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Being a savvy laptop shopper means having a clear idea of what is important and what you’re willing to give up on. Things like the size of the screen, battery life, operating system, and whether it has a backlit keyboard will matter more or less depending on what you personally care about. I’ve done my best to highlight these differences and find the best deals on laptops for gamers, high-end users who need power, mid-tier users who want a solid laptop without spending an arm and a leg, and those who need to save cash.
Best budget laptop deals right now
Budget laptops are great for anyone who mostly needs to check emails, browse the web, type up documents, and jump on Zoom calls. These laptops will be limited in their ability to multitask, so expect some fan noise if you try to share a massive Excel sheet via Zoom with multiple tabs open in the background.
Right now, the best deal for $399.99 is the Dell 15 Laptop with an AMD Ryzen 7, 16 GB of RAM, and 1 TB of storage. While the price of this laptop falls under the “budget” category, don’t make the mistake of thinking the performance is budget-level. This is a proper laptop able to handle a bit more than just the basics. Just don’t expect the fancy bells and whistles you’d find in a more expensive laptop, like a backlit keyboard, a nice camera, or a super bright screen.
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Best mid-tier laptop deals right now
Mid-tier laptops are best for people who will dip their toes into more demanding work, like heavy Excel sheets, photo editing, or for those who have a habit of screen sharing with a dozen Chrome tabs open.
If you’re an Apple user, look no further than the M2 MacBook Air. At $699, this machine offers the best value for any mid-tier laptop. As Lifehacker Senior Tech Editor Jake Peterson explained last year, it could be the last laptop you’ll ever buy. It has the same RAM and storage as the M3, but there are some key differences between the two machines you should be aware of. If, however, you have $176 to spare, the upgrade to the M4 is a better value.
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Best high-end laptop deals right now
High-end laptops are best for people who need more than just a powerful laptop that can handle demanding tasks like editing media or running complex 3D design and rendering software, but who also value premium build quality, advanced features, and long-term reliability (and of course, can afford to).
The Dell 16 Plus 2-in-1 Laptop is powerful, slick, and packed with features. It comes with a 2.5K display resolution, and is bright enough to work outdoors. It can handle heavy tasks thanks to its Intel Ultra 7 processor and 32GB of RAM. The 1080p webcam is ideal for Zoom calls, and like the name implies, it can work as a laptop or tablet. It comes with the Dell Active Pen (PN5122W) so you can do hands-on work. Get it for $1,249.99 (originally $1,449.99).
What do you think so far?
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Best laptop deals for gamers right now
Gaming laptops are a bit different than productivity laptops. While the processor and RAM are still important, displays, refresh rates, GPUs, and storage capacity are the key metrics to look at.
The 15.6-inch LOQ with RTX 5050 won’t blow your mind with its specs, but it will with its value. For under $1,000, you’re getting a capable gaming laptop with a wide field of view, a fast 144Hz refresh rate, a powerful Ryzen 7 processor, 16 GB of RAM, 1 TB of storage, and an excellent keyboard. It can withstand extreme temperatures, dust, and shock, so while you might not be hiking with it, you could if you ever found yourself needing to.
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