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I'm digging out the best Black Friday gaming laptop deals using my many years of experience and an NFT of a shovel

The NFT was a lie but the deals are real.

Black Friday laptop deals

Two Asus gaming laptops on a blue background with Black Friday Live text in the top right.

(Image credit: Asus, Future)

Jump straight to the deals you want...
1. Quick links
2.
Under $1000
3. $1000 - $1500
4. $1500+
5. Handheld PCs
6. UK deals
7. Live updates

And just like that, Black Friday is gone. But certainly not forgotten as I'm willing to wager that the vast majority of the best Black Friday gaming laptop deals are still in action as we roll through the weekend and on into Cyber Monday. So, I'm still beavering away updating this page with some of the very best gaming laptops money can buy.

I've updated this page for the last time now, but we'll be continuing to curate the 👉best Cyber Monday gaming laptop deals right here👈, so come on over and check out what's occurring.

At PC Gamer, we spend our year pushing gaming laptops to the limit in testing, which means we've got a good bead on what's actually a decent price for a given machine, and are able to spot the trends as they emerge. Some laptop deals appear better than they really are but we're using our many years of experience to help you avoid that nonsense.

The most important spec for a gaming laptop is the choice of GPU, with CPU a secondary (still important) concern. You'll find mostly RTX 40-series laptops available today, most commonly the RTX 4060 or RTX 4070. There are higher-end models available in the RTX 4080 and RTX 4090, though we don't often recommend Nvidia's very top mobile chip as it's usually not great value for money.

It's also worth keeping an eye on the memory and storage included with a gaming laptop. Generally, we prefer laptops to come with at least 16 GB of dual-channel memory and a 1 TB SSD, but sometimes a really good deal on something with less cannot be ignored.

What does 'price watch' mean?

We've added a new "price watch" qualifier to all our individual deals, making it easy to see whether a price has gone up 🔼 or down 🔽 since we last checked it out. It's important to note that any deal in this guide (even if it's slightly risen in price) is still one of our top picks, as we only show you deals that are actually worth buying.

Black Friday gaming laptop deals — Quick links

Best laptop GPU

Black Friday gaming laptop deals under $1000

Price watch: ➖HP Victus 15 | RTX 4050 | Ryzen 5 8645HS | 15.6-inch | 1080p | 144 Hz | 8 GB DDR5 | 512 GB SSD | $979 $651 at Walmart (save $328)

Price watch: ➖
HP Victus 15 | RTX 4050 | Ryzen 5 8645HS | 15.6-inch | 1080p | 144 Hz | 8 GB DDR5 | 512 GB SSD |
$979 $651 at Walmart (save $328)
Let's be upfront about this—8 GB of RAM is not enough in 2024. But when you're talking about a gaming notebook that costs just $650, but with a decent RTX 40-series GPU inside it, I can swallow it. Especially when you can easily upgrade the RAM with just a wee screwdriver in hand. And 16 GB of fast dual-channel DDR5 is just $50-odd right now. The RTX 4050 is just a 75 W variant, so not the outright fastest, but will still definitely do the job at 1080p. For this sorta money, that's all you can ask.

Price check: Newegg $679.95

Price watch: ➖Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 | RTX 4060 | Core i7 13650HX | 16-inch | 1200p | 165 Hz | 16 GB DDR5-4800 | 512 GB SSD | $1,149.99 $999.99 at Amazon (save $150)

Price watch: ➖
Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 | RTX 4060 | Core i7 13650HX | 16-inch | 1200p | 165 Hz | 16 GB DDR5-4800 | 512 GB SSD |
$1,149.99 $999.99 at Amazon (save $150)
Ok, so the SSD is small. Still, it's the easiest thing to upgrade on a laptop, and the rest of the specs are rather nice for the cash. The RTX 4060 handily beats the RTX 4050 by a considerable margin, the screen is a plenty fast 1200p 165 Hz panel, and it's got a nice dose of DDR5. Stick a bigger SSD in it, and it's a nicely balanced machine.

HP Victus 16 | Ryzen 7 8845HS | RTX 4070 | 16 GB DDR5-5600 | 512 GB SSD | $1,399.99 $929.99 at Best Buy (save $470)

HP Victus 16 | Ryzen 7 8845HS | RTX 4070 | 16 GB DDR5-5600 | 512 GB SSD | $1,399.99 $929.99 at Best Buy (save $470)
This is easily the cheapest RTX 4070 gaming laptop on the list right now, and the cheapest I think I've ever seen one on sale for. The RTX 4070 isn't a super low spec either, and seems to be a 115 W version. The only real concern I have is that the 512 GB SSD will get filled up fast, but there is a second SSD slot easily accessible in the back of the laptop, so is an easy upgrade. The screen isn't super bright, either, but at 300 nits it will be fine unless you're in a bright office or direct sunlight.

$1,000–$1,500

Price watch: ➖HP Victus 15 | RTX 4050 | Ryzen 5 8645HS | 15.6-inch | 1080p | 144 Hz | 8 GB DDR5 | 512 GB SSD | $979 $651 at Walmart (save $328)

Price watch: ➖
HP Victus 15 | RTX 4050 | Ryzen 5 8645HS | 15.6-inch | 1080p | 144 Hz | 8 GB DDR5 | 512 GB SSD |
$979 $651 at Walmart (save $328)
Let's be upfront about this—8 GB of RAM is not enough in 2024. But when you're talking about a gaming notebook that costs just $650, but with a decent RTX 40-series GPU inside it, I can swallow it. Especially when you can easily upgrade the RAM with just a wee screwdriver in hand. And 16 GB of fast dual-channel DDR5 is just $50-odd right now. The RTX 4050 is just a 75 W variant, so not the outright fastest, but will still definitely do the job at 1080p. For this sorta money, that's all you can ask.

Price check: Newegg $679.95

Price watch: 🔼Asus TUF F15 | RTX 4070 | Core i7 13620H | 15.6-inch | 144 Hz | 1080p | 16 GB DDR5-4800 | 1 TB SSD | $1,399.99 $1,099.99 at Best Buy (save $300)


Price watch: 🔼
Asus TUF F15 | RTX 4070 | Core i7 13620H | 15.6-inch | 144 Hz | 1080p | 16 GB DDR5-4800 | 1 TB SSD |
$1,399.99 $1,099.99 at Best Buy (save $300)
It may be a bit of a chonker, but this is the cheapest RTX 4070 gaming laptop we've got on the list. It's sporting a proper 140 W version of the GPU, too, so it's no slouch. Probably thanks to it being a chonker. With that you get a mighty capable Core i7 CPU, 16 GB of RAM, and a 1 TB SSD. Seriously, what more could you want?

Price watch: 🔼MSI Katana 15 | RTX 4070 | Core i7 13620H | 16-inch | 144 Hz | 1200p | 1 TB SSD | 16 GB DDR5 | $1,189 at Amazon

Price watch: 🔼
MSI Katana 15 | RTX 4070 | Core i7 13620H | 16-inch | 144 Hz | 1200p | 1 TB SSD | 16 GB DDR5 |
$1,189 at Amazon
You're only getting a 1080p screen here, which is a bit of a shame as the rest of the components are all excellent. Still, that RTX 4070 will have no problem pushing that 144 Hz panel to its limits in many games at that res, plus the 10-core (six P-core, four E-core) CPU has some decent DDR5 to play with. It's not perfect, but for this money, it's an excellent deal.

Price check: Newegg $1,299

Price watch: ➖Alienware m16 R2 | RTX 4070 | Core Ultra 7 155H | 16-inch | 1600p | 1 TB SSD | 16 GB DDR5 5600 | $1,699.99 $1,299.99 at Dell (save $400)

Price watch: ➖
Alienware m16 R2 | RTX 4070 | Core Ultra 7 155H | 16-inch | 1600p | 1 TB SSD | 16 GB DDR5 5600 |
$1,699.99 $1,299.99 at Dell (save $400)
This Alienware gaming laptop not only offers what we'd expect to see in a $1,200 machine in 2024, but it also comes with one somewhat unexpected item. That's the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, a low-power processor from the Meteor Lake generation. With 16 cores total, this chip makes a good pairing with an RTX 4070 for a power-savvy gaming laptop.

