The best UK Black Friday PC deals in 2023

Nothing beats that moment when you think you’ve struck gold with one of the best Black Friday PC deals ever to hit the internet. But then, moments later, you discover that it’s actually one of the best PCs this year. Deals are actually quite easy to come by all year round, but there’s a bit of a knack for recognising end-of-line markdowns or underpowered mass-market systems. What you need is a great deal on a modern machine.

And, of course, you’ll stand an even better chance of bagging one of the latest PCs for less in one of the best Black Friday deals. Black Friday is a brilliant event for saving hundreds of pounds, but only if the machine you want is on sale or available. So, if it’s the right PC for you and comes with a decent saving, why wait?

Black Friday PC deals 2023: The best deals across the web

While Black Friday (November 24th) has passed, some deals continue, with many running until Christmas. Here are a few of our favourite deals that are still live and some notable retailers to watch.

Shops Black Friday PC deals: Currys | AO.com | Overclockers

• Save £170: HP Slim S01-pF2011na Desktop PC, WAS £549, NOW £379

• Save £350: ASUS ROG Strix G15 Gaming Tower, WAS £1,299, NOW £949

• Save £100: OcUK Gaming Radiance Blazer, WAS £1,600, NOW £1,500

But, not all PCs are made equal. And there’s not much point in shopping for your next gaming or home PC  based on the Black Friday deal alone. If you’re looking to save money, you’ll need to ensure that the cash you do splash is going on the right system for your needs. Many budget PCs can suit various users, from gamers to office workers. But anyone planning to save money now and upgrade it later to a pro-gamer rig is likely to be disappointed. That’s down to limitations like case design and limited power supply. So, it’s worth taking time to understand your needs before buying.

Best PC deals in 2023 at a glance:

• Best budget PC deal: HP Slim Desktop PC S01 - View at Currys
• Best gaming PC deal: OcUK Gaming Sabre - View at Overclockers
• Best student PC deal: Lenovo ThinkStation P360 Tower Desktop PC - View at Laptops Direct

Below, we’ve outlined some of the more typical types of machines and users in our Black Friday and beyond deals. We’ve looked at everything, from great deals on cheap gaming PCs to computers for students looking to save some serious dough while they study. Our top picks for the best PC deals of the year are next.

Please note: All prices correct at time of writing. Prices, stock and deals subject to change without notice.

Best PC deals in 2023

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]{href='https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BWLPKJF6/?tag=qwtbarticle1834-21' }Best PC deals in 2023: Buyer’s guide

Don’t fall for hyped-up deals

Sales events like Black Friday are a fantastic way to save, but only if the best PC deals include the right system for you. It’s very easy to get carried away by savings and discounts. But you should definitely look beneath flashy case designs and RBG lighting. Deals are only deals when they give you a modern machine that meets your computing needs. They should, at the same time, offer some genuine savings. Our favourite best PC deals right now tick all those boxes, with choices that depend on what you need your computer to do. And, on that subject…

Choose a PC that fits your needs

Regarding the specs of your new machine, not every user needs the same amount of RAM or a fully loaded graphics card. While a simple and compact mini PC can be a great choice for light computer users, they’re not very upgradable in future. A giant tower is great for gamers or professional content creators but might be overkill (and expensive) for many. Here are some typical categories of machines and users to narrow things down.

Casual users

4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive is a good baseline spec for users who like surfing, shopping, watching videos and playing lightweight games. Because the casual PC user isn’t likely to be doing any intensive work or high-end gaming, a low to mid-range processor (like, at the time of writing, the Intel Core i3 or Ryzen 5) is fine.

You probably don’t need to worry about a dedicated graphics card either, which will save you more money. Here, the built-in graphics capability of the motherboard is often fine. Needing less advanced features also means the machine itself can be small and compact. But, it’s worth saying that if you’re even slightly considering getting into more gaming, definitely look at the next category of machine instead.

Office workers and students

This category can either be a minor or sizable leap from the machine above depending on your needs. An office or student machine that simply needs to browse, take notes and run office applications like Microsoft 365 is going to be quite similar. But, given that many programs are more likely to be running at once, it can be a good idea to up the RAM to 8GB and increase the CPU capability a little.

However, if you’re a student or office worker who likes to game or stream 4K movies in the evening, it’s worth looking at the next category instead.

Mid-level gamers

There are many different kinds of gamers and, because of that, you’ll see the biggest price variations from system to system. Mid-level gamers will need a little more power across the board. A faster CPU (e.g.: Ryzen 7, or Core i5) and enough RAM (8GB or more if possible) will be needed for running AAA games at medium resolutions and framerates. As for graphics capabilities, we recommend a dedicated card (not the built-in/onboard type) as some of the best PC deals include decent cards that can handle popular titles very well.

Planning on getting one of the best budget gaming PCs now and upgrading components later? Pay special attention to the case design and size; also the slots and wider support provided by the motherboard, and the power supply. Not having enough expansion slots (or having an upper limit on how much RAM is supported) is a real upgrade-killer. As is not having enough room inside the case, or wattage in the power supply.

