PC building has been all but ruined by sky-high memory and storage prices, but there are still some bundled gems to be had that won't break the bank.

The latest I've spotted includes an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor, an ASUS TUF Gaming X870-Plus Wifi motherboard, and 32GB (2x16GB) of Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5-6000 RAM.

If you were to buy these parts separately, you'd realistically be looking at a total cost of $1,118.99, and that's with other ongoing discounts. Newegg puts the bundle's regular value at $1,208.98, but it has dropped the price to just $938.99. That's a total savings of about $270.

As an added bonus, Newegg is throwing in a free Corsair M75 wireless RGB gaming mouse, which regularly costs $129.99.

This is one great bundle for PC builders

The discounted bundle price effectively removes most of the bloated cost of the RAM. Corsair's Vengeance RGB kit is one of the best you can buy, especially if you're a fan of customizable lighting, so it's not like Newegg is just throwing in any memory it can find.

The ASUS TUF Gaming X870-Plus Wifi motherboard is no slouch, either. It's a great choice for high-performance builds thanks to a sturdy 16+2+1 power stage setup, easy overclocking tools, USB4 and Wi-Fi 7 connectivity, dual PCIe 5.0 M.2 slots, and much more.

The bundle also, of course, delivers to you what I (and many others) consider to be the absolute best CPU for PC gaming. AMD's Ryzen 7 9800X3D is what I have in my system, and I have absolutely no regrets. My colleague, Senior Editor Ben Wilson, sums it up quite well in his 9800X3D review:

"AMD continues the theme with its second generation of 3D V-Cache to deliver unparalleled gaming performance and middling productivity. Thankfully, most gamers do not care about the benchmark-breaking number crunching as long as they get their framerate boosts, and the Ryzen 7 9800X3D delivers that sweet extra FPS."

With RAM, motherboard, and CPU handled, all you really need to do is add a graphics card, some storage, a power supply, and a case to complete your build. Although SSD prices are also on the rise, it's not too late to find a decent deal, and I've put together a quick guide with recommended storage starting at $0.08/GB.

And if you'd rather splurge on a complete gaming system, Newegg is also currently home to some deep discounts on pre-built gaming PCs.

FAQ

Attempting to build your own PC in 2026 is an expensive endeavor. RAM prices have skyrocketed in recent months due to AI firms buying up global stock of DRAM in order to build datacenters, and storage — or more specifically, the NAND chips used to build storage — is next to see an aggressive price spike.

While there's really nothing any of us can do about memory and storage prices, you can still land yourself a powerful pre-built gaming PC at a reasonable price. That's because OEMs haven't yet cleared out stock assembled before the major component price hikes; once they do, well, your guess about pricing is as good as mine.

Newegg is currently hosting a 25th anniversary sale, and I'm seeing quite a few pre-built gaming PCs on sale for a significant discount. I've rounded up six of the best deals I could find right here, but you can always check out the full list of PC hardware on sale at Newegg.

RAM and SSD prices are out of control

As I mentioned, RAM and SSD prices are currently unaffordable for the vast majority of PC enthusiasts.

Just how bad, you ask? Let's use a 2x16GB kit of Corsair's Vengeance RGB DDR5-6000 RAM as an example. In October 2025, the kit was selling for about $150 at Newegg. The same kit today? It costs $440.

Team Group, which has traditionally offered some excellent, affordable RAM, was charging about $78 for a 2x8GB kit of T-Force Delta DDR5 RAM in September 2025. It now costs $250, although there is currently a $50 discount available as part of Newegg's 25th anniversary sale.

Storage prices haven't quite reached the same level of insanity, but they're well on the way. Luckily, it's not too late to invest in some bulk storage to help ride out the storm. I recently put together a list of SSDs available for as low as $0.08/GB to help you shop.

Unfortunately, graphics cards seem to be suffering the same fate. Their need for high-performance VRAM is causing stock to dry up, and prices are once again headed in the wrong direction.

With all that in mind, pre-built gaming PC prices don't look so bad, especially if you can save a considerable chunk of change at something like Newegg's 25th anniversary sale.

FAQ

Xbox is currently running its big Black Friday sale, with huge discounts on some of the best Series X games right now. It’s a great time to build your library — but there’s an even smarter way to stretch your budget further.

Right now, Newegg is selling a $60 Xbox Gift Card for only $54 when you use the promo code BFEFE47 at checkout.

That’s an instant $6 saving on credit you were probably going to spend anyway — and when you stack this on top of Xbox’s already-discounted Black Friday prices, you’re effectively double-dipping on savings.

If you’re planning to grab anything in the Xbox sale, this is a no brainer.

This deal pairs perfectly with Xbox Black Friday

The Xbox Store Black Friday sale has some genuinely great prices, including games starting at under $6. By grabbing discounted gift card credit first, you reduce your real-world cost even further and can even grab some great Play Anywhere titles if you have the Xbox Rog Ally X.

Here are just a few examples of deals you could make even cheaper by paying with your Newegg Xbox gift card:

• Watch Dogs: Legion – $5.99 (was $59.99)
• It Takes Two - $9.99 (was $39.99)
• Stray - $17.99 (was $29.99)
• Life is Strange Double Exposure - $24.99 (was $49.99)
• NBA 2K26 – $31.49 (was $69.99)
• EA Sports College Football 26 – $34.99 (was $69.99)
• Sniper Elite: Resistance – $47.99 (was $59.99)
• Assassin's Creed Shadows - $41.99 (was $69.99)
• Silent Hill f - $55.99 (was $69.99)

Using discounted gift card credit on prices like these means you’re saving before you even hit checkout. You can also make the most of this simple Xbox wishlist trick to bag even better prices on the games you are waiting for.

How to redeem your Xbox gift card

The code is delivered digitally via email, so there’s no waiting around for a physical card.

To redeem it:

• Visit https://redeem.microsoft.com/
• Sign in to your Microsoft account (the same one you use on Xbox)
• Enter the code from Newegg

Your balance updates instantly and is ready to use across the Xbox and Microsoft Store.

When you check out, just select your Microsoft Account balance as the payment method to make sure you’re using that discounted credit.

What can you spend the credit on?

Despite the name, an "Xbox" gift card isn’t locked to just games on your console. In reality, it simply adds credit to your Microsoft account, which you can spend across a wide range of things. That could mean grabbing digital games and DLC, extending your Game Pass Ultimate subscription, or putting it towards new accessories like controllers or even a fresh console wrap.

It’s also not strictly limited to Xbox stuff either. Your balance can be used for many other Microsoft purchases, including Surface devices and Office 365 subscriptions, making it a handy option even if you’re not buying games right away.

If you don't have anything in mind right now, but know you are likely to spend money in the store soon perhaps for a bigger purchase, you can stack multiple gift cards to lower the cost later. It’s basically a simple way to make any upcoming Microsoft purchase that little bit cheaper without locking you into a single product.

It's also worth mentioning that the last comparable Newegg promo required a $100 spend to get $15 free, making this current $54-for-$60 deal far easier to stomach, given it's around the price of a video game.

Newegg usually only runs these promotions for a very limited time, so if you’re planning to take advantage of the Xbox Black Friday sale (or any Microsoft Store purchase in the near future), it’s well worth grabbing one before the discount disappears.

FAQ

Newegg is celebrating Black Friday big time with "Black November", a special event where the retailer will host "Doorstopper" discounts on certain items for one day, every day up until Black Friday officially starts.

One of today's "Doorstopper" discounts is for the MSI Pro, a budget-friendly gaming monitor outfitted with a refresh rate of 100Hz and 1920x1080 full-HD resolution that's now available for $69.99 at Newegg.

Why should you buy this gaming monitor?

Gaming monitors run the gamut from premium curved monitors that take up the whole desk for a cinematic viewing experience to down-to-earth monitors built with the core features for gaming without costing you thousands of dollars.

The MSI Pro (MP243XW) gaming monitor falls in the latter category. For an entry-level monitor costing $74.99 at retail, it features plenty of advanced features that help make it just as valuable as more expensive mid-range monitors.

It features a 24-inch screen capable of 1920x1080 full-HD resolutions, 100Hz refresh rates, and a response time of 1ms to ensure that your favorite Xbox and PC games are running smoothly with no hiccups to their performance or graphics.

It also comes with multiple DisplayPorts and HDMI ports, built-in speakers, a TÜV-certified display to protect the user's eyes, an adjustable stand, and an IPS grade panel to enhance the screen's clarity and color accuracy.

So, if you want an affordable monitor to play video games on, communicate with colleagues via online video calls, or simply to watch movies, you can't go wrong with the MSI Pro (MP243XW) Gaming Monitor.

The MSI Pro is available at a 15% discount at Newegg for $69.99. Do note that Newegg's discount will only be available for today and will be replaced by another discount for a different product tomorrow as part of Newegg's "Black November" event.

FAQ

Ninja Gaiden 4 has launched and is busy blowing everyone away with its spectacular hack and slash gameplay and savagely difficult boss fights.

If you've become a new fan thanks to Ninja Gaiden 4 and want to play the older games or just want a cheaper method to experience the franchise, then we have the solution.

Newegg is hosting a 55% bargain for the Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection on PC, giving you a chance to own three Ninja Gaiden games for $17.99, instead of the collection's usual MSRP of $39.99.

Why should you buy the Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection?

The Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection is a bundle released in 2021 containing Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge, which are definitive editions of Ninja Gaiden 1, 2, and 3.

This trilogy has you play as Ryu Hayabusa, the legendary master ninja dedicated to saving the world from evil ninja clans, worshippers of the Dark Dragon, and demonic fiends looking to eat humanity.

The Ninja Gaiden series are intense, hack and slash titles that will rip your body and soul asunder if you do not master each game's mechanics and move-sets.

They can be tough to learn, but once you do, you will feel like a speed demon hacking enemies at the speed of light and performing wrestling moves at sky-high altitudes before crashing enemies into the earth, and it is glorious.

Ryu Hayabusa isn't the only character you will get play as in this collection as the Sigma and Razor's Edge editions of Ninja Gaiden 1, 2, 3 feature additional playable characters in the form of Rachel, Momiji, and Dead or Alive's Ayane, and Kasumi.

Each of these heroines have their unique move-sets to help stand out from Ryu Hayabusa and make them enjoyable to play in their own right.

The Master Collection also bundles together each game's cosmetic DLC packs to give the characters new looks and introduces a new Hero Mode Ninja Gaiden Sigma 1 and 2, to help newcomers or casual players survive a battle when their health bar is low.

Sadly, however, since this collection was released in 2021, it does not feature the newly released Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, which featured remastered visuals, gameplay, and quality-of-life improvements, and tons more gore when dispatching enemies compared to Ninja Gaiden 2 Sigma.

Nor does it feature Ninja Gaiden Black, which some fans consider the best version of the original Ninja Gaiden for its additional content and challenge, although it lacked Rachel as a playable character.

If you don't mind those quibbles, the Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection is a great and affordable way to experience classic titles for action game fans and Ninja Gaiden fans, both veterans and newbies introduced through Ninja Gaiden 4, especially now that it's on sale for $17.99 at Newegg.

FAQ

If you're in the mood for a non-horror game for Halloween with a bit of a spooky edge to it while being fun, then look no further than Persona 5.