Price check: Best Buy $1,899.99 Dell $1,299.99 (with Core Ultra 9/RTX 4060)

Price watch: ➖Acer Predator Helios 18 | RTX 4070 | Core i7 13700HX | 18-inch | 165 Hz | 1600p | 1 TB SSD | 16 GB DDR5-4800 | $1,499.99 $1,299.99 at Newegg (save $200)

Price watch: ➖
Acer Predator Helios 18 | RTX 4070 | Core i7 13700HX | 18-inch | 165 Hz | 1600p | 1 TB SSD | 16 GB DDR5-4800 |
$1,499.99 $1,299.99 at Newegg (save $200)
We tend to like our gaming laptops on the small side, but this desktop-replacing behemoth is truly excellent value for what you get inside. There's a proper RTX 4070 handling the graphics duties, a nicely performant Core i7 13700HX and some decent DDR5 rounding off a powerful, if rather ginormous, gaming beast.

Price watch: ➖Asus TUF Gaming F17 | RTX 4070 | Core i7 13620H | 17.3-inch | 240 Hz | 1440p | 1 TB SSD | 16 GB DDR5 | $1,699.99 $1,299.99 at Newegg (save $400)

Price watch: ➖
Asus TUF Gaming F17 | RTX 4070 | Core i7 13620H | 17.3-inch | 240 Hz | 1440p | 1 TB SSD | 16 GB DDR5 |
$1,699.99 $1,299.99 at Newegg (save $400)
This is a big chonker of a laptop, with a honking great 17-inch 240 Hz display. Combine that with a proper mobile RTX 4070, 16 GB of DDR5 and a 1 TB SSD, and you've got a big lappy with plenty of horsepower and a super speedy screen for a good price.

Price watch: 🔼Omen Transcend 14 | RTX 4060 | Core Ultra 7 155H | 14-inch | 2880 x 1800 | OLED | 512 GB SSD | 16 GB RAM | $1,729.99 $1,329.99 at HP (save $400)

Price watch: 🔼
Omen Transcend 14 | RTX 4060 | Core Ultra 7 155H | 14-inch | 2880 x 1800 | OLED | 512 GB SSD | 16 GB RAM |
$1,729.99 $1,329.99 at HP (save $400)
This is a very specific type of laptop for a very specific type of person, but if you are that person, there's a good saving to be had. It's a teeny tiny little device with an RTX 4060 and one of Intel's Meteor Lake chips inside it. It has a more sleek chassis than most on this list, though that does come with a higher fee. It's basically RTX 4070 money for an RTX 4060.

Price watch: ➖Asus TUF A14 | RTX 4060 | Ryzen AI HX 370 | 14-inch | 16 GB RAM | 1 TB SSD | $1,499 $1,349 at Walmart (save $150)

Price watch: ➖
Asus TUF A14 | RTX 4060 | Ryzen AI HX 370 | 14-inch | 16 GB RAM | 1 TB SSD |
$1,499 $1,349 at Walmart (save $150)
The TUF A14 was a bit of a surprise package to arrive in the PCG office this year, and I ended up a big fan in my review of it. It's a big upgrade on the previous generation of 14-inch, taking many of the design notes from the premium Zephyrus range, but doing so in a more affordable form. It's still a little pricey for an RTX 4060 laptop if that's all you're after, but for a compact 14-inch version, it's a bit of a bargain.

Price watch: ➖Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 | RTX 4070 | Core i9-14900HX | 16-inch | 240 Hz | 1600p | 1 TB SSD | 16 GB DDR5 | $1,699.99 $1,349.99 at Best Buy (save $350)

Price watch: ➖
Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 | RTX 4070 | Core i9-14900HX | 16-inch | 240 Hz | 1600p | 1 TB SSD | 16 GB DDR5 |
$1,699.99 $1,349.99 at Best Buy (save $350)
Acer's Helios line of laptops goes up to some mighty (and mighty pricey) configs, but this one is a bit more affordable. You get that super-fast 240 Hz screen, a proper RTX 4070, and one of Intel's top mobile chips, the Core i9 14900HX. It'll likely run pretty toasty with that beefy Intel chip in the mix, but power-wise it's a pretty mean gaming machine.

Price watch: ➖Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 | RTX 4070 | Core i7 14700HX | 18-inch | 165 Hz | 1600p | 16 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD | $1,749.99 $1,429.99 at Amazon (save $320)

Price watch: ➖
Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 | RTX 4070 | Core i7 14700HX | 18-inch | 165 Hz | 1600p | 16 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD |
$1,749.99 $1,429.99 at Amazon (save $320)
If you want to throw portability out the window and go large, how about this Acer? It's got a huge (for a laptop) 18-inch 165 Hz LED backlit IPS display, and a 140 W TGP RTX 4070 to keep all 1600p of it duly fed. It's not something you're likely to want to haul around too often, but if you're the sort of person who likes to keep your lappy at home for multi-room gaming, it's a great shout for the price.

Price watch: ➖Lenovo Legion 5i | RTX 4070 | Core i9 14900HX | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 32 GB DDR5 5600 | 1 TB SSD | $1,849 $1,449 at B&H Photo (save $400)

Price watch: ➖
Lenovo Legion 5i | RTX 4070 | Core i9 14900HX | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 32 GB DDR5 5600 | 1 TB SSD |
$1,849 $1,449 at B&H Photo (save $400)
Lenovo Legion gaming laptops have been excellent performers for a while now, and this one has specs to impress. The CPU is a 24-core (8 P-cores/16 E-cores) powerhouse, plus you get a proper 32 GB of RAM to play with. Match that with a 140 W RTX 4070 and a 240 Hz screen and this laptop is virtually flawless for the money. 2 TB of storage would be nice if I was being picky, but 1 TB will do you fine.

Price check: Best Buy $1,899.99

$1,500+

Price watch: ➖Acer Predator Triton Neo 16 | RTX 4070 | Core Ultra 9 185H | 16-inch | 2000p | 165 Hz | 32 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD | $1,575 $1,499.99 at Amazon (save $75.01)

Price watch: ➖
Acer Predator Triton Neo 16 | RTX 4070 | Core Ultra 9 185H | 16-inch | 2000p | 165 Hz | 32 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD |
$1,575 $1,499.99 at Amazon (save $75.01)
Let's start with a caveat—the chassis here isn't exactly beautiful. But everything else about this laptop is great for the price, including a 140 W RTX 4070, a 16-core (six Performance, eight Efficient) Meteor Lake chip and a 16-inch 2000p LED-backlit IPS display. That resolution might be a bit much for the RTX 4070 in demanding games, but there's always DLSS 3 to keep the frame rate smooth. 32 GB of DDR5 is great to see, too.

Price check: Newegg $1,827.99

Price watch: ➖Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 | RTX 4070 | Core Ultra 9 185H | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 1 TB SSD | 16 GB LPDDR5 | $1,999.99 $1,699.99 at Best Buy (save $500)

Price watch: ➖
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 | RTX 4070 | Core Ultra 9 185H | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 1 TB SSD | 16 GB LPDDR5 |
$1,999.99 $1,699.99 at Best Buy (save $500)
The ROG Zephyrus G16 is our favorite gaming laptop. Like, literally it's our pick as the best gaming laptop, and we've tried a whole lot this year. Admittedly, we like it most with AMD's Ryzen AI HX 370 inside it, rather than this Intel Core Ultra chip, though it shouldn't make a tremendous difference to the overall experience. The main thing is, it's a sleek laptop with a gorgeous chassis and an RTX 4070.