Serious gamers

The choice of a dedicated graphics card is, naturally, going to be front and centre for the serious gamer. The latest Nvidia 40-series cards are capable of serious framerates and resolutions - but they also need a meaty power supply. Lastly, don't forget to check the system requirements of your favourite games to make sure your new PC can run them at the speed and detail you’d expect.

Elsewhere in the spec, you’re looking at 16GB of RAM or more for playing AAA titles at top resolutions and frame rates. A 1TB (preferably more) internal SSD is essential for fast loading times and game installs. As for the CPU, a Core i9 or Ryzen 9 is going to really crunch those gaming numbers and more.

Media and creative professionals

If you’re looking for one of the best PC deals to support your creative workflow, you’ll need a powerful machine. Similarly to the Serious Gamer category above, we recommend 16 to 32 GB of RAM. Plus, a high-end graphics card with plenty of onboard video RAM. Plus, good storage capacity via internal SSD and possibly a high-capacity HDD for keeping all of your work.

Budget for your monitor and peripherals

Unless you already have a monitor that’s up to the task, you'll need one that's a match for your new PC. So, for gamers that means high and variable refresh rates and low latency (the time it takes for the screen to render the action). But, all users will benefit from the clearest panel types (like IPS or even MiniLED or OLED) with low glare and eye care features.

Resolution is obviously key here. Not everyone needs a 4K screen but there are plenty of gamers who want to play in UHD; plus designers who like as many pixels as possible on accurately calibrated and certified screens with high RGB compliancy. For everyone else, there’s a wide range of monitors that will suit most use cases. Native 1440p resolution is a popular choice.

The right keyboard and mouse can only enhance your experience. So, definitely budget for those if you don’t have them already. Ergonomics are very important for those working or gaming for hours at a time. As always, don’t fall for lots of RGB lighting and fancy plastic. Go for quality brands like Logitech, Razer, Corsair, and Microsoft.

Consider a VPN

Have you considered what happens to all of the data your PC sends into the world? Antivirus programs are great for dealing with viral threats. But, how about hiding and protecting all of your traffic at the same time? That’s where a Virtual Private Network comes in.

The best VPNs provide a secure tunnel to the internet. It will hide your computer’s IP address from the outside world while making all of your data safe from snoopers. In this day and age, we think it’s an essential feature of any PC setup.

Best Black Friday PC deals in 2023: FAQs

Is buying a PC worth it?

If you’re thinking of getting a great deal on a PC that can replace your old system, yes. Any PC is worth buying if it helps you achieve the things you need or enjoy. But, it’s absolutely not worth spending your money if you don’t take time to understand what you need. Follow our expert advice here, stick to well-respected brands and you can’t go far wrong no matter what you choose.

Which is best, PC or laptop?

This age-old debate happens a lot less these days. And that’s partly because laptops have improved massively over the last few years. If you need a ton of computing power and a large screen with HDR and more, chances are you’ll find a laptop that has it. But, the real question here is about high-end components and upgradability. Laptops, of course, have less flexibility for upgrading due to limited space inside. They’re also a lot more bespoke.

On the other hand, tower PCs have lots of room, plus upgradable power supplies. Even the whole motherboard could even be swapped out. If upgradability is your thing, go for a PC. If portability is more important, a laptop is the natural choice.

What is the best Black Friday gaming PC deal?

We think that the best PC deal for gaming is the ADMI Gaming PC Intel i5 from our list above. It’s not the cheapest gaming PC out there, but the overall package at a brilliant discount draws our eye. It’s hard to beat that GPU too, which you’ll only normally see in more expensive rigs.

Best Black Friday PC deals in 2023: Jargon buster

RAM - Random Access Memory, or RAM, is a short-term storage used by a computer. Without RAM your software (and CPU) would have no working memory to function. The more RAM your motherboard can support, the better.

CPU - The CPU (or, Central Processing Unit) is the crucial item that executes commands and routes instructions to and from the correct hardware and software.

GPU - The Graphics Processing Unit  - part of a graphics card - is a central component for any system.  Whether it’s a dedicated card occupying a slot on the motherboard (or built into the motherboard) they all render images to your screen.

SSD - The Solid State Drive is essentially the faster storage technology than a normal HDD which has a spinning disc mechanism. With SSDs, data is stored electronically rather than magnetically, which is why they’re so much faster for loading and saving.

HDD - A Hard Disk Drive uses a physical disk and arm that writes and retrieves data magnetically. Despite running slower than SSDs, their capacities are a lot higher and they’re also more affordable.

USB - Universal Serial bus or USB is a connection technology used for adding peripheral devices to your PC. The standard is revised over time, meaning that USB Type-A ports have less bandwidth than Type-C. USB type C can often be power delivery cables too, which means you can connect and power much larger devices like monitors.

Chris Duffill is a Tech Product Writer for What's The Best and Yours. His background includes writing, editorial, marketing, design, video and photography. He specialises in home entertainment and audiovisual tech, including speakers, amplifiers, turntables, streaming media players, TVs and more.

He is also one of our resident experts in computing (PCs, tablets, smartphones, smartwatches) and DSLR photography and all kinds of digital cameras.

He also writes about retro gaming, game consoles and various electronic gadgets. If it plugs in, lights up or makes a noise, he’ll write about it.

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