Whether you’re buying a new laptop for school or trying to find a high-end gaming laptop, the holidays can be the best time of the year to find laptop deals. This year, more so than years before, you should act fast. The ongoing supply chain shortages mean that there may be fewer PCs as the holiday season wears on, and they might take longer to ship the further we get into December. We’ve provided a handy list of laptop-specific shopping tips at the end of this post, and immediately below are the deals themselves.
Mind you, not all advertised laptop deals are actually deals, so we’ve only included the ones we consider actual bargains—and we’ve explained why. Right now, there’s a bunch to choose from. We’ll add new laptop deals as we see them as well as note which deals have sold out. Right now, we’re seeing strong discounts on gaming laptops, Microsoft Surface devices and Dell laptops. We’re keeping tabs on holiday laptop deals as they happen! If you’re looking for Chromebooks we’ve got those deals in here too!
Holiday laptop deals
HP Victus 16t-d000 [NEW]
HP
From: HP.com
Was: $999.99
Now: $759.99 ($240 off)
HP has a very nice gaming laptop deal at an excellent price that includes the HP Omen Blast headset for free. The HP Victus 16t-d000 features a 16.1-inch 1080p display with a boost to 144Hz and a maximum brightness of 250 nits. Driving that screen is an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti, which will provide some nice graphics capabilities with high to ultra graphics depending on the game. This RTX GPU also supports DLSS and real-time ray tracing. In addition, It has 8GB of RAM, a 256GB NVMe M.2 SSD, and a six-core, twelve thread Intel “Tiger Lake” Core i5-11400H for the CPU. To get this deal you need to use the checkout code HOLIDAY5. The free headset will be added automatically at checkout.
See the HP Victus 16t-d000 at HP.com
Gigabyte Aorus 15P
Gigabyte
From: Newegg
Was: $2,399
Now: $1,899 ($500 off)
Nearly two thousand dollars is a lot to spend on a PC, but hear us out, because there’s a lot of value here. First, this is a gaming laptop with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 GPU, and those usually go for $2,000 or even much, much more. When we reviewed the mobile version of the 3080 nearly a year ago we called it “the best mobile GPU available right now.” Not a lot has come along for laptops since then to make us change our mind. This is an RTX card so it comes packing Nvidia’s DLSS and ray tracing hardware for stunning game visuals, and those visuals are increased dramatically by this laptop’s ridiculous 15.6-inch 1080p display with a blazing 300Hz refresh rate. I mean, what? Yes, this will make a difference in your overall experience.
Gigabyte also packed 32GB of RAM into this PC so you’ll have no trouble running things at a peppy pace. It comes with a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, which is lots of room for some games, and other data. It also has a backlit RGB keyboard and a Thunderbolt 4 slot. And did we mention it has a 300Hz display?
See the Gigabtye Aorus 15P at Newegg
Dell XPS 13
From: Dell.com
Was: $1,010
Now: $899 ($110 off)
Dell’s XPS laptops consistently receive some of the highest review scores on PCWorld, including the Editors’ Choice Award we awarded the 2020 XPS 13 in our review last year. Dell has put the more modern 11th-gen XPS on sale, with 8GB of memory, 256GB SSD and a 13.3-inch 1080p screen. If you want a small, powerful, laptop, we’d absolutely recommend this deal.
See the Dell XPS 13 on Dell.com
Asus 14-inch Chromebook
Asus
From: Costco
Was: $349.99
Now: $199.99 ($150 off)
A $200 Chromebook is the sweet spot in terms of value and this one has it in spades. It has a 14-inch 1080p display, the usual 4GB of RAM, and a whopping 128GB of onboard storage. The CPU is an Intel Celeron N4020, which is standard stuff for a Chromebook. Wireless capability is the 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0. There’s also a 720p webcam, two standard USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports, two Type-C USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports with support for DisplayPort, and an SD card reader. This is an excellent Chromebook for a student or anyone who needs an extremely simple laptop for travel.