Price watch: 🔼MSI Vector 16 HX | RTX 4080 | Core i9 14900HX | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 1 TB SSD | 32 GB RAM | $2,099 $1,849 at B&H (save $250)

Price watch: 🔼
MSI Vector 16 HX | RTX 4080 | Core i9 14900HX | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 1 TB SSD | 32 GB RAM |
$2,099 $1,849 at B&H (save $250)
Of the two MSI Vector machines we've highlighted here, I'd rather this one. It has a newer, more powerful CPU, a better screen resolution and refresh rate for an RTX 4080, and 32 GB of RAM. Altogether, that makes for a pretty sweet package and an upgrade worth the extra $100 over the cheapest RTX 4080 laptop we've found so far.

Price check: Microcenter $1,999.99

Price watch: 🔼MSI Vector GP68 HX 13V | RTX 4080 | Core i7 13700H |  16-inch | 1200p | 144 Hz | 16 GB RAM | 1 TB SSD | $1,861.55 at Newegg

Price watch: 🔼
MSI Vector GP68 HX 13V | RTX 4080 | Core i7 13700H | 16-inch | 1200p | 144 Hz | 16 GB RAM | 1 TB SSD |
$1,861.55 at Newegg
This isn't quite the cheapest gaming laptop we've found with an RTX 4080 in the center of it, and it's a bit of odd machine, in that the resolution is 1920 x 1200 and only 144 Hz, which means you'll be limited by the screen sometimes with the RTX 4080 at its core. However, you can be sure you'll be hitting that refresh rate often. The CPU is a bit older but it's still a modern architecture and a Core i7.

Price watch: ➖Acer Predator Helios 18 | RTX 4080 | Core i9 14900HX | 18-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 32 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD | $2,299.99 $1,999.99 at Best Buy (save $500)

Price watch: ➖
Acer Predator Helios 18 | RTX 4080 | Core i9 14900HX | 18-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 32 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD |
$2,299.99 $1,999.99 at Best Buy (save $500)
As an 18-incher, this isn't the most portable of laptops. Still, if a desktop replacement is your desire the specs here make a whole lot of sense for the cash. You get a 24-core Core i9 CPU, 32 GB of delicious RAM, and an RTX 4080 for serious gaming firepower. The 1 TB SSD is a little stingy at this price, but we'll allow it.

Price check: Newegg $3,397.99

Price watch: ➖Lenovo Legion Pro 7i | RTX 4080 | Core i9 14900HX | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 32 GB DDR5-5600 | 1 TB SSD | $2,649 $1,999 at B&H Photo (save $650)

Price watch: ➖
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i | RTX 4080 | Core i9 14900HX | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 32 GB DDR5-5600 | 1 TB SSD |
$2,649 $1,999 at B&H Photo (save $650)
Lenovo makes some brilliant gaming laptops, and this Legion Pro 7i is no exception. Featuring the mighty RTX 4080 in combination with Intel's top-spec Core i9 mobile CPU, this high-end model should have no trouble tearing through any game you can throw at it. The screen is plenty speedy too with a 240 Hz refresh rate, and 32 GB of fast DDR5 is not to be sniffed at.

Price check: Newegg (2 TB SSD model) $2,499.99

Price watch: ➖Razer Blade 16 | RTX 4080 | Core i9 14900HX | 16-inch | Mercury White | 32 GB RAM | 2 TB SSD | Mini-LED | 2400p/1200p | 120/240 Hz | $3,599 $2,999 at B&H (save $600)

Price watch: ➖
Razer Blade 16 | RTX 4080 | Core i9 14900HX | 16-inch | Mercury White | 32 GB RAM | 2 TB SSD | Mini-LED | 2400p/1200p | 120/240 Hz |
$3,599 $2,999 at B&H (save $600)
My boss and I are arguing over this one. Not on its deal worthiness (it's a monster of a laptop and the Razer premium is real even if slightly mitigated by this deal), but on whether this Mini-LED model with a 2 TB SSD is worth it over the OLED version below with a 1 TB drive. This one benefits from a beefy resolution that can be tuned to 1200p and 240 Hz if you want more frames, plus it has double the storage. All of which makes it, in my opinion, better than the one below.

Price check: Razer store $3,199.99

Price watch: ➖Razer Blade 16 | RTX 4080 | Core i9 14900HX | 16-inch | Black | 32 GB RAM | 1 TB SSD | OLED | 1600p | 240 Hz | $3,599 $2,999.99 at Razer (save $600)

Price watch: ➖
Razer Blade 16 | RTX 4080 | Core i9 14900HX | 16-inch | Black | 32 GB RAM | 1 TB SSD | OLED | 1600p | 240 Hz |
$3,599 $2,999.99 at Razer (save $600)
This Razer Blade comes in the classic black look and contains only a 1 TB drive. However, it might make up for that with its well-to-do 1600p OLED screen. This is the OLED screen we crowned the best on a gaming laptop in 2024, and it really is extremely pretty for gaming and more. While the storage is a bit tight, and you can only upgrade with a single-sided SSD, there's definitely a case to be made for choosing this over the Mini-LED model above. That is, if you can stomach the Razer premium altogether.

Price check: B&H discontinued

Black Friday gaming handheld deals

Price watch:➖Steam Deck (LCD) | 512 GB SSD | SteamOS | $449 $336.75 at Steam (save $112.25)

Price watch:➖
Steam Deck (LCD) | 512 GB SSD | SteamOS |
$449 $336.75 at Steam (save $112.25)
Okay, the Steam Deck may have had an OLED refresh and there are heaps of more powerful handhelds around, but the original version is still the archetype of what a mobile PC gaming device should be. It's just as powerful as the most recent model so all those Steam Deck compatible games should run well. It's the OG PC gaming handheld, and it still demands respect. At the very least because SteamOS is wicked and it's extremely affordable with this deal (which goes on until December 4 if you want more time to think).

Price watch: ➖ROG Ally | Z1 Extreme | 7-inch screen | 16 GB RAM | 512 GB SSD |$589.99$485 at Amazon (save $104.99)

Price watch: ➖
ROG Ally | Z1 Extreme | 7-inch screen | 16 GB RAM | 512 GB SSD |
$589.99 $485 at Amazon (save $104.99)
The original ROG Ally—still a strong performer even next to its improved sibling, the ROG Ally X. That's because they are both powered by the same Z1 Extreme chip from AMD. Considering the money off the original Ally, there's something to be said for choosing this over the X, though the bigger battery life on the X is definitely a huge improvement.

Price check: Best Buy $499.99

Price watch: 🔽Lenovo Legion Go | Z1 Extreme | 8.8-inch screen | 16 GB RAM | 512 GB SSD | $699.99 $472.97 at Amazon (save $227.02)

Price watch: 🔽
Lenovo Legion Go | Z1 Extreme | 8.8-inch screen | 16 GB RAM | 512 GB SSD |
$699.99 $472.97 at Amazon (save $227.02)
The Legion Go is one of the more polished handhelds on the market, with a sleek 8.8-inch screen and detachable controllers. That screen is a little overkill for the lil' AMD chip inside this machine, the Z1 Extreme also found in the ROG Ally, but it's great for playing indies on while relaxing. One of the controllers also becomes a mouse if you need it, which is a bit of a gimmick but works pretty well.

Price check: Newegg $499.99 | Best Buy $549.99

Price watch: ➖ROG Ally X | Z1 Extreme | 7-inch screen | 24 GB RAM |  1 TB SSD | $799.99 $699.99 at Best Buy (save $100)

Price watch: ➖
ROG Ally X | Z1 Extreme | 7-inch screen | 24 GB RAM | 1 TB SSD |
$799.99 $699.99 at Best Buy (save $100)
The ROG Ally X is a little bit too new to receive a massive discount. However, as our pick as the best handheld gaming PC to buy right now, even a $100 off is worth mentioning. Combining a generous helping of RAM, which really matters with an APU, alongside a 1 TB SSD and awesome form factor, the ROG Ally X is top of the charts for a reason.

