Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days sale starts Oct. 7 but many great laptop deals have already started appearing. Amazon’s sale offers a fantastic opportunity to snag deals on Apple MacBooks, powerful gaming laptops and budget-friendly Chromebooks. We’re also seeing prices slashed across major retailers like Best Buy and Walmart, with many brands offering discounts directly on their online storefronts, too.

As well as laptops, the October Prime Day event is throwing out deals on everything from tablets and headphones to smart home devices and outdoor deals.

This story is part of Amazon Prime Day, CNET’s guide to everything you need to know and how to find the best deals.

From Apple to HP, all your favorite brands are on sale ahead of Amazon’s October Prime Day sale. 

• Apple MacBook Pro M4: $1,799 (save $200). This Pro is ideal for those with heavy-hitting tasks to complete. It can handle anything you throw its way.
• HP Omen 16-inch gaming laptop: $1,499 (save $100). This gaming laptop uses an AI-enabled Intel processor to give you the best power and performance. 
• Lenovo Yoga 7i: $805 (save $245). With a 16-inch 2K touchscreen, this 2-in-1 Lenovo offers some serious versatility at a great price.
• HP Victus: $650 (save $250). This gaming laptop has a 144Hz refresh rate, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 graphics card, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage for a smooth and responsive gaming experience.
• Acer Nitro V 16 AI gaming laptop: $699 (save $200). This powerful laptop features an AMD Ryzen 5 240 processor and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050 graphics card. 
• Asus Vivobook 14: $311 (save $139). This 14-inch laptop, which costs less than $300, runs on an Intel Core i3 processor, has 8GB of memory, a 128GB SSD and 8-hour battery life.
• Lenovo Chromebook Duet 11: $349 (save $50). With a detachable keyboard and a 2K display, this 11-inch Chromebook doubles as a tablet.
• Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus: $419 (save $180). Lenovo’s stylish Chromebook is one for those who need an affordable yet functional machine.
• HP 15.6-inch laptop: $280 (save $250). A basic and affordable option for those who want a touchscreen. 
• Acer Chromebook 311: $157 (save $42). This affordable Chromebook is perfect for folks looking for something simple to browse the web.
• HP OmniBook 7 laptop: $850 (save $160). This laptop is great for multitasking, plus it can transform into a tablet.
• HP OmniBook X Flip 16-inch touchscreen laptop: $700 (save $400). This sleek laptop has a 1TB SSD for storing all your files and images, and enough performance to handle work tasks.
• Lenovo LOQ 15.6-inch gaming laptop: $980 (save $320). With a 144Hz screen, RTX 5070 GPU, Core i7-13650HX processor and 16GB of RAM, there’s no AAA game you won’t be able to enjoy on this laptop
• LG UltraPC 16-inch laptop: $450 (save $250). If you’re in the market for a slim and light laptop that can handle daily tasks, while still looking good, this LG laptop is one to consider.
• Alienware 16X Aurora gaming laptop: $1,700 (save $400). With 32GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD, this gaming laptop will handle anything you throw at it.
• Asus Vivobook Go: $330 (save $170). This laptop has a vibrant OLED display, impressive battery life and a solid keyboard.
• Lenovo Ideapad 5: $490 (save $460). This laptop has an immersive display and a powerful-yet-efficient processor that should enable long working sessions.

Watch this: M4 MacBook Air Review: Still Fantastic Even if Not Much Has Changed

Should you shop laptop deals during October Prime Big Deal Days?

The Prime Big Deal Days sale starts Oct 7, but many deals are already available so it’s probably worth getting your order in before the frenzy begins. If you see a laptop that fits your needs and budget for several hundred dollars off, we recommend acting while you can.

Does Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days offer the best laptop deals?

As you might expect, major retailers are offering excellent deals to counter the discounts on Amazon. So, while Amazon Prime Day should be your main focus, we also recommend checking out our coverage of discounts at Walmart and Best Buy to find the perfect deal for you. Plus, smaller, online-only retailers like Adorama and B&H Photo are offering deals that often go under the radar. Finally, also keep tabs on brand websites because HP and Acer are offering some direct deals of their own.

What else is on sale during Prime Big Deal Days?

There is a huge variety of deals that you can shop for during Amazon Prime Day. These include top tech like TVs and laptops, as well as home goods and big-ticket items like mattresses and major appliances. There are also plenty of seasonal deals on fall and winter essentials to prepare for the colder seasons. To give you a good idea of what’s out there, you can check out our full roundup of all the best Amazon Prime Day deals.

How we choose the best Prime Big Deal Days laptop deals

Many of us at CNET have covered shopping events for more than five years, including Black Friday, Prime Day, Memorial Day and countless others. We’ve become good at weeding out scams and superficial deals, so you’ll see only the best offers on our lists. 

When choosing laptop deals, we look for real discounts, quality reviews and remaining sale time. Our team of experts has tested hundreds of laptops to ensure we’re bringing you the best options at the best prices.

• Real discounts mean exactly that. We look at the price history for that product to make sure no brands are inflating prices to make the discount seem more substantial than it is.
• Quality reviews and testing are important for any product, including laptops. If you’re unhappy the first time you turn it on, the discount wasn’t worthwhile. 
• Remaining sale time is a huge part of our vetting process. If a deal seems like it will only be around for a short while or will only be available for the remaining stock, we’ll let you know up front so you don’t come back to the deal later only to be disappointed. 

Other ways to save

With potential tariff-related price hikes, now might be the best time to get these kinds of prices on laptops. There’s a chance we may not see the same kinds of prices during the next shopping event. Make sure to check out Best Buy and Walmart for even more deals if you can’t find one you like on Amazon.

How to keep up with the best Prime Big Deal Days sales

There are a lot of ways to ensure you’re getting the latest scoop on Prime Day offers. The CNET Deals team covers all the best price drops, discounts and deals every day from across the web, highlighting the best offers. We’ll be tracking all the major retailer sales around Prime Big Deal Days and sharing the promotions you need to hear about and there are plenty of ways to hear from us. 

One option is to bookmark CNET.com/deals to check out our latest coverage. You can also subscribe to our CNET Cheapskate newsletter for a daily digest of deals delivered to your inbox. Another great option is to sign up for CNET Deals text alerts for curated deals during major shopping events. Remember to add CNET as a preferred Google source on Chrome so you won’t miss any of CNET’s expert tech coverage. Our deals team continually scopes out the best available offers to help ensure the purchases you make all year round will be at the lowest price.