Cyber Monday is in the final hours, but we’ve been watching the whole post-Thanksgiving sales event for days now, and we have some insight on what a) we think are the best deals and b) what you are all actually buying.
So, we figured we’d do an impromptu live podcast earlier today to talk about it.
Let’s get to it!
The whole video
If you want to watch from the beginning, when we talk about RAM prices and how they can affect laptop prices, as well as why we're doing this podcast, start here at the beginning.
Each section below has the same video, but timestamped for the relevant chapters!
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05:20: Surface Pro 11 is 🔥
Easily the most popular laptop/PC we’ve seen being sold this Black Friday and Cyber Monday is Microsoft’s Surface Pro 11, something which I gave a perfect score for and still use (when I’m not using Surface Laptop 7, of course).
We’ve had a few deals posted on this one, but as I write, the $699 model just came back in stock again, which is $500 off the regular price, and $50 cheaper than Best Buy. You get an LCD panel, 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, and that zippy Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus processor. Easily the sweet spot for Surface Pro and easy to recommend.
Of course, if you want baller, then go for the OLED model with Snapdragon X Elite. It’s $200 more at $899 ($500 savings), but it’s a heckuva thing.
10:27: Surface Pro 12-inch + keyboard
If you want a smaller package perfect for travel or the couch, you can do no wrong with the Microsoft Surface Pro 12-inch, which is down to $649.99 (versus $899), and that includes the keyboard, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage.
13:14 : Steam Deck FTW (kinda)
Handheld PC gaming is growing quickly, but despite new devices like Xbox Ally and Ally X, it’s the OG Steam Deck LCD that stole the show. Valve did a rare sale for the entry-level version, knocking 20% off from $399 to $319.
Bad news? Between our podcast and my writing this, Valve pulled the plug. So, you can still get it at full price, OR what I recommend, spend $449 (usually $699) and get the superior Lenovo Legion Go S with SteamOS at Best Buy. It has a larger, higher resolution display with a 120Hz refresh (vs just 60Hz on Steam Deck LCD), more storage at 512GB, and a much faster Z2 Go processor, giving you a 20 to 40% jump in FPS.
19:53: Xbox Game Pass Ultimate deal
Ugh. Xbox has had quite the year, to say the least, and jacking up the cost of Game Pass Ultimate has not gone over well with anyone, to be honest.
But, what if I told you you can buy TWO 3-month Game Pass Ultimate cards for $95.98, giving you six months of unlimited access, and saving $83 (47%) off the regular price?
Moreover, you can buy as many as you want and stack them on your account for years. Sure, it’s a pain point now, but you’ll see a bunch in the long term. Heck, our writer Zachary Boddy has done this and is good until the end of 2028, so what’s stopping you?
21:49: Dell 15 for $249
Boring name, kind of a boring laptop, but the Dell 15 is just $249 and has a real Intel Core processor in it, 8GB of RAM, an impressive 512GB of SSD storage, and get this, the full HD 15.6-inch panel has a 120Hz refresh rate.
Yeah, that’s weird. But as I explain to Zac, this is kind of genius, as faster refresh rates make that laptop feel faster due to the smoother animations. Don’t believe me? Turn your gaming rig down to 30Hz and see how fast it feels.
24:29: Surface Laptop 7 is king: $999
One thing Zac and I agree on is that Surface Laptop 7 is the best Windows laptop of all time (non-gaming, of course).
Excellent build quality, great touch display, fantastic audio, and now, thanks to Qualcomm, exceptional performance and long battery life. It’s our Mac M1 moment, but without the pretension.
You can now get the model with Snapdragon X Elite,1 16GB of RAM, and an eye-opening 1TB of SSD storage for $999, saving $600 off the regular $1,599 price.
Many of you have already bought this, and we salute you. It’s simply the best.
28:54: HP OmniBook 5 16-inch
Here’s another boring on paper, but impressive IRL laptop. The HP OmniBook 5 16-inch, which we recently reviewed, claims 34 hours of battery life from its 2K OLED touch panel, Snapdragon X Plus, and 32GB/512GB configuration.
The reality? Our video test says you ONLY get (checks notes) 25 hours of video playback and 16.5 hours of Microsoft Office usage.
Yeah, that’s still incredible, and instead of $899, it’s now just $599 with many of you snapping one up.
31:59: HP ProBook 4 G1i
It’s a workstation for professionals that “normally” costs $4,000 but is on sale for $998, which is a bit crazy.
OK, HP is probably fibbing on that MSRP, even though enterprise does pay a lot for PRO laptops. Nonetheless, it has an RTX 3050 GPU, a serious CPU, and otherwise banging specs that’ll make a killer workstation whether you’re at home, the coffee shop, or the office, at a price that won’t make you cry.
34:35 Windows Ugly Sweater 2025
It’s back!
And it’s gone already. But we talk about Microsoft’s return to its fun tradition for its biggest fans.
More Cyber Monday 2025 - quick links
- All our TOP recommended Cyber Monday deals: Just the best
- Mini PC deals: up to 47% off tiny PCs
- GPU deals: early price drops on NVIDIA RTX before they go up
- Microsoft Surface deals: save up to $500 on premium PCs
- Xbox accessories: best deals on gadgets for your Xbox Series X|S and PC
- Gaming laptop deals: the best laptops for the best price
- Xbox controllers: our top picks for best controller deals
- ANC headphones: great Cyber Monday deals on the best ANC headphones
Even more Cyber Monday deals: - Dell deals: 13 deals from Dell.com that you shouldn't miss
- Best Buy: 34 hottest discounts on laptops, monitors, gaming, and more
- Walmart: 7 top laptop deals you shouldn't miss
- Samsung monitors: the best Samsung display deals we've found
- Retro gaming: handhelds, arcade machines, old school consoles, and more
- Gamer merch: Blizzard’s Warcraft, Overwatch, and Diablo IV collectibles
- Game keys: 10 PC game codes are even cheaper at Loaded (formerly CDKeys)
- Accessories: Even more PC accessories starting at $17
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