Price check: Asus $799.99

Black Friday gaming laptop deals — UK

Price watch: ➖Acer Predator Triton Neo 16 | RTX 4070 | Core Ultra 9 185H | 16-inch | 2000p | 165 Hz | 32 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD | $1,575 $1,499.99 at Amazon (save $75.01)

Price watch: ➖
Acer Predator Triton Neo 16 | RTX 4070 | Core Ultra 9 185H | 16-inch | 2000p | 165 Hz | 32 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD |
$1,575 $1,499.99 at Amazon (save $75.01)
Let's start with a caveat—the chassis here isn't exactly beautiful. But everything else about this laptop is great for the price, including a 140 W RTX 4070, a 16-core (six Performance, eight Efficient) Meteor Lake chip and a 16-inch 2000p LED-backlit IPS display. That resolution might be a bit much for the RTX 4070 in demanding games, but there's always DLSS 3 to keep the frame rate smooth. 32 GB of DDR5 is great to see, too.

Price check: Newegg $1,827.99

Price watch: ➖Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 | RTX 4070 | Core Ultra 9 185H | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 1 TB SSD | 16 GB LPDDR5 | $1,999.99 $1,699.99 at Best Buy (save $500)

Price watch: ➖
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 | RTX 4070 | Core Ultra 9 185H | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 1 TB SSD | 16 GB LPDDR5 |
$1,999.99 $1,699.99 at Best Buy (save $500)
The ROG Zephyrus G16 is our favorite gaming laptop. Like, literally it's our pick as the best gaming laptop, and we've tried a whole lot this year. Admittedly, we like it most with AMD's Ryzen AI HX 370 inside it, rather than this Intel Core Ultra chip, though it shouldn't make a tremendous difference to the overall experience. The main thing is, it's a sleek laptop with a gorgeous chassis and an RTX 4070.

Price watch: 🔼MSI Vector 16 HX | RTX 4080 | Core i9 14900HX | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 1 TB SSD | 32 GB RAM | $2,099 $1,849 at B&H (save $250)

Price watch: 🔼
MSI Vector 16 HX | RTX 4080 | Core i9 14900HX | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 1 TB SSD | 32 GB RAM |
$2,099 $1,849 at B&H (save $250)
Of the two MSI Vector machines we've highlighted here, I'd rather this one. It has a newer, more powerful CPU, a better screen resolution and refresh rate for an RTX 4080, and 32 GB of RAM. Altogether, that makes for a pretty sweet package and an upgrade worth the extra $100 over the cheapest RTX 4080 laptop we've found so far.

Price check: Microcenter $1,999.99

Price watch: 🔼MSI Vector GP68 HX 13V | RTX 4080 | Core i7 13700H |  16-inch | 1200p | 144 Hz | 16 GB RAM | 1 TB SSD | $1,861.55 at Newegg

Price watch: 🔼
MSI Vector GP68 HX 13V | RTX 4080 | Core i7 13700H | 16-inch | 1200p | 144 Hz | 16 GB RAM | 1 TB SSD |
$1,861.55 at Newegg
This isn't quite the cheapest gaming laptop we've found with an RTX 4080 in the center of it, and it's a bit of odd machine, in that the resolution is 1920 x 1200 and only 144 Hz, which means you'll be limited by the screen sometimes with the RTX 4080 at its core. However, you can be sure you'll be hitting that refresh rate often. The CPU is a bit older but it's still a modern architecture and a Core i7.

Price watch: ➖Acer Predator Helios 18 | RTX 4080 | Core i9 14900HX | 18-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 32 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD | $2,299.99 $1,999.99 at Best Buy (save $500)

Price watch: ➖
Acer Predator Helios 18 | RTX 4080 | Core i9 14900HX | 18-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 32 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD |
$2,299.99 $1,999.99 at Best Buy (save $500)
As an 18-incher, this isn't the most portable of laptops. Still, if a desktop replacement is your desire the specs here make a whole lot of sense for the cash. You get a 24-core Core i9 CPU, 32 GB of delicious RAM, and an RTX 4080 for serious gaming firepower. The 1 TB SSD is a little stingy at this price, but we'll allow it.

Price check: Newegg $3,397.99

Price watch: ➖Lenovo Legion Pro 7i | RTX 4080 | Core i9 14900HX | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 32 GB DDR5-5600 | 1 TB SSD | $2,649 $1,999 at B&H Photo (save $650)

Price watch: ➖
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i | RTX 4080 | Core i9 14900HX | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 32 GB DDR5-5600 | 1 TB SSD |
$2,649 $1,999 at B&H Photo (save $650)
Lenovo makes some brilliant gaming laptops, and this Legion Pro 7i is no exception. Featuring the mighty RTX 4080 in combination with Intel's top-spec Core i9 mobile CPU, this high-end model should have no trouble tearing through any game you can throw at it. The screen is plenty speedy too with a 240 Hz refresh rate, and 32 GB of fast DDR5 is not to be sniffed at.

Price check: Newegg (2 TB SSD model) $2,499.99

Price watch: ➖Razer Blade 16 | RTX 4080 | Core i9 14900HX | 16-inch | Mercury White | 32 GB RAM | 2 TB SSD | Mini-LED | 2400p/1200p | 120/240 Hz | $3,599 $2,999 at B&H (save $600)

Price watch: ➖
Razer Blade 16 | RTX 4080 | Core i9 14900HX | 16-inch | Mercury White | 32 GB RAM | 2 TB SSD | Mini-LED | 2400p/1200p | 120/240 Hz |
$3,599 $2,999 at B&H (save $600)
My boss and I are arguing over this one. Not on its deal worthiness (it's a monster of a laptop and the Razer premium is real even if slightly mitigated by this deal), but on whether this Mini-LED model with a 2 TB SSD is worth it over the OLED version below with a 1 TB drive. This one benefits from a beefy resolution that can be tuned to 1200p and 240 Hz if you want more frames, plus it has double the storage. All of which makes it, in my opinion, better than the one below.

Price check: Razer store $3,199.99

Price watch: ➖Razer Blade 16 | RTX 4080 | Core i9 14900HX | 16-inch | Black | 32 GB RAM | 1 TB SSD | OLED | 1600p | 240 Hz | $3,599 $2,999.99 at Razer (save $600)

Price watch: ➖
Razer Blade 16 | RTX 4080 | Core i9 14900HX | 16-inch | Black | 32 GB RAM | 1 TB SSD | OLED | 1600p | 240 Hz |
$3,599 $2,999.99 at Razer (save $600)
This Razer Blade comes in the classic black look and contains only a 1 TB drive. However, it might make up for that with its well-to-do 1600p OLED screen. This is the OLED screen we crowned the best on a gaming laptop in 2024, and it really is extremely pretty for gaming and more. While the storage is a bit tight, and you can only upgrade with a single-sided SSD, there's definitely a case to be made for choosing this over the Mini-LED model above. That is, if you can stomach the Razer premium altogether.

Price check: B&H discontinued

Steam Deck LCD | SteamOS | 256 GB | £349 at Steam

Steam Deck LCD | SteamOS | 256 GB | £349 at Steam
There's no deal on the Steam Deck right now, but since the launch of the OLED model, you can buy the mid-sized LCD for a good price. It's still a wicked handheld, too, most of all because of its custom SteamOS operating system.

Price watch: ➖ROG Ally | Z1 Extreme | 7-inch screen | 16 GB RAM | 512 GB SSD | £499 £399 at Amazon (save £100)

Price watch: ➖
ROG Ally | Z1 Extreme | 7-inch screen | 16 GB RAM | 512 GB SSD |
£499 £399 at Amazon (save £100)
If you're eyeing up a handheld gaming PC for the holiday period, you can't go wrong with the ROG Ally. This is the version with the full-power chip inside it, the Z1 Extreme, which is absolutely the version to go for. It's a savvy handheld that's still worth a look even with the improved ROG Ally X on the market. Most importantly, it's now the price of a Steam Deck but more powerful and runs Windows 11, which is both a good and bad thing.

