Black Friday PC, DIY Components List

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If last year's PC market was in an awkward transition, this year's PC market is simply indescribable. If you remember what I said last year, those who listened and bought in early are probably happily clearing Shadow Blade already while waiting for that game 6. Open the deals site and check out the excitement (and the jokes) — tactical lean back. Those still waiting, don't worry: every day before 2030 is The Best & Cheapest time to buy a PC, manual smirk (SK Hynix says orders are booked through 2029).

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Money, come here! Money, come here!

Fun's over — you still gotta buy a computer. Last year I was hoping retailers would drop prices on motherboards/CPUs and GPUs to recoup their memory stockpile cash. This year I realize I was dreaming. Those waiting for cheap GPUs can stop waiting (if Jensen Huang comes at me, I'll be the first to surrender). Building your own right now: picking a CPU and motherboard is fun, but open the memory, SSD, and GPU pages and your cart falls apart before the build list does. Cases, PSUs, and coolers are still normal prices — the problem is those three together won't even boot.

So this Black Friday, we need a different buying strategy. For thin-and-lights, keep watching LNL. For value gaming laptops, keep digging through the "7840 universe." And don't skip "Team Blue" just because it's n-1/n-2 gen — 13th and 14th gen still handle the work and the games just fine. For desktops, look at brand-name prebuilts first, then Micro Center and Newegg combos that bundle motherboard/CPU, memory, SSD, and even GPU together. If you've got DDR4/DDR5 on hand, you're already winning this year. Of course, bundled doesn't mean cheap — if the whole bundle costs more than a prebuilt, I can only say: Not married, thanks!

Since GPU, memory, and SSD prices change daily this year — totally different after a month — the target prices below reference good deals on comparable configs over the past two months, especially around October Prime events. It's only worth waiting for if Black Friday matches or beats them. I'm drawing a line in the sand, Lisa!

$500 budget for studying

Can you still get a study laptop for $500 this year? Yes, but choices and models are fewer. LNL is still worth focusing on, otherwise you're stuck with Zen3. Look for Core Ultra 200V — 226V, 256V, these are what we mean by LNL. Don't assume Core 5/7 3xx (Hakimi Lake 2P+4E) is newer and better. LNL's downside is obvious: memory is soldered, 16GB can't be upgraded to 32GB later (2x6V means 16GB, 2x8V means 32GB).

Laptop reference specs:

Under $500, the best deals right now are factory-certified refurbished and open-box units. If you insist on brand new, you may need to spend about $100 more:

• Refurbished Acer Aspire 14 AI (U5 226V, 16GB, 1TB), target price $415. October discount at Acer's official eBay store. LNL plus 1TB handles everyday work and study easily — great for those on a tight budget who want portability and battery life. Refurb price; the 1200P screen is average.
• Refurbished Acer Aspire 16 AI (U5 226V, 16GB, 1TB), target price $473. If you need a big screen and full keyboard, look at this one — 16" 1200P touchscreen, hit $472.72 in early November with SAVE20TECH. Matching that on Black Friday would be good.
• Acer Aspire 16 AI (U7 256V, 16GB, 512GB), target price $599.99. $100 over the $500 budget, but it's a good price right now. Pick this if you're willing to pay more for brand new.
• HP OmniBook 7 Flip 16 (U5 226V, 16GB, 512GB), target price about $630. Good price at Staples in late October. Consider this if you need a convertible touchscreen and do lots of video calls. It also has WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4, a 5MP front camera that looks great, battery that lasts through the workday, and fast charging support.
• Dell 15 Touch Laptop (R7 7730U, 16GB, 512GB), target price $599.99. Best Buy discount on October 14. The 8C16T Zen3 still outperforms LNL, better suited for heavy Word, Excel, and office software users. Battery life and unplugged performance are weaker than LNL, so only recommended for plug-in use.
• Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15.3" Touchscreen (Core 7 350, 16GB, 512GB), Black Friday price $629.99. Best Buy early Black Friday pricing has ended; Black Friday will only match or go lower. Hakimi Lake is what Team Blue is pushing now, so we should give it some screen time. It definitely can't beat LNL, and costing more than LNL isn't worth it — at this price I'd rather see an AI 7 350.

Desktop reference specs:

DIY at this budget is extra tough. Even with the cheapest case, PSU, and cooler, $500 only covers memory + SSD. If you already have a platform and memory/storage to reuse, that's different — upgrading Zen3 to Zen4/5 requires DDR5, while Team Blue can keep DDR4 from 12th gen all the way to Core Ultra 5 2nd gen. $500 brand-name desktops have zero value proposition; if you want a Desktop, only mini PCs are worth a look. If you want to game, skip to the next tier — don't assign tasks to an office box that it shouldn't handle.

