I’m digging out the best Black Friday gaming laptop deals using my many years of experience and an NFT of a shovel

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MSI Claw 7 A1M | Intel Core Ultra 5 135H | 7-inch screen | 512 GB SSD | Windows 11 | 16 GB RAM | $699 $429.99 at Newegg (save $332.58)
I have to admit the MSI Claw is not our favorite handheld gaming PC. Not even close. That would be the ROG Ally X, which hasn’t recieved a tasty discount as of yet. However, below a certain price threshold, the MSI Claw 7 becomes worth a look, and I believe we’re just about at that price threshold here. Powered by an Intel Core Ultra 5 ‘Meteor Lake’ chip, this chip is the cheapest of those available, but it can deliver in games thanks to the same eight Xe-cores as the higher models. It’s just not as reliable as AMD’s options.

***27/11 PRICE TOO HIGH***

Price check: Amazon $441.15View Deal

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Steam Deck (LCD) | 512 GB SSD | SteamOS | $449 at Steam
Okay, the Steam Deck may have had an OLED refresh but the original version is still the archetype of what a mobile PC gaming device should be. It’s just as powerful as the most recent model so all those Steam Deck compatible games should run well. It’s the OG PC gaming handheld, and it still demands respect.View Deal

Price watch: NEW DEAL!
ROG Ally | Z1 Extreme | 7-inch screen | 16 GB RAM | 512 GB SSD | $599.89 $489.99 at Amazon (save $109.90)
The original ROG Ally—still a strong performer even next to its improved sibling, the ROG Ally X. That’s because they are both powered by the same Z1 Extreme chip from AMD. Considering the money off the original Ally, there’s something to be said for choosing this over the X, though the bigger battery life on the X is definitely a huge improvement.

Price check: Best Buy $499.99View Deal

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Lenovo Legion Go | Z1 Extreme | 8.8-inch screen | 16 GB RAM | 512 GB SSD | $699.99 $499 at Amazon (save $200.99)
The Legion Go is one of the more polished handhelds on the market, with a sleek 8.8-inch screen and detachable controllers. That screen is a little overkill for the lil’ AMD chip inside this machine, the Z1 Extreme also found in the ROG Ally, but it’s great for playing indies on while relaxing. One of the controllers also becomes a mouse if you need it, which is a bit of a gimmick but works pretty well.

Price check: Newegg $499.99 | Best Buy $549.99View Deal

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HP Victus 15 | RTX 4050 | Ryzen 5 8645HS | 15.6-inch | 1080p | 144 Hz | 8 GB DDR5 | 512 GB SSD | $979 $651 at Walmart (save $328)
Let’s be upfront about this—8 GB of RAM is not enough in 2024. But when you’re talking about a gaming notebook that costs just $650, but with a decent RTX 40-series GPU inside it, I can swallow it. Especially when you can easily upgrade the RAM with just a wee screwdriver in hand. And 16 GB of fast dual-channel DDR5 is just $50-odd right now. The RTX 4050 is just a 75 W variant, so not the outright fastest, but will still definitely do the job at 1080p. For this sorta money, that’s all you can ask.

Price check: Newegg $679.95View Deal

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Acer Nitro V | RTX 4050 | Ryzen 5 7535HS | 15.6-inch | 1080p | 144 Hz | 16 GB DDR5 | 512 GB SSD | $949.99 $699.99 at Best Buy (save $250)
Let’s be upfront here—the mobile RTX 4050 isn’t a particularly powerful gaming GPU. However, if you’re on a tight budget and looking to take advantage of DLSS 3, this discount lappy has a lot going for it. It’s got a decently fast display, a chunky little six-core Zen 4 CPU, 16 GB of DDR5 and a relatively subtle chassis design. I’d upgrade the SSD to something bigger for cheap, but otherwise, it’s a decent budget gaming machine for the price.

***27/11 FULL PRICE***

Price check: Newegg $862.99View Deal

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ROG Ally X | Z1 Extreme | 7-inch screen | 24 GB RAM | 1 TB SSD | $799.99 $699.99 at Best Buy (save $100)
The ROG Ally X is a little bit too new to receive a massive discount. However, as our pick as the best handheld gaming PC to buy right now, even a $100 off is worth mentioning. Combining a generous helping of RAM, which really matters with an APU, alongside a 1 TB SSD and awesome form factor, the ROG Ally X is top of the charts for a reason.

