How to spot the best deals on gaming PCs and laptops this Amazon Prime Day
We're entering the summer deals season once again. It kicked off with a smattering of 4th of July sales from the likes of HP, Dell, et al. releasing some tasty morsels, but we'll soon be hitting the main course, with Amazon Prime Day due to last from 12th–13th of July. That's more than a day, but anyway. That will segue into the back-to-school season, and before you know it we'll be getting ready for, gulp, Black Friday.
One thing we've seen from that initial sales salvo is that there's a big delta between the cheapest and most expensive deals for ostensibly the same kit. By way of example, gaming PCs(opens in new tab) packing an RTX 3060 start from as low as $848 for the likes of the HP Pavilion TG01(opens in new tab) and go all the way up to $1,549 for the Omen 45L(opens in new tab), also from the HP stable. That's almost double.
There are significant differences between those two systems for sure, with wildly different CPUs and upgrade potential. You're going to have to weigh up what is most important to you, and it may be you don't go with the absolute cheapest. For instance, we expect quite a range of CPUs to factor in this time around, and going with a 10th Gen Intel CPU when its 12th Gen is doing the rounds may be a step too far for you.
Ultimately though, if you're looking for a gaming PC or laptop, then the most important consideration is the graphics card. That's the component you want to focus on. That's the one thing that is going to define how well the system can game.
But what can you expect to pay for such systems? Allow me to slip this crib sheet into your life just in time for Prime Day. Complete with example systems.
RTX 3060 ~$900 — HP Pavilion | $1,099.99$848 at Walmart(opens in new tab) RTX 3060 Ti
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