The Best Time to Buy PC Parts [Full Guide]

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If your computer is starting to show its age in the form of performance issues, wear and tear, and other such shenanigans, you may be starting to think about giving her some TLC. In addition, you might also be starting to cringe at the pretty penny you’re about to toss at this project. Hey, I’m with you! But why should you pay top dollar for your upgrades when you have options to slash that cost down?

I’m going to strive to advise you here on some key factors to consider in sale trends, cost-cutting, and quality assurance so that you can determine the best time to buy PC parts for your unique situation and current needs. Some factors will depend on you and your particular hardware needs, and some factors will address trends in sale pricing, release schedules, etc. So let’s dive in!

First things first, you’ll want to answer some questions for yourself. How urgently do you need this component? How long can you wait before you absolutely need to make this purchase? What is more important to you considering your situation – price or performance? Once you’ve answered these questions, you will find it easier to navigate the below dump of information. Then you’ll be able to determine when and where to make your upcoming tech purchases. Happy shopping!

Black Friday/Cyber Monday/Holiday Season

The best deals on PC parts do seem to occur exactly when you might have guessed – Black Friday and Cyber Monday – all the way through to Super Saturday (the Saturday before Christmas). This time of year is jam-packed with big savings like seasonal promotions and discount days for big ticket items like TVs and other electronics.

For PC parts, however, these deals typically favor peripherals like mice, keyboards, monitors, and storage, so you might be hard-pressed to find extravagant deals on items like newly released high-end processors. If you’re in the market for peripherals, if you are banking on a big price cut for your items, and if your PC will allow you to wait for these deal-dizzy days, this is where you will likely save the most coin.

Here are some of the hotter deals that were advertised for PC parts from Black Friday to Cyber Monday in 2019:

Laptops. Prebuilt desktops, and Motherboards: 25 – 30% off

• Asus Gaming Laptop – 25% off
• HP Gaming Laptop – 30% off
• CyberPowerPC Desktop – 25% off
• Asus Motherboard – 30% off
• Gigabyte Motherboard – 25% off
• ASUS Motherboard – 30% off

Peripherals: 30 – 50% off

• Samsung SSD – 30% off
• HyperX Headset – 40% off
• Razer Gaming Mouse – 50% off
• HyperX Keyboard – 40% off
• AOC Monitor – 35% off

CPUs: 12 – 50% off

• 12% – 17% off for newer released, lower value brands as well as some earlier released, higher end brands
• 40 – 50% off for earlier released, lower value brands

GPUs: 40% – 60% off

• XFX Graphic Card – 60% off
• Visiontek Graphic Card – 40% off

Related: Best Graphics Cards

Don’t forget to price check any deal being offered! For example, sites like CamelCamelCamel track historic price offerings on many products that are offered on Amazon. With this type of information, you can see if you are actually getting a great deal – or if you’re falling victim to the slick, age-old retail technique I like to call, “The Mountain Ad on the Molehill Deal.” Some retailers will advertise a price cut in a banging fashion, making you think you’re getting a better deal than you are. However, you have the tools to put them in their place – don’t be fooled!

As a side note, remember that in recent years, Black Friday sales and price cuts have started earlier and earlier. In 2019, Amazon and NewEgg offered between 15-30% off computers and computer parts as early as 2-3 weeks prior to Black Friday. Try to remember this gun jump when the time comes and start scoping out deals early. You might find a steal of a deal before the turkey is defrosted (or even purchased)!

Amazon Prime Day

Prime day typically falls in mid-July and is the best day outside of the holiday season to find deals on PC parts. While not all components can be found at as big of discounts as the ones offered on Black Friday or Cyber Monday, this is typically another whopper of a day for great deals.

Amazon has been known to slash prices on peripherals like mice, keyboards, and monitors as well as certain storage components and processors. If you’re an Amazon Prime member, Prime Day is a perfect opportunity to do some mid-summer upgrades to your rig at a decent cut on standard retail prices. If you’re not a Prime Member, these discounts might be worth the annual membership fee!

Here are some of the deals that were offered on Prime Day 2019:

• SSDs – 35-45% off (Samsung)
• Mice – 50-60% off (Logitech; Razer)
• Headsets – 20-40% off (Steelseries; HyperX; Razer)
• CPU – 40% off (AMD)
• GPU – 10-13% off (MSI & PNY)
• Motherboards – 20-25% off (Gigabyte)
• Processor/SSD/Motherboard Bundle – 20% off (Intel)
• Monitors – 10-25% off (ASUS; LG; Acer)
• Keyboards – 20-40% off (HyperX; Razer, Corsair)
• Gaming Laptops – 20-30% off (Acer; MSI)
• Pre-built Desktops – 35% off (HP)

Long Weekends and Marketing Holidays

Retailers know us very well. They know that when we have an extra day off of work or when a special day is approaching, we shop! That’s why, on popular shopping days like Memorial Day and Valentine’s Day, retailers will sometimes offer price cuts to compete for our business and our hard-earned dollars.