Dress up as dashing vigilantes and steal the hearts of corrupt villains in Atlus' most popular JRPG to date, which has had its PC version's $67.99 price tag cut by 79% at Loaded for $14.29.

Additionally, Persona 5's unexpected yet equally enjoyable tactical spin-off, Persona 5 Tactica, is also on sale on PC, with its MSRP of $59.99 cut by 73% to $15.99 at Newegg.

Why should you buy these games?

What can I say that hasn't been said about Persona 5? It's a modern-day JRPG classic that has only propelled the Persona series and Atlus as a whole to super-stardom.

It has a fun and oftentimes dark superhero story with relatable, likable characters, and its art design is absolutely insane and beautiful to look at (especially when you explore the mindscape, 'Palaces', of the depraved villains you will be facing).

Persona 5's bizarre gameplay loop of balancing your civilian life with dungeon crawling to kill bosses before a deadline is also captivating and can even teach you how to manage your time in real life to some degree.

On top of that, Persona 5's turn-based combat is magnificent. It's fast-paced, stylish, and can be brutally challenging if you don't grasp the mountain of mechanics the game throws at you.

As for Persona 5: Tactica, that's a little bit trickier, as no one expected Persona 5 to get an XCOM-like spin-off when it was revealed in 2023.

While its story (for the most part) isn't as complex as Persona 5, the characters are just as well-written and fun to watch as they battle nefarious Shadows. Plus, the game is equally artistically rich as Persona 5 while also being slightly cuter by adopting a Chibi-esque motif for the character designs.

The gameplay of Persona 5: Tactica is very enjoyable as it successfully combines the tactical nature of turn-based strategy games like XCOM: Enemy Unknown and Wasteland 3 with the over-the-top battle mechanics of Persona 5.

It's so satisfying to use your party's Persona abilities to blast enemies out of cover, and then line up for crowd-clearing All-Out Attacks.

Plus, it's nice to play a Persona game that finally abandons that outdated and annoying rule where if the main character dies, it's game over, because in Persona 5: Tactica, you can revive the main party leader using other members if they fall in battle.

So if you're up for exploring the twisted minds of crooks and beating up giant, disturbing monsters while dressing as rebellious vigilantes in turn-based combat for Halloween, then these games are for you.

Persona 5: Royal on PC is currently on sale for $14.29 at Loaded, while Persona 5: Tactica is on sale for $15.99 at Newegg, saving you dozens of dollars when using these deals for a limited time.

FAQ

Recently, Microsoft has made the controversial decision to raise the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate's subscription fee by 50%, sparking a massive backlash from gamers.

In retaliation for this price hike, players have unsubscribed from the service or switched to its lower tiers, like PC Game Pass, which Newegg has decided to use this opportunity to sell a discounted three-month subscription code for this PC-only service at $29.99.

Why is PC Game Pass now better than Xbox Game Pass Ultimate?

There are good reasons why people are abandoning Xbox Game Pass Ultimate in favor of PC Game Pass.

The main one being that PC Game Pass offers many of the same benefits of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate at roughly half of the new controversial monthly subscription fee (PC Game Pass being $16.49 while Game Pass Ultimate is $29.99).

PC Game Pass grants players access to over 400 games from the Xbox Game Pass library (including Day One release titles), EA Play, Ubisoft+ Classics, in-game benefits (Riot Games, Overwatch, etc.), and Microsoft Rewards from gaming up to $50.

The only significant drawbacks are that PC Game Pass is limited to Windows PCs and that you won't have access to Xbox Cloud Gaming.

So if you want to take advantage of this service, you will need a well-built gaming PC or a high-performing Windows-based gaming handheld before considering taking up Newegg's $29.99 offer for three months of PC Game Pass subscription time.

I'd say it's worth it in the long run, as $29.99 for three months will be cheaper than PC Game Pass' upcoming $16.49 price hike, which will ultimately see you pay $49.47 for the same timeframe.

What's even better is that if you're already a member of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, this prepaid subscription PC Game Pass will be converted into 60 days of game time for your Ultimate plan, making it $14.99 a month for its three-month duration.

If that ain't cheating the system, then I don't know what is.

FAQ

Newegg has kicked in October's door with a host of new PC-related deals as part of its Gametober sales event.

Looking through the deals, I'm seeing major discounts on everything from PC components to PC peripherals, including CPUs, GPUs, SSDs, monitors, motherboards, and more.

There are a lot of deals available at Newegg's site, but I combed through the full list to pull out these 11 top discounts.

Some won't last long — several wrap up at the end of the day — so be sure to check out if you see something you need.

Newegg Gametober PC deals: Quick links

• See the full list of Newegg's Gametober deals on CPUs, GPUs, SSDs, and more
• Best GPU deals at Newegg's Gametober event — Up to $200 off AMD and NVIDIA
• Best CPU deals at Newegg's Gametober event — Up to $100 off AMD and Intel
• Best SSD deals at Newegg's Gametober event — Up to 27% off Samsung and SK hynix

Best GPU deals at Newegg's Gametober event

Best CPU deals at Newegg's Gametober event

Best SSD deals at Newegg's Gametober event

We are less than two months from the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, the latest entry in Activision's long-running, hard-hitting, military First-Person Shooter franchise.

To give players an incentive to pre-ordering the game, Activision is hosting an early-access period for its Open Beta Test which include multiplayer mode and Zombies mode.

However, it's not a small price to pay as Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 has an enormous retail price $69.99. Thankfully, Newegg has come to lighten the toll as it is offering an exclusive 10% discount promo code for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, which will take its MSRP to $59.99 upon use.

Newegg is also offering a 10% promo code for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's Vault Edition, taking its even higher price tag of $99.99 down to $89.99, so players can get a hold of its additional content for a cheaper price.

Why should I pre-order Call of Duty: Black Ops 7?

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is the latest entry in Call of Duty's popular 'Black Ops' sub-series.

Unlike the mainline Call of Duty series, which focuses on slower-paced, tactical gameplay, the Black Ops games are fast-paced, arcadey shooters where you blitz through condensed multiplayer maps to wipe out enemies as quickly as possible.

In addition, the Black Ops series features single-player campaigns where you play as covert Black Ops agents instead of Special Forces units that usually involve epic cinematic adventures filled with espionage action.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 aims to take this formula and evolve it by incorporating dozens of new advanced weaponry that players can customize, the ability to summon drones and mechs into battle, next-level omnimovement mechanics, loads of complex maps to battle in, and much more.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's campaign mode is also looking to be an evolution from previous games, both in story scope and content, as it can be played either solo or with friends in 4-player co-op.

The story is set in 2035, and the world has been ravaged by never-ending wars filled with psychological warfare.

You play as part of an elite JSOC team sent on a mission to infiltrate the Mediterranean city of Avalon to uncover a sinister conspiracy that could spell doom for all if it isn't stopped.

This is easier said than said, as not only will your team have to confront hardened enemy soldiers and killer robots, but also their tragic, traumatic pasts.

Another staple of the Black Ops series that will be returning in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is Zombies mode. Zombies mode is a co-op horde mode where 4 players must band together to fend off waves of the undead.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's take on the series' Zombies mode is looking to be the craziest one yet.

Zombies mode will feature a story-driven campaign called Ashes of the Dead, new types of zombies to fight, like a giant zombie bear, insane new weapons for players to use in battle, a heavily armored truck for players to ride in, nicknamed 'Tessie', and much more.

With all these advanced new gameplay features and an epic campaign, this game quickly became one of the most anticipated Xbox/PC titles of 2025.

If you're a fan of the Call of Duty franchise, chomping at the bit to get your hands on Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, and can't wait for its November 14, 2025, release date, Activision is planning to whet your appetite.

Between 10:00 AM PT / 1:00 PM ET, October 5, 2025, and 10:00 AM PT / 1:00 PM ET, October 8, 2025, there will be an Open Beta Test available for the general public, where players can experience the game's multiplayer mode and Zombies mode.

If you pre-order the game or subscribe to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, you can get early access to the Beta Test on October 2, 2025, for 72 hours.

Going the pre-order route for this early-access Beta test will be a tall order, as Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 has an MSRP of $69.99. Thankfully, the fine folks at Newegg have an exclusive, limited-time discount promo code that will reduce it to a more affordable price tag of $59.99.

If you have extra money to spend and fancy getting some DLC items, Newegg is also offering a 10% promo code for the Vault Edition of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, which will take its staggering MSRP down from $99.99 to $89.99.

The Vault Edition includes the base game along with several DLC packs, which contain a Battle Pass for Season (with 20 Tier Skips, 1,000 CP, and more), four Operator cosmetic skins for Harper, Karma, T.E.D.D., and Reaper EWR-3, five Masterwork Weapons, and eight Ultra Rarity GobbleGums.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is scheduled to be released on November 14, 2025, for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC via Windows and Steam.

Newegg, one of the more prominent video game retailers, has got on its hands on two special discounts for two very special games. One is for the stylish, 3D action game Stellar Blade, and the other is for Silent Hill f, a brand new, fresh take on the Silent Hill franchise.

Silent Hill f normally runs for $69.99 while Stellar Blade has a retail price of $79.99. However, Newegg is selling the Xbox/Windows PC version of Silent Hill f for $62.99 and the Steam version of Stellar Blade: Complete Edition for $51.99, thanks to promo codes that will only last September 26, 2025.

In addition, Newegg is selling the standard edition of Stellar Blade for $39.99 on Steam, thanks to a special discount that will last until September 27, 2025.

Why should you buy Silent Hill f and Stellar Blade?

Stellar Blade is a 3rd-person action-adventure game released in 2024 on PlayStation 5 before being ported to PC in 2025.

In this game, you play as EVE, a warrior of exceptional prowess who is on a quest to save humanity from extinction, as the planet has been ravaged by horrifying monsters known as the Naytiba.

Stellar Blade received many accolades from critics and players for its thought-provoking, dramatic story filled with twists, stunning visuals, intense action set pieces, challenging enemies to battle, and an engrossing combat system overflowing with complex combos and weapons to master.

Stellar Blade became so popular that it sold over three million copies across PC and PlayStation 5.

If you enjoy over-the-top action games like Nier: Automata or Devil May Cry, where you can chain together long combos to perform devastating attacks, then you will enjoy Stellar Blade, especially now that the PC version is on sale $39.99 at Newegg until September 27, 2025.

The PC version comes with new content separate from the PlayStation 5 version. These include Boss Challenge Mode, Chinese and Japanese voiceover with lip-sync support, and various cosmetic items, including twenty-five costumes, three pairs of glasses, and six pairs of earrings.

On top of that, the Complete Edition of Stellar Blade is also on sale for $51.99 at Newegg until September 26, 2025. The Complete Edition will net you the base game, several costumes for EVE to wear, and two DLC expansion collaborations with NieR: Automata and GODDESS OF VICTORY: NIKKI.

Meanwhile, Silent Hill f is a 3rd-person survival horror and is the latest entry in Konami's long-running Silent Hill franchise, which launched on September 25, 2025, for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC via Windows and Steam.

In this game, you play as Shimizu Hinako, an innocent girl whose life has been completely turned upside-down as her home village has been engulfed by a mysterious fog that has replaced most of its inhabitants with nightmarish creatures.

Now Shimizu Hinako must find her missing friends, look for a way to escape her cursed home, and uncover the truth behind why this horrible tragedy happened before she loses her mind.

