th Gen Intel processor and OLED display of the more recent release - but those looking for overall value will be incredibly well served here.
I've only ever seen RTX 4070 gaming laptop deals dropping cheaper than this once or twice in the past, both on super budget machines. The HP Victus 16 hit $899 over Black Friday, and has shot back up the price scale since, and the Asus TUF A15 briefly stopped in at $999 during the same holiday sales. Coming in at just $80 more and offering a much better build quality, display, and design, the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 packs leagues more value right now.
You'll usually be paying at least $1,700 for an RTX 4070 configuration of one of the best gaming laptops on the business - and often far, far more. This older G16 has only ever hit $1,149 in previous sales (and generally only stays there for a few days at a time), so today's record-low price could be one last Presidents Day hurrah ahead of new releases.
Should you buy the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16?
Let's take a look at those specs, because only a certain player type will get maximum value out of this particular configuration. An FHD display might sound like a downgrade in 2025, when plenty of gaming laptops ship with larger 16:10 displays or even QHD resolutions at similar prices to this. You have to remember that slimline form factor, though - it plays a massive role in your performance due to decreased cooling. A larger machine can run an RTX 4070 GPU at much higher framerates because its components are all much easier to maintain thermally, skinny rigs like this often benchmark much lower in performance metrics as a result.
With an i7-13620H processor and older cooling technology at play, an FHD display is going to help you get higher framerates out of that RTX 4070 GPU than you would with a QHD option. If you're playing competitively it's a fantastic trade-off but even those looking for a gaming machine that can also travel well with them will see the benefits. You're dropping a little of that higher resolution spark, but making up for it with smoother gameplay overall - something that's usually sacrificed for portability.
Of course, if you don't mind dropping a few frames and want your single player games to look as good as possible (while still fitting into a backpack), I'd recommend moving slightly up the price range of the best Asus gaming laptops. Last year's selection of 2024 Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 gaming laptops feature crisp, vibrant OLED panels and a QHD resolution to boot. They're also pretty premium. If you're looking to keep that price low without sacrificing display, I'd instead turn to the Asus TUF A14. It's one of last year's later releases, but it comes packed with a 165Hz QHD+ display and some nifty AI processing features as well. It taps out at an RTX 4060 GPU, but I was still able to stay above 60fps at High settings.
There are plenty more gaming laptop deals rocking around this Presidents Day - we're rounding up all the best Newegg Presidents Day sales and the best Dell Presidents Day sales on the market.
