Should you buy an RTX 3050 gaming laptop on Black Friday? It’s a question that’ll likely spring to mind ahead of the big sale, especially now that Nvidia’s next-gen RTX 4000 graphics cards are a thing. Normally, we’d try our best to provide a straight yes or no answer to a question like this, but in truth, the best response is a big fat maybe. Whether or not to opt for a portable powerhouse with an Ampere GPU inside is fully dependent on price, accompanying specs, and the kind of games you’re actually planning on playing on the go.
If you’ve been eyeing up our Black Friday gaming laptop deals hub ahead of November, you’ll have noticed RTX 4060 configurations are now pretty common. Many of the best gaming laptop options like the Alienware M18 and ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 come armed with Nvidia’s latest mobile GPUs, and they can cost around the same as RTX 3050 models. It’s needless to say that you probably shouldn’t pick up an Ampere machine if you can find a newer version with Lovelace graphics for near the same price. However, if you’re fine with the level of performance previous gen cards can provide, picking the former up for less should be a priority.
Not to sound like a broken record, but you should only buy a RTX 3050 laptop this Black Friday if you’re fine with a big performance difference. Nvidia’s latest GPU platform has access to vital tools like DLSS 3.5 and Frame Generation, which both use the power of AI to boost fps beyond what was previously possible with minimal caveats. RTX 30-series cards have limited access to some features via DLSS 2, but we’re not exaggerating when we say the difference is wild.
RTX 3050 gaming laptop deals before Black Friday
Black Friday RTX 3050 deals are key when it comes to deciding whether to opt for an Ampere machine. That's largely due to the fact there's sometimes not much of a price gap between older models and shiny new RTX 4060 rigs, even though the latter is a higher spec class of card.
Looking at the Gigabyte G5 as an example, Amazon has both RTX 3050 Ti and RTX 4060 versions of the laptop available at the moment, and a deal on the latter means both cost $949. That's despite the fact the Lovelace machine is armed with a newer Intel Core i5 CPU, and you can even grab the RTX 4050 version for even less.
You don't have to be a laptop reviewer to know that paying full price for an RTX 3050 makes little sense, but we'd argue it'd take one hell of a deal to make investing in one worth it. Don't get us wrong, there are decent discounts to be had right now, as MSI's GF63 RTX 3050 is down from $999 to $699.99 thanks to a 30% price cut. That said, adjacent RTX 4050 and RTX 4060 offers could place alternatives in the same ball park, and unless you're on an ultra tight budget, settling for a last-gen build isn't worth saving $100 (at least in our opinion).
Ultimately, we're looking for RTX 3050 laptops to hit record low prices come Black Friday, and there should be significant distance between RTX 4060 models. We'll have to wait and see what the event has to offer in terms of discounts, but early signs indicate that new-gen deals will offer better value for money.
When will Black Friday RTX 3050 laptop deals start?
Black Friday will commence on Friday, November 25th 2022. Like we've mentioned we expect great deals on RTX 3050 gaming laptops, especially since a new generation of RTX 40 series GPUs is rolling out.
If you want to stay one step ahead of the competition, we'd recommend keeping an eye on digital storefronts in the week leading up to Black Friday, since retailers like to sneak out a few early deals as we get closer. While its worth keeping an eye on Cyber Monday deals, we'd say it's always best to use it as a back up to Black Friday, since you never know how long stocks will last.
Down below, you'll find all the latest RTX 3050 laptop deals ahead of Black Friday. Keeping an eye on pricing should help indicate whether great discounts will show up to the party this year, and there's always a chance an incredible deal will creep onto the scene outside of the event.
No gaming setup would be complete with a large screen and peripherals, and you can get them cheap this month in the Black Friday gaming monitor deals and Black Friday keyboard and mouse deals respectively.
