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We’re entering the season of deals early this year with Amazon Prime Early Access (opens in a new tab). Not only is Amazon getting in on the deals on gaming laptops and gaming PCs, but other retailers around the web are slashing prices for this new event.
It all starts at midnight PDT on Tuesday, October 11 and discounts will continue for the next 48 hours. While the deals probably won’t be as deep as what we’ll see when Black Friday rolls around on November 25th, we still might see some worthy contenders that will have you opening your wallet early.
There are significant differences between cheap gaming machines and powerful ones, with very different CPUs and upgrade potential, and the prices vary wildly. When looking for a deal, you will have to weigh what is most important to you, and you may not go with the cheapest.
We expect quite a range of CPUs to factor in this time, and going with a 10th Gen Intel CPU when 13th Gen chips are about to drop may be a step too far for you. Ultimately though, if you’re looking for a gaming PC or laptop, then the most important consideration is the graphics card. That’s the component you want to focus on. That’s the one thing that will define how well the system handles today’s games.
But what can you expect to pay for such systems? Let me slip this crib sheet into your life just in time for Prime Early Access. Complete with example systems.
Gaming PC deals crib sheet
RTX 3060 ~$800 – HP Pavilion | $848 $749 at Walmart (save $99) (opens in a new tab)
RTX 3060 Ti ~$1,200 – AVGPC Hellfire | $1,299 $1,199 at Amazon (save $100) (opens in a new tab)
RTX 3070 ~$1,500 – Skytech Shiva | $1,899.99 $1,499.99 at Amazon (save $400) (opens in a new tab)
RTX 3070 Ti ~$1,600 – ABS Gladiator | $2,099.99 $1,699.99 at Newegg (save $400) (opens in a new tab)
RTX 3080 ~$1,800 – iBuyPower | $2,399 $1,899 at iBuyPower (save $400) (opens in a new tab)
RTX 3080 Ti ~$2,400 – Skytech Chronos | $2,999.99 $2,299.99 at Amazon (save $750) (opens in a new tab)
RTX 3090 ~$2,600 – HP Omen GT13 30L | $3,094.99 $2,749.99 at HP (save $345) (opens in a new tab)
RTX 3090 Ti ~$2,800 – CUK Continuum Micro Gamer | $2,899.99 $2,449.99 at Amazon (save $450) (opens in a new tab)
Because I did something similar this past Black Friday (opens in a new tab), prices have dropped significantly. That will mostly depend on graphics cards becoming available again, but also because new CPUs and GPUs have been announced in the meantime.
If you want your gaming to be a little more mobile, then the good news is that there are plenty of decent deals on Prime Early Access laptops. (opens in a new tab) out there, and they start at reasonable prices too. However, they increase significantly as you scale Nvidia’s GPU stack.
Gaming laptops offer crib sheet
RTX 3050 ~$750 – Acer Nitro 5 | $839.99 $769 at Amazon (save $70.99) (opens in a new tab)
RTX 3060 ~$1,000 – Gigabyte A7 K1 | $1,299 $999 at Amazon (save $200) (opens in a new tab)
RTX 3070 ~$1,500 – MSI Pulse GL66 | $1,499 $1,399 at Amazon (save $100) (opens in a new tab)
RTX 3080 ~$1,800 – Asus ROG Strix Scar | $2,219 1,799.99 at Newegg (Save $600) (opens in a new tab)
RTX 3090 ~$2,600
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Again, these figures are only a guide. With laptops, in particular, you’re looking at a much tighter relationship between the various subsystems, and you don’t have the ability to upgrade the same way you do with desktops. The combination will have to last you.
However, the key takeaway is the same as it is with a desktop deal: You don’t want to drop $1,500 on a gaming laptop that has an RTX 3060 at its heart when you know that kind of money can net you a much more powerful one. RTX 3070.
Spend wisely, and keep away that buyer’s remorse.
When auditing a deal, a holistic approach is key. After the graphics card itself, make sure you’re getting an up-to-date CPU-we wouldn’t be older than a 10th Gen Intel CPU (and ideally you want an 11th or 12th Gen model), and for AMD you want a Ryzen 5000 chip -series on a desktop, and 4000 series or later on a laptop.
Next you need to look at the amount of memory offered. Ideally, you want 16GB of RAM, and to get the most out of the memory subsystem, you want a pair of 8GB sticks, not just a single 16GB SODIMM. On the cheaper systems, you’ll often see 8GB as standard, but you can at least upgrade later down the line if you need to.
In terms of storage, you want at least a 500GB NVMe SSD or larger. If we’re writing our dream specs, then a 1TB drive, or even 2TB, would be preferable given the size of games today, but you can usually upgrade that later. I say usually because some laptops come with soldered SSDs that cannot be replaced—I know, in the year of our Lord 2022?
Whatever you’re looking for, there are sure to be some good deals out there. And as we get closer to Prime Early Access, we expect some eligible deals to pop up. Just think about how much you would have to pay for what is on offer and you won’t make a costly misstep.
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