• BOSGAME P4 Ultra Mini PC (R7 7730U, 16GB, 1TB), target price $419. Price on November 3. The 7730U is an old workhorse — performance is sufficient, the size is compact, the price is good, and dual 2.5GbE, SO-DIMM, and M.2 slots all give you room to tinker.
• Mac mini M4 (16GB, 256GB), target price $649 or lower. BB price on October 21. Last year it was simply greatness, no further explanation needed. If Black Friday drops the price, it's still great this year.

1080P God of War for gaming:

Last year's $800 5060 laptop deal is becoming tell a good 3050 story this year. Don't turn your nose up — next year it might be telling a 2050 story. Around $1,000 is still the tier everyone cares about most, except 5060 gaming laptops are generally stuck at $1,200 or higher. Don't worry about whether the CPU is new — look at GPU, screen, memory, and total price together. Keep watching the dozens of old friends in the "7840 universe" — 7840U, 8840U, Z1E, Z2E, 7840H(S), 8845H(S), 8745HS, and R7 255/260. 13th/14th gen Intel H/HX and Core 200H rebadged chips are also worth pushing when the price is right — good old guys to help you remember the good old days.

Laptop reference specs:

For specific products, I still want to stick to the 5060 baseline this time — after all, it officially supports DLSS5 for future-proofing (40 series and RDNA4 both have FP8 hardware acceleration, so DLSS5 isn't out of the question for those either):

• Lenovo Legion 5 83M0004JUS (R7 260, 5060, 16GB, 512GB), target price $976.99. New-unit price seen at MC in October, 15.3" 1200P 165Hz IPS. 7840 universe old friend paired with 5060, whole unit under a grand. The downside is obvious — MC doesn't exist for many people, and even if there's one nearby, stock is YMMV.
• MSI Crosshair 16 HX E14WFK-036US (i7-14650HX, 5060, 16GB, 512GB), target price $1,249. Recent good price at Walmart, 16" 1600P 240Hz 100% DCI-P3 screen is a pleasure, performance is solid, Type-C supports PD fast charging.
• Lenovo Legion 5a 83Q70068US (R7 250, 5060, 16GB, 512GB, 165Hz OLED), target price $1,299. Recent B&H price, 15.3" 1600P OLED. This isn't the same as the MC one above — this one's OLED screen is much better.
• Gigabyte AERO X16 (AI 7 350, 5070, 32GB, 1TB), target price $1,374.99. Appeared at Best Buy during October Prime Day. 4.2 lbs (1.9kg), 1600P, ultra-narrow bezels, USB4 40Gbps and other premium features are a pleasure. 32GB and 1TB are fully equipped so no short-term anxiety. But why is Gigabyte so overlooked? Look — a gaming laptop with AI 7, and an 85W 5070 — does that make sense? Truly a pair of smiling tigers, two black-horned sharks!
• Open-box ROG Zephyrus G14 (R9 270, 5060, 16GB, 1TB), BB current like-new $1,154.99, Good $1,085.99, Fair $1,015.99, limited stock so hurry. 14" 3K 120Hz OLED pocket rocket, portability and screen are attractive, but 16GB soldered memory can't be upgraded.
• HP OmniBook 7 Flip 16 (U7 258V, 32GB, 1TB, 3K OLED), target price $1,099.99. Costco discount last month. LNL, 32GB, OLED convertible touchscreen with stylus, plus the prestigious HP logo — you're not buying performance, you're buying a feeling.
• MacBook Air 13 M5 (16GB, 512GB), target price $1,049, now $1,099. B&H recent 24GB/512GB $1,349, 32GB/512GB recently $1,549. Recommended for anyone who doesn't strictly need Windows X86 — when your competition is weak enough and you're strong enough, the scholars will argue on your behalf.

Desktop reference specs:

On the desktop side, Team Blue and DDR4 finally have a voice again. Zen5 X3D is great, but DDR5 prices are what they are. For desktop users, brand-name prebuilts and complete systems are still the better and more worry-free choice right now. DIY users really have it tough — buying an adequate CPU and discrete GPU for less money, reusing existing storage, and keeping your wallet intact is more practical than chasing the newest. Case, PSU, and cooler prices really haven't gone up; you just have to slowly wait for good deals on the big-ticket items.

• ABS Cyclone M Aqua Desktop (i5-14400F, 5060, 16GB DDR4, 1TB), target price $849. October Walmart good price, budget-friendly 3A gaming desktop for Shadow Blade Zero — make sure it's the 5060 version; the same series also has a B580 model.
• MSI Codex Z2C B8NVM-674US (R7 8700F, 5060 Ti 8GB, 16GB, 1TB), target price $999. Walmart good price last month, $150 more than the $849 one. This 5060 Ti is 8GB, not 16GB, but the memory is DDR5 gold.
• PowerSpec G536 (R5 7500X3D, 5070, 32GB, 1TB), target price $1,499.99. X3D, 5070, and 32GB all set — great for those near an MC with stock who don't want to tinker and want to throw hands with Master Ye right now. The thing is, MC isn't everywhere, and even if you have one, stock isn't guaranteed.
• Mac mini M6 MHQM4LL/A (24GB, 512GB), MC now $1,099.99. Sigh, still MC! Amazon now $1,149.99, value pick for Mac users, big memory with small SSD. M6 has 170GB/s bandwidth — 24GB can barely run a Q3-quantized 27B model or 35B MoE model. On a budget, check the 16GB/256GB model now $779.
• MC motherboard/CPU/memory bundle (U5 250KF Plus, ASUS B860M-A Prime WiFi-CSM, 32GB DDR5-6000), target price $479.99. This is a set upgraders can watch for; MC is in-store pickup only. KF has no integrated graphics, so you'll need a GPU; if you have reusable SSD, case, PSU, and cooler on hand, all the better — building from scratch is still tough.

