Look around you, Black Friday is happening right now. Every retailer on the planet is already pumping out Black Friday deals, and given the struggles with supply and shipping, it makes sense to jump on them early if you want a chance of bagging your tech before 2022 rolls around.
Basically we recommend starting your deal shopping early, because availability may be the watchword this year, rather than just the almighty ‘deal.’ Tech is only going to become more scarce as we approach the end of the year, so it’s the early deals that stand the best chance of getting to you in time. And while there may be some last-minute deals on November 26, there are enough protection schemes from the major players that you won’t miss out on grabbing an early bargain either.
One thing you’re not going to see this Black Friday is any deals on graphics cards. While the likes of the RTX 3080 and RX 6800 XT are the best graphics cards upgrades we’ve seen in a long, long time, lack of availability means that these don’t need price cuts to sell out. Plenty of gaming PCs built around such cards are out there though, and there are some healthy deals to be had if you’re quick.
So there are deals and plenty of them. Maybe not on graphics cards, but plenty of other components are enjoying large price drops. By way of example, SSDs are enjoying some awesome cuts already and system memory is looking pretty tasty too. We’re seeing plenty of healthy discounts on monitors and TVs too.
So, it’s not all stock nightmares and chip shortage doom and gloom.
Where will the best Black Friday PC gaming deals be?
Today’s top Black Friday deals
Black Friday gaming PC deals
Black Friday gaming laptop deals
Black Friday office laptop deals
Black Friday gaming monitor deals
Black Friday TV deals
Black Friday NVMe SSD deals
Black Friday SATA SSD deals
Black Friday External SSD deals
Black Friday gaming chair deals
Black Friday gaming microphone and streaming deals
Black Friday Gaming Mice deals
Black Friday Gaming Keyboard deals
Black Friday Gaming Headset deals
Black Friday CPU deals
Black Friday RAM deals
When is Black Friday 2021?
Black Friday 2021 will be on November 26, one full day ahead of last year’s date. That means Cyber Monday will fall on November 29 after a retail-heavy weekend.
Last year Black Friday almost lasted from the end of the delayed Prime Day in October. It will be a similar story this year, with everyone, from Amazon to Newegg keen to lock in sales early to avoid shipping problems. So expect specific Black Friday deals and offers to start earlier than ever.
What deals can I expect on Black Friday 2021?
Obviously, Black Friday deals on graphics cards are off the table for another year. I mean, being able to buy one for anything near MSRP would be a start. But you will be able to find the latest GPU silicon in either a pre-built gaming PC or a new gaming laptop, and a few deals have already started to appear on that front. Intel has just released Alder Lake CPUs too, which should mean price cuts on 11th-Gen PCs too.
Along with the news that there will be new Ryzen CPUs early next year, last-gen Intel and AMD processors could be cheaper too, in order to clear older stock from the inventory of retailers. With an imminent price correction on memory expected soon, we might see some other component deals, as well.
The arrival of DDR5 might also make DDR4 kits more affordable, and there seems to have been a glut of great SSDs deals.
Screens are another regularly discounted commodity around Black Friday, and we doubt this year will be any different. This means both the best gaming monitors and the best TVs for gaming could get some tasty deals, too.
And there will always be gaming mice and keyboards on sale come Black Friday too, so they’re worth taking a look at. It’s a great time of year to treat your butt to a quality gaming chair as well, which tend to enjoy some healthy price cuts this time of year.
What should I avoid buying on Black Friday 2021?
Anything you don’t need. It’s distressingly easy to be duped into dropping cash on something just because there’s a hefty discount attached to it… even though you have absolutely no use for it.
If you’re considering making a purchase around Black Friday, have a plan of attack. That probably sounds needlessly aggressive, but you need to know what you actually want to buy first or you’ll end up with no end of crap. Cheap crap, maybe, but crap nonetheless.
Do some research on the products you’d like to pick up in the sales (we offer detailed hardware buying guides), and maybe some alternatives in case those don’t pop up. Set yourself a strict budget too.
Products like graphics cards and processors have obvious tiers (though the different companies work damned hard to make product names as confusing as possible), and SSDs have rated speeds, but for peripherals, it’s tougher to tell from the specs whether they’re worth the money. Checking for reviews, from such luminaries as ourselves, should guide you on your way, and checking price trackers such as CamelCamelCamel will let you know if a deal’s more than just skin deep.
Are there any Black Friday tips and tricks?
If you haven’t already used it up during a credit card splurge around Amazon Prime Day, then you ought to take the opportunity to sign up for a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime. That will get you early access to the Lightning Deals, and help you grab some of Jeff’s best deals of the day. It will also net you free shipping on a host of products and speedy delivery too, and at the very worst it’ll be handy when it comes to bagging some last-minute Christmas gifts for that aunt you always forget about.