See the Asus C424MA Chromebook at Costco
Gateway 14.1-inch Ultra Slim Notebook
Gateway
From: Walmart
Was: $499
Now: $429 ($70 off)
Walmart’s resurrected Gateway PC lineup already offers a lot of value at regular prices, and this sale kicks that up a notch. This 14.1-inch 1080p laptop comes packing a quad-core Intel “Tiger Lake” Core i5-1135G7. The computer is raring to go with 16GB of RAM, and with this Core i5’s integrated Iris Xe graphics it’ll be surprisingly capable at running games (though still don’t think of this as a gaming laptop). The PC has a 512GB SSD, a fingerprint scanner for Windows Hello, it’s Windows 11-ready, and it weighs in at just four pounds. That’s a stunning combination of specs for just $429.
See the Gateway 14.1-inch Ultra Slim at Walmart.
Lenovo IdeaPad 5
Lenovo
From: B&H Photo and Video
Was: $599
Now: $519 ($80 off)
A lot of the holiday deal laptops have “Tiger Lake” 11th-generation Intel CPUs, but this deal goes back one generation to “Ice Lake.” Those 10th-gen chips still offer plenty of punch and are worth considering when you’re getting a laptop like this at this price. This IdeaPad 5 offers a quad-core, eight thread Core i5-1035G1 with a boost to 3.6GHz. It has 8GB of RAM, a 512GB NVMe SSD, and a 15.6-inch 1080p TN display. You can get a lot of things done with a laptop like this at a price just above $500. While the CPU is slightly aged, the Wi-Fi is not, as this comes with Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) as well as Bluetooth 5.1. For ports it has one Type-C USB 3.2 Gen 1 with DisplayPort support and two standard USB 3.2 Gen 1. It also has an SD card reader and HDMI 1.4b out. It’s a nice-looking laptop with solid features at an excellent price.
See the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 at B&H
Acer Chromebook 315
Acer
From: Walmart
Was: $289
Now: $216.94 ($72.06 off)
If you’d like something a little beefier than the Lenovo Chromebook at Best Buy, take a look at this deal at Walmart. The Acer 315 is a 15.6-inch laptop with a 1080p touch display. Again, this is not a convertible laptop so no bending back the keyboard for a tablet-like experience. The processor is the Intel Celeron N4020, which is pretty standard for Chromebooks. It has 4GB of RAM, 64GB of onboard storage, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 5.0. For a Chromebook there’s really nothing here to look down on and with the price around $200 this deal is simply outsanding.
See the Acer Chromebook 315 at Walmart
Acer Nitro 5
Acer
From: Best Buy
Was: $1099.99
Now: $899.99 ($200 off)
The Acer Nitro 5 offers a nice gaming package with traditional gaming aesthetics. It features a 15.6-inch 1080p display with a maximum refresh rate of 144Hz and 16GB of RAM, which is about right for a gaming machine. The onboard storage is a 512GB NVMe SSD and it’s running Windows 11.
Graphics are driven by the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti, which is an entry-level GPU that supports Nvidia’s awesome DLSS and ray tracing technologies. The CPU is an Intel Core i7-11800H, which has eight cores, 16 threads, and a boost to 4.6GHz. You also get a free month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which includes access to all kinds of awesome games on PC and console.
See the Acer Nitro 5 at Best Buy
Asus VivoBook Flip 14-inch
Asus
From: Walmart
Was: $599
Now: $529 ($70 off)
This convertible laptop is available at a good price. It features a Ryzen 5 5500U processor, which is excellent at productivity tasks. It has 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, and a 14-inch 1080p touch display. It’s also rocking a backlit keyboard and for ports it has a standard USB 3.2 Gen 2, as well as a Type-C port of the same generation. There’s another standard USB 2.0 port, a microSD card reader, and HDMI out. It’s Windows 11 ready and is just an excellent choice for around $500. It’s also nice and light at just 3.31 pounds.