This game aims to provide a fresh take on the Silent Hill series by taking us away from the iconic Americana-style locale of Silent Hill to a Japanese setting rife with nightmare-inducing imagery and psychological themes that will keep you up at night.

It's been receiving favorable reviews before its launch, as it's reaching an average Critic review score of 86 on Metacritic at the time of this writing. That puts it on par with the classic Silent Hill 3, but not quite reaching the heights of the critically acclaimed Silent Hill 2 remake.

Websites like Destructoid, GameSpot, and Dualshockers praised Silent Hill f highly for its dark story and forboding atmosphere, while other websites like TechRadar and IGN criticized it for its lackluster combat system.

If you're a fan of Silent Hill or survival horror games like Crono: The New Dawn and have been looking forward to this Xbox title (and want to draw your own conclusions about it), the Xbox version of Silent Hill f is on sale at Newegg for $62.99. Just make sure to use the promo code to get the full discount.

Beware that Newegg's promo codes for Silent Hill f will only be available until the end of September 26, 2025, just like its discount deal for Stellar Blade: Complete Edition, so you'd best get on these deals while you can.

If you’re hunting for Xbox deals this Prime Day, Amazon doesn't have the best offer. Newegg quietly dropped one of the most useful Xbox deals you can get right now in its own competing 'Fantastech' sale (their pun, not mine!).

You can grab a $60 Xbox gift card for just $54 at Newegg when you use code FTTEU7265 at checkout.

That’s an easy $6 off straight away, no strings, and if you're planning to spend on the Xbox or Microsoft Store anyway, it's basically free money. Whether you're eyeing a new game, a Game Pass sub, or even accessories and hardware on the Microsoft Store, this deal just squeezes your budget a bit further.

• Shop all of the deals at Amazon Prime Day

How to redeem my Xbox gift card

The code is delivered instantly via email, so there’s no waiting around for a physical card to arrive. Whether you’re treating yourself or planning to gift it, redeeming is simple.

To add the credit to your Microsoft Account, simply head over to https://redeem.microsoft.com/, sign in (it’s the same account you use for Xbox Live), and enter the code. Your balance updates instantly, ready to spend on whatever catches your eye.

When checking out on the Microsoft or Xbox Store, don’t forget to select your gift card balance as the payment option to make the most of those sweet savings!

What can I spend my $60 gift card on?

To get even more value from your card, check out what the Xbox store already has on sale and double up on the savings. For example, Tom Clancy's The Division 2 - Ultimate Edition is currently on sale for $34.99, so 50% off. If you're morbidly curious about Ubisoft's 'AAAA' Skull and Bones, you can grab that for only $13.99.

Alternatively, if a new controller is what you are after, there are a bunch of the Cipher range currently on sale for 20% off.

It's worth remembering that while this is an 'Xbox' gift card, it's actually just Microsoft Store credit, meaning you can use it across Xbox and the broader Microsoft ecosystem.

That includes digital games, Game Pass Ultimate, controllers, console wraps, Xbox accessories from brands like Razer and SteelSeries, and even Microsoft Surface devices and Office 365 subscriptions.

Gift cards like this are stackable, too. If you’ve got a big purchase in mind (or just want to extend your Game Pass at a discount), you can buy multiple and save more.

It’s a simple, flexible way to trim down your next spend. If nothing else, it's a deal you can purchase and hold onto if there's nothing you want yet, but know you'll spend the store in the future.

Gift card deals are pretty rare nowadays. Last time Newegg did this deal, it required a $100 spend for $10 free, which is much more of an outlay.

This is one of the few Prime Day Xbox deals that actually saves you money on anything you were already going to buy, whether that’s games, hardware, or services. And the deal isn't even at Amazon.

Newegg tends to only run this kind of gift card deal for a day or two, so if you're even considering a digital Xbox or Microsoft purchase in the near future, grab one (or two) of these before they're gone.

Memorial Day is just around the bend, and although it's confined to Monday, May 26, the deals have already kicked off.

Amazon's Memorial Day sale began ahead of most other retailers, but that doesn't mean it has the best deals. In fact, most of the best deals are found elsewhere.

👉 Related: Early Memorial Day deals are LIVE on Windows PCs, gaming accessories, and more

Major retailers like Best Buy, Walmart, Target, B&H, and Newegg all have Memorial Day sales on the go, cutting prices on top tech like laptops, monitors, gaming accessories, gaming handhelds, and more.

After spending hours scouring the web for the best early Memorial Day deals, I found these five super discounts from anywhere but Amazon.

Best Memorial Day deals you won't find at Amazon

Memorial Day Deals: Frequently Asked Questions

Memorial Day isn't supposed to be about retailer discounts, but it usually falls that way over the preceding weekend. Here's what we know about this year's sales event.

Memorial Day weekend is here before the day itself even lands on Monday, May 26, but as usual, that doesn't stop retailers from sharing some massive discounts on Windows laptops, PC components, and a mix of Xbox and PC gaming accessories before then.

It happens every year, though it feels earlier each time, and 2025 is no exception. Now, giant Memorial Day sales promotions are pasted on the front page of digital storefronts all across the web, but there are sneaky inflated prices hidden within them, too.

To save you time with the help of my colleagues, I'm digging through the hottest Amazon Memorial Day sale listings alongside its rivals at Best Buy, Newegg, and any others brave enough to enter a price-matching battle.

• See LIVE updates 👇

🔥HOTTEST DEALS🔥

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Memorial Day isn't supposed to be about retailer discounts, but it usually falls that way over the preceding weekend. Here's what we know about this year's sales event.

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ASUS Zenbook A14

One of the few criticisms listed in Zachary Boddy's ASUS Zenbook A14 review related to value regarding the $999 starting price of its entry-level model with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Plus processor.

With this discount, the Zenbook A14 is arguably the best value Copilot+ PC you could get your hands on, at least during the lead-up to Memorial Day.

Sure, I have some bias because I'm a firm believer that 14-inch laptops are the perfect size, and ASUS' recent line of Zenbook notebooks features some of the best-looking I've ever seen (the Ceraluminum chassis is worth the hype).

Nevertheless, this really is the deal we've been waiting for. — Ben Wilson

🎮ASUS Zenbook A14 14-inch Copilot+ PC was $999.99 now $799.99 at Best Buy

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Razer Wolverine V2 Chroma

Any regular Windows Central reader will surely recognize this, the same wired Razer controller for Xbox (or PC gaming) that we praise literally every time it's on sale with a significant discount, and rightly so.

If you truly don't care about playing wirelessly, then you'll see why we said the Wolverine V2 Chroma "almost feels like cheating" in our review. It's tactile, remappable, and this deal offsets one of the only negatives we could find at launch: the $149.99 MSRP.

At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if everyone who was previously interested has already bought it, but if you missed your chance, now's the time to pick it up. — Ben Wilson

🎮Razer Wolverine V2 Chroma wired controller was $149.99 now $88.90 at Amazon

Xbox Elite Series 2 wireless controller

Alright, if you must have a wireless controller for Xbox gaming, then you could always go all-out on the (almost) perfected Elite Series 2. Executive Editor Jez Corden revisited the Elite S2 three months after its launch and still praised it despite the high launch price.

Well, now there's a mild remedy to that stinging price point, as an early Memorial Day deal has dropped the Xbox Elite Series 2 wireless controller in black from its almost-$200 MSRP to $159.

Much more 'affordable', well, as far as premium, high-end Xbox controllers go. It certainly makes this lavish controller more attractive to anyone who was holding out for at least some kind of discount. — Ben Wilson

🎮Xbox Elite Series 2 wireless controller was $199.99 now $159 at Amazon

Crucial T705 2TB PCIe 5.0 M.2 SSD

PCIe Gen 5 solid-state drives still feel new, but there have been a few available on retailers for a while now. Long enough, in fact, that some are starting to come down in price for Memorial Day, like this 2TB monster from Crucial.

I was an admitted sceptic until I tested the WD_BLACK SN8100 2TB drive, but it lived up to its PCIe 5.0 promises, and I don't see why Crucial wouldn't do the same.

I've been using Crucial drives for years, particularly the P3 and P3 Plus for PCIe 3.0 and 4.0, respectively, so this successor would tempt even me if I really needed to upgrade. Give it a strong consideration if you need blistering speeds. — Ben Wilson

💾Crucial T705 2TB PCIe Gen5 was $395.99 now $229.99 at Amazon

iBuyPower pre-built gaming PCs

Since reviewing iBuyPower's Slate 8 Mesh pre-built gaming PC late last year, I've been keeping an eye on discounts at the official website.

In the lead-up to Memorial Day, seven of the top sellers have been discounted, providing a fairly wide range of prices and performance.

Intel and AMD CPUs are available, as are NVIDIA's latest RTX 50-series GPUs. Here's a look at the deals. — Cale Hunt

• RDY Slate 9MP R01: AMD Ryzen 7 7700X, NVIDIA RTX 5070, 32GB DDR5, 1TB SSD 👉was $2,099 now $1,799 at iBuyPower
• RDY Element 9 R02: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, NVIDIA RTX 5070, 32GB DDR5, 2TB SSD 👉was $2,299 now $2,049 at iBuyPower
• RDY Slate 8MP B04: Intel Core i7-14700KF, NVIDIA RTX 5070, 32GB DDR5, 2TB SSD 👉was $2,299 now $2,049 at iBuyPower
• RDY Element 9 Pro B01: Intel Core i9-14900KF, NVIDIA RTX 5070, 32GB DDR5, 2TB SSD 👉was $2,399 now $2,099 at iBuyPower
• RDY Element Pro R01: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D, NVIDIA RTX 5070 Ti, 32GB DDR5, 2TB SSD 👉was $2,749 now $2,429 at iBuyPower
• RDY Y70 R05: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D, NVIDIA RTX 5080, 32GB DDR5, 2TB SSD 👉was $3,349 now $3,099 at iBuyPower
• RDY Y70 TI B03: Intel Core i9-14900KF, NVIDIA RTX 5090, 64GB DDR5, 4TB SSD 👉was $6,099 now $5,699 at iBuyPower

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i (Gen 9) Aura Edition

Lenovo has been on a tear in the last few years, producing premium laptops with high-end features at a very competitive price.

The Yoga Slim 7i (Gen 9) Aura Edition that's discounted right now at Best Buy has a 15.3-inch touch display with a 3K resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate.

It's powered by an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V CPU with an NPU capable of handling Copilot+ AI tools, and it's supported by 32GB of LPDDR5x RAM and a 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD. — Cale Hunt

Our own Zachary Boddy reviewed the Yoga Slim 7 (Gen 9) Aura Edition, stating:

"Lenovo's premiere designed-with-Intel laptop is an excellent showcase for the generational leap that is Intel Core Ultra (Series 2), and is otherwise a great premium mid-range Windows laptop that runs fast, cool, and long."

💻 Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i (Gen 9) Aura Edition was $1,399.99 now $1,099.99 at Best Buy

AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D

Memorial Day isn't proving to have a "lowest ever price" theme on its deals, but that doesn't make this discount on AMD's legendary Ryzen 7 7800X3D gaming CPU any less tempting for those looking to upgrade (or build a new rig from scratch).

It has been cheaper in the past, as low as $320.38 (via CamelCamelCamel), but this unusually specific drop to $385.38 at Amazon is still worth some attention.

