Best Labor Day gaming laptop deals: Game on the go from $800

Labor Day is officially here, so if you want to buy a gaming laptop there are some great Labor Day sales that you can take advantage of. That’s important because gaming laptops tend to be quite expensive, especially if you’re going for something that’s a little bit fancier and higher-end with a powerful GPU. Either way, we’ve gone out and collected some of our favorite gaming laptop deals for Labor Day and put them below, and we’ll keep updating this list as we find newer and better deals.

Best Labor Day gaming laptop deals to shop right now

HP Victus 15 — $800, was $1,100

While you can certainly snag a several-thousand-dollar laptop, there are some solid budget options too, such as this configuration of the HP Victus 15. It comes with an RTX 4050 under the hood, which is admittedly an entry-level GPU, so it’s not going to let you play the latest AAA games with good graphical settings. Even so, it should be able to handle most older games and some free-to-play games, especially since it only runs an FHD resolution, so it won’t tax the card too much. Luckily, you do get a great CPU in the form of the Core i7-12650H, which is a mid-to-upper processor that will easily handle most games and productivity tasks, while the 16GB of RAM should give you a pretty smooth experience overall.

Dell G16 gaming laptop — $950, was $1,200

For an affordable gaming laptop, check out the Dell G16. It has a 13th-generation Intel Core i7-13650HX processor teamed up with 16GB of memory and 1TB of SSD storage. The graphics card is an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 with 6GB of dedicated VRAM, and it works well alongside the 16-inch QHD+ screen with 2560 x 1600 resolution, 240Hz refresh rate, and 100% DCI-P3 color gamut. This won’t be the speediest of gaming laptops, but it’s more than respectable enough for playing all the games you could want if not at ultra graphics levels. Little touches like an RGB backlit keyboard and advanced thermal cooling ensure this is a good choice for the price.

Lenovo Legion Slim 5 Gen 9 — $1,410, was $1,770

Lenovo makes some great gaming laptops, but they can be bulky. That’s not an issue with the Lenovo Legion Slim 5 Gen 9 because, as the name suggests, it’s pretty sleek. It has an AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS processor, 16GB of memory, and 1TB of SSD storage. It also has an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 graphics card with 8GB of dedicated VRAM which is great to see at this price. There’s also a gorgeous 16-inch WQXGA screen with 2560 x 1600 resolution, 350 nits of brightness, 165Hz refresh rate, and 100% sRGB color gamut. Besides those key features, the Lenovo Legion Slim 5 Gen 9 also has a 1080p full HD webcam, 4zone RGB backlit keyboard, and great cooling from Legion ColdFront technology.

Alienware m16 R2 gaming laptop — $1,500, was $2,000

The Alienware m16 R2 is a good mid-range gaming laptop that looks pretty stylish. It has an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H processor, a huge 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of SSD storage. For the graphics card, there’s an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 with 8GB of dedicated VRAM, and the 16-inch QHD+ screen looks great with its 2560 x 1600 resolution. The display also has a 240Hz refresh rate, 100% sRGB and 3ms response time. It’s a little bulky at just under six pounds, but it’s otherwise pretty great. Gamers know how good it is to own an Alienware laptop.

Alienware m16 — $2,100, was $2,700

The Alienware M16 is an excellent mid-to-high-end gaming laptop if you want something that sits in the middle of price and performance, even though it goes slightly over $2,000. It comes with a really powerful RTX 4080 and should easily handle the 2560 x 1600 resolution with high graphical settings. That said, it may struggle to hit the impressive 240Hz refresh rate, although you can certainly pick and choose whether you want to prioritize graphical performance or game performance. The AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX is one of the most powerful CPUs on the market, so no worries there, and the massive 32GB should be more than enough, even for power users.

Razer Blade 18 — $2,800, was $3,800

We’re big fans of Razer gaming laptops thanks to them frequently being pretty sleek while still cramming in high-end hardware. This Razer Blade 18 has a 13th-generation Intel Core i9-13950HX processor along with 32GB of extra fast memory, 1TB of SSD storage, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 graphics card. As the name suggests, there’s an 18-inch display here with a QHD+ resolution of 2560 x 1600 and 240Hz refresh rate. It looks great, meaning it works well as a desktop replacement while also being stylish enough to take around with you. Packed with high-end components, it’s perfect for playing games at high quality levels.

Alienware m18 R2 gaming laptop — $3,300, was $4,000

For the near ultimate high-end experience, check out the Alienware m18 R2 gaming laptop. It has a 14th-generation Intel Core i9-14900HX processor and a massive 64GB of memory. Storage is similarly vast: 4TB of SSD storage. It has the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card. The screen is also high-end with an 18-inch QHD+ display with 2560 x 1600 resolution, 165Hz refresh rate, and 3ms response time, so it’s great for all your gaming needs. It works very well as a desktop replacement and is suitably high-end — you’ll be playing many games on Ultra levels for a long time to come.

Why pick a gaming laptop over a gaming PC?

Check out the best gaming desktops and the best gaming laptops and you’ll notice something significant — gaming desktops cost less than a gaming laptop. That makes sense really as they can be bulkier and there’s no monitor included in the price of a gaming desktop. So why buy a gaming laptop? Convenience is everything!

If you’re short on space such as only have a dorm room or a small apartment, a gaming laptop means you can play PC games without worrying about finding the room for lots of cables, a monitor, a tower unit, and accessories. A gaming laptop can be moved around too so you could use it on a train or other form of commute, or you could simply take it to a buddy’s house if you prefer.

Not everyone needs a gaming laptop and you’ll get better value with a gaming desktop but if you need one, you need one. There’s not much point buying a great gaming desktop if it simply doesn’t fit into your lifestyle (or home!). Read up on the best gaming laptop brands and you can’t go wrong with your purchase.

When do Labor Day gaming laptop sales start?

Labor Day is on September 2, which is today, but there are early Labor Day sales that have been going on over the past few days. They’ve overlapped with back-to-school sales, which is why we’re seeing so many great discounts across many different major retailers. So, effectively, the Labor Day gaming laptop sales are already here. However, how long do they run for? We’re expecting them to continue until September 2nd or 3rd, with some retailers likely to continue things for a few more days following the big day. So, expect deals to stick around until the end of that week, but this could be fairly variable.

In many cases, it makes sense to buy now rather than regret it later. There are some exceptional Labor Day gaming laptop deals already, as we’ve listed above, so you can save plenty without having to wait to see if you can get some good deals on the tail end of these Labor Day deals.

Should you shop Labor Day gaming laptop deals or wait until Black Friday?

We all know that Black Friday is the best time of year for huge sales and discounts, so you should wait until then to buy something like a gaming laptop, right? It’s complicated. After all, Labor Day is only two months before Black Friday but that two months can be a long time depending on your situation.

If you’re in desperate need of a new gaming laptop because your existing one has just died or you’re heading back to school, waiting doesn’t really work here. In which case, buy now. Labor Day deals tend to only be slightly poorer than those during Black Friday so the saving may not be worth waiting that extra time.

However, if you can hold out, it makes sense to wait until Black Friday as you will find the biggest discounts here, even if it’s fairly incremental.

Another thing to consider is finances. Holiday season is expensive with gift buying and extra travel to consider, and it’ll be even more expensive if you invest in a gaming laptop at the same time. Buy a new gaming laptop now as part of the Labor Day sales and you’re effectively spreading the cost. That could work out better for your situation so it’s worth thinking about.