Best early laptop deals for October Prime Day 2024: Gaming notebooks, 2-in-1’s, and more

24.09.2024 23:10

PC World

Although Amazon is currently readying the troops for its Prime Big Deal Days event (aka October Prime Day), which officially begins October 8, we’re already seeing a number of early laptop deals. I’ve curated a list of the best laptop deals below.

Why should you listen to my recommendations? Valid question! I oversee PCWorld’s laptop review program, so I handle everything from assignment to publication. I also carefully maintain our best laptop deals roundup on a day-to-day basis as well as our best laptops of 2024 roundup on a weekly basis. Since I spend a good amount of time every day searching the web for the best laptop deals, I’m pretty tuned in to popular trends and able to pluck the good deals from a sea of bad ones.

To assemble the list below, I looked at everything from graphics and storage space to design and form factor. I also checked out Amazon’s pricing history with Camel Camel Camel.

Don’t forget to check out our Prime Big Deal Days 2024 hub for more great deals in other tech categories.

First published on Sept. 24, 2024. Last updated on Sept. 24, 2024.

Best Prime Big Deal Days deals on budget and mid-range laptops

HP Stream 14, includes 16GB of RAM and an Intel Celeron N4120 CPU, $309 ($90 off at Amazon)
HP Envy 360, includes a convertible form factor and an Intel Core Ultra 5 125U CPU, $759.99 ($240 off at Amazon)
Acer Swift Go 14, includes an OLED display and an Intel Core Ultra processor 155H, $799.99 ($200 off at Amazon)

The HP Envy x360 is a great laptop with a powerful Intel Core Ultra 5 125U processor and a versatile convertible form factor. It’s zippy enough for general browsing and productivity tasks, and the convertible form factor means you can fold the screen all the way back.

Being able to use a laptop in different positions is useful if you’re a frequent traveler, especially when using the device in a cramped space like an airplane seat. The 15.6-inch 1080p display is also nice as it has touch capability. This is good news if you’re a regular doodler or note taker.

Best Prime Big Deal Days deals on premium laptops

Asus VivoBook S 16 OLED, includes an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H CPU and a 3200×2000 OLED display, $999.99 ($100 off at Amazon)
Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro, includes an OLED touchscreen and an Intel Core 7 Ultra CPU, $1,371.99 ($78 off at Amazon)
Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6, includes Wi-Fi 7 connectivity and a Snapdragon X Elite CPU, $1,604 ($95.99 off at Amazon)

The above laptop deals are all fantastic, but there’s one that really stands out from the rest. For under a grand, you can pick up the Asus VivoBook S 16 OLED, which boasts a powerful Intel Core Ultra 9 185H CPU as well as a stunning 3200×2000 OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. The CPU has 16 cores, 22 threads, and can run up to 5.1GHz. That means it should blitz right through day-to-day tasks and office work.

The OLED display is ideal for entertainment or graphic design work, as this type of panel is capable of producing inky blacks and rich colors. The laptop itself also weighs just 3.31 pounds, which is perfect if you travel often.

Best Prime Big Deal Days deals on high-end gaming laptops

Asus TUF Gaming A15, includes a 1080p 144Hz refresh rate display and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, $1,034.99 ($365 off at Amazon)
MSI Katana 17, includes 32GB of RAM and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, $1,259 ($140 off at Amazon)
Asus ROG Strix G16, includes a 165Hz refresh rate display and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, $1,282.76 ($117.23 off at Amazon)
MSI Katana A17, includes a 240Hz refresh rate display and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU, $1,699.99 ($300 off at Amazon)

If you’re looking for a great gaming experience at a reasonable price point, the Asus TUF Gaming A15 is definitely worth checking out, as it’s a very well-rounded machine. Between the AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS CPU and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, this laptop should fly through most games on the higher graphics settings.

The 1080p display is also quite spacious at 15.6-inches and the 144Hz refresh rate should keep things looking nice and smooth in the heat of battle. It also comes with 1TB of SSD storage, which is a good amount of space if you’ve got a massive games library.

Best early Prime Big Deals Day deals on gaming laptops under $1,000

HP Victus, includes an Intel Core i5-12450H CPU and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2050 GPU, $589.99 ($110 off at Amazon)
Gigabyte Aorus 15, includes a 360Hz refresh rate display, an Intel Core i5-12500H CPU, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU, $979 ($120 off at Amazon)
Acer Nitro 16, includes 1TB of SSD storage, an AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, $957.47 ($342.52 off at Amazon)
Acer Nitro V 16, includes a 165Hz refresh rate display, a AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, $967.49 ($162.05 off at Amazon)

The Gigabyte Aorus 15 deserves a call-out because of its wickedly fast 360Hz refresh rate display. That’s an incredibly high number, so this display should churn out silky-smooth visuals, which is important during more intensive matches.

It also comes with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU and an Intel Core i5-12500H CPU, meaning it has enough juice to run most games on the Medium or High graphics settings, but you may want to dial those settings back on more modern titles. The display, measuring a roomy 15.6-inches, is pretty spacious with a resolution of 1920×1080. It’s not the highest resolution we’ve ever seen, but it’s perfectly fine for most games.

More awesome Prime Big Deal Days 2024 tech deals

Our PCWorld editors have curated best deal roundups across all the major tech categories:

Laptop deals FAQ

What kind of laptop should I get?

Well, it depends on your needs and lifestyle. A 2-in-1, for example, is a good fit for someone who travels often. You can swing the screen back 360 degrees and use it in tablet mode for taking notes or you can prop it up like a tent for watching movies with others. If gaming is a top priority, then you’ll want to look into a laptop with powerful internal hardware and a display with a high refresh rate. For those of us who need a basic laptop for general web browsing, a low-powered Windows laptop should do you just fine.

How can I tell whether a laptop is a good Prime Day deal?

I always use Camel Camel Camel, which is a pricing history platform. You can make a free account and the interface is pretty easy to navigate. Let’s use the Asus VivoBook 16 as an example. Plug the ASIN, which is the part of the URL that starts with the letter B (B0BT6NKLQR in this case), into the search bar and hit search. Once the result generates, scroll down and you’ll see a graph of its price history. You’ll see a big dip in the price this month, the lowest price it has ever been in fact. That’s a big drop from the end of March when it was as high as $741.16.

Do laptop brands matter?

Not particularly when you’re hunting for deals, as long as you stick to household names. All of the big manufacturers like HP and Acer make perfectly capable machines and they all offer pretty steep discounts on their online retail storefronts. You may have a personal preference, though. Dell, for example, has great customer service and their website is easy to navigate. As for HP, their back-to-school guide is laid out in a really straightforward way.

How much memory do I need in a laptop?

I always tell my friends and family to shoot for at least 8GB of RAM. Anything less than that and you may very well notice a slowdown. If you can go higher than 8GB, that’s great! The more RAM you have, the snappier your laptop will be, especially when it comes to general browsing or making spreadsheets. 16GB of RAM is better for productivity tasks and gaming, and 32GB of RAM is perfect for photo editors.