With Black Friday and Cyber Monday just a few weeks away, everything from the latest Copilot+ PCs to everyday bargain laptops are already seeing discounts. I know many of our readers take our buying advice to heart, so I’ve put together this collection of top deals on all of our favorite Windows laptops in 2024.
No sale on your favorite PC? No problem; check out the suggested alternatives to land a discount and still get a great PC. I’m keeping this guide up-to-date as Black Friday approaches, so check back if you don’t see your desired laptop on sale.
Black Friday 2024: Best deals on our highest-rated Windows laptops
Cale Hunt
I’ve been personally writing about and testing laptops since 2016, with countless laptop reviews to my name. I’ve also been covering Black Friday and Cyber Monday events for just as long, and the combination allows me to deliver insightful buying advice anytime you need a new PC, discounted or not.
🎃The best early Black Friday deals🦃
How to buy the right Windows laptop for you
Laptops are my passion, and I can confidently say the same for most of my colleagues at Windows Central. The team spends countless hundreds of hours testing and reviewing all of the latest PCs every year, which makes it easy to create a curated selection of the top Windows laptops available in 2024.
More early Black Friday deals
While the list is constantly changing as we discover and test new PCs, you can rest assured that you’re getting one of the best PCs possible when you take advantage of our buying advice.
All of the laptops in this collection of early Black Friday deals are highly rated and have received Windows Central Best or Recommended Awards, but not every PC works for every user.
That’s where the following laptop-buying advice, coupled with the great deals listed above, can help.
What’s your price range?
New Windows laptops come in a wide range of prices. You want to be careful that you don’t overspend on unneeded features and performance, but you also don’t want to underspend and wind up with a laptop lacking the goods you require.
Of course, major sales events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday will seriously skew pricing, but for the better. Here’s a look at the common prices for Windows laptops when not on sale.
- $400 – $700: These can be considered “budget” Windows laptops, and while they’re easier to buy, they usually have some major drawbacks. You want to keep an eye on the display resolution (make sure it’s at least 1080p), battery capacity/runtime, and performance hardware.
- $700 – $1,000: Mid-range Windows laptops will often have a mix of attractive features as well as some cut corners. At the top end of this range, you’ll also start to see some feature-laden and premium laptops with lesser-performance hardware to keep prices down.
- $1,000 – $1,500: Many of the best Windows laptops we reviewed this year fall into this price range. You can expect a well-balanced PC with strong performance, battery life, and features.
- $1,500 – $2,000: You’re now looking at the price range for specialized tasks, including gaming, creation, development, and design. You’ll often see a discrete GPU and/or a high-res display.
- $2,000+: These PCs will usually offer the best performance, display, security, and design. Laptops in this price range are usually the most tempting, but the reality is most people will find a great PC for a lot less money.
How do you use your laptop?
How you plan to use your laptop is a key ingredient in the buying process. Some people just want an affordable PC to handle video streaming, web browsing, and email, while others need something that will run the latest AAA games or demanding design software.
Here’s a look at the three common usage categories as well as what you can usually expect to pay at full price.
- Light usage: Casual web browsing, writing emails, video streaming, and student homework don’t usually require much power or a high-end display. You should be able to shop within the $400 to $700 range.
- Standard usage: Heavier web browsing with lots of tabs, casual gaming, spreadsheets, and photo editing all benefit from a stronger CPU, more memory, more storage, and a higher-quality display. Expect to shop in the $700 to $1,500 range.
- Heavy usage: Dedicated gaming, design and editing software, and engineering tools all work best with a powerful CPU, dedicated GPU, and quality display with a high refresh rate and accurate color reproduction. Expect to pay $1,500 or more. 👉 See our favorite gaming laptops
What form factor do you prefer?
Windows laptops typically come in one of three form factors. Sure, dual-screen laptops like the Yoga Book 9i (Gen 9) and ASUS Zenbook Duo break away from the traditional categories, but they’re rare. Here’s what you can expect when shopping for a Windows laptop in 2024:
- Notebook: The most common form factor is a clamshell notebook with a lid that can open, at most, 180 degrees. Gaming laptops are usually notebooks, as there isn’t much use for a convertible design.
- Convertible: Convertible laptops are usually heavier and more expensive than notebooks due to the extra engineering that goes into 360-degree hinges and a touch display. These are great for media consumption and drawing since most have pen support.
- 2-in-1: This is the form factor made famous by the Surface Pro. 2-in-1 PCs have a removable keyboard and touchpad, allowing you to use the main portion like a true tablet. 2-in-1s have a touch display and usually come with inking support. 👉 See our favorite 2-in-1 laptops
Do you need an AI PC?
AI PCs have become very popular in 2024, but you might not need one. Technically, an AI PC is any laptop with a processor, or System-on-Chip (SoC) joined by a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) for AI tasks. Intel Core Ultra, AMD Ryzen AI 300, and Snapdragon X chips all qualify.
Taking the AI PC one step further, Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC program adds exclusive AI tools to Windows 11 for laptops with an NPU capable of at least 40 TOPS of power.
Do you really need to worry about all this? In my opinion, no; if you find a great laptop that fits all other requirements, I wouldn’t worry about whether or not it has an NPU. The overall scope of an AI or Copilot+ laptop is still quite limited. I’d focus more on the efficiency and power provided by the latest Qualcomm, Intel, and AMD chips.
👉 See our favorite Copilot+ PCs
How we test and rate Windows laptops
The laptops received by the team at Windows Central are essentially “adopted” during the review process, allowing us to get a general feel for what works and what doesn’t. But our reviews go far beyond just a general vibe.
Laptops are complicated machines, so a lot is required for a full test. We check hinge strength, chassis durability, port speed, camera quality, and speaker audio for any notable strengths or weaknesses. We test fan noise with a decimeter and display quality with a colorimeter. Plus, we run various benchmarks with the latest software to check internal hardware performance.
Because we use these laptops during the review process, a Windows battery report can easily show average runtimes. However, we also run specialized battery rundown benchmarks to provide a more accurate comparison between models.
Each section, including design, keyboard, touchpad, audio, camera, performance, battery life, and more, is assigned a score, which is then tabulated for an overall grade.
All of the laptops in this collection of Black Friday deals are rated at four stars or higher. This puts them in the “above average” and “best” categories, so you know you’re getting a great PC no matter what.
Be sure to check out a more detailed breakdown of how we review laptops at Windows Central for more information.
When is Black Friday 2024?
Black Friday 2024 officially begins on November 29, 2024. It coincides with Thanksgiving in the US every year, offering some intriguing savings while visiting with friends and family.
Just because Black Friday doesn’t officially kick off until the end of November doesn’t mean you can’t find great deals already. Some major retailers are even offering Black Friday price protection on select products, as well as extended holiday returns.
When is Cyber Monday 2024?
Cyber Monday follows Black Friday by a few days; this year, it lands on December 2, 2024. It puts more of a focus on digital storefronts, with many Black Friday sales on tech items carrying over. Some see an even further discount on Cyber Monday, though in my experience since 2016, you can usually find the best prices on Black Friday.