See the 14-inch Asus VivoBook Flip at Walmart
Gigabyte G5 MD
From: Newegg
Was: $1,199.00
Now: $849 ($350 off after $100 rebate)
Gaming laptops are tough to find at a discount right now, and this one is a decidedly mixed bag of pros and cons. Inside is a Core i5-11400H, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD behind a 144Hz 1080p screen. The RTX 3050 Ti is usually considered to be a bum deal compared to the RTX 3060…if you can find one? And, whoa—there’s a $100 rebate card you need to fill out? If you’re willing to jump through these hoops, though, the price and savings aren’t bad at all. This offer ends just before midnight Pacific time on Tuesday, November 30.
See the Gigabyte G5 MD at Newegg
Gigabyte Aero HDR 17.3-inch
Gigabyte AERO
From: Adorama
Was: $2,499
Now: $1,999 ($500 off)
If you’re looking for a premium powerhouse to play games on, the Gigabyte Aero HDR 17.3-inch is a great option, as it has some seriously powerful guts. Inside you’ll find an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 graphics card, an Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB of memory, and 1TB of SSD storage.
See the Gigabyte Aero HDR 17.3-inch at Adorama
Microsoft Surface Pro 7 + Signature Type Cover + Surface Pen bundle
From: Target
Was: $1,128.99
Now: $849.99 ($279 off)
Microsoft’s Surface Pro 7 debuted in Feb. 2020, and our Surface Pro 7 review showed that it absolutely dominated the laptop market. Sure, we now have the Surface Pro 8 (with Thunderbolt), but this is the right SP7 configuration at a very good price.
See the Surface Pro 7 bundle at Target.com
Microsoft Surface Laptop Go (Platinum)
Microsoft
From: Microsoft Store
Was: $899.99
Now: $699.99 ($200 off)
We gave the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go, Microsoft’s 12.4-inch budget laptop, 3.5 stars out of 5 in our Surface Laptop Go review. We felt it was a little overpriced. Dropping the price by $200 on its premium version (Core i5/8GB RAM/256GB SSD) certainly helps! Just be aware that the Laptop Go’s display is sub-1080p quality—but, in our experience, it didn’t really matter.
See the Surface Laptop Go on Microsoft.com
Microsoft Surface Go 2
Microsoft
From: Microsoft Store
Was: $549.99
Now: $399.99 ($150 off)
The Microsoft Surface Go 2 is the perfect travel companion because it’s so compact and lightweight. In addition to its miniscule size, the display is exceptionally bright and the fanless design means it runs quiet. However, the essential Type Cover keyboard is sold separately at $129.99, so it’s not quite as cheap as it seems at first blush—but this is still a great price for this laptop-tablet hybrid. You’ll also find $150 off models with a more powerful Core M3 processor.
See the Microsoft Surface Go 2 on Microsoft.com
Lenovo Ideapad Slim 7i 82A60015US
From: Microsoft Store
Was: $949.99
Now: $599.99 ($350 off)
If you’re looking for a steady, dependable, general-purpose PC, the Lenovo Ideapad Slim does the trick. With an 11th-gen Core chip, 14-inch 1080p screen, 8GB of memory, and a 512GB SSD, there’s nothing that particularly stands out. At the same time, nearly a third off the price is simply a solid deal. For reference, here’s our review of a related IdeaPad Slim.
See the Lenovo Ideapad Slim 7i 82A60015US at Microsoft
Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 9i (82D2000QUS)
From: Microsoft Store
Was: $1,759.99
Now: $999.99 ($760 off)
The larger cousin of the IdeaPad Slim 7i 9 (this is an Evo PC), the premium Intel collaborative brand with PC makers. Inside you’ll find a Core i7-1195G7, 16GB of memory, and a 512GB SSD. The selling point? a lovely 14-inch 4K touchscreen and a leather-bonded chassis.
See the IdeaPad Slim 9i 82D2000QUS at Microsoft
Lenovo IdeaPad Duet
Lenovo
From: Walmart.com
Was: $299.99
Now: $217 ($82.99 off)
If you like the concept of a Chrome OS tablet but think that the Chromebook Plus V2 price is too high, consider the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet, which we looked at last year. You can buy the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet for $229.99 at Walmart, which is $70 off the $299.99 MSRP. This tablet ships with 4GB of memory and 64GB of integrated storage.
