Labor Day weekend and a new school year are almost here, and along with milder weather, sweaters, and pumpkin spice (if you’re into that sort of thing), people are looking forward to the big sales that pop up every year as the summer begins drawing to a close. Back-to-school and Labor Day sales are a great time to score deals on fall staples like clothes and accessories, but they’re also a fine opportunity to enjoy big discounts on work and school essentials like laptops.
Dell ran some pretty great mid-summer promotions for July 4 and Prime Day, and now the PC company is following up with a pretty sweet Labor Day sale that includes big discounts on some of its best gaming laptops. We’ve got the best of the bunch right here, from the more budget-friendly G-series laptops to high-end Alienware machines, so if it’s time for a new rig for work and gaming, then read on:
Alienware m15 Gaming Laptop
The Alienware brand represents the best that Dell gaming laptops have to offer, and the Alienware m15 is a superb all-around machine for both work and play. It combines great build quality and styling with excellent performance thanks to its solid hardware, packing a ninth-generation Intel Core i7 six-core CPU, 16GB (two 8GB sticks) of RAM, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti GPU with 6GB of VRAM.
Its 15.6-inch 1080p screen has a refresh rate of 144Hz, delivering great color accuracy with minimal lag and screen-tearing issues that plague displays of lesser quality. A $380 Labor Day discount knocks the Alienware m15 gaming laptop down to $1,420 right now.
Alienware m17 Gaming Laptop
Most laptops come in at around 14 to 15 inches, which is a nice sweet spot in size for usability and portability. If you want something a little bigger, though, then consider the Alienware m17, which comes with a 17.3-inch Full HD display that puts it into the “desktop replacement” laptop category. Under the hood, this beefy gaming laptop runs on a ninth-generation i7 six-core CPU and 16GB of RAM, while one of Nvidia’s newer GeForce RTX 2060 GPUs provides plenty of power for running modern games at good settings.
The Alienware m17 also features both a high-speed 256GB SSD (ideal for your operating system, games, and other software) along with a nicely sized 1TB HDD for extra storage. The Dell Labor Day sale knocks this 17-inch gaming machine down to $1,550, saving you $275.
Dell G7 15 Gaming Laptop
The Dell G-series offers more moderately priced alternatives to its premium Alienware line, but don’t let that fool you: Some models, like this G7 15, boast highly impressive specs that rival Dell’s high-end gaming laptops. With a 9th-gen i7 CPU, Nvidia RTX 2060 GPU, and two 8GB sticks of RAM, the Dell G7 15 has similar hardware to the Alienware m17, along with the same dual hard drive combo that combines a 256GB SSD with a 1TB HDD.
The Dell G7 15 features a more traditionally sized 15.6-inch 1080p display with a 144Hz refresh rate, so it’s a great alternative to the Alienware m17 if you want a beefy gaming laptop without the bulkier 17-inch size. For $1,400 ($330 off), the Dell G7 gives you a lot of performance in a surprisingly sleek package.
New Dell G3 15 Gaming Laptop
For a good gaming laptop that comes in at well under a grand, you’ll be hard-pressed to do much better than the Dell G3. It was named the best budget gaming laptop in both our roundups of the best gaming laptops and the best budget laptops, and it’s not hard to see why given the value the Dell G3 provides.
This model runs on a newer ninth-generation Intel Core i5 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and an Nvidia GTX 1050 graphics card. These are respectable specs for an affordable PC built for work, general use, and entry-level gaming, and the price is hard to beat: A $100 discount lets you grab the Dell G3 15 gaming laptop for just $700 right now.
Looking for more great stuff? Find tech deals, Labor Day sales, back-to-school savings, and much more on our curated deals page.