Josh Hendrickson
Black Friday is coming, and with that are numerous discounts on laptops and desktops. As long as you have a good idea of what you want to use your machine for, there’s probably a good deal for you.
Computers come in a multitude of varieties. Whether it’s laptops that fold into tablets or desktops that look like they belong on the set of Tron, the outsides can look vastly different from one another. Those differences aren’t just skin deep either!
Though you’ll find storage in the form of a hard-disk drive (HDD) or solid-state drive (SSD), RAM, and a processor in every computer, how much and powerful those components are depend on what you spend. Spending more might even net you a graphics card along the way. Grab any two random computers on sale on Black Friday, and they’ll likely be very different.
That’s a good thing! If you’re an occasional computer user who mostly checks email and reads the news, you probably don’t need a gaming desktop with enough processing power to find the answer to life, the universe, and everything. On the other hand, if your idea of a good time is to install the latest AAA game and run at max settings because you can, a hybrid tablet-laptop probably won’t do for you.
Thankfully, this Black Friday has something for everybody. Once you know what you’d like to use a computer for, we recommend you start by deciding the form factor you want (laptop or desktop), the OS you want (Windows, macOS, or Chrome), and then determine a budget you can handle. That’ll help determine what features you get along the way. Keep in mind that desktops usually come with a keyboard and mouse, but not a monitor.
If you’re worried about the hardware, nearly all of our picks follow the advice we offer when choosing laptops and desktops. For most average people, we suggest a minimum of 8 gigabytes (GB) of RAM, an i5 CPU (or better), and an SSD if at all possible. If it’s a Chromebook, 4 GBs of RAM will do.
Want something more powerful? You’ll need to aim for better specs, like an i7 processor and 16 GBs of RAM, which calls for increasing your budget.
We’ve allowed a few exceptionally inexpensive picks on this list that don’t meet the above suggestions. They’re fine computers for basic tasks like checking your email or reading the news. Just don’t expect much more of them and you should be happy. Unless it’s Chromebook or Macbook, all the machines on this list run Windows 10 Home.
So here are the best laptop and desktop Black Friday Deals. Just remember most of these deals aren’t available until Black Friday.
Laptops
- HP Spectre x360 2-in-1 15.6″ 4K Ultra HD Touch-Screen Windows 10 Home Laptop with Intel Core i7 processor, 16 GB RAM, and 512 GB SSD + 32 GB Optane storage, $1,100 ($500 off) [Best Buy]
- HP Pavilion x360 2-in-1 14″ Touch-Screen Laptop with Intel Core i5 processor, 8 GB RAM, and 256 GB SSD + 16 GB Optane storage, $500 ($200 off) [Best Buy]
- HP 14-cf1062st 14″ Windows 10 Home Laptop with Intel Core i5 processor, 8 GB RAM, and 128 GB SSD, $400 ($139 off) [Staples]
- IdeaPad 130S (11”) Laptop with Intel Celeron N4000 Processor, 2 GB RAM, and 64 GB eMMC storage, $99 ($100 off) [Lenovo]
- New Apple Macbook Pro 13.3″ with Touch Bar, with Intel Core i7, 8 GB Ram, and 256 GB SSD $1499 ($250 off) [Costco]
Chromebooks
- HP 11.6″ Chromebook (11-v031nr), with Intel Celeron N3060 processor, 4 GB Ram, and 16 GB eMMC storage, $99 ($100 off) [Target]
- Samsung 11.6″ Chromebook 3 with Intel Celeron N3060 processor, 4 GB Ram, and 16 GB eMMC storage, $99 ($60 off) [Walmart]
- Samsung 11.6″ Chromebook with Intel Atom x5, 4 GB Ram, and 32 GB eMMC storage, $119 ($110 off) [Best Buy]
Desktops
- iBUYPOWER Gaming Desktop with Intel Core i7-9700K, 16 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER graphics card, and 1 TB HDD plus 480 GB SSD Storage, $1,600 ($200 off) [Best Buy]
- HP Pavilion 27″ Touch-Screen All-in-One with Intel Core i7 processor, 12 GB RAM, and 256 GB Solid State Drive storage, $1,000 ($400 off) [Best Buy]
- CyberPowerPC with AMD Ryzen 3 2300X, 8 GB RAM, AMD Radeon RX 570 Graphics Card, and 1 TB HDD plus 240 GB SSD storage, $480 ($120 off) [Best Buy]
- HP Pavilion Desktop with Intel i5 processor, 12 GB RAM, and 1 TB HDD Storage, $359 ($120 off) [Staples]
You should find something that meets your budget on this list. Just remember, computers only get cheaper by giving up power and features. If you spend less than $100 on a laptop, don’t expect it to run AAA games. As long as you set your expectations appropriately, these deals are pretty solid.