Price check: Asus $799.99View Deal

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Asus TUF A16 | RX 7700S | Ryzen 7 7735HS | 16-inch | 1200p | 165 Hz | 16 GB DDR5-4800 | 512 GB SSD | $1,099.99 $699.99 at Best Buy (save $400)
A gaming laptop with an AMD GPU is a rarity, rarer still to find one with a very tasty discount. Now, the RX 7700S isn’t the most exciting GPU, but it will outperform the RTX 4050 in most games quite comfortably, making this $700 system a very tempting laptop deal. The screen is decent, the RAM is substantial enough and although we’d prefer more storage space, it’s a quality budget gaming machine for a very good price.View Deal

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Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 | RTX 4060 | Core i7 13650HX | 16-inch | 1200p | 165 Hz | 16 GB DDR5-4800 | 512 GB SSD | $1,149.99 $999.99 at Amazon (save $150)
Ok, so the SSD is small. Still, it’s the easiest thing to upgrade on a laptop, and the rest of the specs are rather nice for the cash. The RTX 4060 handily beats the RTX 4050 by a considerable margin, the screen is a plenty fast 1200p 165 Hz panel, and it’s got a nice dose of DDR5. Stick a bigger SSD in it, and it’s a nicely balanced machine.View Deal

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MSI Katana 15 | RTX 4070 | Core i7 13620H | 16-inch | 144 Hz | 1200p | 1 TB SSD | 16 GB DDR5 | $1,159 at Amazon
You’re only getting a 1080p screen here, which is a bit of a shame as the rest of the components are all excellent. Still, that RTX 4070 will have no problem pushing that 144 Hz panel to its limits in many games at that res, plus the 10-core (six P-core, four E-core) CPU has some decent DDR5 to play with. It’s not perfect, but for this money, it’s an excellent deal.

Price check: Newegg $1,299View Deal

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Alienware m16 R2 | RTX 4070 | Core Ultra 7 155H | 16-inch | 1600p | 1 TB SSD | 16 GB DDR5 5600 | $1,899.99 $1,299.99 at Best Buy (save $600)
This Alienware gaming laptop not only offers what we’d expect to see in a $1,200 machine in 2024, but it also comes with one somewhat unexpected item. That’s the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, a low-power processor from the Meteor Lake generation. With 16 cores total, this chip makes a good pairing with an RTX 4070 for a power-savvy gaming laptop.

Price check: Dell $1,299.99 (with Core Ultra 9/RTX 4060)View Deal

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Acer Predator Helios 18 | RTX 4070 | Core i7 13700HX | 18-inch | 165 Hz | 1600p | 1 TB SSD | 16 GB DDR5 4800 | $1,499.99 $1,299.99 at Newegg (save $200)
We tend to like our gaming laptops on the small side, but this desktop-replacing behemoth is truly excellent value for what you get inside. There’s a proper RTX 4070 handling the graphics duties, a nicely performant Core i7 13700HX and some decent DDR5 rounding off a powerful, if rather ginormous, gaming beast.View Deal

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Asus TUF Gaming F17 | RTX 4070 | Core i7 13620H | 17.3-inch | 240 Hz | 1440p | 1 TB SSD | 16 GB DDR5 | $1,699.99 $1,299.99 at Newegg (save $400)
This is a big chonker of a laptop, with a honking great 17-inch 240 Hz display. Combine that with a proper mobile RTX 4070, 16 GB of DDR5 and a 1 TB SSD, and you’ve got a big lappy with plenty of horsepower and a super speedy screen for a good price.View Deal

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Asus TUF A14 | RTX 4060 | Ryzen AI HX 370 | 16 GB RAM | 1 TB SSD | $1,499 $1,349 at Walmart (save $150)
The TUF A14 was a bit of a surprise package to arrive in the PCG office this year, and I ended up a big fan in my review of it. It’s a big upgrade on the previous generation of 14-inch, taking many of the design notes from the premium Zephyrus range, but doing so in a more affordable form. It’s still a little pricey for an RTX 4060 laptop if that’s all you’re after, but for a compact 14-inch version, it’s a bit of a bargain.View Deal

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Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 | RTX 4070 | Core i9-14900HX | 16-inch | 240 Hz | 1600p | 1 TB SSD | 16 GB DDR5 | $1,699.99 $1,349.99 at Best Buy (save $350)
Acer’s Helios line of laptops goes up to some mighty (and mighty pricey) configs, but this one is a bit more affordable. You get that super-fast 240 Hz screen, a proper RTX 4070, and one of Intel’s top mobile chips, the Core i9 14900HX. It’ll likely run pretty toasty with that beefy Intel chip in the mix, but power-wise it’s a pretty mean gaming machine.