Compared to other big discount days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, however, deals on these smaller discount holidays tend to be less drastic and more marginalized. Don’t be fooled into thinking you’re getting the deal of a lifetime by their panic inducing ads for “Door Busters” and “Biggest Ever” price cuts, but you can generally find a decent deal on peripherals or even on laptops and pre-built desktops. If a narrow sale happens to match your tech needs on these holidays, you’re golden! Here are some historic Memorial Day price cuts on PC parts at a glance:

Memorial Day 2019:

• Monitors – 40 – 50% off at Dell
• Laptops – 25% off at Dell

Memorial Day 2018:

• SSD – 20% off at Amazon
• Monitors – 30 – 50% off at Amazon
• Mice – 20% off at Amazon

Related: Best Gaming Motherboards

Daily Deals

Amazon as well as some other shopping sites sometimes have promotional daily deals throughout the year on PC parts and components. For Amazon, daily deals are exclusively for Prime members, but if you’re already a Prime member, this might be a handy tool for you to save some cash on your new PC parts.

“Today’s Deals” on Amazon are typically advertised on the home screen and you have the option to look at Today’s Deals or Upcoming Deals. It’s a good idea to peruse Upcoming Deals regularly when you’re in the market for some upgrades and if you find a good one, you can simply click on “Watch this deal” and the Amazon app will notify you when the deal goes live.

Be sure your notification settings in the Amazon app are set to notify you on your “Watched & Waitlisted Deals” for this method to work effectively!

In the spirit of transparency, however, I’ll tell you that Amazon’s Lightning Deals are typically extremely narrow when it comes to PC components and peripherals alike. You might see one or two decent items in the Computers and Accessories category with a 15% coupon, but on an average day, you’ll simply see a lot of flash drives and charging cables. Nevertheless, it doesn’t hurt to do the legwork and check these deals periodically before purchasing elsewhere!

Hot Dates and Launch Schedules

There are generally some off-holiday season times when you can get some pretty decent deals on PC parts. For example, Intel often cuts prices on their products at the end of each quarter, which means the best off-season times to make these purchases will be at the end of the month in March, June, September, and December.

Purchasing the same products at the beginning of the month in January, April, July, or October may simply mean you are paying full-price for the product since these months fall in the beginning of each quarter (and that would mean these are the worst times make your purchase).

You will also want to keep an eye on message boards, forums, and trusted tech sites for upcoming product launches. When a brand is amping up for a new release, they will sometimes start to cut the prices on their earlier models. If you are willing to purchase a slightly dated product, you may get a fantastic deal on one that is only a year old or so but which can certainly still handle your needs.

However, if you are dead set on the latest and greatest product, you will also need to keep a close eye on these launch schedules for reasons outside of discounts. Let me paint a very sad picture for you. You bite the bullet and purchase a brand new, top of the line CPU at manufacturer cost because top quality is just so much more important to you than a good deal.

Good for you, friend! Just a few months later, however, an updated model with higher performance ratings hits the market at close to the same price. You’re now devastated and plagued with buyer’s remorse which could have been avoided if you had done a bit more research. You could have sidestepped this travesty by keeping up-to-date on Intel and AMD launch schedules!

Rainy Days…

You may ultimately find that you simply can’t wait for the next holiday season or scheduled “Deal Day” to finalize your parts purchase. Or maybe you don’t think you will find the right deal on those days for the particular component you are hoping for. You may decide to bite the bullet and make a standard, off-season purchase in the interest of your sanity. If this is the case, more power to you! Remember, however, to shop around before settling on a purchase.

You can use great tools like Google Shopping or PCPartPicker to price check and compare between retailers on most of your parts before completing your purchase.

Some retailers and manufacturers also offer mail-in rebates which will really help with the overall cost. I know what you’re thinking – “Yea, that’s if I remember to mail it in!” Yes, yes. Our forgetfulness is how they try to get our money from us – but it doesn’t have to be! Come, on! It’s free money! Put a reminder in your phone or find some other way to keep it on your mind so you can collect on those dollars. And be mindful of Hot Dates and Launch Schedules!

Finding the best time to buy PC parts really comes down to a couple of factors. First, what is most important to you with regards to your product? Is it quality? Do you want the best and brightest products above all else? Or is it cost? Do you want to get some of the glamour and shine but need to do so on a budget? Second, how urgently the upgrade is needed?

Whether you are in desperate need of a parts replacement immediately or you have some breathing room to wait for some big discount days, you should always be diligent in finding the best deal for your needs while in the market for new PC parts. Put in the legwork, shop and compare prices, exhaust all discount options, rebate offers, etc. and you can avoid that pesky buyer’s remorse in most cases.

Be aware, however, of the propensity to get gun-shy when it comes to settling on your final decision. There is always the feeling that “if I wait just a bit longer” a better deal will come along, or a newer version will launch. While that’s true, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the great products that are on the market right now.

What you don’t want is to be so cautious that you miss out on the possibilities of today. Whatever direction you choose to take, your beast of a rig will be a brand new gal – but don’t worry, she’ll still love you just the same.