In fact, it's even cheaper than it was during Amazon Gaming Week, and it was a hot pick back then, so this should be even better.

I still have the 7800X3D in my partner's PC, and she uses it to play practically everything CPU-intensive in our shared Steam library without issues because it's still a powerhouse despite its beefy 9800X3D successor launching last year. — Ben Wilson

💾AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D was $449 now $385.38 at Amazon

Samsung 990 PRO 1TB PCIe 4.0 M.2-2280 SSD

Hey, that's my SSD, and it's on sale (again)!

It's too easy to praise the Samsung 990 PRO, and I've been using a 1TB variant as my boot drive for a good while now. Sure, PCIe 5.0 drives are tempting, but unless you're working with gigantic files that need transferring across similarly spec'd drives, I doubt you'd benefit.

Dropping the price technically below $100 in the way that all retailers do means this is practically perfect for a Windows boot drive on your next (or current) gaming rig. Pick it up if you're looking for a reliable Gen 4 SSD. — Ben Wilson

💾SAMSUNG 990 PRO 1TB PCIe Gen 4 was $127.99 now $99.99 at Newegg

Samsung 49” Odyssey G95C Curved + free 27” Odyssey G55C

Buy one, get one free on gaming monitors? That's a new one.

I mean, it makes sense to those of us who rock a dual-monitor setup, and Samsung is seriously cutting the costs with this gigantic Memorial Day deal.

The 49-inch Odyssey G95C is a 240Hz curved (1000R) gaming monitor running at 5120 x 1440 with HDR support, and if you have any space left on your desk after that, the 27-inch Odyssey G55C is a 165Hz 2560 x 1440 variant that also supports HDR.

So, if you don't mind a mismatch of refresh rates (above 60Hz won't be that noticeable, frankly), then buying the former will bag you the latter for no extra cost.

That's wild. I hadn't expected it would be Samsung to bring the Memorial Day blockbuster deals. — Ben Wilson

🖥️Samsung 49-inch Odyssey G95C curved was $1,599.98 now $799.99 at Samsung with a FREE 27” Odyssey G55C at Samsung.com

ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) with OLED display

ASUS is producing some of the best gaming laptops in 2025, and its ROG Zephyrus G16 is the perfect option for those who prefer a larger display and extra cooling capacity to let the performance hardware hum.

Although we haven't tested the 2025 model, we did review the ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) favorably. Reviewer Rebecca Spear said:

"With the latest Intel Core Ultra 9 185H CPU accompanied by an RTX 40s GPU, the ASUS Zephyrus G16 (2024) is a powerful gaming laptop that can run even the most demanding of games. Plus, that gorgeous OLED display shows off game environments with plenty of color and detailed contrast."

The discounted model I'm highlighting here is on sale at Best Buy for $1,399.99, which is $500 off the regular price. It includes an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 CPU, NVIDIA RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, 16GB of LPDDR5x RAM, and a 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD.

The major attraction is the 16-inch AMOLED display, which offers incredible color and contrast. it has a sharp QHD resolution, and its 240Hz refresh rate is perfect for gaming. — Cale Hunt

💻 ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) was $1,899.99 now $1,399.99 at Best Buy

Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15-inch (Core 5 120U)

If you absolutely, positively, only need a Windows laptop for the absolute basics — I'm talking web browsing and light document work, then Lenovo has a 15-inch IdeaPad Slim for only $299 if you use the code IDEAPAD3FUN at the checkout.

Just follow my example image and it'll knock $455.99 off this entry-level laptop that uses an Intel Core 5 120U processor (Raptor Lake-U refresh) with 8GB of DDR5-5200 memory and a 512GB PCIe Gen 4 solid-state drive for storage.

You'll still get a 15.6-inch, 1080p display running at 60Hz and a built-in webcam with a privacy shutter, and, surprisingly, Lenovo even throws in a fingerprint reader for secure logins. Not bad for a laptop technically below $300. — Ben Wilson

💻Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i (15" Intel) was $754.99 now $299 at Lenovo with code IDEAPAD3FUN

MSI Thin 15.6-inch (RTX 4060)

MSI is no stranger to sales events, and I'm not surprised in the slightest to see its Thin 15 gaming laptop back on the menu for Memorial Day.

That's not a bad thing, though!

These entry-level, 15.6-inch gaming laptops regularly show up as a perfect pick for first-time PC gamers who want something more portable. NVIDIA's RTX 4060 will handle most popular titles, like Fortnite and Minecraft, without issue if you keep the graphics settings around 'Low' to 'Medium'.

The only downside is that these laptops don't usually last long. Whenever gaming laptops drop below the $750 mark with reasonable GPUs, stock levels tend to run out fast, so don't wait too long. — Ben Wilson

💻MSI Thin 15 (RTX 4060) was $999.99 now $649 at Walmart

MSI Claw 7 A1M

Almost all of the leading PC gaming handhelds run on AMD's mobile processors, except for the MSI Claw, which it launched back in March 2024, opting instead for Intel's Meteor Lake Core Ultra 5 135H or 7 155H chips.

The latter featured in some of the best Windows laptops of its generation, including the Alienware m16 R2 gaming laptop, so it was exciting to see how it would perform here.

I tried the Claw 7 out in Taipei before Computex 2024 while visiting Intel, and while it had some teething problems with software, the experience was no different from a Steam Deck or our beloved ASUS ROG Ally.

All that really held the Claw A1M back was its rivals, offering better value at the time, but now that it's available for under $400 during Memorial Day weekend, it's far easier to recommend. Pick it up if you want a capable gaming handheld that runs all your Windows games and apps without splashing out too much cash! — Ben Wilson

💻MSI Claw 7 A1M was $699.99 now $389.99 at Walmart

HP Dragonfly Pro One with 5G

Want to save more than 50% on a new laptop? How about one with 5G connectivity tied to T-Mobile?

HP's Dragonfly Pro One is a 14-inch device powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 7736U CPU. It has 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM, a 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD, and a 1920x1200 IPS touch display.

Premium features like a 5MP IR webcam, USB4 ports, Wi-Fi 6E, and that Snapdragon X55 5G modem are great any day, but right now you can save $800 at B&H.

💻 HP Dragonfly Pro One was $1,399 now $599 at B&H

Red Dead Redemption 2 Ultimate Edition (PC)

I won't rest until everyone has played Red Dead Redemption 2, and at this price, there's almost no excuse(!)

It stands as arguably one of the best games ever made, and it isn't particularly critical to have played the first game.

A huge open world for cowboy activities and outlaw hijinks that looks better than ever on PC, this code will unlock a copy on Rockstar Social Club, the company's in-house digital store. — Ben Wilson

🎮Red Dead Redemption 2 Ultimate Edition (PC) was $100 now $18 at Green Man Gaming

AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D (again!)

Look, the retailers are having a price war!

At least PC gamers are the ones who benefit, for change. Newegg just dropped the price of AMD's Ryzen 7 7800X3D to $377.99 to beat Amazon's $385.38 listing, so if you didn't buy one already, this is your next chance.

Again, this is a killer gaming CPU that will handle anything you throw at it. Just because it's last-gen, doesn't mean there's anything wrong with it. A perfect balance of power and value, even on the high-end. — Ben Wilson

💾AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D was $381.99 now $377.99 at Newegg

NVIDIA's RTX 5080 is back in stock, but it's not all good news.

Despite finding a couple of Gigabyte RTX 5080s being sold straight from Newegg — no third-party seller that may or may not be legitimate — you'll need some extra dough to pick one of these up.

I've known for a while that the $999 MSRP that NVIDIA roughly set for its RTX 5080 Founders Edition GPUs does not apply to cards from third-party builders like Gigabyte, and the proof is in these prices stretching beyond $1,500.

Gigabyte's Gaming OC RTX 5080 comes in at $1,539.99 at Newegg, while the Gigabyte AORUS Master Ice RTX 5080 in a sleek white finish tops out at $1,629.99.

I suggest buying your RTX 5080 straight from an established retailer

There are several NVIDIA RTX 5000 GPUs for sale online at any given time, but most come from third-party sellers that may or may not be legit.

That's not to say that official retailers don't sometimes slip up and ship something erroneously, but you have far less of a chance of running into some sort of scam when buying straight from Newegg.

👉 Related: Where to buy NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080

With these Gigabyte GPUs, you're paying way above MSRP despite buying from a reputable seller, but that's not exactly Newegg's fault.

Third-party builders like Gigabyte are free to set prices as far beyond MSRP as they'd like, which is how we've arrived at these two RTX 5080s costing half again as much as you'd expect.

Do I recommend spending large on one of these RTX 5080s? No, unless you have money to burn.

👉 Related: Don't buy an RTX 5000 GPU before reading this

The current GPU landscape with severe stock shortages, looming tariff complications, and free rein from AIBs to jack up the prices as they see fit has unsurprisingly led us here.

While I don't doubt there will once again be cheaper RTX 5080s available at some point, if you want one now, you're not going to get a good deal.

What's the difference between these Gigabyte RTX 5080 GPUs?

NVIDIA's Founders Edition RTX 5080 reviewed by Windows Central Senior Editor Ben Wilson can be seen as the reference card that third-party builders use as a guideline when designing custom GPUs.

Builders like Gigabyte take the chip and build a GPU around it, which is how we get cards like the AORUS Master Ice and the Gaming OC that are, at the time of writing, available at Newegg.

The biggest difference aside from aesthetics is the cooling hardware. Both of these Gigabyte GPUs have a dual-fan setup, allowing the card to run a bit faster than the Founders Edition version.

For example, the RTX 5080's baseline boost clock is about 2.62GHz. The GIGABYTE Gaming OC pushes that to 2.73GHz, while the AORUS Master Ice goes up to 2.8GHz.

Overall performance isn't going to differ much compared to the RTX 5080 that Wilson reviewed, so I urge you to use it as a guideline to determine whether or not it's the GPU for you.

The RTX 5080 Gaming OC for $1,539 and the RTX 5080 AORUS Master Ice for $1,629 aren't going to last long despite the high pricing, so don't miss out if you've been waiting for any stock to return.

The ASUS ROG G22CH might be the best pre-built PC for you if you're short on space, especially now that it's $400 cheaper than usual at Newegg.

The discounted model, which includes an Intel Core i7-14700F processor (CPU) and NVIDIA RTX 4060 Ti graphics card (GPU), has enough power to handle modern games, and it does so with a chassis that's a fraction of the size of a standard tower.

Why buy a compact PC like the ASUS ROG G22CH?

Sure, the RTX 40-series GPU inside is no longer the latest hardware now that NVIDIA launched its RTX 5000 "Blackwell" cards.

However, the RTX 4060 Ti remains an extremely popular GPU, coming in third place on Steam's February 2025 hardware survey.

Why so popular? Despite a lack of more than 8GB of VRAM, which can cause some issues in games with very high-quality textures, the 4060 Ti represents an attractive mix of price and performance. Or at least it did when it launched.

👉 Related: NVIDIA RTX 4060 Ti review

The RTX 4060 Ti has become a lot rarer in recent months, and attempting to buy one new will often set you back more than you expected. You can probably see where I'm going with this.

The ROG G22CH comes with a standard ASUS RTX 4060 Ti 8GB DUAL desktop GPU, so no worries about lesser performance from a laptop version. Looking at Newegg, this same card now goes for about $642.