***27/11 FULL PRICE***View Deal

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Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 | RTX 4070 | Core i7 14700HX | 18-inch | 165 Hz | 1600p | 16 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD | $1,749.99 $1,429.99 at Newegg (save $320)
If you want to throw portability out the window and go large, how about this Acer? It’s got a huge (for a laptop) 18-inch 165 Hz LED backlit IPS display, and a 140 W TGP RTX 4070 to keep all 1600p of it duly fed. It’s not something you’re likely to want to haul around too often, but if you’re the sort of person who likes to keep your lappy at home for multi-room gaming, it’s a great shout for the price.

Price check: Amazon $1,429.99View Deal

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Lenovo Legion 5i | RTX 4070 | Core i9 14900HX | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 32 GB DDR5 5600 | 1 TB SSD | $1,849 $1,449 at B&H Photo (save $400)
Lenovo Legion gaming laptops have been excellent performers for a while now, and this one has specs to impress. The CPU is a 24-core (8 P-cores/16 E-cores) powerhouse, plus you get a proper 32 GB of RAM to play with. Match that with a 140 W RTX 4070 and a 240 Hz screen and this laptop is virtually flawless for the money. 2 TB of storage would be nice if I was being picky, but 1 TB will do you fine.

Price check: Best Buy $1,499.99View Deal

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Acer Predator Triton Neo 16 | RTX 4070 | Core Ultra 9 185H | 16-inch | 2000p | 165 Hz | 32 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD | $1,575 $1,499.99 at Amazon (save $75.01)
Let’s start with a caveat—the chassis here isn’t exactly beautiful. But everything else about this laptop is great for the price, including a 140 W RTX 4070, a 16-core (six Performance, eight Efficient) Meteor Lake chip and a 16-inch 2000p LED-backlit IPS display. That resolution might be a bit much for the RTX 4070 in demanding games, but there’s always DLSS 3 to keep the frame rate smooth. 32 GB of DDR5 is great to see, too.

Price check: Newegg $1,499.99View Deal

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Gigabyte Aorus 17H | RTX 4070 | Core i7 13700H | 17.3-inch | 1440p | 240 Hz | 16 GB DDR5-4800 | 1 TB SSD | $1,749 $1,542.24 at Amazon (save $206.76)
This is a big laptop that, for once, hasn’t been packed with the most power-hungry and heat-producing components, which is refreshing. That Core i7 is easier to keep cool than an i9 and it’s a more suitable match for the 140W RTX 4070 alongside, which should have no problem pushing 1440p res gaming to that screen. Speaking of which, that 240 Hz panel is very speedy indeed, especially for this price.View Deal

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Acer Predator Helios 18 | RTX 4080 | Core i9 14900HX | 18-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 32 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD | $2,299.99 $1,999.99 at Best Buy (save $500)
As an 18-incher, this isn’t the most portable of laptops. Still, if a desktop replacement is your desire the specs here make a whole lot of sense for the cash. You get a 24-core Core i9 CPU, 32 GB of delicious RAM, and an RTX 4080 for serious gaming firepower. The 1 TB SSD is a little stingy at this price, but we’ll allow it.

***27/11 FULL PRICE***

Price check: Newegg $2,397.99View Deal

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Lenovo Legion Pro 7i | RTX 4080 | Core i9 14900HX | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 32 GB DDR5-5600 | 1 TB SSD | $2,649 $1,999 at B&H Photo (save $650)
Lenovo makes some brilliant gaming laptops, and this Legion Pro 7i is no exception. Featuring the mighty RTX 4080 in combination with Intel’s top-spec Core i9 mobile CPU, this high-end model should have no trouble tearing through any game you can throw at it. The screen is plenty speedy too with a 240 Hz refresh rate, and 32 GB of fast DDR5 is not to be sniffed at.

Price check: Newegg (2 TB SSD model) $2,499.99View Deal

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ROG Ally | Z1 Extreme | 7-inch screen | 16 GB RAM | 512 GB SSD | £499 £399 at Amazon (save £100)
If you’re eyeing up a handheld gaming PC for the holiday period, you can’t go wrong with the ROG Ally. This is the version with the full-power chip inside it, the Z1 Extreme, which is absolutely the version to go for. It’s a savvy handheld that’s still worth a look even with the improved ROG Ally X on the market. Most importantly, it’s now the price of a Steam Deck but more powerful and runs Windows 11, which is both a good and bad thing.