Price check: Argos £399.99

Price watch: 🔼Lenovo Legion Go | Z1 Extreme | 8.8-inch screen | 16 GB RAM | 512 GB SSD | £699.99 £479 at Amazon (save £220.99)

Price watch: 🔼
Lenovo Legion Go | Z1 Extreme | 8.8-inch screen | 16 GB RAM | 512 GB SSD |
£699.99 £479 at Amazon (save £220.99)
The Legion Go is a lot like the ROG Ally crossed with a Nintendo Switch, and much bigger than both. It has detachable controllers, one of which can turn into a mouse, and which make for a simple relaxed set-up. The big screen runs at 1600p, which is great for browsing Windows 11, but not really in the ballpark of the Z1 Extreme chip in terms of playable performance. Still, you can run it at 1080p just fine, and this is one of the more polished gaming handhelds on the market.

Price check: Ebuyer £698.99

Price check: ➖Lenovo LOQ 15IAX9 | RTX 4060 | Core i5 12450HX | 1080p | 144 Hz | 24 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD | £904.46 £799.98 at Ebuyer (save £104.48)

Price check: ➖
Lenovo LOQ 15IAX9 | RTX 4060 | Core i5 12450HX | 1080p | 144 Hz | 24 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD |
£904.46 £799.98 at Ebuyer (save £104.48)
This laptop does something out of character for budget machines: it comes with more than 16 GB of RAM. Yep, that's 24 GB across TWO sticks of DDR5-4800 SO-DIMM. It doesn't let up on the storage either, with a 1 TB drive and a slot for another. The screen is your average 1080p unit but that's fine for the money. In fact, the whole laptop is. You can check out the detailed specs here.

Price watch: 🔼Gigabyte G5 | RTX 4060 | Core i5 13500H | 15.6-inch | 1080p | 144 Hz | 16 GB DDR5-4800 | 512 GB SSD | £849 £811.14 at Amazon (save £38.85)

Price watch: 🔼
Gigabyte G5 | RTX 4060 | Core i5 13500H | 15.6-inch | 1080p | 144 Hz | 16 GB DDR5-4800 | 512 GB SSD |
£849 £811.14 at Amazon (save £38.85)
We're big fans of this little budget gaming laptop, and our Jacob loved its great gaming performance (check out our review). With some genuine 1080p gaming chops on offer for a substantially lower price than we've seen previously, this makes for a tidy little gaming laptop for not much cash at all.

Price check: Currys £899

Price watch: ➖Gigabyte Aorus 7 | RTX 4060 | Core i5 12500H | 17.3-inch | 1080p | 360 Hz | 16 GB DDR5-3200 | 512 GB SSD | £999.95 £899.99 at Overclockers (save £99.96)

Price watch: ➖
Gigabyte Aorus 7 | RTX 4060 | Core i5 12500H | 17.3-inch | 1080p | 360 Hz | 16 GB DDR5-3200 | 512 GB SSD |
£999.95 £899.99 at Overclockers (save £99.96)
A slightly odd set of components here, but if you're looking for a large-screen laptop with decent gaming performance at a budget price point, this is a darn good shout. That large screen might be only 1080p, but it's super speedy, and it's well matched with an RTX 4060 and a 12th Gen (but still performant) Intel mobile chip.

Price watch: ➖Asus TUF F15 | RTX 4070 | Core i7 12700H | 15.6-inch | 1080p | 144 Hz | 16 GB DDR4-3200 | 1 TB SSD | £1,199.99 £949.99 at Amazon (save £250)

Price watch: ➖
Asus TUF F15 | RTX 4070 | Core i7 12700H | 15.6-inch | 1080p | 144 Hz | 16 GB DDR4-3200 | 1 TB SSD |
£1,199.99 £949.99 at Amazon (save £250)
For just a smidge under a grand, this laptop has a properly excellent spec sheet for the cash. The screen might be 1080p, but that just means that RTX 4070 will have no problems cranking frames towards that 144 Hz panel. The CPU is still a bit of a mobile barnstormer too, and you get a proper 1 TB SSD for storage.

Price watch: ➖Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 | RTX 4070 | Core i7 14700H | 18-inch | 1600p | 165 Hz | 16 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD | £1,499.99 £1,220 at Amazon (save £279.99)

Price watch: ➖
Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 | RTX 4070 | Core i7 14700H | 18-inch | 1600p | 165 Hz | 16 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD |
£1,499.99 £1,220 at Amazon (save £279.99)
It's a seriously large laptop but if you're looking for a huge screen and some mega components to match, this is a superb pick for the money. That RTX 4070 should be able to keep that big IPS panel fed with pixels thanks to DLSS 3, and the Core i7 processor here will have no problems keeping up. Big, beastly, and surprisingly good value.

Price check: Laptops Direct £1,499

Price watch: ➖Acer Predator Triton Neo | RTX 4070 | Core Ultra 9 185H | 16-inch | 2000p | 165 Hz | 32 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD | £1,599 £1,499 at Amazon (save £100)

Price watch: ➖
Acer Predator Triton Neo | RTX 4070 | Core Ultra 9 185H | 16-inch | 2000p | 165 Hz | 32 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD |
£1,599 £1,499 at Amazon (save £100)
This might not technically be on discount, but it's still a lot of laptop for the cash. Here you get a 2000p speedy panel in combination with an efficient yet very gaming-capable CPU, paired with 32 GB of RAM and a decent 1 TB SSD. It's not the prettiest machine, but it's a very portable, very powerful gaming powerhouse in a slim chassis.

Price watch: ➖MSI Vector 16 | RTX 4080 | Core i9 13980HX | 16-inch | 1200p | 165 Hz | 16 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD | £1,693.96 at Amazon

Price watch: ➖
MSI Vector 16 | RTX 4080 | Core i9 13980HX | 16-inch | 1200p | 165 Hz | 16 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD |
£1,693.96 at Amazon
When it comes to the hardware running under the bonnet, this 16-inch MSI Vector certainly has the goods, what with that Intel Core i9 processor and an RTX 4080 making a very tempting package indeed. Bit of a shame about the 1200p display and 16GB of RAM, but at least the screen's a good 'un with a 144Hz refresh rate and a nice and bright panel. There's a huge amount of performance here, making this machine a sizeable chunk of power for just under £1,700.


Our magic Black Friday price bots are searching the web, constantly tracking down the best gaming laptop deals.

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Hey, Jacob here, reporting for duty. I'm spending a chunk of my time this week looking out for gaming laptop and handheld gaming PC deals, from now until Black Friday and beyond.

Well, until Cyber Monday anyways. After that I'm getting a big board of cheese and crackers and putting my feet up... but we have year-long deal hubs to keep you covered once that happens.

Deal banner

This diminutive Asus gaming laptop is part of the company's more affordable TUF range of machines, but the new-look chassis is taking a lot of its design cues from the super premium Zephyrus line.

It's also sporting AMD's top-of-the-line new mobile processors of the Strix Point family, too. As such, the Asus TUF A14 is one of the best 14-inch gaming laptops around right now.

And with a decent discount bringing the RTX 4060 version down to $1,349 at Walmart it's really cutting through the price premium of these small form factor laptops.

Price watch: ➖Asus TUF A14 | RTX 4060 | Ryzen AI HX 370 | 16 GB RAM | 1 TB SSD | $1,499 $1,349 at Walmart (save $150)

Price watch: ➖
Asus TUF A14 | RTX 4060 | Ryzen AI HX 370 | 16 GB RAM | 1 TB SSD |
$1,499 $1,349 at Walmart (save $150)
The TUF A14 was a bit of a surprise package to arrive in the PCG office this year, and I ended up a big fan in my review of it. It's a big upgrade on the previous generation of 14-inch, taking many of the design notes from the premium Zephyrus range, but doing so in a more affordable form. It's still a little pricey for an RTX 4060 laptop if that's all you're after, but for a compact 14-inch version, it's a bit of a bargain.

