Today’s best laptop deals: Save big on work, school, home use, and gaming

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 judgement (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)

Lenovo Flex 5i, $479.99 ($200 off at Best Buy)

HP Envy 2-in-1, $719.99 ($330 off at Best Buy)

Gigabyte Aorus 15, $899 ($200 off at Amazon)

MSI Katana 17, $1,249 ($150 off at Amazon)

Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro, $1,149.99 ($300 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. You’re getting an AMD Ryzen 3 7320U CPU, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of SSD storage. The 1920×1080 display also measures 15.6 inches, which is pretty spacious. The thin, light design makes it super travel-friendly as well.

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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 definitely worth considering. It’s powered by a Pentium Silver N6000 processor, which is 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 darn crisp, making this machine an excellent value.

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Lenovo

Lenovo Flex 5i: $479.99 ($200 off at Best Buy)

The Lenovo Flex 5i offers a 2-in-1 form factor and a 14-inch 1200p touchscreen display. Those are great features for a laptop under $500. It’s also driven by an Intel Core i5-1235U processor, which is fast enough for day-to-day tasks like watching Netflix and browsing the web. For connectivity options, you’re getting one HDMI port, one Thunderbolt 4 port, and two USB-A 3.2 ports. Overall, it’s a pretty solid laptop, especially if you’re a student or young professional.

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Best for home use




HP

HP Envy 2-in-1: $719.99 ($330 off at Best Buy)

If you’re looking to pick up a versatile 2-in-1 laptop with plenty of RAM and storage, the HP Envy is definitely worth your consideration. Not only is it packing 16GB of memory and 1TB of SSD storage, but it’s also powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS processor, so you should be able to breeze right through office work or day-to-day tasks.

The 14-inch display has a resolution of `1920×1200, a refresh rate of 60Hz, and a brightness level of 300 nits. It’s not the brightest or fastest screen we’ve ever seen, but the 1200p resolution is a step up from the usual 1080p fare, so the picture should be sharp enough for spreadsheet work or watching your favorite YouTuber.

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Best gaming laptop deals




HP

HP Victus: $599 ($380 off at Walmart)

The HP Victus contains powerful hardware for the price. It’s outfitted with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 graphics card and an AMD Ryzen 5 CPU, so it should have no problem running most modern games. The 15.6-inch 1080p display also has a 144Hz refresh rate and AMD FreeSync Premium technology built-in, so gameplay should be fluid. The 8GB of RAM is pretty light for a gaming laptop, but you can always upgrade later on if need be. If you’re looking for more details regarding this laptop, be sure to check out PCWorld’s comprehensive write-up.

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Gigabyte

Gigabyte Aorus 15: $899 ($200 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.

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MSI

MSI Katana 17: $1,249 ($150 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 absolutely 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 miniscule 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.

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Best premium laptop deals




Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro: $1,149.99 ($300 off at Amazon)

The Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro features a lightweight build, a stunning OLED display, and a good keyboard. In our review, we called it an “elegant all-rounder for business professionals” and awarded it 4.5 out of 5 stars and an Editors’ Choice badge.

Although we liked the laptop’s low weight and 1080p webcam, the 14-inch 2880×1800 OLED display is the real standout. It has a refresh rate of up to 120Hz as well as high contrast and amazing color reproduction. Not only is this display perfect for office work and day-to-day activities, but it’s also great for watching movies on.

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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.