Price check: Argos £399.99View Deal

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Lenovo Legion Go | Z1 Extreme | 8.8-inch screen | 16 GB RAM | 512 GB SSD | £699.99 £479 at Amazon (save £220.99)
The Legion Go is a lot like the ROG Ally crossed with a Nintendo Switch, and much bigger than both. It has detachable controllers, one of which can turn into a mouse, and which make for a simple relaxed set-up. The big screen runs at 1600p, which is great for browsing Windows 11, but not really in the ballpark of the Z1 Extreme chip in terms of playable performance. Still, you can run it at 1080p just fine, and this is one of the more polished gaming handhelds on the market.

Price check: Ebuyer £698.99View Deal

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Gigabyte G5 | RTX 4060 | Core i5 13500H | 15.6-inch | 1080p | 144 Hz | 16 GB DDR5-4800 | 512 GB SSD | £849 £749 at Currys (save £100)
We’re big fans of this little budget gaming laptop, and our Jacob loved its great gaming performance (check out our review). With some genuine 1080p gaming chops on offer for a substantially lower price than we’ve seen previously, this makes for a tidy little gaming laptop for not much cash at all.

Price check: Amazon £811.14View Deal

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Gigabyte Aorus 7 | RTX 4060 | Core i5 12500H | 17.3-inch | 1080p | 360 Hz | 16 GB DDR5-3200 | 512 GB SSD | £999.95 £899.99 at Overclockers UK (save £99.96)
A slightly odd set of components here, but if you’re looking for a large-screen laptop with decent gaming performance at a budget price point, this is a darn good shout. That large screen might be only 1080p, but it’s super speedy, and it’s well matched with an RTX 4060 and a 12th Gen (but still performant) Intel mobile chip.View Deal

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Asus TUF F15 | RTX 4070 | Core i7 12700H | 15.6-inch | 1080p | 144 Hz | 16 GB DDR4-3200 | 1 TB SSD | £1,199.99 £949.99 at Amazon (save £250)
For just a smidge under a grand, this laptop has a properly excellent spec sheet for the cash. The screen might be 1080p, but that just means that RTX 4070 will have no problems cranking frames towards that 144 Hz panel. The CPU is still a bit of a mobile barnstormer too, and you get a proper 1 TB SSD for storage.View Deal

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MSI Pulse 16 | RTX 4070 | Core i9 13900H | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 16 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD | £1,799 £1,199 at Amazon (save £500)
It’s a bit of a shame MSI has decided to draw all over the top deck here, but if that doesn’t bother you the components here are superb for the cash. A speedy 1600p 240 Hz panel is the crown jewel, set off by an RTX 4070 and an efficient but gaming-ready Meteor Lake CPU. It’s very slim and portable, too.

***27/11 FULL PRICE***View Deal

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Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 | RTX 4070 | Core i7 14700H | 18-inch | 1600p | 165 Hz | 16 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD | £1,506.47 £1,399.99 at Amazon (save £106.48)
It’s a seriously large laptop but if you’re looking for a huge screen and some mega components to match, this is a superb pick for the money. That RTX 4070 should be able to keep that big IPS panel fed with pixels thanks to DLSS 3, and the Core i7 processor here will have no problems keeping up. Big, beastly, and surprisingly good value.

Price check: Laptops Direct £1,499View Deal

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Acer Predator Triton Neo | RTX 4070 | Core Ultra 9 185H | 16-inch | 2000p | 165 Hz | 32 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD | £1,599 £1,499 at Amazon (save £100)
This might not technically be on discount, but it’s still a lot of laptop for the cash. Here you get a 2000p speedy panel in combination with an efficient yet very gaming-capable CPU, paired with 32 GB of RAM and a decent 1 TB SSD. It’s not the prettiest machine, but it’s a very portable, very powerful gaming powerhouse in a slim chassis.View Deal

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MSI Vector 17 | RTX 4080 | Core i9 13980HX | 17-inch | 1200p | 165 Hz | 16 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD | £1,698.99 at Amazon
When it comes to the hardware running under the bonnet, this 17-inch MSI Vector certainly has the goods, what with that Intel Core i9 processor and an RTX 4080 making a very tempting package indeed. Bit of a shame about the 1200p display and 16GB of RAM, but at least the screen’s a good ‘un with a 144Hz refresh rate and a nice and bright panel. There’s a huge amount of performance here, making this machine a sizeable chunk of power for just under £1,700.View Deal