If you’re shopping for a new notebook, now is the time to invest. Manufacturers are slashing prices for Memorial Day including big blowouts by Dell, HP, Microsoft, and Lenovo. We pulled out our five favorite notebook discounts so you aren’t digging through all the hardware.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon ($380 off)
While a discounted price of $1,139 isn’t exactly dirt cheap, knocking $380 off the original bill makes this laptop a bit more affordable. It’s based on an eighth-generation Core i5-8250U processor powering a 14-inch IPS screen with a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution. Don’t let the listing’s “6th Gen” listing fool you: Lenovo is referring to the model, not the actual processor.
Of course, that price tag is your starting point. Sold in black or silver finishes, the base configuration includes 8GB of system memory (LPDDR3 at 2,133MHz), 256GB of storage on an M.2 SSD, integrated graphics, Wireless AC and Bluetooth 4.1 connectivity, and a 57 watt-hour battery. It includes a fingerprint reader and a 720p camera with a built-in cover too.
Microsoft Surface Laptop ($200 off)
This deal only applies to select models with the Core i5 processor, so essentially the cheapest Core i5 configuration costs $799 after the discount featuring 4GB of system memory, 128GB of storage, and a locked Platinum exterior. Increase the memory to 8GB and the storage to 256GB, and the price jumps up to a palatable $1,099 no matter what color you choose.
Outside of the CPU/memory/storage aspects, the Surface Laptop sports a 13.5-inch screen with a 2,256 x 1,504 resolution, integrated graphics, a 720p webcam and Windows Hello sign-in camera, Wireless AC and Bluetooth 4.0 LE connectivity, and more.
HP Spectre x360 13t ($200 off)
With a $200 holiday discount, this convertible laptop will set you back for a starting price of $989. The base configuration relies on an eighth-generation Core i5-8250U processor, 8GB of system memory (LPDDR3 at 2,133MHz), and 360GB of storage on an M.2 SSD. You can upgrade these components for an added cost.
Of course, if you find the natural silver finish rather boring, HP serves up two other choices for an added $10 each: Dark ash silver and pale rose gold. The IPS screen measures 13.3 inches and supports touch-based input, but you will have two resolution options: The default 1,920 x 1,080 or the more expensive 3,840 x 2,160 screen. Powering this laptop is a 60 watt-hour battery.
Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 ($150 off)
This laptop isn’t configurable: Dell’s Memorial Day deal ships “as is” for a discounted price of $2,049. That is not exactly cheap, but it’s one of the first laptops to sport the new processor “module” cooked up by Intel and AMD. This module, aka the Core i7-8705G, plays host to three separate components: four Intel “Coffee Lake” CPU cores and integrated graphics, AMD’s discrete Radeon RX Vega M GL graphics cores, and 4GB of HBM2 memory dedicated to graphics.
Outside the new module, Dell’s 2-in-1 features a 15.6-inch screen with touch support and a 3,840 x 2,160 resolution, 16GB of system memory (DDR4 at 2,400MHz), 256GB of storage on an M.2 SSD, Killer Wireless AC and Bluetooth connectivity, and a 75 watt-hour battery. Two one-watt speakers and a Widescreen 720p camera round out the package.
HP Omen 15t Gaming Laptop ($170 off)
Although Dell’s notebook could be used for gaming, here is our only notebook on the list actually dedicated to gamers. The discounted $799 price is your starting point consisting of a seventh-generation Core i7-7700HQ processor, 8GB of system memory (DDR4 at 2,400MHz), a 1TB hard drive, and a discrete GeForce GTX 1050 graphics chip.
HP’s gaming laptop sports a 15.6-inch IPS screen with a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution. Other ingredients include an HP Wide Vision HD webcam, Wireless AC and Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity, a backlit keyboard, and a 63.3 watt-hour battery. The graphics chip, system memory, and storage can be configured with better components and capacities for an added cost.
