Best laptop deals: Top picks from budget to extreme

Whether you’re buying a new laptop for school or trying to find a high-end gaming laptop, it’s possible to find good laptop deals no matter the season. We’re scouring the web daily to find the laptop deals you don’t want to miss.

Mind you, not all advertised laptop deals are actually deals, so we’ve only included the ones we consider actual bargains—and we’ve explained why. We’ll add new laptop deals as we see them daily and remove any expired sales. Right now, we’re seeing strong discounts on gaming laptops, Microsoft Surface devices, and more. If you’re looking for Chromebooks we’ve got those deals in here too!

We’ve provided a handy list of laptop-specific shopping tips at the end of this post, and immediately below are the deals themselves.

The best laptop deals in 2022

MSI Sword

From: Best Buy

Was: $1,199.99

Now: $899.99 ($300 off)

Most of the other laptops with a 3050 Ti in this round-up are $750 to $800. However, the MSI Sword has the added advantage of a higher-end processor. Namely, the Intel Core i7-11800H, which has eight cores, sixteen threads, and a boost to 4.6GHz. The display is 15.6-inch at 1080p resolution with a maximum refresh rate of 144Hz. This allows for smoother visual experiences, which leads us to the GPU.

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti is good for 1080p gaming, but it’s not perfect. There will be times when you’ll need to bring the graphics down to high or medium to exceed 60 frames-per-second. However, it’ll be worth it for the added visuals.

For RAM, the MSI Sword is packing 8GB. That’s a little low, so you may want to check on whether the RAM is upgradeable. 8GB is just fine, but 16GB hits the sweet spot between usability and overkill. For storage, you get a 512GB NVMe SSD. That’s enough for a few games and you can always look into external storage if necessary. Last but not least, this PC is running Windows 10 but it’s Windows 11 ready.

See the MSI Sword at Best Buy

Acer Swift 3 SF314

From: Walmart

Was: $699.99

Now: $429 ($270.99 off)

The Acer Swift 3 is an affordable productivity laptop for the everyday person. The 14-inch 1080p display is sharp enough for writing papers and working on spreadsheets or streaming video. The CPU is an Intel Core i5-1135G7 with four cores, eight threads, and a boost to 4.2GHz. That’s zippy enough for general use tasks like browsing the web, checking e-mail, and so on. The laptop is also packing 8GB of RAM, a 512GB NVMe SSD, Wi-Fi 6, and a fingerprint reader for additional security.

See the Acer Swift 3 SF314 at Walmart

Asus TUF

From: Best Buy

Was: $999

Now: $749.99 ($249.01 off)

Are you in the market for a budget gaming laptop? If so, the Asus TUF laptop is an awesome choice. The CPU is a Core i5-11400H, which has six cores, twelve threads, and a boost to 4.5GHz. The RAM is 8GB, which is a little low. However, you may be able to upgrade the RAM yourself if don’t mind a little DIY. For onboard storage, you get a 512GB NVMe SSD. This will help keep your laptop relatively zippy.

As for the GPU, the TUF is armed with a Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti. This is a good GPU for 1080p gaming, but you’ll have to dial down the graphics depending on the game. The good news is that it’ll be worth the sacrifice, as the GPU can push out more frames and the 17.3-inch display has a maximum refresh rate of 144Hz. This should result in a smoother visual experience.

See the Asus TUF gaming laptop at Best Buy

Lenovo Chromebook S330

From: Amazon

Was: $200.41

Now: $180 ($20.41 off)

The Lenovo Chromebook S330 is nice sub-$200 deal. However, it might underperform compared to Intel-powered Chromebooks. This one is powered by a MediaTek MT8173C processor, a budget ARM-based quad-core SoC. These Chromebooks aren’t as snappy as their Intel-based counterparts, but they’re still very usable, especially if you stick to Chrome OS. This laptop will run the Android App Store and Linux desktop apps.

The S330 has a 14-inch display with 1080p resolution, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of onboard storage. It also has 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1, and a 720p webcam. Security and feature support for this Chromebook runs out in June 2025.

See the Lenovo Chromebook S330 at Amazon

Gateway GWTN141

From: Walmart

Was: $499

Now: $399 ($100 off)

The Gateway GWTN141 would make an excellent productivity machine. It’s a 14.1-inch laptop with 1080p resolution and the processor is the Intel “Tiger Lake” Core i5-1135G7 with four cores, eight threads, and a boost to 4.2Ghz. The CPU is also loaded with Iris Xe Graphics. The laptop has 16GB of RAM and 512GB of onboard storage. It also has a fingerprint scanner, and it’s running Windows 10 Home (it’s Windows 11-ready).