Deal

Right here is the cheapest RTX 4080-powered gaming laptop we can find right now. The MSI Vector. It's a 16-inch device with a fairly standard form factor for a gaming laptop—it's not going to win any awards for sleek style. However, that's a 175 W 4080 under the hood, and the CPU might be one generation old but it's still a modern architecture and good enough.

I'd prefer a 1440p or 1600p panel for this sort of cash, but at least you'll stand a chance of hitting that 144 Hz refresh rate frequently. And since this is so much cheaper than the other RTX 4080 machine I've highlighted in the guide above, it's worth thinking about anyways. For competitive gamers that prefer speed to resolution, it might be a good fit.

Price watch: NEW DEAL!MSI Vector GP68 HX 13V | RTX 4080 | Core i7 13700H |  16-inch | 1200p | 144 Hz | 16 GB | $1,729.99 at Newegg

Price watch: NEW DEAL!
MSI Vector GP68 HX 13V | RTX 4080 | Core i7 13700H | 16-inch | 1200p | 144 Hz | 16 GB |
$1,729.99 at Newegg
This is the cheapest gaming laptop we've found so far with an RTX 4080 in the center of it. It's a bit of odd machine, in that the resolution is 1920 x 1200 and only 144 Hz, which means you'll be limited by the screen sometimes with the RTX 4080 at its core. However, you can be sure you'll be hitting that refresh rate often. The CPU is a bit older but it's still a modern architecture and a Core i7.

A gaming laptop with ample storage is good, but you want a spare NVMe slot for easy upgrades

You can't upgrade a gaming laptop like a gaming desktop, but usually you can at least swap out the NVMe SSD and memory.

I say usually (and italicise it for good measure) because some laptops have soldered memory and single NVMe slot. I.e. the latest Asus Zephyrus G14. You can still swap out the SSD already in that laptop pretty easily, but you would need to find some way to clone it if you want to upgrade your storage.

Altogether, it's just way more of a hassle than if you had a spare slot to begin with. So, if you can find a picture of the innards of any gaming laptop you're considering, that's good to check.

Here are a handful of pictures from inside a few current generation laptops (we make sure to always take a snap of the slots so you don't have to get inside your own laptop to check):

Deal

Here's a fresh deal for ya: I've spotted this MSI Vector machine over at B&H for $1,849. Now that's over $100 more than the cheapest RTX 4080 we've spotted so far, also an MSI Vector, though I much prefer the spec on this device.

With a 1600p/240 Hz screen, it's a much better fit for that RTX 4080 mobile GPU than the 1200p/144 Hz screen on the cheaper unit.

Combine the screen with the newer, and better, 14900HX chip and double the RAM to 32 GB, you start to see why this machine is well worth that extra 100 or so bucks.

Price watch: NEW DEAL!MSI Vector 16 HX | RTX 4080 | Core i9 14900HX | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 1 TB SSD | 32 GB RAM | $2,149 $1,849 at B&H (save $300)

Price watch: NEW DEAL!
MSI Vector 16 HX | RTX 4080 | Core i9 14900HX | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 1 TB SSD | 32 GB RAM |
$2,149 $1,849 at B&H (save $300)
Of the two MSI Vector machines we've highlighted here, I'd rather this one. It has a newer, more powerful CPU, a better screen resolution and refresh rate for an RTX 4080, and 32 GB of RAM. Altogether, that makes for a pretty sweet package and an upgrade worth the extra $100 over the cheapest RTX 4080 laptop we've found so far.

Price check: Microcenter $1,999.99

OLED or Mini-LED? We're on a Razer's edge

Sorry for the Razer-based pun—the deals season does strange things to a person. Anyways, my editor and I are trying to decide between these here two seemingly near-identical Razer Blade 16 gaming laptops.

Both come with an RTX 4080, a Core i9 14900Hz, and a price tag of near-enough $3,000. These Blade laptops don't come cheap, and arguably other companies offer similarly fetch models for less. But some people only want Razer and you can't blame them once you've used one yourself. They're really lovely. As they should be for the money.

The price isn't what we're disagreeing about, it's which one is the better deal.

On the one hand, my pick: the Mercury White option.

Price watch: NEW DEAL!Razer Blade 16 | RTX 4080 | Core i9 14900HX | 16-inch | Mercury White | 32 GB RAM | 2 TB SSD | Mini-LED | 2400p/1200p | 120/240 Hz | $3,599 $2,999 at B&H (save $600)

Price watch: NEW DEAL!
Razer Blade 16 | RTX 4080 | Core i9 14900HX | 16-inch | Mercury White | 32 GB RAM | 2 TB SSD | Mini-LED | 2400p/1200p | 120/240 Hz |
$3,599 $2,999 at B&H (save $600)
My boss and I are arguing over this one. Not on its deal worthiness (it's a monster of a laptop and the Razer premium is real even if slightly mitigated by this deal), but on whether this Mini-LED model with a 2 TB SSD is worth it over the OLED version below with a 1 TB drive. This one benefits from a beefy resolution that can be tuned to 1200p and 240 Hz if you want more frames, plus it has double the storage. All of which makes it, in my opinion, better than the one below.

Price check: Razer store $3,199.99

This comes with 2 TB of storage and a dual-mode Mini-LED screen. That means the screen can be set to either 2400p or 1200p, and the refresh rate will adjust accordingly between 120 Hz and 240 Hz. It's not a perfect system of switching on these devices but it's a neat feature if you're looking to game and work on this single device.

Plus, the one time we really rate Mini-LED screens is on gaming laptops. They're compact enough where the lighting zones actually work as intended, whereas on larger gaming monitors we're team OLED all the way.

Now for Dave's pick: the Black OLED option.

Price watch: NEW DEAL!Razer Blade 16 | RTX 4080 | Core i9 14900HX | 16-inch | Black | 32 GB RAM | 1 TB SSD | OLED | 1600p | 240 Hz | $3,599 $2,999.99 at Razer (save $600)

Price watch: NEW DEAL!
Razer Blade 16 | RTX 4080 | Core i9 14900HX | 16-inch | Black | 32 GB RAM | 1 TB SSD | OLED | 1600p | 240 Hz |
$3,599 $2,999.99 at Razer (save $600)
This Razer Blade comes in the classic black look and contains only a 1 TB drive. However, it might make up for that with its well-to-do 1600p OLED screen. This is the OLED screen we crowned the best on a gaming laptop in 2024, and it really is extremely pretty for gaming and more. While the storage is a bit tight, and you can only upgrade with a single-sided SSD, there's definitely a case to be made for choosing this over the Mini-LED model above. That is, if you can stomach the Razer premium altogether.

Price check: B&H discontinued

This laptop stuffs the dual-mode option for a flatly 2560 x 1600 OLED screen. That's a pretty neat trade-off, I won't lie, as 2560 x 1600 is my favourite resolution for a 16-inch laptop with a decent GPU—you can score reasonably high frame rates in game but can still surf a spreadsheet.

Now here comes the kicker: this black Blade comes with just 1 TB of SSD capacity installed. That's a bit slim pickings for a laptop that costs as much as some cars. I have often thought Razer was being pretty stingey when it came to storage on its most premium of premium laptops, and 1 TB is going to fill up very fast if you're using this device for gaming and video editing, which is pretty likely considering its spec.

Now, you can upgrade the storage in the Blade 16, as per my previous blog post on this page. You can actually see underneath the hood on the Blade 16 we reviewed earlier in the year. The issue is this laptop comes with stacked NVMe slots, meaning you have to use only single-sided NVMe SSDs. That can be done, but involves shopping around a bit to find something suitable for the right price.

The WD Blue SN5000 is a single-side drive available in large capacities, though it's not the quickest around.

Deal

Here's a pretty wicked RTX 4070 laptop for $1,180.

