Don’t Miss These Last Chance Presidents’ Day Desktop and Laptop Deals

We kept busy this President’s Day weekend by bringing you incredibly low prices on electronics from all over. In our deal hunting, the biggest discounts we found were on new laptops and desktops. Big-ticket PCs with pricey silicon are going to just rise in price this year, so snapping one up early is a smart decision, and thankfully some of the biggest stores are letting their deals hang on for a little longer. Read on for last-minute discounts on Apple, Dell, HP, Samsung, and other brands.

Laptop Deals

Apple is launching a new series of MacBooks later this year, which means discounts on current models. Being able to already save $250 on the exceptional M5 MacBook Pro is a rare treat. This is, without a doubt, the most capable content creation laptop in the world, with boosted CPU and GPU power for on-device AI, a stellar Liquid Retina XDR display, and Apple’s hallmark ultra-luxe build quality. We gave it an Editors’ Choice award in our review, considering it a huge step forward in the evolution of the MacBook. If you’re not the type of Apple aficionado who needs to have the latest and greatest right when it releases, now’s the time to pick one up.

Gaming laptops are notorious for high prices, so being able to carve $450 off of this solid midrange portable is a treat. The component loadout of the Omen Max is good value proposition, with an AMD Ryzen AI 7 processor for speedy and efficient operation, along with the RTX 5060 graphics card that specializes in fast framerates at FHD resolution. We reviewed this build and raved about it, with writer Charles Jefferies saying it “surprises with its all-around utility,” noting that it works just as well for content creation and productivity as it does for current-generation games. We docked it a few points for battery life, so keep a cord handy for epic sessions. An $800 price drop slaps.

Power isn’t just for gaming laptops. Lenovo’s mobile workstations are notorious for packing in outrageous components into ultra-rugged machines that can tackle anything a desktop can on the go. We’re huge fans of the versatile ThinkPad P1, giving it an Editors’ Choice award in our review for its responsive and tactile keyboard, great display and best-in-class performance thanks to a potent Core Ultra 7 processor and 32GB of system RAM. The all-black aluminum panel construction is luxurious and resilient, and you get tons of ports on both sides, including dual Thunderbolt 5 , HDMI, and a full-sized SD card reader. Taking a 35% discount brings it down into a much more reasonable price range.

If money’s tight this year, the best budget option is the Acer Aspire 14 AI, which delivers reliable performance and useful added features in a lightweight, well-designed chassis. In our review, writer Brian Westover said this portable “delivers Copilot+ smarts and surprising stamina,” noting that most of the AI-optimized Windows 11 laptops we’ve seen to date cost more than $1,000. You do make a few compromises at this price, including an underwhelming display and a keyboard that, while backlit, is somewhat difficult to read. However, the partially metal build, good connectivity, and solid benchmarking results more than make up for it. A 45% discount on the already low retail price is pretty sweet, too.

We called the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 “the sleekest 15-inch 2-in-1 convertible notebook out there” in our 2021 review, with writer Tom Brant gushing over the portable’s incredibly sharp and clear 3K Super AMOLED touchscreen, 360-degree hinge for lots of versatility, and incredibly thin form factor. This loadout is even more impressive than the one we reviewed, as the RAM is boosted to a full 32GB for friction-free multitasking, and the Core Ultra 7 processor is a great performer that includes an NPU for on-device AI with Windows Copilot. The 8% price drop isn’t massive, but it’s nice to see.

We review a lot of Dell products around here, and we put together a rundown of the best devices they offer. At the top of the list was the Dell 14 Plus, not because it excelled in one specific area but because it worked for so many different uses. Students love its sleek appearance and premium metal build, while business users are happy with the good port selection, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. And everybody loves the battery life, which lets you run nearly all day on a single charge. You can dive deep into our full review to learn more, but the thesis statement is that this is a very solid loadout at a deep discount.

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Desktop Deals

Mini desktops have become a popular compromise in the PC space, with increasingly compact footprints coupled with workstation-grade power to create budget-minded builds that fit a lot of needs. A 34% discount on this nice Lenovo is worth checking out. We gave the IdeaCentre Mini x a positive review, noting that although it could get a bit noisy when you pushed it to the limit, performance was reliable throughout our benchmarking tests. It also boasts the solid build quality and materials that Lenovo is famous for, and unlike many other SFF desktops, it has an integrated power supply, making it more convenient to tote around.

Alienware desktops are designed for gamers who want to push the envelope on a decent budget, and for a top-of-the-line battlestation with the latest silicon, this is a really solid deal. In our review of the latest Aurora, evaluator Charles Jefferies said the machine’s “strong gaming performance, flexible configurations, and distinctive design make it a worthy midrange gaming desktop.”

There are many configurations available, but our focus is on the one with the thousand-dollar discount and the RTX 5080 GPU, which delivers significant power for demanding 4K at high frame rates, along with ample RAM and storage. You also get a free download code for Resident Evil: Requiem with purchase.

All-in-ones are great for less tech-savvy households that don’t want to deal with cable management, as well as more limited space, but don’t think they’re inferior to traditional towers. The HP OmniStudio X took home an Editors’ Choice award in our review, boasting a lovely IMAX-certified 4K display with great brightness and color, along with a height-adjustable stand. When compared to Apple’s pricier iMac, this PC stands as a totally solid alternative in terms of performance. We’d have liked to see Thunderbolt ports included, but aside from that it’s a winner, and you can snag a $740 discount.

Speaking of the iMac, Apple’s long-running all-in-one got a glowup in its last release with some kicky new colors and a boosted processor. In our review, writer Brian Westover called it “the smartest iMac yet,” praising its gorgeous 4.5K display, stylish design, and all-around great performance on the way to an Editors’ Choice award. The slim and sleek screen is easy to adjust on the L-shaped stand, and the new 12-megapixel webcam is a big improvement. If you’re into creativity, MacOS is the platform of choice, and an 8% discount is pretty rare.

Want to save even more on all the best hardware? Our deals page is unbeatable.

About Our Expert

K. Thor Jensen

Contributing Writer

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Experience

K. Thor Jensen is a writer and cartoonist living in the Pacific Northwest. He has contributed to dozens of prestigious outlets, including PCMag, Tested, Clickhole, and Newsweek. His second graphic novel, Cloud Stories, was released in 2017.

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