Support runs through June 2029, which could be the longest support lifespan of this holiday’s deals.
Buy the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet Chromebook at Walmart
LG Gram 16-inch 2-in-1
From: Costco
Was: $1,699.99
Now: $1,299.97 ($400.02 off)
If you love big, lightweight general-purpose productivity laptops with high-resolution screens, the LG Gram 16-inch fits the bill. Weighing in at just over 3.2 pounds (light for a 16-inch laptop!) the Gram boasts a 16-inch 2,560×1,600 IPS display, just a bit more than a 1440p display. We’ve seen this laptop for $1,799.99 elsewhere, so even the “MSRP” is a discount. Note: This is a Costco deal, so you’ll need to be a member to be able to access it.
See the LG Gram 16-inch 2-in-1 at Costco
HP Spectre x360 14
HP
From: HP
Was: $1,399.99
Now: $1099.99 ($300 off)
If you’re looking for the best thin and light laptop money can buy, you’ve come to the right place.
This 14-inch HP Spectre convertible strikes a great balance between performance (from Intel’s Tiger Lake CPUs) and design, even if it’s a little on the heavy side at 3 pounds. Its 1920×1280 IPS display is another highlight, whether you’re making use of the 360-degree hinge and touchscreen or not. The deal highlighted here is on the model we reviewed, but all configurations are currently discounted.
See the HP Spectre x360 14 at HP.com
Holiday laptop deal buying tips
If you’ve shopped online before for laptop deals around the holidays, you’re probably aware that there’s a vast range of laptop configurations available.
A good place to start is with the processor. Buy laptops with Intel 10-series Core chips or higher, such as the Core i5-10510U, or the Core i7-11800H (for even more details see our Intel 10th-gen mobile CPU buying guide); or go with an AMD Ryzen processor (but not an AMD Athlon or A-series chip). Avoid laptops with Pentium or Celeron processors unless it’s a Chromebook (running Chrome OS). You’re going to need to pay attention with gaming laptops, too, as some GPUs, like the RTX 3050 Ti, don’t offer much boost over their RTX 2xxx-series cousins, and Nvidia has dropped the Max-Q designation on certain low-power options. Our laptop CPU and GPU cheat sheet can help you shop smart.
Display resolution is a gotcha. If you see a laptop labeled as “HD” resolution that means 1366-by-768 and often isn’t worth your time for a laptop under 13 inches unless the deal is absolutely standout. What you want is “Full HD” or “FHD,” which means 1080p.
Don’t buy laptops with under 4GB of RAM or 128GB of SSD storage—though on a Chromebook, this configuration is acceptable. We have more explanation in our laptops versus Chromebooks buying guide, as well as in our primer on how to buy a budget laptop without getting screwed. Also watch out for eMMC storage, which is something we don’t recommend for a Windows laptop but works fine for a Chromebook.
Reviews can be helpful. Even if you can’t find a review of a specific configuration, try related models. They’ll often give you a good idea of the build quality and performance. Also buy from brands you trust. Amazon’s daily laptop deals right now are full of brands we’ve never tested or talked to (Broage, Teclast, DaySky, Jumper) and it’s just a good idea to be wary.
Most older laptops will run Windows 10, and that’s fine—there’s no rush to upgrade. Windows 10 S, though annoying, can be switched out of easily if you find it on a budget laptop. If you want to buy a Windows 10 PC with the intent of upgrading it to Windows 11, we recommend you start here with a list of older laptops that are Windows 11-eligible.
Where can you find holiday laptop deals?
Updated on December 7th with additional deals from holiday sales, and to remove expired deals.
As PCWorld’s senior editor, Mark focuses on Microsoft news and chip technology, among other beats. He has formerly written for PCMag, BYTE, Slashdot, eWEEK, and ReadWrite.
