The best Prime Day laptop deals: Save up to 40% on Dell, HP, Asus, and Apple

The best Prime Day laptop deals include all-time low prices on many models, including gaming laptops and standard options for Windows or macOS.

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Amazon Prime Day is upon us, which means laptops are getting some of the best discounts of their lives. To be sure, not every laptop is getting a good sale, so we've only included the best Prime Day laptop deals with the lowest prices we've seen, or that offer superb value, at least. 

There are some stunning laptop deals during Prime Day 2024, like 35% off an HP laptop with a huge 17-inch screen, more-than-respectable specs and performance, and a deal price under $400. Apple's 16-inch MacBook Pro running on the M3 Max processor is also a whopping $700 off when you click the $200 coupon on its Amazon page. 

You might see bigger discounts on older laptops (pre-2022), but we feel the reduced prices on older laptops aren't actual deals. Rather, they're closer to the true value of a laptop after it has aged. With that in mind, we haven't included those older models. 

Top 5 laptop deals 

The best Amazon Prime Day laptop deals

Laptops from brands like Asus, Samsung, HP, Dell, and Acer are seeing some stunning deals that make these machines more affordable. You can act in two different ways — save money on a laptop that matches your needs, or buy a model with a bit more power for a little future-proofing to add a year or two to the laptop's life before performance gets too sluggish. The Asus Zenbook S 13 with an OLED display is an especially good deal at $200 off that gets you a powerful laptop with a premium screen for $1,000. The HP 17-inch Laptop offers incredible value with midrange specs and a huge screen for under $400.

The best Amazon Prime Day gaming laptop deals

Gaming laptops are usually expensive due to their powerful components, so Amazon Prime Day is an excellent time to buy one. You can grab some of the best deals of the year on gaming laptops from Alienware, Asus, and MSI. The Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 listed below is an especially well-balanced model for a substantial $550 discount. The MSI Katana A15 with a Ryzen 9 processor and an RTX 4070 GPU poses stunning value at a deal price under $1,500.

The best Prime Day Apple MacBook deals

If you're looking to buy any of Apple's MacBook laptops, now would be the time to do it. MacBook Pro models running on Apple's M3 processors are awesome options with a deal. For general everyday use, the M3 MacBook Air's 9% deal knocks $100 off Apple's most capable laptop related to its price. 

How to choose the right laptop

The very first thing to consider when buying a new laptop is whether you want to use Windows or Apple macOS. There are so many variables to consider that we can't possibly pick one operating system and ecosystem over the other for you.

Generally, if you own a bunch of Apple products like any of the best iPhones or best iPads, you can't go wrong with a MacBook thanks to Apple's unbeatable ecosystem of devices that work seamlessly together. Apple's M3 MacBook Air offers the best bang for the buck for most people with fantastic performance and quality. Those who need extra power for their creative work will find MacBook Pro models a better fit thanks to their built-in fans for cooling and options for more powerful M3 processors and specs, like the M3 Pro and M3 Max.

Windows laptops are also excellent options for anyone, even if you own several Apple devices, or you simply don't vibe with macOS. Some Windows laptops can be more affordable than MacBooks while still delivering plenty of speedy performance and longevity. The Asus Zenbook 15 (25% off) comes to mind. If you're looking for something as premium-feeling as Apple's MacBooks, Samsung's Galaxy Book 4 Pro (21% off) is the option that sticks out. 

As far as processors go, you can basically tell the performance level with the number next to a processor's name, and that applies to Intel and AMD processors. If you see the number "5," that means midrange, which usually delivers the best balance of performance and value for the vast majority of people. When you see the number "7" you're in the high-end range, which the proverbial "most people" may benefit from for longevity, even if it costs a little more. And when you see the number "9," you're in the supreme performance range that most people certainly don't need. Usually, it's content creators and gamers who benefit the most from these super high-end processors. 

When it comes to MacBooks and processors, the vast majority of people will find the standard M2 and M3 more than enough for their needs. Most people don't need the M3 Pro or M3 Max models, unless you want them for graphically intensive work.

In 2024, we tend to suggest people buy laptops with at least 16GB of RAM if they're thinking of buying a Windows option. Apple's base-level MacBooks start with 8GB, and we grudgingly say that's enough for "most people." Apple charges $200 extra for 16GB RAM in their laptops running the standard M2 and M3 processors. If possible, opt for 16GB. If not, 8GB is still OK, but we'd really like to see Apple step up their base laptops with 16GB RAM standard. 

Storage is mostly up to you and your needs. If you use cloud services like Google Drive or Google Photos, you may not need that much on-device storage. If you'd rather keep everything off the cloud, you might want at least 1TB storage, or opt for external storage drives. 

For gaming, even though Apple has made great strides in gaming performance, there's realistically only one option — a Windows gaming machine. 

How to choose the right gaming laptop

When picking a gaming laptop, the processor (CPU) and graphics processor (GPU) are the most important specs to look for. They'll directly affect how smoothly a laptop can play a game and dictate the graphics settings you apply, whether low, medium, or high (and even ultra). RAM can have a big impact, too, but most usually have the standard amount of 16GB. 

Just like regular laptops, you can get a general idea of a CPU's power by the number attached to it (5, 7, or 9). The same goes for GPU performance, but numbers look more like this: 4050, 4060, 4070, and 4080. The GPUs featured here are from Nvidia's RTX series, and for perspective, the RTX 4050 isn't very powerful. It'll run low-power games just fine, but you'll probably be limited to lower graphics settings for graphically demanding major AAA releases.

The RTX 4060 is generally where we'd recommend starting for a good experience concerning graphics settings and smooth, higher frames-per-second performance. As you go up, the experience gets better, but the price, unsurprisingly, also goes higher.

Shopping for more great Amazon Prime Day deals? Check out our roundup of all of the best deals here, or browse Amazon's website for more.