It also packs an Intel Core i7-14700F CPU, which retails for about $310. A 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD and 16GB of dual-channel DDR5 RAM wrap things up.

While you can certainly get inside the PC to tinker, upgrades are generally more difficult due to the cramped interior. The lack of space also causes the fans to run louder than usual, so that's something you'll have to make peace with.

Windows Central Editor Rebecca Spear reviewed an ASUS ROG G22CH with NVIDIA's RTX 4070 and Intel Core i9 inside, noting the elevated fan noise.

However, the Core i7 and RTX 4060 Ti in the discounted model shouldn't be as much of a strain on the thermal system.

Here's how Spear summed up the review:

"Taking the time to gather all of the compatible hardware you need for gaming and then putting it all together in a tower that fits it all can be a daunting or time-consuming task. If you want something ready to go when you get it and won't take up that much room, then the ASUS ROG G22CH-DB978 is an excellent choice. Its powerful CPU and GPU can handle any intensive gaming tasks you throw at it while producing high FPS and smooth gameplay. The fans run a bit loud, which also helps keep the system running efficiently."

With tons of ports and built-in RGB lighting, this little gaming PC might be the right way to improve your gaming room on the cheap.

I have no idea how long this sale will run, but for now, you can grab the ASUS ROG G22CH for $400 less than usual, bringing it down to $1,099.99 at Newegg.

Lenovo is home to some of the best Windows laptops you can buy today, and its wide range of brands can accommodate practically any user whether you're a professional, student, gamer, or casual productivity master. 

The IdeaPad lineup is great for anyone shopping for a cost-effective laptop, and despite its mid-range market approach, models like the Slim 5i (Gen 8) have some great features and durable build quality. The IdeaPad Slim, in particular, is perfect for anyone who wants to travel as light as possible while still getting the benefits of a 16-inch display and full keyboard with a number pad.

Lenovo generally offers these laptops starting at about $930, but that's for an entry-level configuration. Newegg's sale easily beats that price, and that's for a higher-end version with a 13th Gen Intel Core i7-1355U processor (CPU), 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM, a huge 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe solid-state drive (SSD), and an FHD+ non-touch display. Regularly priced at $1,110, it's now down to $900 at Newegg. That includes three months of Xbox Game Pass for free.

✅Perfect for: Students, travelers, casual users, productivity masters, professionals, and anyone else who wants to travel light without sacrificing too much screen real estate.

❌Avoid it if: You want a laptop that can handle heavy gaming thanks to a discrete GPU, or you need something like a convertible laptop with extra versatility and a touch display.

A great laptop for college students and travelers

Lenovo's IdeaPad Slim 5i 16 (Gen 8) has more to it than first meets the eye, and the Newegg deal I'm spotlighting here just keeps getting better the longer I look at it. 

Focusing first on the performance hardware, Intel's 13th Gen Core i7-1355U has 10 cores, 12 threads, and a boost clock up to 5.0GHz for its Performance cores, as well as Intel Iris Xe integrated graphics. It's not going to handle a heavy gaming load, but it will be able to play lighter games. With three months of Xbox Game Pass thrown in for good measure, you'll have a wide selection of games from which to choose.

With productivity in mind, the 16GB of LPDDR5-5200MHz RAM is what you want for heavier multitasking. And Lenovo didn't skimp on the storage either; this discounted model has a 1TB capacity for the speedy M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD. A 56.6Wh battery is quoted by Lenovo as hitting up to 10 hours, but that will likely come down by a few hours in real-world usage. Still, that should get you mostly through a workday or string of lectures without needing a charge.

The 16-inch screen is what you want if you plan on multitasking without an external monitor. I've used practically every size of laptop for daily work, and I've come to the conclusion that 16 inches is what I need to properly handle a professional workflow when I'm on the move. 

This model does not have a touch display, but that shouldn't be a huge deal for most people as this isn't a convertible PC. The lack of touch functionality should help boost battery life as well. The screen has a 1920x1200 (FHD+) resolution for the 16:10 aspect ratio, about 300 nits brightness, an anti-glare finish, and a 60Hz refresh rate.

A keyboard with number pad and a 1080p webcam

Lenovo's keyboard features a number pad and a backlight, helping you crush productivity even after hours. Above the display is a 1080p webcam with privacy shutter for video conferencing, and the laptop also has dual 2W speakers with Dolby Audio optimization. There's no IR sensor for facial recognition in this discounted model, but it does have a fingerprint reader for Windows Hello.

Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 are on board to handle connectivity, and the laptop also boasts some respectable physical I/O. Dual USB-C 3.2 (Gen 1), two USB-A 3.2 (Gen 1), HDMI 1.4, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a microSD card reader are included.

Newegg's discounted model has the sleek Abyss Blue finish and aluminum chassis that has undergone MIL-STD-810H certifications for durability. Altogether, landing this laptop for $210 off the regular price at Newegg should be considered by anyone who needs a wide range of features, snappy performance, and a 16-inch display in a relatively thin and light PC.

Acer is home to some outstanding gaming hardware and accessories, and that remains true whether you're shopping for high-end or budget options. When it comes down to finding a great gaming monitor for your PC, Acer's Nitro and Predator brands shouldn't be ignored.

Newegg currently has a massive promo running on Acer's 27-inch Nitro ED270U gaming monitor, knocking a full $100 off the regular price. The Nitro ED270U is a killer option for gamers looking to upgrade to a 1440p resolution, especially if your PC is capable of pushing high framerates.

Regularly priced at $250, Newegg has it down to $150 when you use promo code MDADSA4337 at checkout. That's an unreal deal for a curved 1440p gaming monitor with performance specs.

✅Perfect for: PC gamers who want to make the jump to 1440p, and with the performance hardware capable of pushing a 170Hz refresh rate.

❌Avoid it if: You're looking for a monitor for general-purpose use or don't have a PC capable of steady framerates at 1440p.

What makes a good gaming monitor?

Gaming monitors come in all shapes and sizes, with varying levels of features and tech. You can spend thousands of dollars for an ultimate screen to pair up with your high-end gaming PC, but you certainly don't have to spend a lot if you're working with a tighter budget.

The latter scenario is definitely the case with the Acer Nitro ED270U gaming monitor deal I'm highlighting here. It's regularly priced at $250 — still within the budget realm — but it is $100 off to bring the total down to $150 at Newegg.

The Nitro ED270U has a 27-inch panel with a 1500R curve, which is what I use on my gaming monitor. It doesn't feel too aggressive, and it really ups the immersion compared to a flat screen. The VA panel has a respectable 2500:1 contrast ratio resulting in deep blacks. The monitor also offers HDR 10 support for compatible content.

With a 1440p resolution, this might be the monitor you've been waiting for to upgrade from 1080p. The 170Hz refresh rate over DisplayPort 1.2 can accommodate performance from some of the best graphics cards, and the 1ms response time is great for competitive play. AMD FreeSync Premium is also included to reduce screen tearing, and it'll work across AMD GPUs and most modern NVIDIA GPUs.

A brightness of 250 nits isn't particularly remarkable, but you won't likely be using the monitor outdoors where glare is strongest. The slim stand is stylish, but it lacks ergonomic adjustments beyond tilt. It does, however, offer 75mm x 75mm VESA mounting support.

Rounding things out at dual 2W speakers built right into the monitor. Monitor speakers are never great and we always recommend a solid gaming headset for better sound, but I do appreciate the speakers built into my own gaming monitor for times when I'm taking a more casual approach.

• Acer Nitro ED270U | was $250 Now $150 at Newegg

I've tested desktop processors professionally and for my own benefit for years, almost always with a focus on PC gaming. Many CPUs have sparked a beautiful balance between value and performance, but nothing has beaten the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D for gaming in recent years. For a limited time, it's down from $449 to $369 at Newegg, making it the best gaming CPU you could buy if you're planning an AMD-centric custom build.

🔥More great deals🔥

• Surface Pro 9 laptop | was $1,099.99 now $933 at Best Buy
• Xbox Series X | was $499 now $449 at Walmart
• Insignia 50-inch 4K TV | was $299.99 now $209.99 at Best Buy
• Lenovo LOQ 15 laptop | was $949.99 now $599.99 at Best Buy

Fairly priced at launch and a steal on sale

I know how the process of building a custom gaming desktop PC usually goes. I often start with the bare minimum hardware for your needs with as much value as possible, but exceptions slip through. Processors are, quite literally, the brains of the whole operation when paired with the best motherboard you can afford, and every other component essentially revolves around your CPU choice so as not to wind up with unfortunate performance bottlenecks.

PC hardware rapidly moves through generational revisions, often with some backward compatibility. Still, AMD caused a hefty shift when it moved from its wildly popular Ryzen 5000 Series on the AM4 socket to the latest Ryzen 7000 using AM5. Graduating from DDR4 memory to DDR5 meant many of us tinkerers couldn't bring over our older RAM kits and had to start fresh. It's a big ask when CPUs are usually expensive, but this hot saving on the 7800X3D makes it worth it.

In my Ryzen 7 7800X3D review, there were initial teething problems with compatible motherboards causing some unfortunate overheating issues, but those have since been patched up and the problems solved. Since then, I haven't had any issues with my sample chip, and I'm about to pair it with a chunk NVIDIA RTX 4090 graphics card to put it through some modern-day tests. Still, my opinion hasn't changed since my initial experience with the 7800X3D: it's the best gaming CPU you can buy, and at this price, it's a steal.

Cyber Monday deals are here and it's the biggest season of the year for shopping, and the best time to make savings. Retailers are constantly switching around bundles to offer what the best value in gaming, especially on the Xbox Series X. But what if I told you that you could get one step ahead of all of the third-party retailers and game the system to get the best Xbox Series X bundle for only $390 directly from Microsoft?

No, it's not a trick, and it's not illegal. Right now Newegg have a killer deal on Xbox gift cards, which when loaded to your Microsoft account can get you the current best bundle on the Xbox Series X and Diablo 4 for only $390. Here's how you do it. 

Currently, the Microsoft Store has two great Xbox Series X bundles on sale

• Xbox Series X and Diablo 4 | was $499.99 now $439.99
• Xbox Series X and Forza Horizon 5 | was $499.99 now $439.99

Don't worry, I've done the math for you. To get the price of $390, you'll need to purchase the following cards from Newegg at the link above and follow these steps.

1. Purchase 3 x $100 gift cards for $88 each, this gets you $300
2. Purchase 2 x $70 gift cards for $63 each, this gets you $140

That means you will have spent $390 in total for the value of $440, and you can now go and redeem your vouchers at the Microsoft Redeem page, adding credit to your account which you can then use to purchase the already discounted bundles. If you don't already have a Microsoft account, you'll be prompted to make one.

Note that the above is simply an example of how to combine the voucher deals to spend exactly what you need, but there is nothing stopping you from simply purchasing 4 x $100 cards and keeping the excess credit to spend towards another game or accessory in the Microsoft Store. I wrote a whole deal on how to game the gift card sales for Cyber Monday here, and you will see options for similar at Target.