See the Gateway GWTN141 at Walmart

Dell Inspiron 15 3000

From: Dell.com

Was: $449.99

Now: $349.99 ($100 off)

The Dell Inspiron 15 3000 is a great productivity machine. It has a 15.6-inch 1080p display and the CPU is an Intel “Tiger Lake” Core i3-1115G4. The processor has two cores, four threads, and a boost to 4.1GHz. To keep things snappy, you get 8GB of RAM. As for storage, it’s a 256GB NVMe SSD. The laptop is running Windows 11 Home in S mode, but it should handle regular Windows just fine if you’d like to do a one-way upgrade. If you need a laptop that’s zippy enough for work tasks, look no further than the Inspiron 15 3000.

See the Dell Inspiron 15 3000 at Dell.com

Acer Swift 3

From: Walmart

Was: $799.99

Now: $499 ($300.99 off)

The Acer Swift 3 would be an excellent laptop for work or study. It’s part of the Evo platform, so it’s light enough for travel. The display’s resolution is 2256-by-1504 and the processor is an Intel “Tiger Lake” Core i5-1135G7, which has four cores, eight threads, and a boost to 4.2GHz. It also has 8GB of RAM and 512GB of NVMe onboard storage. There’s a fingerprint reader for biometric login, Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 access, and the keyboard has backlighting.

See the Acer Swift 3 at Walmart

HP Chromebook x2

From: Best Buy

Was: $599

Now: $299 ($300 off)

The HP Chromebook x2 11 features a lightweight form factor and all-day battery life. It also has a fingerprint reader, a detachable keyboard and kickstand, and a rechargeable pen. As for performance, this Chrome OS tablet is capable of handling general use tasks such as web surfing and writing papers. The 11-inch touch-enabled display has a resolution is 2160-by-1440. You can expect a rather vibrant picture.

This Chromebook uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c processor. It’s running ChromeOS, but you can still download apps from the Play Store. However, Linux is running the ARM version. This may restrict which apps you can use, but finding the major applications or a usable alternative shouldn’t be a problem. Last but not least, it’s packing 8GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage.

See the HP Chromebook x2 at Best Buy

Dell G15

From: Dell.com

Was: $1,284.98

Now: $799.99 ($484.99 off)

The gaming laptop deals just keep on rolling in.

The Dell G15 has a Ryzen 7 5800H and a Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti GPU. The Zen 3 CPU has eight cores, sixteen threads, and a boost to 4.4GHz. The 3050 Ti, on the other hand, is a solid option for 1080p gaming. The display is 15.6 inches with a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz. To hit that height, however, you’ll likely need to tone down the graphics from ultra in some games. This laptop is also packing 8GB of RAM. To get the price quoted above, make sure you select the 512GB of storage option.

See the Dell G15 at Dell.com

Lenovo IdeaPad 3i

From: Office Depot

Was: $629.99

Now: $309.99 ($320 off)

If you’re in the market for an affordable Windows laptop, the Lenovo IdeaPad 3i is a good option. The CPU is a Core i3-1115G4, which has two cores, four threads and a boost to 4.1GHz. It’s packing 8GB and storage is a 1TB hard drive. Yes we said hard drive, not NVMe storage. That’s one of the trade-offs with this laptop. You get a lot of storage, sure, but it’s the old school kind.

This laptop is zippy enough for lighter tasks like web browsing and email, but it’s not a powerhouse. So, if you need a productivity machine, then this laptop is well worth considering.

See the Lenovo IdeaPad 3i at Office Depot

Acer Aspire 5

From: Walmart

Was: $499.99

Now: $399 ($100.99 off)

If you’re looking for a solid travel laptop, the Acer Aspire 5 would be a good fit. It has a 14-inch 1080p display and the processor is an Intel “Tiger Lake” Core i5-1135G7 with four cores, eight threads, and a boost to 4.2GHz. This laptop is packing 8GB of RAM to keep things snappy and 256GB of NVMe storage. That’s not a ton, but for travel it’s fine. The CPU is very good for office applications or regular web browsing and video streaming. The laptop also has Wi-Fi 6 and Windows 11 Home. The deal only applies to the Safari Gold version.

See the Acer Aspire 5 at Walmart

Gateway Ultra Slim Notebook

From: Walmart

Was: $499

Now: $399 ($100 off)

The Gateway Ultra Slim Notebook features a 15.6-inch 1080p display and an AMD Ryzen 7 3700U with four cores, eight threads, and a boost to 4GHz. It also has 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. This is a nice well-rounded laptop with a good amount of storage that’ll easily help you get some work down whether you need something for travel or school.