Newegg combos are also worth considering, especially for those without an MC nearby. For example, the 9600X + B850M EAGLE WIFI6E + 32GB + 1TB + 240mm AIO five-piece set hit $780.98 on 10/14 — you'd still need GPU, case, and PSU to complete it! Of course, that combo link is gone now, but Black Friday will definitely have similar bundles. For those building from scratch or wanting to go AMD, keep an eye on the deals site — we'll post good prices as soon as we see them.

Budget's ample, I want to play on hard mode:

With a bigger budget, gaming laptops start at 5070 Ti — 12GB VRAM has more headroom than 8GB for 2K QHD with DLSS5, and you can even use strata to run qwen3.8 fn. The 5080's 16GB goes without saying. But for the same GPU name, check power draw and chassis first — with enough budget, go for flagship chassis. In the AI era, CPUs are gradually becoming tools to light up the GPU; U9 200HX, 200H, and R9 HX all have plenty of performance.

Laptop reference specs:

Starting with Windows gaming laptops. The two A16 Pro models below handle price pressure; Vector and Raider (Titan series in China) handle value and performance. Same-config ROG Strix/Scar and Legion 9000p series have better chassis, but cost more. With enough budget, every brand's flagship chassis is great — even HyperX Omen, which changed its badge and chassis this year, has defied its ancestors and is no longer the same old story.

• Gigabyte A16 Pro Gaming Laptop (Core 7 240H, 5070 Ti 12GB, 32GB, 1TB), target price $1,449. Walmart discount last month, 1600P 165Hz screen, memory and storage are enough. 5070 Ti 12GB is only 115W — after all, it's Gigabyte; you're buying a low price, and there's a big gap versus full-power flagships.
• Gigabyte A16 Pro Gaming Laptop (Core 7 240H, 5080 16GB, 32GB, 1TB), target price $1,799. This price appeared at end of September. Compared to the one above, $350 more gets you a 5080 and 16GB VRAM. Gigabyte is still 115W TGP — performance is even weaker than the Zephyrus G14/16, but the price is cheaper than 5070 flagship laptops.
• Refurbished MSI Vector A16 Gaming Laptop (R9 8940HX, 5070 Ti, 16GB, 1TB), target price $1,499.99. Newegg refurbished, long out of stock. This 5070 Ti series maxes at 140W, screen is 1600P 240Hz. Downsides are refurbished status and 16GB memory; TGP isn't actually a problem — MSI's BIOS hidden menu can unlock it.
• MSI Vector 16 HX AI Gaming Laptop (U9 275HX, 5080, 32GB, 2TB), target price $2,399. Walmart good price in September, hope Black Friday brings it back. 1600P 240Hz, 5080 full power 175W, storage is plenty too.
• MSI Raider 16 Max HX Titan 16 Flagship (U9 290HX Plus, 5080, 32GB, 1TB, 240Hz OLED), MC already $2,699.99. Titan 16 series is the true flagship — 1600P 240Hz OLED, 175W full-power 5080. Compared to ROG Strix and Legion 9000p Extreme, performance is at the same level, and the price is considerably lower.

On the Apple side, buy as much memory as possible; keep SSD small for better value. Memory is a one-time deal — expanding SSD via Thunderbolt is easy. Apple's M chips really do have a clear power efficiency advantage. M5 Pro MacBook Pro 16 and Mac Studio with the same config perform about the same, so buy whichever M5 Max is cheaper, and clearance old Max is also worth considering.

• MacBook Pro 14 M5 Pro Z1ML00050 (18-core CPU, 20-core GPU, 48GB, 1TB), target price $2,499.99. MC currently $2,799, 48GB + 1TB is the key; for heavy work you need the 16" with better performance, 48GB/1TB has also been seen at $2,799.99. If you need mobile work and lots of memory for local models, the 14" is enough for non-heavy use.
• Mac Studio M5 Max (18-core CPU, 32-core GPU, 36GB, 512GB), MC already at $1,999.99. Cut-down Max, no mobile needs, but heavy work/gaming (really?) needs — this is it!
• MacBook Pro 16 M5 Max Z1MZ00029 (18-core CPU, 40-core GPU, 64GB, 2TB), target price $3,799. MC discount at end of October, note it's 64GB, not the same