The Best Laptop Deals for December: Dell, Lenovo, Asus, and More

What’s the Best Low-Priced Laptop? 

PCMag’s current top-rated budget laptop is the Acer Aspire 3. Simple and effective, it’s priced competitively for a Ryzen 3 processor, 128GB SSD, and a 15.6-inch 1080p display.

Which Laptop Is Best in 2024?

Laptops come in many flavors. Do you need a gaming PC? A portable, convertible 2-in-1? Maybe you’re a macOS fan. We have top-rated laptops in each category, but our top-rated overall laptops include the HP Pavilion Plus 14 and Acer Aspire 3 as mentioned earlier, as well as the 2023, M3 Max-based MacBook Pro 16-inch.

Which Is the Most Reliable Laptop to Buy?

The HP Pavilion Plus 14 is our current favorite among general-use Windows laptops. This laptop merges high-quality hardware and design with a surprisingly low starting price, bringing very capable computing power to more people than most flagship models. For those set on Apple, you can save some money and still get a powerful, long-lasting laptop by picking up the M3-based MacBook Air 13-inch.

Is There a Best Time of Year to Buy a Laptop? 

Black Friday is typically the best time to buy electronics, but for laptops specifically you can also shop around the Back-to-School season, which starts in July and usually features price drops on laptops suited for students. For those looking to maximize their purchasing power, take a look at our 15 Money-Saving Tips for Laptop Buyers article.

Which Is the Best Site for Buying a Laptop? 

The usual suspects when it comes to buying a laptop are Amazon and Best Buy, but you can often snag a deal at Newegg and Walmart, too, or direct from PC makers like Dell and HP. They all want your money, so they’ll often price-match each other if a rival is having a sale. Use a price-comparison app to compare prices and read PCMag’s reviews to make sure you’re really getting a deal.

Is $1000 Enough for a Gaming Laptop? 

You can get a budget laptop that will do a serviceable job at 1080p gaming while meeting the requirements for modern games for as low as $599.99. The Acer Nitro V 15 is our overall top pick, but our expert breaks down the best options for different gaming needs, so be sure to check out our Best Budget Gaming Laptop explainer.

Are 2-in-1 Laptops More Expensive?

2-in-1 laptops can be more expensive simply because, as the name suggests, you’re buying two devices in one: a laptop and a tablet. 2-in-1 laptops come in two formats: a convertible laptop, which is a one-piece machine, and a detachable tablet, which can be divided into tablet and keyboard. 

What Is the Best Laptop Under $800? 

You can get a lot of computing power nowadays for under $800. The Lenovo ThinkPad E16 Gen 1 was named our best budget business laptop and the Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 was named the best budget Chromebook. Check out our full list of Best Budget Laptop Picks for more configurations.

How Can I Buy Apple Laptops at a Cheaper Price? 

Retailers occasionally have discounts on MacBooks and students can take advantage of Apple education pricing on Apple.com. Find out which model is best for you with our helpful buying guide

Is Buying a Laptop From Costco Worth it?

We certainly think so. Not only does Costco offer competitive pricing, but many of their laptops include a 2-year warranty as well as technical support and a hassle-free 90 day return policy. 

Is Dell or HP Better? How Much Should You Pay For a Laptop?

We asked our readers earlier this year which laptop brands they preferred in our Reader’s Choice: Best Laptop Brands series and the general consensus puts Dell just slightly ahead of HP. You should take that with a grain of salt as purchasing a laptop based on brand alone might cause you to miss out on hidden gems.

Laptop prices will range based on features. Basic, but full-featured models can cost as little as $500 while gaming juggernauts can run you over $2000. The most important factors to keep in mind are the ones you need most as the price range will determine what you’re getting—and what you’re sacrificing. For example, a low budget laptop will have less storage space and RAM than a higher priced laptop and will be suitable for casual use without multitasking or running CPU-demanding programs.

How Long Should My Laptop Last?

A computer can last a few years if you treat it well. This means using malware protection when browsing the Web, utilizing a dedicated surge protector to protect your hardware from electrical damage, managing battery health, and more. You can find longevity boosting tips for your laptop in our How-to article.

If it’s battery life you have in mind, then that generally varies based on usage. Laptops with 4K displays running demanding games that test the limits of your GPU will naturally drain more quickly than a laptop that is just being used to surf the web. The PC Lab tests battery life by playing a locally stored video file nonstop with no wireless connections active and 50% screen brightness, which may not match your own usage profile, but is the best comparative measure for which system will provide longer battery life overall. More processor-intensive work will soak up more battery life, so keep that in mind.

How Much Memory Should My Laptop Have?

That depends on the use case (are you seeing a trend here?) SSDs are the best and most common drive configuration as they’re faster to access as well as secure against jolts and bumps in comparison to their HDD counterparts. That being said, some older models of laptops still use HDDs and some even use a combination of the two, which is fine if you’re looking to save money and maximize local storage space. That being said, the minimum amount of storage space most laptop buyers should consider is 256GB. Users with a high volume of videos, photos, and the like will want at least 512GB, while gamers will want at least 1TB to accommodate the large file size of game titles.

System memory (or RAM) works alongside your CPU to run apps as well as determine how much multitasking you can do. 16GB is the sweet spot for most users, from multitaskers to PC gamers, but the more the better—especially for faster performance and better multitasking.