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Best Back to School deals: laptops, Chromebooks, monitors, and more

Don't pay extra as you gear up for another semester.
Mark Hachman
By Mark Hachman
Senior Editor, PCWorld
PCW back-to-school deals art
Rob Schultz / Foundry

Back to school deals on laptops, Chromebooks, displays, and more have already begun as retailers discount computers and other gear that students need for college and high school. Expect a mix of older hardware among back-to-school sales on laptops. That’s not always a bad thing, as some products (displays, for example) don’t dramatically improve from year to year.

We’ve reviewed back-to-school deals on various sites, specifically the best deals on Chromebooks, MacBooks, iPads and tablets, plus monitors and displays. We know what makes for a good laptop, and we’ve applied this knowledge to personally curate the best back-to-school discounts on Amazon, Best Buy, Adorama and other retailers. Pay attention to whether or not your state offers a tax-free weekend for even better back-to-school deals– they’re coming up!

Please note: Deals expire quickly, so some of the discounts below may no longer be available by the time you click. But we’re checking deals daily for new back-to-school offers and to eliminate deals that have expired.

College students should be sure to check out recommended configurations for their course of study. For example, the engineering department at the University of Notre Dame recommends a Windows 11 Pro (not Home) laptop with a quad-core Intel Core i7, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of NVMe (SSD) storage, and to avoid Chromebooks. At Mississippi State, a business student needs a cheaper Core i5 laptop with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. Only Windows 10 is required.

Back to school laptop deals

These back-to-school laptop deals focus mainly on productivity laptops, generally emphasizing 1080p displays that can be toted from classroom to classroom. Of course, students can add external storage and cloud storage to supplement what a laptop contains. These back-to-school laptop sales mix the latest hardware with more powerful alternatives from yesteryear.

  • Acer Swift 3, Core i7-1165G7, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 14-inch 1080p, $584.00 at Amazon (31% off)
  • Dell Inspiron 16 5000, Ryzen 5625U, 8GB RAM, 512G SSD, 16-inch 1920×1200, $599.99 at Dell.com (25% off)
  • HP Spectre x360 16-f0076ms 2-in-1, Core i7-11390H / RTX 3050, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, 16.0-inch 3840×2400 OLED, $1,399.99 at Microsoft.com (28% off)
  • HP Envy x360 2-in-1, Core i7-1255U, 16GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, 15.5-inch 1080p, $799.99 at Best Buy (27% off)
  • HP 15 Laptop, Core i5-1135G7, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 15.6-inch 1080p, $480.99 at Amazon (27% off)
  • Microsoft Surface Pro 8 (w/keyboard), Core i5-1135G7, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 13-inch 2880×1920, $1,099.99 at Best Buy (19% off)
  • HP Pavilion 15t-eg100, Core i7-1195G7, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 15.6-inch 1080p, $669.99 at HP.com (31% off)
  • MSI Prestige 14 EVO, Core i5-1155G7, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 14-inch 1080p, $619.00 at Adorama (27% off)
  • Dell Inspiron 15-7591, Core i7-9750H, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD, GTX1050 GPU, 15-inch 1080p, $699.99 at Adorama (53% off)
  • Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3: Core i5-11300H / RTX 3050, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 15.6-inch 1080p, $639.99 at Best Buy (32% off)

Acer’s Swift 3 is a top-notch laptop, and the discount adds to its appeal — even with last year’s processor inside. HP’s Envy doesn’t have the graphical oomph of the $950 Envy PC we reviewed, but it does have everything else, and for a much cheaper price. (Our review of the HP Spectre x360 indicates that it’s a lovely laptop, too, if you’re willing to pay a bit more.) Be careful: other deals that feature Intel Celeron processors and 4GB of RAM are too underpowered for us to recommend. Be wary of a screen resolution under 1080p, too. If you buy the HP.com (-15t-dw300) deal, double-check that it has the 1080p display option checked! The default is a 768p display.

Back to school Chromebook deals

These back-to-school Chromebook deals are just as good or better than Prime Day deals, with Chromebook discounts hitting nearly 50 percent. Expect Chromebook sale prices to remain low as retailers and manufacturers attempt to move inventory.

  • Lenovo Flex 5i 13, Intel Core i3-1115G4, 8GB RAM, 64GB SSD, 13.3-inch 1080p, $301.32 on Amazon (46% off)
  • HP Chromebook 14 2-in-1, Core i3-1115G4, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, 14-inch 1080p, $399.00 at Best Buy (42% off)
  • Asus 17.3-inch Chromebook, Intel Celeron N4500, 4GB RAM, 32GB SSD, 17.3-inch 1080p, $119.99 at Best Buy (68% off)
  • Acer Chromebook 314, Celeron N4000 4GB RAM, 64GB SSD, 14-inch 1080p, $249.99 at Amazon (19% off)
  • HP Chromebook 14, Intel Celeron N4120, 4GB RAM, 64GB SSD, 32GB SSD, 14-inch 768p, $200.99 on Amazon (31% off)
  • Lenovo 14-inch Chromebook, Intel Celeron N4020, 4GB RAM, 64GB SSD, 14-inch 768p, $129.99 at Target (61% off)

College life generally runs on laptops, and not Chromebooks, but Chromebooks are still useful for elementary and even middle-school students, especially as secondary machines. A lovely Lenovo Flex 5i is at the top of our list. It offers a good processor, sufficient memory, and a comfortable screen size. If you can, prioritize a 1080p screen and 8GB of RAM when you buy a Chromebook.

