Image: IDG
If you’re on the hunt for a brand new laptop without spending a fortune, you’ve come to the right place. Whether you’re looking for lightning fast gaming rig, a portablet 2-in-1, or a barebones Chromebook, we’ve curated a list of the best laptop deals available right now, using our finely honed editorial judgement to only recommend truly compelling deals on worthwhile notebooks.
These aren’t the only juicy deals available, as both Dell and HP are running Back to School laptop sales with steep discounts at the moment. We didn’t want to flood this article with those sales, but they’re definitely worth checking out as well.
For even more notebook options, check out our roundup of the best laptops. We’ve got can’t-miss picks for every use case and budget, putting our thousands of hours of hands-on testing to work for you.
XPS 13 2-in-1 Laptop
From: Dell
Was: $1,399
Now: $1,199 ($200 off)
Dell
The XPS 13 2-in-1 is fast, versatile, and $200 off at Dell. You can remove the 1920p touch display part of the laptop from the keyboard and use it like a tablet or you can prop it up and use it like a traditional clamshell. Inside, you’ll find an Intel Core i5-1230U CPU, Intel Iris Xe graphics, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of PCIe NVMe SSD storage. That’s plenty zippy for day-to-day tasks as well as office work. There’s even a 1080p webcam, which is perfect if you do a lot of video conferences throughout the day.
See the XPS 13 2-in-1 Laptop at Dell
HP Envy Laptop 16t-h1000
From: HP
Was: $1,349.99
Now: $949.99 ($400 off)
HP
If you’re looking for a zippy everyday laptop, the HP Envy is the one to pick. It comes armed with an Intel Core i5-13500H CPU, Intel Arc A370M graphics, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of PCIe NVMe SSD storage. The 16-inch display has a resolution of 2560×1600, a refresh rate of 120Hz, and a maximum brightness of 400 nits. Given those specs, you can expect a crisp and vibrant picture. This machine also has a full-sized keyboard with backlighting as well as Precision Touchpad support. Cool, right?
See the HP Envy Laptop 16t-h1000 at HP
HP Touchscreen Laptop
From: Best Buy
Was: $799.99
Now: $599.99 ($200 off)
HP
If you’re in the market for a nice everyday laptop, the HP 15-dy2073dx is worth picking up. It has an Intel Core i7-1165G7 CPU, Intel Iris Xe graphics, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of SSD storage. In other words, the hardware should have no problem running day-to-day tasks. The 15.6-inch display also has a resolution of 1920×1080, which is fine for general use. According to the manufacturer, this machine has a little over seven hours of battery life on a single charge. If you turn down the brightness, you may be able to squeak out another couple of hours or so.
See the HP Touchscreen Laptop at Best Buy
Dell Inspiron 2-in-1
From: Best Buy
Was: $1,249.99
Now: $899.99 ($350 off)
Dell
Convertible laptops are great due to their versatility. You can swing the screen around 360 degrees and use it like a tablet or you can prop it up like a tent for watching movies. If you’re in the market for such a machine, you’re in luck, as the Dell Inspiron 2-in-1 is on sale for $899.99 at Best Buy today. This machine features an Intel Core i7-1260P CPU, Intel Iris Xe graphics, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of SSD storage. It should be able to zip through office work as well as everyday tasks. The 16-inch 1200p display is also spacious and touch-enabled. All in all, this is an awesome deal. However, you better act fast, as it’s on clearance and will likely run out of stock.
See the Dell Inspiron 2-in-1 at Best Buy
Acer Aspire 5 A515
From: Amazon
Was: $399.99
Now: $362 ($27.99 off)
Acer
If you’re on the hunt for a solid everyday laptop, you’ve come to the right place. The Acer Aspire 5 has a 15.6-inch 1080p display, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB of onboard SSD storage. The processor is a Ryzen 3 3350U, which has four cores, four threads, and a maximum boost to 3.5GHz. It’s packed with modern features like Wi-Fi 6, a backlit keyboard, and a fingerprint reader for biometric logins. Acer starts this laptop off with Windows 11 in S mode, but there’s no reason not to do a one-way upgrade to full Windows 11. This is being sold by a third-party retailer, but Amazon is handling shipping, which means it falls under the company’s return policy.
See the Acer Aspire 5 A515 at Amazon
HP Omen
From: eBay
Was: $2,399.99
Now: $1,779.99 ($620 off)
HP
If you’re on the hunt for the ultimate gaming experience, the HP Omen is worth considering. It’s currently $600 off at eBay, which is absolutely bananas given the powerful hardware inside. The Omen has an Intel Core i7-13700HX CPU, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 GPU, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of SSD storage. In other words, this machine should fly through intensive titles on the High or Ultra graphics preset. The display, which is a roomy17.3-inches, has a resolution of 2560×1440 and a refresh rate of 240Hz. That means visuals should be luscious and smooth. Overall, this is a killer deal. Get it now.
HP Laptop 15t-fd000
From: HP
Was: $949.99
Now: $469.99 ($329 off)
HP
The HP Laptop 15t-fd000 is the perfect everyday machine. It comes equipped with an Intel Core i5-1335U CPU, Intel Iris Xe graphics, 12GB of RAM, and 128GB of PCIe NVMe SSD storage. You should be able to easily zip through day-to-day tasks like browsing the web, watching YouTube, and so on. The 15.6-inch display features a resolution of 1366×768 and a maximum brightness of 250 nits. It’s not the brightest machine we’ve ever seen on a laptop, but it should be perfectly fine for most activities.
See the HP Laptop 15t-fd000 at HP
XPS 17 Laptop
From: Dell
Was: $2,459
Now: $1,949 ($510 off)
Dell
If you’re a content creator, you should definitely check out the XPS 17 Laptop. It has an Intel Core i7-13700H CPU, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of PCIe NVMe SSD storage. That’s plenty of juice for demanding photo editing tasks as well as general use and office work. The touch display measures 17-inches, which is quite spacious, and has a resolution of 1920×1200. The bigger screen is perfect, especially if you’re working on a project with a lot of tiny details. The laptop also comes with a backlit keyboard and fingerprint reader, and the frame itself is made of durable aluminum and carbon fiber. Not a bad deal, huh?
Laptop deal buying tips
If you’ve shopped online before for laptop deals 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 12-series Core chips or higher, such as the Core i5-12510U, or the Core i7-13800H; 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 in S Mode, 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.
Read our round-up of the best laptop chargers.
Updated on September 1 with new pricing and to rewrite the introduction.
Author: Ashley Biancuzzo, Associate Editor
Ashley is a professional writer and editor with a strong background in tech and pop culture. She has written for high traffic websites such as Polygon, Kotaku, StarWars.com, and Nerdist. In her off time, she enjoys playing video games, reading science fiction novels, and hanging out with her rescue greyhound.
