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has officially arrived and you know what that means: Sales. A decent or gaming desktop spells the difference between smooth sailing (and maybe making it to the end of a battle royale unscathed) and a laggy mess. And good news: The dedicated GPU is also good for 3D rendering, running intensive programs like Photoshop, and editing other forms of media, so it’s worth investing in if you’re a creative. The best part? There are some top-of-the-line configurations on sale right now that will level up your gameplay and/or creativity suite.
And while you’re at it, make sure to scope out our picks for the Best Laptops of 2024.
A gorgeous 2.5K sets this Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 apart from other gaming laptops. The premium build and high-end components makes this laptop well worth the asking price and to sweeten the deal, 3 months of e are included with your purchase, opening up a huge library of titles for you to dive into.
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A with similar specs was rated highly by our expert for strong performance (for the price) and premium build quality. The generous amount of RAM also enables you to engage in and 3D rendering, making this is a great buy for gamers and creatives as well. And don’t overlook that $80 discount.
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Our expert gave an gaming desktop with similar specs an “excellent” score as well as the Editors’ Choice award for its effective performance and refreshed design. One of the few cons was the lack of budget models, and so this $350 discount should be extra enticing for those looking for a cutting edge gaming rig.
This high powered features enough power to run resource-heavy applications and make multitasking a breeze. A large number of ports, including DisplayPorts, USBs, and HDMI, allow you to connect a number of peripheral devices without juggling them for your convenience. This Black Friday deal is a great buy for creators and gaming enthusiasts alike who want more bang for their buck.
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Gaming Laptops & Desktop FAQs
Hey, I’m , a PCMag lead hardware analyst with a special focus on gaming PCs. I’ve tested and reviewed many dozens of gaming laptops and desktops over the past decade, so I know how to separate a dud from a deal. With a load of components and brand names to sort through, it can be tricky to shop for gaming systems at the best of times. But my answers to the three key questions below can help you pinpoint the best deal for you during Black Friday or Cyber Monday.
Is Black Friday/Cyber Monday a Good Time to Buy a Gaming PC?
This is an excellent time to buy a gaming laptop or gaming desktop. Laptops, in particular, that launched earlier in the year with the latest parts often see significant discounts as the end of the year approaches, before manufacturers gear up for new products in the following year. On top of that, remaining stock of older PCs—maybe a processor or GPU generation or two behind the latest—are significantly discounted as stock clears. If you don’t need the latest and greatest components, this time of year is when you can find a very capable mainstream gaming PC for hundreds of dollars less than list price; it’s also a great way to land a model with midrange performance closer to entry-level pricing.
What Makes a Good Gaming PC Product Deal?
Often with gaming PCs, pushing a few extra hundred dollars for a step-up component is worthwhile. To that end, any sale that essentially bakes this into the price is a good deal—a laptop with an Nvidia RTX 4060 GPU or Core i7 CPU may become available closer to RTX 4050 and Core i5 pricing with a few hundred dollars shaved off. As a general guideline for entry-level shopping, look for at least a Core i5 or Ryzen 5 processor, 16GB of memory, and at least an RTX 4050 (but ideally an RTX 4060) for mainstream gaming.
If you have a slightly larger budget, you can even snag a high-end machine for a much more reasonable price; sometimes those $1,800-plus laptops with the best graphics chips capable of running the latest games at high settings drop down toward the $1,500 range. That may tempt you enough to pull the trigger, and I can say it’s a much better value-to-dollar proposition than full price.
What Component Should I Prioritize?
It’s all about the GPU (graphics processing unit) for gaming PCs. Desktops use full-size graphics cards, while laptops run processor-like graphics chip versions, but both are responsible for pushing game visuals and smooth frame rates. The GPU will have the single biggest impact on your gaming experience, and so, while the processor and memory capacity do make a difference, we always recommend shifting your budget to prioritize the GPU.
For instance, if you see a deal for a PC with a Core i5 processor and an RTX 4060 GPU, we would recommend that over a superior Core i7 processor but inferior RTX 4050 GPU. A modern Core i5 or Ryzen 5 processor is still plenty quick for general use and gaming, but an RTX 4060 will unlock a higher tier of stability and performance for gaming than a RTX 4050. That applies to Nvidia’s whole GPU stack; if you can stretch for a PC with an RTX 4070 while the rest of the loadout is more modest, you’ll enjoy higher performance.