Back to school MacBook deals

Apple is reluctant to discount MacBooks that much, but there are still back-to-school MacBook discounts out there. The MacBook back-to-school sales just aren’t as appealing as in Windows laptops.

MacBooks rarely carry heavy discounts, so you may want to try Amazon’s Renewed program. You can reference our Prime Day Amazon Renewed story for more details on what that program entails.

Back to school iPad and tablet deals

If students need a tablet for when they go back to school, we think that these suggestions offer the best deals. Unfortunately, if you want a full-size iPad, your pickings are slim and barely a “deal.”

Amazon has some small discounts available for back-to-school tablets. We’ve shied away from Amazon’s own Fire tablets only because students will need flexibility to add apps that they may use in school.

Back to school monitor deals

College dorm rooms and lecture halls don’t offer an enormous amount of space for additional monitors, so there aren’t as many back-to-school monitor deals as you otherwise might expect. Samsung, though, appears to be having a sale.

We’re going to assume that you’re not going to college to game, so we’ve (mostly) emphasized 60Hz displays, with a mix of 1080p and 4K. (Yes, there are a couple of gaming monitors, too.) What do we add a monitor mounts at the end of the list? Well, since dorm rooms don’t often have a lot of desk space, a mount allows you to add an extra display by mounting it on an adjustable arm, via a desk clamp. Just pay attention to the weight of the monitor you’re attaching.

FAQ

1.

When do back to school sales begin?

Back-to-school sales have already begun, in part because retailers cater to those parents who prep early. You can shop back-to-school sales at Amazon’s back-to-school page, Best Buy’s back-to-school page (catering to college students), Newegg’s back to school page, Target’s back-to-school page for kids’ electronics, and Walmart’s back-to-school page, too.

Retailers often won’t tell you when these sales end, though it’s likely they’ll be available for some time. Prices may change as retailer stock fluctuates. Remember, the pandemic is still affecting the supply chain, especially electronics from Asia. It may make sense to figure out what you want and buy early, if possible.

2.

When are tax free weekends scheduled?

Tax-free weekends are run by some U.S. states to encourage shopping, especially for items like back-to-school purchases. Five states—Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon—never charge sales tax. We’ve listed the states that are scheduling tax-free weekends, as well as a link to the fine print, as compiled by RetailMeNot.

For example, if you live in Arkansas and buy a laptop from Amazon on August 7, you won’t pay sales tax. There are some exceptions that vary by state: In New Mexico, retailers aren’t required to participate. Each state has different exemptions that apply to different products at different price ranges, and these discounts (generally) apply to national retailers. Check the details!

Alabama: July 15-July 17, at midnight. Details.

Arkansas: Aug. 6-Aug. 7, at midnight. Details.

Connecticut: Aug. 21- Aug. 27. Details.

Florida: July 25-Aug. 7. Details.

Iowa: Aug. 5- Aug. 6, at midnight. Details.

Maryland: Aug. 14- Aug. 20, at midnight. Details.

Massachusetts: Aug. 13- Aug. 14. Details.

Mississippi: July 29-July 30, at midnight. Details.

Missouri: Aug. 5 – Aug. 7 at midnight. Details.

New Jersey: Aug. 27-Sept. 5. Details.

New Mexico: Aug. 5-Aug. 7, at midnight. Details.

Ohio: Aug. 5- Aug. 7, at midnight. Details.

Oklahoma: Aug. 6-Aug. 8. Details.

South Carolina: Aug. 5-Aug. 7, at midnight. Details.

Tennessee: Back-to-school tax-free weekend runs July 29-31 at midnight. Details.

Texas: Aug. 5-Aug. 7. Details.

Virginia: Aug. 5- Aug. 7, at midnight. Details.

3.

Will schools go back to virtual classrooms in 2022?

No, it certainly doesn’t seem so. At this point, schools aren’t in session, and school districts are still preparing for the fall 2022 school term. But we haven’t seen any mention about a return to virtual classrooms as a result of the pandemic or monkeypox.

4.

PCs vs Chromebooks: Which is better for school?

We have a lengthy overview of the advantages of Chromebooks versus laptops, but the simple answer to this question is: whatever your school district tells you.

A Chromebook is better for school if your child will be working “online,” meaning in the classroom but on a Web site that’s authorized by the teacher. A PC is more useful if your child will be using apps, such as Minecraft for Education, or transitioning from elementary school to middle school, or from middle school to high school. The extra flexibility to run apps (and, yes, games) will be appreciated by your child. Colleges and universities almost always ask their students to bring PCs or Macs with them, so a laptop is most appropriate.

5.

What should I look for in a monitor for dorm rooms?

Dorm rooms typically prioritize the efficient use of space, so laptops will be the most typical. Any way that you can use the extra space, though, is useful. A high-resolution display may mean that you can more effectively “fit” more information into the space with smaller fonts. But a monitor mount, like we’ve included in our list of monitors, can clamp on to a desk and allow for a second display, which vastly increases productivity and can also be used to stream video for friends, too. Our back-to-school list of monitors and displays includes both cheap 1080p options as well as 4K displays and even gaming displays for after hours.

Updated at 2:03 PM PT on August 3 to remove expired deals and add new ones.

, Senior Editor

As PCWorld's senior editor, Mark focuses on Microsoft news and chip technology, among other beats. He has formerly written for PCMag, BYTE, Slashdot, eWEEK, and ReadWrite.

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