More great Cyber Monday deals

• Walmart: Cyber Monday deals on practically everything
• Dell: Top deals on laptops, gaming PCs, accessories, and more
• Alienware: Up to $800 off gaming laptops and desktops
• Best Buy: Big savings on video games, accessories, and more
• HP: Up to 84% of select HP Windows PCs and accessories
• Lenovo: Up to 50% of gaming towers, laptops, and accessories
• Newegg: Save on PC gaming accessories, components, and more
• Razer: Up to 43% off laptops and accessories with free gifts
• More individual deals:
  • Xbox Series X + Diablo IV + free $75 Target gift card for $634.99 $449.99 at Target
  • Samsung T9 4TB Portable SSD for $439.99 $249.99 at Best Buy
  • Xbox Stereo Headset — 20th Anniversary for $69.99 $46.29 at Walmart
  • Xbox Series X + Diablo IV + Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III for $639.99 $489 at Walmart
  • TP-Link Deco X55 Wi-Fi mesh 3-pack for $229.99 $179.99 at Amazon
  • Razer Wolverine V2 Chroma for $149.99 $89.99 at Best Buy
  • Xbox Series X + $50 Best Buy gift card for $549.99 $399.99 at Best Buy for Plus/Total members
  • HP OMEN 27qs for $429.99 $299.99 at Best Buy
  • HyperX Cloud III Wireless for $169.99 $129.99 at Best Buy
  • Xbox Series S + 3-months Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $299.99 $249 at Walmart
  • Lenovo LOQ Tower (17IRB8) + 3-months Xbox Game Pass Ultimate from $1,029.99 $749.99 at Lenovo
  • HP OMEN 34c for $479.99 $329.99 at Best Buy

What else can I buy with this gift card? 

To get even more value from your card, check out what the Xbox store already has on sale and double up on the savings like we've advised with the console here. We also have a huge list of the Best Xbox Games if you want inspiration on a new title. However, if you've already got an Xbox Game Pass subscription you may just want to extend that rather than increase your ever-growing backlog.  

The Xbox store doesn't just stock Microsoft accessories; you can pick up items from Razer, Steelseries, and Corsair amongst many other brands. So you can even grab one of the best Xbox headsets, or best Xbox controllers.

Whatever you decide, act fast; as more people cotton onto to this work around, the gift cards may go out of stock!

Black Friday deals are here and it's the biggest season of the year for shopping, and the best time to make savings. Every discount on those coveted items is a victory.

Amidst the flurry of deals and doorbusters, there's a secret weapon in the arsenal of the savvy saver—gift cards. Imagine not just catching the wave of Black Friday discounts but riding it to even greater heights. That's the power of strategic gift card purchases.

If you really want to squeeze every bit of value out of your dollar, the real trick is to double up on savings by purchasing gift cards from the biggest stores when they are available at a discount, it's practically awarding yourself free cash for things you were going to buy anyway. Right now Target is offering 10% off a bunch of cards from Nintendo store to Playstation so you can take full advantage of their online gaming sales, and Amazon is giving 10% off the $50 Xbox gift card, which can be used on anything on the Microsoft store. The best deal though, comes from Newegg who are offering up to $100 Xbox credit for only $88 with the use of a discount code. Read on for savings! 

More great Black Friday deals

• Walmart: Black Friday deals on practically everything
• Dell: Top deals on laptops, gaming PCs, accessories, and more
• Alienware: Up to $800 off gaming laptops and desktops
• Best Buy: Big savings on video games, accessories, and more
• HP: Up to 84% of select HP Windows PCs and accessories
• Lenovo: Up to 50% of gaming towers, laptops, and accessories
• Newegg: Save on PC gaming accessories, components, and more
• Razer: Up to 43% off laptops and accessories with free gifts
• More individual deals:
  • Xbox Series X + Diablo IV + free $75 Target gift card for $634.99 $449.99 at Target
  • Samsung T9 4TB Portable SSD for $439.99 $249.99 at Best Buy
  • Xbox Stereo Headset — 20th Anniversary for $69.99 $46.29 at Walmart
  • Xbox Series X + Diablo IV + Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III for $639.99 $489 at Walmart
  • TP-Link Deco X55 Wi-Fi mesh 3-pack for $229.99 $179.99 at Amazon
  • Razer Wolverine V2 Chroma for $149.99 $89.99 at Best Buy
  • Xbox Series X + $50 Best Buy gift card for $549.99 $399.99 at Best Buy for Plus/Total members
  • HP OMEN 27qs for $429.99 $299.99 at Best Buy
  • HyperX Cloud III Wireless for $169.99 $129.99 at Best Buy
  • Xbox Series S + 3-months Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $299.99 $249 at Walmart
  • Lenovo LOQ Tower (17IRB8) + 3-months Xbox Game Pass Ultimate from $1,029.99 $749.99 at Lenovo
  • HP OMEN 34c for $479.99 $329.99 at Best Buy

What can I buy with my gift card? 

In the grand scheme of Black Friday mastery, these discounted gift cards become your secret weapon. Not only do you benefit from the initial Black Friday markdowns, but you amplify your savings by snagging discounted gift cards for the very places you planned to shop. It's like a cheat code to a hidden level of discounts.

So, buckle up for the ultimate guide to navigating Black Friday with finesse. We're diving deep into the art of double-dipping on savings, ensuring you emerge from this shopping season not just with bags full of deals but pockets brimming with extra cash.

To get even more value from your card, check out what the Xbox store already has on sale and double up on the savings. We also have a huge list of the Best Xbox Games if you want inspiration on a new title. However, if you've already got an Xbox Game Pass subscription you may just want to extend that rather than increase your ever-growing backlog.  

The Xbox store doesn't just stock Microsoft accessories; you can pick up items from Razer, Steelseries, and Corsair amongst many other brands. So you can even grab one of the best Xbox headsets, or best Xbox controllers.

If gaming isn't in your interest, you could even shave some money off the Surface laptops with this gift card or purchase an Office 365 subscription.

Of course, you could gift the credit to a family member or start your holiday shopping early, depending on how generous you feel. Whatever you decide, act fast; these deals are limited time only.

Getting a new graphics card is one of the most expensive upgrades you can make to your gaming PC. With prices for the top cards from NVIDIA and AMD hitting or exceeding $1,000 these days, it's a significant investment that can sting the wallet. 

Newegg, however, is offering an easy way to get yourself a new graphics card for less right now. The retailer's trade in program for graphics cards will offer up to $561 for your old one to put towards an upgrade. To get this you'll need to chop in an RTX 3090 Ti, but there are offers on a range of others from NVIDIA and AMD. 

If that number sounds a little low, then you'd be right. There's certainly more money to be made by selling your old graphics card privately. In the case of the RTX 3090 Ti, even conservatively, you could make another couple of hundred dollars.

It's the same story further down the scale, though the differences do begin to narrow. The story is the same for AMD trade in deals, too. But there's one big benefit to trading in over selling privately. It's just easier. You don't have to deal with sellers and potential issues with payments or lack of, fees which eat into how much you make, you get to just box it up and send it off.

It doesn't look like all graphics cards will be valid to trade in, which is fair, especially since you'd assume Newegg will be reselling these in some way. And you can't trade in an Intel graphics card, it seems, either, if you've become bored with your Arc. Nevertheless, assuming you're OK getting a bit less and just want an easy way to make a new graphics card a bit cheaper, it's an option for you.

Hit the trade in page to find out more and begin the process of getting some sweet sweet cash for your old, unwanted graphics card.

What you need to know

• Newegg's PC Builder ChatGPT plugin seeks to help you plan a PC build based on text prompts you provide.
• This AI assistance needs to be refined, but the plugin shows promise for helping PC building beginners and veterans alike.
• The Newegg PC Builder ChatGPT plugin is currently in beta and only available to ChatGPT Plus members.

Ever since ChatGPT launched last year and opened our eyes to the next level of realistic possibilities in AI assistance, companies have been creating plugins to use with the chatbot. Newegg is one of the latest to join these ranks with its PC Builder ChatGPT plugin, which is designed around helping people plan a PC build based on parameters set in text prompts. 

For instance, with Newegg's plugin you can tell ChatGPT that you want help building a gaming PC under $1,500 and it will list out all of the parts needed to do so. However, this plugin doesn't always stay within budget. Additionally, the plugin needs refining since it doesn't always suggest the best-priced optionsfor the best CPUs and best GPUs. This means that anyone using it needs to double-check prices to see if there are better deals available for the same components. 

What's more, as Francisco Pires of Tom's Hardware pointed out, the PC builds that the AI suggests might look good initially, but some of the specific component choices can be questionable. 

As of right now, this plugin is in beta and only available to those paying for a ChatGPT Plus membership. For those interested, Newegg has a helpful page explaining how to add the Newegg PC Builder plugin to your ChatGPT Plus account.

Windows Central's take

This kind of AI assistance in various fields will undoubtedly be the norm in the not-too-distant future. What we're seeing now is simply laying the groundwork for that tomorrow, kind of like what many of us saw when the internet really blossomed into being in the 90s. Remember how wonky, clunky, and unorganized that was? Yet look at where the internet is today. It's still wonky, clunky, and unorganized but there are more rules to it and many people know better not to just take anything they read online as fact, but to do their own research too. 

Putting together a workable PC build can be a very daunting task for beginners. Hell, even people with experience doing it know that finding suitable parts that work together and provide the exact abilities they want can be a challenge. So having tools that can help folks plan out their PC builds is a very exciting thought. The processes just needs to be refined. If not by Newegg, then another, more convenient option will evolve into being eventually. 

Of course, there are already some really helpful PC-building assistants out there. I personally prefer to use PCPartPicker as it helps me know which components will work well together and keeps track of everything I have and haven't acquired yet. However, even then I don't just accept the top choices that the site suggests. I make sure to research each component, weigh its pros and cons, and try to determine if there are better options out there before simply choosing one. This is the way to proceed going forward, even as AI assistance becomes more useful. You'll always be better served if you take the time to do some work for yourself, but an AI assistant can help you in that process. 

It may be Prime Day right now, but that doesn't mean that all the best deals are on Amazon's storefront. In fact, many of the top discounts on PC components and prebuilt rigs are available on Newegg, including amazing deals on these three gaming PCs — two of which are just under $1,000.

If you're looking to save as much as possible or are targeting a good, but not elite 1080p experience, go with the MSI Codex R. Folks after high-end 1080p or 1440p should look to Skytech Nebula (consider upgrading the storage with this deal on Samsung's fastest SSD), while the RTX 4070-powered YEYIAN Shoge is ideal for a top-notch 1440p or ultrawide setup.

• Don't miss the BEST deals on gaming monitors available this Prime Day
• Our FAVORITE Prime Day discounts on GPUs from NVIDIA and AMD

Why we like these deals

While there are certainly less expensive prebuilts available on Amazon during Prime Day, those lower costs don't come without some serious caveats. For example, many of those systems on sale right now have aging GPUs, underpowered CPUs, and/or only 8GB of RAM — an amount that's quickly becoming insufficient for modern PC gaming. 

In contrast, these Newegg deals feature systems with more modern components like 12th and 13th Gen Intel processors and RTX 40 series graphics cards, and save you more than what you would on comparable systems sold by Amazon. For those reasons, you should go with one of these prebuilts if you want to save money while also getting a gaming PC you can actually rely on.