See the Gateway Ultra Slim Notebook at Walmart

Gateway Creator Notebook

From: Walmart

Was: $1,169

Now: $699 ($470 off)

The Gateway Creator Notebook is a serviceable 15.6-inch 1080p gaming clamshell. It features an Intel “Tiger Lake” Core i5-11400H, which has six cores, twelve threads and a 4.5GHz boost clock. The GPU is the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050. It also has 16GB of onboard RAM and a 512GB SSD.

There’s a few extras you get with this rig like a Windows Hello-ready IR camera, THX Spatial Audio, and a free month of Xbox Game Pass for PC. It’s a pretty good deal all around, so don’t miss out.

See the Gateway Creator Notebook at Walmart

Asus Vivobook Pro 14 K3400

From: Walmart

Was: $749

Now: $599 ($150 off)

If you’re into creative work, the Asus Vivobook Pro 14 is a fantastic option. This laptop has a 14-inch 2880-by-1800 OLED display with a 16:10 aspect ratio. OLED screens are great, so you can expect a sharper image. The Vivobook is also packing a Core i5-1330H, a Tiger Lake CPU with four cores, eight threads, and a boost to 4.4GHz. There’s even 8GB of RAM, which is a good amount for some video editing. Onboard storage is a 256GB NVMe SSD, and you’re getting Thunderbolt 4, Wi-Fi 6, and Bluetooth 5.0.

This is a nice laptop with a very good display, but for storage you’ll likely have to rely mostly on the cloud. Speaking of which, you also get a free, three month subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud as part of the package.

See the Asus Vivobook Pro 14 K3400 at Walmart

Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7

From: Micro Center

Was: $949.99

Now: $499.99 ($450 off)

The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 has a 14-inch 1080p IPS display with an Intel “Tiger Lake” Core i5-1135G7 driving it. The CPU has four cores, eight threads, and a boost to 4.2GHz. It also has 8GB of RAM and a 512GB hard drive.

This is a solid laptop for getting some work done. It doesn’t have a special GPU, but you might be able to get some casual gaming out of this with the onboard Iris Xe graphics. It’s a great laptop for general use and you can’t really beat the price, either.

See the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 at Micro Center

Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming

From: Micro Center

Was: $999.99

Now: $749.99 ($250 off)

Micro Center is famous for its awesome deals that are pick-up only, but this particular laptop is actually shipping. The Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming laptop has a Ryzen 7 5800H CPU, which is a Zen 3 processor with eight cores, sixteen threads, and a maximum boost to 4.4GHz. It has 16GB of RAM and 512GB of onboard storage. The GPU is an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050, which is a dependable enough 1080p card. You should be able to play most games on high graphics, perhaps dipping down to medium on particularly demanding games. The display is 15.6 inches with 1080p resolution and a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz. It also has Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0.

See the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming at Micro Center

HP 17-cn0273st 

From: Staples

Was: $599.99

Now: $429.99 ($170 off)

Getting a solid workhorse computer with a good amount of storage for under $500 isn’t easy these days, but the HP 17 laptop is one of those rare finds. It includes a quad-core, eight-thread Intel “Tiger Lake” Core i3-1125G4 CPU with a maximum boost to 3.7GHz. It’s also packing 8GB of RAM, which is a good amount for productivity tasks.

As for storage, this HP has 512GB, which is rare for a sub-$500 computer. It’s also rocking a 17.3-inch display at 1080p. The laptop is running Windows 11 Home, so you don’t have to worry about upgrading this one.

See the HP 17-cn0273st at Staples

HP Victus 16

From: Walmart

Was: Unknown

Now: $699

The HP Victus 16 is a nice little AMD-based 1080p gaming machine. The CPU is a Ryzen 5 5600H. That’s a Zen 3 processor with six cores, twelve threads, and a maximum boost clock of 4.2GHz. The processor will do nicely for gaming and productivity. The laptop is also packing 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD.

The 16.1-inch IPS display has a resolution of 1080p and a refresh rate of 60Hz. The graphics are handled by the AMD Radeon RX 5500M. It’s all about bringing AMD’s RDNA architecture to budget gaming in a capable package. You should expect good 1080p gaming, though you might not be able to run every game with the graphics maxed out. It’s not a high-end machine, but it’ll get the job done for under $700.

