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If you’re looking to score a fast laptop at a killer price, you’ve come to the right place. Whether you’re on the hunt for a blazing fast gaming rig, an affordable laptop under $500, or an everyday Chromebook, we’ve assembled a list of the best laptop deals available right now, using our finely honed editorial judgment (and thousands of hours of testing experience) to only recommend truly compelling deals on worthwhile notebooks.
We’ve separated the recommendations below by best laptop deals under $500, best home use laptop deals, best gaming laptop deals, and best premium laptop deals, to make it easier to find a notebook that fits your budget and needs. For more options, check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best laptops available right now.
Best laptop deals (at a glance)
- Acer Aspire 3, $279.99 ($42 off at Amazon)
- Lenovo Flex 3 Chromebook, $328.99 ($150.01 off at Best Buy)
- Samsung Galaxy Book4, $529.99 ($370 off at Best Buy)
- Acer Swift 14 AI, $849.99 ($200 off at Amazon)
- Gigabyte Aorus 15, $849 ($250 off at Amazon)
- MSI Katana 17, $1,199.99 ($199.01 off at Amazon)
Best laptop deals under $500
Acer
Acer Aspire 3: $279.99 ($42 off at Amazon)
The Acer Aspire 3 is a great laptop for everyday tasks, office work, and Zoom calls. It has an AMD Ryzen 3 7320U CPU, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of SSD storage. The 1920×1080 display measures 15.6 inches, which is pretty spacious. The thin, light design also makes it super travel-friendly.
Lenovo
Lenovo Flex 3 Chromebook: $328.99 ($150.01 off at Best Buy)
Sometimes all you need is an affordable laptop for browsing social media and composing e-mail exchanges. If you’re in the market for such a laptop, the Lenovo Flex 3 Chromebook is worth considering. It’s powered by a Pentium Silver N6000 processor, suitable for web browsing and streaming Disney+, but not much else. It’s not the fastest processor we’ve ever seen here at PCWorld, but you’ve also got to temper your expectations, as this laptop is specifically designed with basic tasks in mind. However, according to Best Buy reviews, the 1080p touchscreen display is pretty crisp, making this machine an excellent value.
Samsung
Samsung Galaxy Book4: $529.99 ($370 off at Best Buy)
Need a home laptop for work and personal use? The Samsung Galaxy Book4 will surely fit the bill. Not only is it driven by a powerful Intel Core 7 Series 1 150U processor, but it also comes with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage. That means it should have no problem with spreadsheet work, web browsing, Twitch streams, and so on. The 15.6-inch 1080p display should be sharp enough for that kind of activity as well. The 720p webcam is a bummer, but you can always use an external webcam if need be.
Best gaming laptop deals
Gigabyte
Gigabyte Aorus 15: $849 ($250 off at Amazon)
The Gigabyte Aorus 15 deserves a call-out because of its wickedly fast 360Hz refresh rate display. That’s an incredibly high number, so this display should churn out silky-smooth visuals, which is important during more intensive matches.
It also comes with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU and an Intel Core i5-12500H CPU, meaning it has enough juice to run most games on the Medium or High graphics settings, but you may want to dial those settings back on more modern titles. The display, measuring a roomy 15.6 inches, is pretty spacious with a resolution of 1920×1080. It’s not the highest resolution we’ve ever seen, but it’s perfectly fine for most games.
MSI
MSI Katana 17: $1,199.99 ($199.01 off at Amazon)
The MSI Katana 17 is a great option for those who like to game on a big screen. The 1080p display measures a massive 17.3 inches, which is humongous! It’s the kind of screen I’d love to play Sid Meier’s Civilization VI on because I like being able to see every minuscule detail.
You’re also getting an Intel Core i7 CPU, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of SSD storage. That’s a good amount of power right there! This machine should have no issues running graphically intensive games.
Best premium laptop deals
Acer
Acer Swift 14 AI: $849.99 ($200 off at Amazon)
The Acer Swift 14 AI, one of the latest Copilot+ PCs that offer enhanced AI experiences, is a nice laptop for work or personal use. It comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus processor, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of SSD. The 14.5-inch display also boasts a stunning 2560×1600 resolution, so watching your favorite Netflix show should be a real delight.
Recently, PCWorld reviewed a slightly different configuration of the model that’s on sale today. We really liked generous selection of ports as well as the long battery life. Snapdragon processors tend to have great battery life, and we expect this model to follow the same trend. That said, according to our review, the Intel version is a bit faster performance-wise.
FAQ
1.
How much RAM will I need in my laptop?
You’ll want at least 8GB, though 16GB is preferable, especially if you play games. Don’t buy laptops with under 4GB of RAM or 128GB of SSD storage—though on a Chromebook or a budget Windows machine, this configuration is acceptable. Check out our article on how much RAM does a laptop need for more in-depth info.
2.
What’s the difference between a Chromebook and a Windows laptop?
The one big difference between a Chromebook and a Windows laptop is the operating system. Chromebooks run ChromeOS and Windows run, well, Microsoft Windows. Chromebooks make good everyday machines because they’re designed for browsing the web, checking e-mail, and so on. They use less resources and are generally more affordable than the Windows variety. They also don’t need antivirus protection. A Windows laptop is a lot more versatile in what it can do, and not just in terms of running local programs. You can really pump a Windows laptop up with a ton of RAM, storage, and so on.
3.
When should I look for a laptop deal?
You’ll likely find the best laptop deals during Prime Day (mid-July), Black Friday (November 29th), and back-to-school season (June-August). Sure, you’ll find good laptop deals throughout the year, but if you really want to save big, we’d recommend scoping out your favorite online retailers during those times.
4.
Which retailers offer the best deals?
You can find all kinds of deals across a wide range of online retailers such as Newegg, Walmart, Best Buy, Amazon, and so on. However, we’d recommend checking out deals from laptop manufacturers like Lenovo, HP, and Dell. You’ll usually find many different configurations on sale and the discounts can be pretty darn steep.
For more options, check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best laptops available right now.
Author: Ashley Biancuzzo, Associate Editor, PCWorld
Ashley Biancuzzo manages all laptop and Chromebook coverage for PCWorld. She’s been covering consumer tech since 2016, and her work has appeared on USA Today, Reviewed, Polygon, Kotaku, StarWars.com, and Nerdist. In her spare time, she enjoys playing video games, reading science fiction, and hanging out with her rescue greyhound.