The Slim comes with a Ryzen 7 7735HS, which is an eight-core processor and plenty powerful for a gaming laptop. It also includes the Radeon 680M integrated GPU, which has 12 CUs for reasonably decent performance. I say reasonably, as it'll be nothing close to the performance of the RTX 4070 inside this machine, but for indie games on the move, it's a good battery saver.

The RTX 4070 runs at a 140 W TGP, which means it should be able to perform as expected for its core count and not be overly limited by power constraints.

So far, so good. There's no letting up with the screen, either. It is a 16:10, 2560 x 1600 number, with a 350 nit peak brightness all from an IPS panel. It's also FreeSync Premium rated to keep screen tear away.

Does there have to be a catch? Well, yes, unfortunately there is. It might not be a dealbreaker, but it does sting a little. This laptop only comes with a single stick of DDR5 RAM. Just one lonely 16 GB stick. With one fewer channel, the system cannot utilise the RAM to its fullest, which may or may not have an impact on performance. Generally, we'd expect some sort of performance hit for a single stick, though it really depends on the application.

You could add in another stick down the line, though it's best to grab a kit for maximum compatibility and replacing the lot. You can probably get away with just buying another matching 16 GB stick, however.

So, hey, it's a bit frustrating on an otherwise solid laptop for the money.

Price watch: NEW DEAL!Lenovo Slim 5 Gen 9 | RTX 4070 | Ryzen 7 7735HS | 16-inch | 1600p | 165 Hz | 16 GB DDR5 (single-stick) | 1 TB SSD | $1,769.99 $1,179.99 at Lenovo (save $590)

Price watch: NEW DEAL!
Lenovo Slim 5 Gen 9 | RTX 4070 | Ryzen 7 7735HS | 16-inch | 1600p | 165 Hz | 16 GB DDR5 (single-stick) | 1 TB SSD |
$1,769.99 $1,179.99 at Lenovo (save $590)
AMD chip, smart screen, RTX 4070, at least a terabyte of storage? This Lenovo machine is the whole package and one of the cheaper RTX 4070 machines around. There is one small catch, however, it only comes with a single stick of memory. WHY LENOVO? You could always upgrade it if you want to get a little more out of this machine, but it's a frustrating miss on an otherwise good value gaming laptop.

Do you need an 'AI PC'?

No.

That was easy, wasn't it?

What makes a PC an 'AI PC' is an NPU. This is a specialised block on a chip that's dedicated to accelerating AI workloads. Intel's latest Lunar Lake chips, AMD's Ryzen AI series, and Qualcomm's Snapdragon Elite series all come with NPUs baked into the silicon, thus qualifying laptops with them as 'AI PCs'.

However, there really isn't much to do with an NPU that's of direct benefit to PC gamers right now. They're mostly used to accelerate local AI operations, and a lot of AI operations are still done in the cloud. You might get some local image processing or image generation from an NPU, and Copilot Plus PCs require it, but that doesn't mean the NPU is actually all that useful just yet.

That's because graphics cards are also mighty AI processing machines—that's why Nvidia is selling them by the truckload right now. So any PC, or laptop, with a decent GPU inside it actually already has some impressive AI-chomping ability. This will soon be recognised by Microsoft as Copilot Plus worthy, too.

So, whether the NPU has some uses or not, I wouldn't go out of your way to buy a gaming laptop with one just yet. As a PC gamer, I've struggled to really get much out of any laptops I've tested with an NPU.

Deal banner

There are other RTX 4060 machines on sale in the crush of Black Friday gaming laptop deals, and we've found three for under $800. But only one of them is truly worth your money. The Dell G15, for $800 at Dell itself is a classic Black Friday deal; we're always seeing them on offer around sales events, but that doesn't make this one any less appealing.

The RTX 4060 GPUs in the other machines are running at far lower power levels than the 140 W chip inside the Dell. That's the full wattage, and will have a big impact on the relative gaming performance against the 45 W and 75 W GPUs of the MSI and Acer machines our Andy has scouted this week.

This is a perfect example of what you really need to dig into when shopping for a new gaming laptop. The same graphics chip can have vastly different power levels that will impact both the heat they generate (manufacturers will use lower wattages to fit chips into thinner chassis), so it pays to check into the specs sheet to see what rating a given GPU is given.

MSI GF65

Dell G15 | 15.6-inch | Ryzen 7 7840HS | RTX 4060 | 1080p | 165 Hz | 16 GB DDR5 4800 | 512 GB SSD | $1,099.99 $799.99 at Dell (save $300)
Dell's G15 line might be on the chonky side, but they're very well-specced laptops that have started receiving significant discounts in recent months. This one's got a plenty fast 165 Hz display, an eight core 16-thread AMD CPU, and a full-fat 140 W TGP RTX 4060. Pretty killer for the cash, although it's an old-school looker.

Deal

What better way to ring in Black Friday proper than a deal on our pick for the best gaming laptop.

The ROG Zephyrus G16 is currently discounted down to $1,600 at Best Buy, including Intel's top Meteor Lake Core Ultra 9 185H chip and an all-important RTX 4070.

With an OLED screen and a wonderfully sleek chassis, this machine massively impressed both Andy and I in testing. I had the Ryzen AI HX 370 model, Andy the 14th Gen Intel. This isn't just favouritism on my part, but the AMD model is the best choice of those two. While we haven't tested the Core Ultra model of the Zephyrus ourselves, we have tested the Core Ultra chips. It should perform really well in a sleek chassis such as this, and will keep up with the RTX 4070.

The performance of this laptop is a little lower for its sleek chassis. I found that to be a fair trade-off in my testing for how lovely it is to actually use day-to-day, both between gaming and work.

The main downside with this deal is that it's on a model with only 16 GB of RAM. That's soldered LPDDR5 which means you can't upgrade down the line. That sorta sucks, I'd much prefer 32 GB or at least room to upgrade it myseelf, so something to consider before you buy.

There's also the fact you can buy an RTX 4070 for much less, though the Zephyrus does feel like a different class of laptop to many chunkier gaming machines out there—that will appeal to some more than others.

Price watch: NEW DEAL!Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 | RTX 4070 | Core Ultra 9 185H | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 1 TB SSD | 16 GB LPDDR5 | $1,999.99 $1,599.99 at Best Buy (save $400)

Price watch: NEW DEAL!
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 | RTX 4070 | Core Ultra 9 185H | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 1 TB SSD | 16 GB LPDDR5 |
$1,999.99 $1,599.99 at Best Buy (save $400)
The ROG Zephyrus G16 is our favorite gaming laptop. Like, literally it's our pick as the best gaming laptop, and we've tried a whole lot this year. Admittedly, we like it most with AMD's Ryzen AI HX 370 inside it, rather than this Intel Core Ultra chip, though it shouldn't make a tremendous difference to the overall experience. The main thing is, it's a sleek laptop with a gorgeous chassis and an RTX 4070.

Deal

Steam Deck price drop!

The Steam Deck is just $337 over on Steam, and you won't beat that for a handheld gaming PC right now. That's for the 512 GB model, too. The 64 GB version is even cheaper at $296.65, though I would recommend going for the bigger capacity.

The Deck is less powerful than some other Windows-based designs but you don't feel it's lacking power when you're playing Vampire Survivors, Balatro, Hades or any other handheld-friendly title. That's partially because the resolution is just 1280 x 800, whereas those other ones are 1080p.

The Steam Deck's best feature has to be SteamOS. This Linux-powered interface is absolutely awesome, and we're still waiting for it to launch officially on other devices.

This is a US deal, and there's no such luck on a price reduction in the UK.

Check out our Steam Deck review for more.

Price watch:➖Steam Deck (LCD) | 512 GB SSD | SteamOS | $449 $336.75 at Steam (save $112.25)

Price watch:➖
Steam Deck (LCD) | 512 GB SSD | SteamOS |
$449 $336.75 at Steam (save $112.25)
Okay, the Steam Deck may have had an OLED refresh and there are heaps of more powerful handhelds around, but the original version is still the archetype of what a mobile PC gaming device should be. It's just as powerful as the most recent model so all those Steam Deck compatible games should run well. It's the OG PC gaming handheld, and it still demands respect. At the very least because SteamOS is wicked and it's extremely affordable with this deal (which goes on until December 4 if you want more time to think).