See the HP Victus 16 at Walmart

Gateway 15.6-inch Ultra Slim

From: Walmart

Was: $449.99

Now: $249 ($200.99 off)

Bargain basement laptops are a beautiful thing, especially if you need a laptop that performs well while and can survive getting banged around a bit during your travels. This affordable Gateway at Walmart features a Ryzen 3 3250U processor, which has two cores, four threads and a max boost to 3.5GHz. It’s also rocking 128GB of onboard storage, 4GB of RAM, and a 15.6-inch 1080p display. This laptop ships with Windows 10 S, which can only run apps found in the digital Microsoft store, but you can go to full Windows 10 via a one-way free upgrade.

See the Gateway 15.6-inch Ultra Slim at Walmart

HP 11.6-inch Chromebook

From: Walmart

Was: $225.00

Now: $98 ($127 off)

Let’s just start off with the fact that if you pay $225 for this tiny Chromebook, you’re definitely getting ripped off. But $98? That’s just right. The HP 11.6-inch Chromebook isn’t fancy, but it’s cheap and it’ll work for anyone who needs a basic Chrome OS device. This laptop features an 11.6-inch display with 1366-by-768 resolution and a maximum brightness of 220 nits. It has a dual-core AMD A4-9120C APU, 4GB of RAM, and 32GB of onboard storage. It also has two USB Type-C ports and two standard USB ports plus a media card reader.

It’s not an overpowered performer, but it doesn’t have to be. This is a usable laptop for a student or someone else who needs some pretty basic computing power that centers around web apps and sites.

See the HP 11.6-inch Chromebook at Walmart

Lenovo IdeaPad 3i

From: Walmart.com

Was: $699

Now: $419 ($280 off)

The Lenovo IdeaPad 3i is well priced. It features a 14-inch 1080p display and a quad-core, eight-thread Intel “Comet Lake” Core i5-10210U with a boost to 4.2GHz. It’s packing just 8GB of RAM and 512GB of NVMe SSD storage. This laptop is also running Windows 11 Home, so there’s no need to worry about upgrades.

If you want a larger screen, Walmart has an alternative version of this model with a 15.6-inch 1080p display for $433.89. That said, you get only 4GB of RAM and 256GB of onboard storage. The CPU is newer but has fewer cores with the dual-core, four-thread Intel “Tiger Lake” Core i3-1115G4 that boosts to 4.1Ghz.

See the Lenovo IdeaPad 3i at Walmart

Microsoft Surface Pro 7+

From: Walmart

Was: $929.99

Now: $599 ($330.99 off)

If you’re looking for a well designed Windows tablet, there’s no beating Microsoft’s Surface line and this Walmart’s sale offers an excellent bargain. This version of the Surface Pro 7+ comes with a Core i3 processor, 128GB of onboard storage, 8GB of RAM, and a black Type Cover. We reviewed the Surface Pro 7+ nearly a year ago, giving it 4.5 out of 5 stars and an Editors’ Choice Award. We called it “the most potent upgrade Microsoft’s Surface Pro line has offered in years.”

See the Surface Pro 7+ at Walmart

HP 17-by4061nr

From: Walmart

Was: $679

Now: $499 ($180 off)

This HP laptop has a lot going for it. The CPU is an Intel “Tiger Lake” Core i5-1135G7 with four cores, eight threads and a boost to 4.2GHz. The processor is packing Iris Xe graphics, which will provide surprising performance for an integrated GPU. It also has 8GB of RAM, a 512GB NVMe SSD, and a 1080p display. If need a new laptop to kick off 2022, then this is a nice choice.

See the HP 17-by4061nr at Walmart

Asus L510

From: Walmart

Was: $279

Now: $219 ($60 off)

This deal puts us in an odd position. We’re not huge fans of laptops with just 128GB of onboard storage (especially this one’s onboard eMMC storage) and generally don’t recommend Windows PCs running Celeron processors. For a price around $200, however, we’re willing to overlook these shortcomings but with some big caveats.

First, you’ll get exactly what you pay for with this clamshell, but that just might be a good thing given the price. It’s running Windows 10 Home in S Mode and we would not recommend upgrading this laptop to regular Windows 10. Instead, use this laptop like a Chromebook, so focus on using it for web apps like Google Docs or Office Online. Then, if you absolutely need a desktop program download, run whatever you need from the selection in the Windows Store. We wouldn’t try editing a photo on this since it has just 4GB of RAM and deathly slow flash storage. Still, the Intel Celeron N4020 will get the job done for basic uses and a 15.6-inch 1080p display offers a bigger display than what you’d get from a Chromebook around the same price.

See the Asus L510 at Walmart

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 10-series Core chips or higher, such as the Core i5-10510U, or the Core i7-11800H (for even more details see our Intel 10th-gen mobile CPU buying guide); 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.

Updated on May 11 with additional deals, and to remove expired deals.