With this year's holiday sales in the rear view mirror, I was surprised to find the cheapest RTX 4070 gaming laptop deal I've ever seen while hunting down the latest offers this morning. This HP Victus 16 never crossed my radar during last week's main event, and now I see why. It's actually cheaper today than it was over both Black Friday and Cyber Monday - and considerably so.
The 16-inch gaming laptop is now down to $879.99 at Best Buy for a full $520 discount on the $1,399.99 MSRP. That's a hefty saving - I've only ever seen this model dip to $899.99 in the past, and that was for only a few days back in September. We're now $20 cheaper than that previous record-low - impressive considering I was celebrating an Asus TUF A15 for dipping down to $999.99 during the weekend's sales. These kinds of gaming laptop deals don't last long, though, so if you've been holding out for an extra saving over the course of this season, now's the time to jump in.
You're getting everything you need to play the latest games at high settings, though you are limited to 1080p resolution, and you'll need to be economical with your downloads - 512GB can run out fast. The Victus itself narrowly missed out on a slot amongst the best gaming laptops on the market this year, but it's still a budget contender punching well above its price tag this week.
Should you buy the HP Victus 16?
I first reviewed the HP Victus 16 just a couple of months ago and was blown away by the performance coming out of the RTX 4050 configuration. Scale that up to the RTX 4070 featured in this week's gaming laptop deals and you've got yourself some serious value. Even at the lower end of the spec range, I was able to draw three-figure framerates out of Nvidia-friendly titles like Shadow of the Tomb Raider. In fact, my average FPS for Lara's adventure, in both high and highest settings, beat some RTX 4060 machines in this price range.
I discovered that it's the cooling system doing a lot of this heavy lifting, the system remained cool during even more demanding benchmarks like Returnal and Assassin's Creed Valhalla. Sure, there's a healthy supply of vents in here, but the brand's new Tempest cooling system works wonders - temperature control is often one of the first things you'll sacrifice in a budget system like this. Here, it's a feature.
The HP Victus 16 does, however, make other sacrifices. The display isn't as bright or vivid as that of the Acer Nitro 16, and the keyboard feels a little too mushy to truly make it satisfying when running for longer periods of time. You've only got one zone of RGB to play with, but that does sit inline with the more subtle design of the system as a whole. While cheaper gaming laptops sometimes tend to veer into the dated world of gaudy 'gamer' aesthetics, HP's entry remains slick and professional.
That plastic construction is typical of a gaming laptop at this price, but still feels durable in the hand (and backpack). I never felt any rattling or creaking when applying pressure around the main lid or the internal palm rest area. That sturdiness does mean you're looking at a slightly heavier weight than the Asus TUF A15 (my current favorite budget rig), but it is lighter than the Nitro.
Overall, I would recommend this RTX 4070 HP Victus 16 to anyone putting their internal components over their external features. The display lacks a little brightness and the keyboard could be snappier, but you won't find this level of power for $879.99 anywhere else. It's perfect if you've already got a 1080p monitor and separate keyboard to hook up to - or if you're simply going all out on speed rather than resolution.
Of course, there are plenty more gaming laptop deals where that came from - but if you're looking for something a little more premium, check out the best Alienware laptops and best Razer laptops on the market.
