Laptop Deals Flood the Market for Dell and Other Etailers

With spring approaching, it’s a bit of an odd time for PC buying. The back to school market is non-existent and many are getting somewhat prepared for summer breaks in a few months. This means that there isn’t a built-in “need” to buy a PC right now – but that has benefits for consumers in the form of massive savings on laptops, desktops, and 2-in-1 devices from a variety of retailers. Dell’s official site has some great values on computers across all form factors, while Best Buy can be counted on for solid deals too, alongside Newegg.

Dell may take the cake this week thanks to a site-wide promo code “SAVE12” that takes up to 12% off on a purchase. Of course, as with anything “up to”, it can also be quite a bit less – so you will have to go through part of the checkout process to see if the computer you want qualifies for an actual 12% discount. For a basic laptop for things like browsing the web, e-mail, and banking, you can get a 6th generation i3 processor-powered Inspiron 15 3000 for $399.99.  This one does only have 4GB of memory though, making the $430 option with 8GB of memory far more appealing overall. If you’re in the $400+ range anyway and can swing it, spending another $100 gets you a 7th generation i5 processor with 8GB of memory. All of these come with 1TB of storage – but it’s a traditional drive, so you may want to be wary of something like that for long-term performance.

If you want a 2-in-1 unit, a 7th generation i3 with 4GB of memory and 1TB of storage is $579.99 – so it’s a bit of an increase in cost, but you do get a smaller form factor with a 13.3 inch display instead of a 15.6 inch display, and it’s going to be more portable. This would be a better option for a student or someone who is on the go a lot. For something a bit more future proof, going with an 8th generation processor is a better option – and you can still get some solid savings. An Inspiron 15 5000 with an 8th generation i5, 8GB of memory, and a 1TB hard drive is on sale for $630 – while jumping up to the XPS range is better for those looking to spend a bit more. You can get $50 off an XPS 13, giving you an 8th gen i7 with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD with a 13 inch display for $1,400.

Sticking with a 15.6 inch form factor, you can get a solid option at Best Buy. There, $500 gets you an 8th generation i5 with 8GB of memory and a 1TB hard drive – but it isn’t going to be something you want for demanding tasks as its UHD Graphics 620 integrated graphics card is a bit limited. For something with more horsepower, you can get an Acer Nitro 5 for $650. This gets you a 15.6 inch screen, 8GB of memory, and a GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics card built-in. For gaming, this is a must – and it’s also got a 256GB SSD for long-lasting performance. This one is usually $800 – so it’s $150 off and a heck of a value overall. This is mainly a gaming-centric device, but it would be great for anyone who does video or photo editing. Having a large screen with a full 1080p display is nice and makes quick changes to photos better. This is a fairly powerful device and it includes a DVD-RW drive – a bit of a rarity nowadays as optical media drives go the way of the dodo and things shift towards buying external drives. Of course, one reason this can be done here is it is a larger unit – so if you want something light, then this may not be your best bet.

For a dedicated gaming option, an HP Omen with a 7th gen i7 with a 15.6 inch display will set you back $950 – a $50 savings over the regular price.  This includes a GTX 1050 graphics card with 4GB of GDDR5 dedicated video memory, so it should be able to multi-task and throw anything you want at it for quite some time. It’s also a great option for VR with its Mixed Reality headset compatibility. It is a bit heftier with a weight of nearly six pounds, but does include a USB type-C port alongside three USB 3.1 ports and a media reader for moving photos around with ease. This doesn’t have a DVD drive, so they’re putting as much of the real estate as they can into the core hardware.

If you don’t mind sacrificing power, you can get a Lenovo Thinkware with an i7 processor and GB of memory for $470. There are some caveats here, mainly that it’s a refurbished – but it’s a fairly solid price and should be fine for everyday work. Its 180GB hard drive is enough to deliver enough space for daily tasks, while the Intel HD graphics use less power with their mobile chipset. This isn’t something for gaming – but is good for anyone needing a solid work laptop for word processing.

On the Newgg side of things, you can save a lot on an ASUS Vivobook – which goes from $800 down to $680. It has an 8th generation i7 processor, has a GeForce 940 MX graphics card, 8GB of DDR4 RAM, and a 256GB SSD – so it’s a great option for someone who wants a gaming laptop at a fairly small price point. It’s also pretty compact, and is the best option so far for something that blends a lot of power with a small form factor.

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Opening the purse strings up to $1,000 gets you a surprisingly powerful Huawei laptop. This company has been reveered for its high-quality phones at lower than expected price points – and this powerful unit is no exception. Its 7th gen i7 processor has 8GB of DDR3 RAM and a 512GB SSD. Its price goes from a fairly high $1,300 to a low $1,000 by comparison. This may not be as good an overall value as the ASUS though, with its older processor and weaker graphics – but if you just want a bit of gaming on the go and still want power for other things like photo and video editing, it’s a solid choice.