Deal

The spec of this HP gaming laptop is about the same as every other somewhat affordable RTX 4060 gaming laptop. EXCEPT it has a 1 TB SSD. That alone puts it ahead of the rest of the gaming laptops under $1,000.

HP Omen | RTX 4060 | Core i7 13620H | 16-inch | 165 Hz | 1080p | 1 TB SSD | 16 GB DDR5-5200 | $1,299.99 $949.99 at Best Buy (save $350)

HP Omen | RTX 4060 | Core i7 13620H | 16-inch | 165 Hz | 1080p | 1 TB SSD | 16 GB DDR5-5200 | $1,299.99 $949.99 at Best Buy (save $350)
Take a look over the specs of this HP Omen machine and it looks pretty similar to a couple others on this list. Though it does differ from other models under $1,000 in that it actually has a reasonably sized SSD at 1 TB. You still might want more room, but it's a whole lot better than 512 GB.

Soldered vs SO-DIMM—what's the deal?

If you've read through all of the deals on this page and you're not already familiar with the two most common types of memory on a gaming laptop, you might be wondering what we mean with phrases like 'soldered' and 'SO-DIMM'.

Razer Blade 14 gaming laptop on a desk.

Here's the back of the Razer Blade 14, which has little else to look at except those two SO-DIMM slots side-by-side. (Image credit: Future)

Let's start with SO-DIMM memory. This is the most common type of system memory (RAM) you'll find on a modern gaming laptop. These are removeable sticks of RAM, much like those on a standard gaming PC, though slightly squished to be more ameniable to the compact laptop form factor. SO-DIMM tends to be DDR5 memory now, which means speeds upwards of 5,000 MT/s are pretty standard these days.

The Asus Zephyrus G14 on a desk with Metro: Exodus benchmark running on-screen.

Here's the back of the Zephryus G14, which uses soldered LPDDR5X memory (you can't really see it, but it's under that cooling) (Image credit: Future)

Soldered memory is what we'd call any type of memory that's, well, soldered to the motherboard. Usually LPDDR5X in modern systems. It's not removeable in the traditional sense as it's attached to the motherboard directly, and doesn't come on any sort of separate stick (though with a heatgun, anything is removeable).

Soldered memory is used to save space—a laptop chassis can usually be thinner without SO-DIMMs and SO-DIMM slots.

So, which is best?

Good question, but I think I'm going to take the easy way out and say it depends on what machine you're buying. If you're grabbing a thin-and-light with 32 GB or more of RAM from the get-go, such as an ROG Zephyrus G16 (our best gaming laptop pick) you might be sorted for speedy memory and never feel the need to change it for the duration of that laptop's life. Though if you have less than 16 GB, you'll want the option to upgrade down the line. Even 16 GB might be nice to swap-out later on, though be honest with yourself if that's something you'd be keen to do.

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This is the absolute cheapest RTX 4060 gaming laptop I've found, and it's actually a pretty impressive one. The Lenovo LOQ machines were a bit of an oddity when they first launched; they were meant to be the more affordable alternative to the company's Legion laptops... except they weren't actually cheaper.

Odd.

Anyways, it's Black Friday now, and everything's on sale it seems, and suddenly the LOQ is good value. Actually, I'd go as far as to say it's great value. There isn't another $700 gaming laptop that I've seen which would be as good a machine as this.

The build quality is excellent, the GPU has a TGP of 105 W—which isn't the highest, but certainly not the lowest, looking at you Mr. 45 W MSI—and the AMD Zen 3+ CPU will do a job, too. It feels like a smartly specced, well-built gaming laptop, that is a bit of a bargain.

My only notes are that the screen on the LOQ I tested wasn't brilliant and this 144 Hz IPS does seem a mite dim at 300 nits, and one other slight concern is that the 16 GB of DDR5-4800 memory isn't listed as to whether it comes in two sticks or one. That's important, because of late Lenovo has been using a single stick to cheap out on 16 GB configs, and that instantly halves the available memory bandwidth.

Oh, and that 512 GB SSD is a bit miserly, but that's not a tough, or expensive upgrade down the road.

Lenovo LOQ | Ryzen 7 7435HS | RTX 4060 | 15.6-inch | 16 GB DDR5-4800 | 512 GB SSD | $999.99 $699.99 at Best Buy (save $300)

Lenovo LOQ | Ryzen 7 7435HS | RTX 4060 | 15.6-inch | 16 GB DDR5-4800 | 512 GB SSD | $999.99 $699.99 at Best Buy (save $300)
I was quietly impresed with the RTX 4050 version of the Lenovo LOQ I reviewed. As the company's relatively new budget range I expected something a lot more flimsy, but the LOQ is a solid, proper gaming laptop. It was just that they weren't particularly budget. Around these sales events, however, and this here RTX 4060, with a TGP of 105 W, btw, is available for just $700. That's the cheapest RTX 4060-toting lappy we've found.

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Ah, there it is. I was wondering when this one would show it's chonky little face. The Asus TUF F15 pops up a lot around these times, showing up all the other RTX 4070 gaming laptops by hugely undercutting them and offering itself up with a huge discount.

This is a lot of laptop for under a grand, and you can find the Asus TUF F15 for $1,000 at Best Buy.

Asus TUF F15 | RTX 4070 | Core i7 13620H | 15.6-inch | 144 Hz | 1080p | 16 GB DDR5-4800 | 1 TB SSD | $1,399.99 $999.99 at Best Buy (save $400)

Asus TUF F15 | RTX 4070 | Core i7 13620H | 15.6-inch | 144 Hz | 1080p | 16 GB DDR5-4800 | 1 TB SSD | $1,399.99 $999.99 at Best Buy (save $400)
It may be a bit of a chonker, but this is the cheapest RTX 4070 gaming laptop you will likely find this Black Friday. It's sporting a proper 140 W version of the GPU, too, so it's no slouch. Probably thanks to it being a chonker. With that you get a mighty capable Core i7 CPU, 16 GB of RAM, and a 1 TB SSD. Seriously, what more could you want?

Morning! Black Friday may be over, but I'm still going to be picking my way around the various retailers to figure out which laptops are still live and which have vanished from the shelves never to be seen again. Okay, that might be a little over dramatic, but there will likely be some that have either gone out of stock or have lost their tempting little discounts.

And I'm going to be here making sure I'm still bringing you the best gaming laptop deals around.

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There are quite a few deals still hanging on, but some have gone out of stock, and others have increased in price. Perhaps that's in preparation of new pricing come Cyber Monday, but there is at least one exception. This powerful RTX 4080 MSI Vector 16 HX has dropped $200 overnight and is now $1,799 at B&H Photo.

There is another RTX 4080 machine from MSI that's $50 cheaper, but this one has the top-end Intel CPU, twice the DDR5 ram allotment, and a 2560 x 1600 display capable of a 240 Hz refresh rate.

It's a far better machine than the $50 price delta might suggest.

Price watch: 🔽MSI Vector 16 HX | RTX 4080 | Core i9 14900HX | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 1 TB SSD | 32 GB RAM | $2,149 $1,799 at B&H Photo (save $500)

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MSI Vector 16 HX | RTX 4080 | Core i9 14900HX | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 1 TB SSD | 32 GB RAM |
$2,149 $1,799 at B&H Photo (save $500)
Of the two MSI Vector machines we've highlighted here, I'd rather this one. It has a newer, more powerful CPU, a better screen resolution and refresh rate for an RTX 4080, and 32 GB of RAM. Altogether, that makes for a pretty sweet package and an upgrade worth the extra $100 over the cheapest RTX 4080 laptop we've found so far.

Price check: Microcenter $1,999.99