Keep in mind that no matter which PC you choose, you'll be able to use and take advantage of DLSS 3, the latest version of NVIDIA's performance-improving technology. In addition to using image upscaling like previous DLSS iterations do, DLSS 3 also has a new feature called frame generation that uses an algorithm to inject new frames between "native" ones. Frame generation has a massive positive performance impact in most games, making it much easier to achieve excellent framerates when playing at high settings.

Prime Day 2024 is over, but I'm still finding a ton of deals that are still alive. On the GPU front, that's mostly thanks to Newegg's extended Fantastech Sale that's still ongoing today.

I saw far more GPU deals from Newegg, Best Buy, and Amazon than I ever expected during Prime Day 2024. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are usually the go-to events for PC hardware, but with sub-$1,000 RTX 4080 SUPERs and countless other deals, PC gamers should still be able to find what they need.

Prime Day wrapped up last night at 11:59 PM ET, but I've gone through all the deals today, July 18, to see what's still going. The most impressive for enthusiast PC gamers is still the RTX 4080 SUPER deal, but there are lots still live if you want to spend less.

🔥 Today's best GPU deals 🔥

The Zotac Gaming RTX 4080 SUPER AMP dropped $40 more late last night to arrive at $960 on Newegg. That's a $240 discount in all. 

I don't think an RTX 4080 SUPER has ever been cheaper than $950, and that extra $10 might be more disposable than you thought.

• 🔥ZOTAC Gaming RTX 4080 SUPER AMP: was $1,200 now $960 at Newegg🔥
• 🔥ZOTAC Gaming RTX 4070 | was $630 now $520 at Amazon🔥
• ZOTAC Gaming RTX 3060: was $280 now $260 at Newegg
• GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3060: was $292 now $276 at Amazon
• 🔥ZOTAC Twin Edge RTX 4060: was $300 now $275 at Newegg🔥
• PNY XLR8 GeForce RTX 4060: was $340 now $305 at Amazon
• PNY Dual RTX 4060 Ti: was $400 now $375 at Best Buy
• ASUS Dual Radeon RX 7700 XT: was $440 now $390 at Newegg
• MSI Ventus GeForce RTX 4070 Super OC: was $610 now $570 at Newegg

Best NVIDIA RTX 3060 deals

Best NVIDIA RTX 4060 deals

Best NVIDIA RTX 4070 deals

Best NVIDIA RTX 4080 deals

Best AMD GPU deals

How to choose the right GPU

Buying the perfect graphics card for your PC build or upgrade isn't always easy. There are a lot of cards available from different manufacturers and brands, and they range from budget option for 1080p gaming all the way up to monster GPUs for 4K gaming or development tasks.

NVIDIA and AMD are the leading brands in the GPU space, and the cards they create are built by various third-party manufacturers. That's why you'll see different names ahead of, say, "RTX 4060" when shopping around. The cards are essentially the same idea with some small tweaks to design, cooling, etc.

There's not really one graphics card that's best for most people; there are plenty of factors that go into finding the perfect card. 

First, you want to settle on a resolution at which to play. 1080p (FHD) is the baseline for PC gaming, and it's the most affordable way to play. 1440p (QHD) is usually the next stop along the road, and you'll need a more powerful card to push smooth framerates. And 4K is usually the last stop, requiring a more expensive GPU to keep all the extra pixels happy.

Next, you want to be sure that you're buying from a brand that has a positive reputation when it comes to reliability. You also want to be sure that you aren't spending more than your budget allows. The wide range of cards means you should be able to spend within your limit, and that's especially true when events like Prime Day — and all the competing sales from other retailers — come around.

Is it time to upgrade your GPU?

Figuring out which PC parts to upgrade first isn't always easy. You also want to be sure that you aren't creating any bottlenecks along the way, which can result in lost performance from your PC. If you're upgrading your GPU in an older system, you should be prepared to spend elsewhere in an attempt to keep hardware at a similar level.

If your GPU is struggling or outright dying, you probably already know what needs to be done. But when your GPU is still humming along without issue, do you really need to spend again? That will likely come down to how you plan on using your PC. If you're suddenly interested in playing a brand new AAA title with gorgeous graphics after years of low-impact indie titles, your GPU might put up some strong complaints.

In a similar vein, you might need to upgrade your GPU if you're making a screen change to a higher resolution. The jump from 1080p to 1440p (and again to 4K) is significant, and your old GPU that could keep up at 1080p will likely struggle at a higher resolution.

The nice thing about having a working GPU is that you can wait for the right sale on a new piece of hardware. PC building is often a lesson in patience, and that applies to finding and buying new parts as well.

Prime Day 2024 dates and frequently asked questions

Amazon's Prime Day is officially a two-day event at the online giant where thousands of items go on sale. It runs across Amazon in the US, UK, and several other regions.

Prime Day isn't only for Amazon Prime subscribers, but there are certainly some great deals that require a Prime membership. The good news there, if you don't already have a Prime account, is Amazon offers a free 30-day trial after which you can cancel. 

Amazon goes hard on discounts with its first-party Echo and Fire electronics during Prime Day, but there are plenty of other sales on all sorts of brands to check out.

When does Prime Day 2024 end?

Amazon Prime Day runs July 16 and 17 only, which means it has now come to an end. However, there are still plenty of deals available at Amazon and at other retailers that have extended their own sales events.

Will there be another Prime Day?

It's hard to say right now if there will be another Prime Day for sure, but I'm putting my money on a positive answer. Amazon seems to be having a lot of success with Prime Day, so I wouldn't be at all surprised to see the same sort of event around the same time next year.

Do I need Prime membership for Amazon deals?

Some of the best Prime Day deals are held only for Amazon Prime subscribers. As mentioned, you can get a free 30-day trial during Prime Day and cancel it thereafter without spending money on a subscription. This gets you access to Prime Video, Prime Music, Prime Gaming, and more perks.

Is Amazon Prime Day worth it?

Amazon Prime Day is often a time when prices hit a new low, but that's certainly not the case for all sales. There's a tendency for prices to climb in the weeks and days leading into Prime Day, only to make the savings seem better than they really are. 

That's not exclusive to Amazon, but it's definitely something to watch for. We're always keeping an eye on top deals at Windows Central all year round, and we can usually spot fakes right away.

If you'd like to do some pricing history of your own, which we always recommend, the camelcamelcamel tool is invaluable for anything listed at Amazon. It shows a clear history of product pricing, and all you need to do is drop the Amazon link into the search field.

Do competitors offer better alternatives?

Prime Day is Amazon's event, but most of Amazon's competition hosts coinciding sales events. In fact, we've often found the best prices on PCs, laptops, PC components, and laptop accessories at competing retailers while Prime Day is underway.

Looking at this collection of GPU deals ahead of Prime Day, it's clear that Best Buy and Newegg are again not wasting any time discounting hardware. Newegg's FantasTech event is running from July 8 through July 14, and Newegg has price protection already in place on many of its GPUs. Best Buy's Black Friday in July event is also underway, and it wraps up on Wednesday, July 17.

Other retailers also have membership programs akin to Amazon Prime. For example, grabbing a My Best Buy Membership can set you up with free and fast shipping, access to exclusive deals, extended return windows, tech support, repairs, and more. Walmart Plus membership is the same idea, as is Target Circle. Even Costco's membership can save you big money, so it's never a bad idea to check the retailers near you.

As Prime Day approaches, we're keeping an eye on sales at all major retailers to ensure you aren't missing out on anything major.

What you need to know

• PC retailer Newegg appears to have been caught red-handed knowingly selling broken products.
• PC YouTube team Gamers Nexus purchased and returned a motherboard without opening it. Newegg then claimed Gamers Nexus had broken the motherboard, and refused a refund.
• It was only after going public that Gamers Nexus received a refund and the "broken" motherboard. After receiving it back, it appeared that Newegg had sold it broken from the outset.

Update February 14, 2022: Newegg has replied to our request for comment, you can find it at the bottom of the article here. Newegg also now says it will accept returns on "open box" products "no questions asked."

PC retailer Newegg has found itself embroiled in a broad controversy, which could make you think twice before sending money to the company.

Popular tech outlet Gamers Nexus recently reported an incident with Newegg, which has long been a staple for PC builders. The Gamers Nexus team purchased a motherboard from Newegg, and later decided to return it having realized that it was no longer required. Newegg then claimed that Gamers Nexus had damaged the motherboard, and then declined to offer a refund. After several months wrangling with Newegg, it seems the company had attempted to get the motherboard repaired themselves, while also denying the refund. Considering that Gamers Nexus had never even opened or used the motherboard, naturally this raised suspicions.

After exhausting all customer service options, Gamers Nexus went public on his sizeable YouTube channel. As you might expect, this led to an immediate refund from Newegg, and a return of the motherboard in question. And this is where the fun really begins.

The damage to the motherboard was not consistent with the type of damage that would occur in transit, featuring bent pins. The motherboard also had an RMA sticker on it, which would appear to indicate that Newegg had attempted (and failed) to repair it with the manufacturer prior to selling it on as "open box." Despite failing to get the motherboard repaired, someone at Newegg approved it for resale regardless. The whole affair seemed to suggest that Newegg has been knowingly shipping broken products as part of that "open box" reselling program, then declining refunds after the customers discovered their products were already broken.

This kind of stunt would be potentially difficult to pull off in the EU, where member states enjoy very strict consumer protection laws. Newegg, it may appear, could have found some kind of loophole in U.S. return and refunds laws, and thus, attempted to exploit it. However, it may also be the result of a rare accident, where an item was cleared for sale erroneously by an overworked technician. The problem with that idea is, many users across reddit and Gamers Nexus' community claim to have experienced similar issues with Newegg, claiming damage to products as a way of refusing refunds. Since the initial publication, we've been contacted by more customers of Newegg reporting similar problems too.

We're going to reach out to Newegg to offer them a chance to respond to these claims, but on the face of it, it appears pretty damning. If I had to speculate, I doubt this was the result of malevolent policy behavior by Newegg. As you can see from the above, they had to have known they'd eventually get caught. I think it's far more likely the result of poor systems in place to catch these kinds of errors, stretched staff, and poor priorities being set from the top down. It's also absolutely not okay that Newegg only offered real support after he went public — what kind of recourse would regular customers have? Either way, Newegg needs to do better. You may want to reconsider where you buy PC cases and so on in the near term.

Update: Since publication, Newegg got in touch with us to offer the below statement:

Update 2: Newegg offered an addendum and additional information. A Newegg spokesperson added that they've created new policies to ensure a "hassle-free" return experience on all "open box" merchandise returns for motherboards and CPUs. I asked exactly what those policies entail, and Newegg confirmed that they intend to accept all returns on "open box" products on a "no questions asked" basis, in what could be considered a huge win for customers with the firm.

What you need to know

• Arguably the oldest egg in town, Newegg, is at it again with another Newegg Shuffle.
• Here's how it works: You tell Newegg what you want to buy, they tell you if you're allowed to buy it, then you have a limited amount of time to give them your money.
• This time around, the shuffle has an emphasis on GPUs and DDR5 memory.

Still a participant in the endless, bloody battle for the best graphics cards? Have you seen the snow fall, pile up, melt, then fall again, having spent a year or more wondering when you'll finally get a GPU with which to play the widely beloved Square Enix game Marvel's Avengers on your PC? Newegg Shuffle is here for you.

