The hard part of buying a gaming laptop on sale isn’t finding a discount. It’s knowing whether the price is any good. Two laptops with the same GPU can perform very differently depending on how much power they give it, and some stores raised their “regular” prices just before the sales. So instead of a list of deals that will be out of date tomorrow, this guide gives the price at which each class of laptop is worth buying, four specs to check, and what the laptops people are searching for cost today.
Black Friday is November 27, 17 days from now, and Cyber Monday is November 30. So far, prices are higher than they were in October, so for most of the laptops below my advice is to wait.
Which GPU to buy, and at what price
These are target prices for typical US configurations, based on the lowest prices each class of laptop has sold for this year at Walmart, Amazon, Best Buy and the makers’ own stores. Treat them as a guide, not a hard line. The processor, screen, cooling and build all change what a laptop is worth, and a $1,000 RTX 5060 laptop with a good screen and a full-power GPU can be a better buy than an $850 one without them.
| GPU | Video memory | Good for | Target price |
|---|---|---|---|
| RTX 5050 | 8 GB | 1080p, medium settings | Under $700 |
| RTX 5060 | 8 GB | 1080p, high settings | Under $900 |
| RTX 5070 | 8 GB (12 GB on some 2026 models) | Barely more than the 5060 | Only if it’s cheaper than a 5070 Ti |
| RTX 5070 Ti | 12 GB | 1440p | Under $1,500 |
| RTX 5080 | 16 GB | 1440p, high refresh | Under $2,000 |
The 8 GB RTX 5070 is the one I’d skip. Most 5070 laptops have 8 GB of video memory, the same as the RTX 5060. In GameStar’s tests at 1080p, a full-power laptop 5070 was 6% faster than a 5060 in Cyberpunk 2077 and 17% faster in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the best case. Limited to 75 W, it fell behind a 100 W 5060 in every game but Assassin’s Creed. Yet 5070 laptops usually cost $200–300 more, and that money does more in a full-power RTX 5060 laptop or an RTX 5070 Ti. The newer 12 GB RTX 5070 fixes the memory problem and is a reasonable buy when it costs less than a 5070 Ti laptop. Right now it usually doesn’t.
The jump from the 5060 to the 5070 Ti is the one that matters: 50% more video memory and a much bigger chip. If you play at the 1600p resolution of many 16-inch gaming laptops, that’s the card I’d want. The RTX 5080 threshold is roughly the cheapest a 5080 laptop has sold for this year, about $1,970 for an HP Omen Max 16.
Four checks before you buy
- The GPU’s power limit (TGP). The same GPU can run at 60 W in a thin laptop and over 100 W in a thick one, and the difference is bigger than the difference between a 5060 and a 5070. Look for “TGP” or “maximum graphics power” in the specs. If the listing doesn’t give it, search the model name plus “TGP” before you buy.
- Video memory. 8 GB is already the limit at high settings in some new games. If you want the laptop to last four or five years, 12 GB is the safer floor.
- RAM, and whether it’s soldered. 16 GB is fine for now (here’s why), as long as there are two slots and you can add more later. 16 GB soldered to the board is the amount you’ll have forever.
- The screen and the SSD. Budget laptops often save money on dim screens with poor colour, so look for a brightness figure (300 nits or more) and sRGB coverage in the specs. And a 512 GB SSD can fill up quickly with a few large modern games (GTA 6 alone needs 212 GB). 1 TB is a more comfortable start, or check there’s a second M.2 slot.
Laptop prices are going up, not down
Gaming laptops are hit by the same memory shortage as desktop parts. In March, MSI told investors it planned to raise gaming laptop prices by 15–30%, and in early November prices went up at several major US retailers ahead of the sales. So a “40% off” sticker can be 40% off a price that was raised last month. Lenovo’s own store lists the RTX 5070 Legion 5i below at a “regular” $2,771, which makes $1,999 look like a $772 saving. It’s still more than an RTX 5070 Ti laptop costs.
It’s the opposite of what’s happening with prebuilt desktop PCs, where some machines now cost less than their parts. If you don’t need to carry it around, a desktop is the better buy this year.
Black Friday 2026: what they cost now, and what to wait for
Prices are still high with two and a half weeks to go. Right now the RTX 5070 isn’t even the cheaper option: Lenovo wants $1,999 for a Legion 5i with the newer 12 GB RTX 5070, while Walmart sells two RTX 5070 Ti laptops for $1,599 and $1,799. Black Friday is November 27, and Cyber Monday is November 30.
| Laptop | GPU | Price on Nov 9 | Earlier this year | Buy at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gigabyte Gaming A16 Pro | RTX 5070 Ti | $1,799, Walmart | $1,449 (October) | Under $1,500 |
| MSI Vector 16 HX AI | RTX 5070 Ti | $1,599, Walmart | $1,399–1,499 | Under $1,450 |
| Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 10 | RTX 5070 12 GB | $1,999, Lenovo | n/a | Under $1,400 |
| Gigabyte Aero X16 | RTX 5060 | $1,299, Best Buy | $1,224.99 | Under $1,100 |
Gigabyte Gaming A16 Pro (on Newegg) is the one I’d watch. Core 7 240H, 32 GB of RAM, 1 TB SSD, a 16-inch 1600p screen, and at 2.3 kg it’s light for a 5070 Ti laptop. The processor is mid-range, which matters less than the GPU for games at 1600p. Walmart sold it for $1,449 in October, so a sale price back under $1,500 is realistic. At $1,799 I’d wait.
MSI Vector 16 HX AI (on Newegg) is cheaper today and has the faster processor, a Core Ultra 7 255HX. But the $1,599 version comes with 16 GB of RAM and a 1080p screen, which wastes some of what a 5070 Ti can do. The RAM can be upgraded later; the screen can’t. I’d pay less for it than for the Gigabyte.
Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 10 has the 12 GB version of the RTX 5070, which fixes the 5070’s biggest weakness, and a 15-inch screen if you want something smaller. At $1,999 it’s still the worst value here: $200–400 more than two laptops with the faster 5070 Ti, and it comes with 16 GB of RAM.
Gigabyte Aero X16 (on Newegg) puts an RTX 5060 and 32 GB of RAM in a thin, light chassis, but the GPU is limited to 85 W. You’re paying for portability. If you mostly want frame rates, RTX 5060 laptops have sold for $830–950 at Walmart this year. Pick one that runs the GPU at 100 W or more, and wait for that price.
We’ll update this section with the actual Black Friday prices.
Sources: GameStar’s RTX 5070 laptop TGP test, Club386 on the 12 GB RTX 5070 laptop GPU, Notebookcheck on MSI’s price rises, Digital Citizen on November price rises, 9to5Toys on the Gigabyte A16 Pro (October 13, 2026), Tom’s Hardware on the MSI Vector 16, PC Gamer on the Aero X16’s earlier price, HotHardware on RTX 5060 laptop prices (August 2026), PC Gamer on the cheapest RTX 5080 laptops. Current prices checked at Walmart, Lenovo and Best Buy on November 9, 2026.