If you're one of the "west coast best coast" crowd, then the shuffle kicks off at 8 a.m. PT and goes 'til 10 a.m. PT. That's your window to select what you want. Then, from 12 p.m. PT to 6 p.m. PT, Newegg will decide if you're worthy enough to purchase anything. If you are one of the chosen, then you have two hours from whenever Newegg pings you to cough up the money.

For those on the east coast, just add three hours to all those times. So your shuffle starts at 11 a.m. ET. But remember, this is all January 6, 2022! If you see this post on January 7, all hope's lost and you should probably give up on ever getting the components of your dreams (just kidding; keep an eye on our coverage and we'll let you know when more appear).

This Newegg Shuffle is all about GPUs and DDR5 memory, so if either of those are on your wishlist, prepare to camp out at your computer. That RTX 3060 isn't going to buy itself!

What you need to know

• Graphics cards are in extremely short supply worldwide.
• One 11-year-old boy figured out a way to score GPUs with ease from Newegg.
• The trick has since been made obsolete by Newegg.

In the event you've been on Newegg lately, you know the amount of struggle required to get one of the best graphics cards. Be it a top-tier AMD card or an NVIDIA GPU such as the RTX 3060 Ti, you're going to have to go through a lot of headaches to get the product you're after. But what if the shortages disappeared and you could buy what you wanted when you wanted?

That became the case for an 11-year-old boy recently. As reported by PCMag, the clever kid discovered that by using Newegg's app, he could buy a "hot item" from Newegg's PC builder service à la carte.

The trick went like this: Even if an item showed up as out of stock, when you tried to add it to your cart, there was a chance it would work on the app, allowing you to buy the product as though you'd grabbed it from a regular in-stock store listing.

This lends credence to the theory that Newegg is holding rare GPUs for its PC assembly service and associated operations.

PCMag tested the loophole firsthand and confirmed it to be possible as of the time of its report. However, shortly thereafter, the app-based trick was patched up, and now Newegg is back to its regularly scheduled drip-feeding of GPUs via its raffling events. With that in mind, if you like scouting for holes in website infrastructure, know that they're out there and ready to help you get GPUs. A boy found one and earned an EVGA RTX 3090 for his troubles.

What you need to know

• Many PC components are in short supply worldwide.
• Newegg may have a way to help you get a hold of them.
• It'll involve ordering a new PC assembled by Newegg.

You already know the trick for getting a hold of the best graphics cards in the current market. It's as simple as buying an entirely new prebuilt PC with an RTX 3060 Ti (or whatever rare part you're after) in it. Newegg may be capitalizing on that mindset by offering priority access to rare parts if you have the company assemble a new PC for you (via Tom's Hardware).

Newegg's PC Builder helps users see what PC parts are available to purchase, as well as gives build assistance. Want a prebuilt PC under a certain price point? Looking for an AMD build? These are the sorts of questions the PC Builder will help you answer.

However, Newegg's taken things a step further and now offers a full-on assembly service. For $99.99, you can pick out your parts and have someone else assemble them, meaning you'll get a fully functioning PC right out of the box when it arrives at your home or place of business.

It's a useful feature for those not interested in assembling rigs themselves, but its FAQ page indicates the $99 surcharge may have an additional, more discreet benefit: Priority access to rare PC components. There's one very interesting FAQ answer that highlights the potential perk.

"Products considered in-demand or a 'hot item' product with limited supply can only be purchased with PC Builder Assembly Service or you cannot go through the checkout process," the page says.

Even though there aren't direct examples listed after the phrase "products considered in-demand," one can imagine what parts such a clause is referencing. The only remaining question is whether you'll be willing to shell out extra cash for a bunch of other components, all assembled and shipped to your address alongside the one you actually want.

What you need to know

• Asus made cool Gundam-themed PC components.
• They were only available in Asia... until now.
• Four of the components have been listed for sale on Newegg, available to U.S. buyers.

If you're a big fan of the Gundam franchise and want to upgrade your gaming rig with style, the crossover collaboration of your dreams has just arrived on U.S. shores. Though Asus' special Gundam-themed PC parts were initially exclusive to Asia, four of them have trickled onto Newegg and are purchasable by Gundam-loving Americans, as spotted by Tom's Hardware.

The mecha action comes in four distinct flavors. First, there's the Asus Z590 WiFi Gundam Edition LGA 1200 Intel Z590 SATA 6Gb/s ATX Intel motherboard. It supports Intel's 11th-gen and 10th-gen processors as well as metal product descriptions. Here's the one listed on the Newegg page: "Decked out in the heroic white livery worn by the RX-78-2 of the Mobile Suit Gundam anime series, Asus Z590 WiFi Gundam Edition is a special-edition motherboard that propels the latest Intel platform to new heights with game-ready features and proven durability." You know a motherboard is cool when it gets a mecha's livery. It costs $319.

There's also the Asus TUF Gaming B550M-Zaku WiFi AM4 AMD B550 SATA 6Gb/s Micro ATX AMD motherboard. It supports AMD Ryzen 5000 Series, 4000 G-Series, and 3000 Series processors. It also has an energetic description that tells you to "pledge your allegiance to the Principality of Zeon" by spending $219 on the motherboard.

Along with the Zaku-themed motherboard, there's the Asus RT-AX860U Zaku II Edition gaming router. It can provide speeds of up to 5700 Mbps for the (not so) low price of $299.

And lastly, there's an ASUS TUF Gaming GT301 Zaku II Edition case. It's made from steel, plastic, tempered glass, and concentrated anime style. It's $119.

What you need to know

• Many online retailers are out of stock for computers and accessories due to the current health crisis.
• Outlets have reacted to the crisis differently, meaning some have more stock than others.
• Newegg, Maingear, and iBuyPower shared how they've responded to the crisis recently.

Due to the current health crisis, many popular retailers have stock issues. Several listings across Amazon, Best Buy's website, and Walmart's website have limited or no stock. In some cases, companies have prioritized selling specific types of items. But according to several retailers that spoke to Tom's Hardware, there are still plenty of computers and accessories to ship to consumers.

Tom's Hardware spoke with Newegg, iBuyPower, and Maingear. Those three retailers stat that they're currently shipping many items within one or two days. The piece from Tom's Hardware goes into great detail about how these outlets managed to keep items in stock, when they started preparing for shortages, and what causes stock shortages during a health crisis like the one that's currently going on. It provides interesting insight into current limitations on retailers, and what's being done to ship items right now.

The key takeaway is that if you want to purchase a computer or accessories right now, you might have to check out some retailers you don't normally look at. There are several good retailers online, but many people default to a few go-to options, such as Amazon or Best Buy. During stock shortages and the health crisis, you'll need to widen your search to include more retailers, such as Newegg, iBuyPower, and Maingear.

Newegg, the popular online electronics retailer, announced on September 19 that it'd fallen victim to a security breach that compromised credit card information for an unknown number of customers. Details on the breach are still developing, but in the meantime, here's what we know.

What happened?

On August 14, 2018, hacker group Magecart entered 15 lines of code into Newegg's website that acted as a credit card skimmer.

When customers entered their card details at Newegg's checkout page, the malicious code grabbed the payment info and sent it to a domain name owned by Magecart.

Newegg shut down the code on September 18, meaning it was grabbing customer's financial information for nearly a month.

Who's affected?

At this time, we currently don't know how many people were affected by this attack. Newegg serves around 50 million customers every single month, but it's unclear if all buyers had their info stolen or only people that were entering card info for the first time.

Newegg will be publishing an FAQ with more information on September 21, and we'll update this article accordingly once we know more.

What can I do to stay safe?

Until we learn more, your best bet is to keep an eye on your bank/credit card statements to make sure no unusual activity is taking place. Once we have a better understanding of which customers had their info stolen, you may need to deactivate your card and get a new one.

Always great deals

Large online retails like Amazon and Newegg deal a lot in volume, more so than more localized, niche retailers. You won't always find the best deals here, but you can say with a high degree of accuracy there will always be some kind of a great deal on some of the products you're interested in.

Amazon in particular with Prime can make a difference with free shipping and occasional member exclusive deals and pricing.

There's also the possibility to pick up certified refurbished hardware. These are always cheaper than retail price and come with the same protection you'd get buying anything else from a major retailer.

Lots of choice from different card makers

These large online retailers are also some of the best places to compare prices and products across a wide range of manufacturers. The GTX 1080 Ti attracts a number of manufacturer variants with differing designs, custom coolers, factory overclocks, and more to differentiate from the rest.

At both of these stores, you'll find the best graphics cards from all the leading manufacturers, which makes it easier to find not only the right card for you, but also score the best price.

Online tools to help you find deals

If you're shopping for graphics cards like the GTX 1080 Ti there are a couple of awesome online tools that can help you find deals and availability.

For Amazon, CamelCamelCamel is the best tool around, allowing you to compare and track pricing with custom alerts to help you get what you want at the best possible price.

For Newegg and other, smaller retailers, PCPartPicker is a superb resource that tracks daily and weekly deals and price changes on graphics cards.

Global support

One other important thing that should be pointed out about both Amazon and Newegg is that they support international customers. Either with local stores or international shipping, you're not isolated just for living outside of the U.S.

Looking to get the Lumia 1520? Then you might be interested in buying the unicorn 1520.3. This is the version of the device that has support for all LTE bands and works great with T-Mobile here in the United States. Newegg is selling the device right now for just $520. Toss in a special code and it goes down to $497.

Newegg Premier customers can grab the Lumia 1520.3 for just $519.99. Plus there's a promo code to get an extra $25 off. Essentially bringing this unique 1520 under $500! That's insane! Plus you get Qi wireless charging, which was dropped in the AT&T model.

• More info on the Lumia 1520.3

You'll find black, white and yellow as your color options if you opt to purchase the device. Bonus: The Lumia 1520.3 just received Lumia Cyan.

Anything thinking of pulling the trigger? Dan?

Source: Newegg

Thanks for the tip Francisco!

Want the latest Windows Phone on T-Mobile? That would be the Lumia 635 and can be yours for $129 at the Microsoft Store. Or you could buy through Newegg and save yourself $15.

Head to Newegg and you can grab the Lumia 635 for T-Mobile. They don't specify the color, but the render shows a white shell and you can replace those shells with the color of your choice later on.

You'll need to be a Newegg Premier member (think Amazon Prime) to get the Lumia 635 at this price. It costs $49.99 per year to become a Newegg Premier member.

With Newegg Premier you get expedited shipping, special alerts, no restocking fee, exclusive deals, dedicated customer support, free returns and more. There's a free 30-day trial to see if Newegg Premier is for you. It's probably trialing the membership program just to grab the Lumia 635 at this low price.

Anyone interesting in the Lumia 635?

Source: Newegg

What, was one penny too much for you? Or perhaps like us, you live in New York and have to pay Amazon Wireless sales tax (but not for NewEgg) and you just like their deal better.

Whatever your reason, NewEgg, hands down one of our favorite online retailers, is offering select AT&T Windows Phone on contract for free. Zip. Nada. Nothing. You even have your choice of plans, including the low AT&T 450 minute version (sometimes place like WalMart try to force you up to the higher 900 minute plan).

Phones included in the deal (these are the actual links): the Samsung Focus, LG Quantum and yes, the HTC Surround. Sounds like a good deal, but like all things, read the fine print.

Source: NewEgg; Thanks, jaethos, for the tip!