Black Friday 2021: the PC gaming deals you can expect in Australia
In the midst of one of the biggest chip shortages and supply chain crises we've ever seen, it's probably worth shopping early if you want any tech this side of Christmas.
Our little deals bots are automatically scouring the internet for the best early Black Friday deals right now
1. Gaming Laptop deals
2. Gaming Monitor deals
3. TV deals
4. NVMe SSD deals
5. SATA SSD deals
6. External SSD deals
7. Gaming Chair deals
8. Gaming Mice deals
9. Gaming Keyboard deals
10. Gaming Headset deals
11. CPU deals
12. RAM deals
Look, we know it's not even November yet, but if you wait for the final Black Friday PC gaming deals there's a good chance you're going to be very disappointed come November 26. Availability may be the watchword this year, rather than the almighty 'deal', and tech especially is only going to become more scarce as we approach the end of the year.
Not to be a doom-monger about it, but this is a year unlike almost any other—yes, even the blighted days of 2020—where stock isn't even the only thing standing between you and your Christmas wishlist. Shipping is going to be another nightmare, and even a month ahead of time may not be enough to ensure delivery before Santa's sleigh leaves the elves' workshop this year.
That's why we're recommending taking a look at potential tech purchases earlier than ever, and why we're putting all our efforts into digging up both the best early Black Friday PC gaming deals, and on finding out where there might be a GPU restock or gaming PCs without a three month lead time.
But trust us, there will be deals. Maybe not on a new RTX 3080, but there will definitely be other components with potentially large price drops. With plenty of stock out there we're confident there will be SSDs on offer this year, and system memory too. We would expect to see monitors and TVs with healthy discounts too.
So, it's not all stock nightmares and chip shortage doom and gloom.
When is Black Friday 2021?
Black Friday 2021 will be on November 26, one full day ahead of last year's date. That means Cyber Monday will fall on November 29 after a retail-heavy weekend.
Last year Black Friday almost lasted from the end of the delayed Prime Day in October. It will be a similar story this year, with everyone, from Amazon to MWave keen to lock in sales early to avoid shipping problems. So expect specific Black Friday deals and offers to start earlier than ever.
Where will the best Black Friday PC gaming deals be?
- Amazon - Black Friday deals on anything and everything
- Microsoft - Laptops, peripherals and games
- Dell - Alienware and Dell PCs, monitors and laptops
- MWave - Laptops, peripherals, monitors, hardware... the lot
- eBay - Laptops, monitors and peripherals
- Scorptec - PC specialists with a bit of everything
What deals can I expect on Black Friday 2021?
Obviously Black Friday graphics card deals are off the table for another year. I mean, being able to buy one for anything near RRP would be a start. But you will be able to find the latest GPU silicon in either a pre-built gaming PC or a new gaming laptop, and we fully expect there to be deals on those, especially with newer Intel Alder Lake PCs potentially making last-gen models more ready for discounts.
Along with the news there will be new Ryzen CPUs early next year, last-gen Intel and AMD processors could be cheaper too, in order to clear older stock from the inventory of retailers. With an imminent price correction on memory expected soon, we might see some other component deals, too.
The arrival of DDR5 might also make DDR4 kits more affordable, and there seems to have been a glut of great SSDs recently too.
Screens are another regularly discounted commodity around Black Friday, and we doubt this year will be any different. Which means both the best gaming monitors and the best TVs for gaming could get some tasty deals, too.
And there will always be gaming mice and keyboards on sale come Black Friday too.
What should I avoid buying on Black Friday 2021?
Anything you don't need. It's distressingly easy to be duped into dropping cash on something just because there's a hefty discount attached to it… even though you have absolutely no use for it.
If you're considering making a purchase around Black Friday, have a plan of attack. That probably sounds needlessly aggressive, but you need to know what you actually want to buy first or you'll end up with no end of crap. Cheap crap, maybe, but crap nonetheless.
Do some research on the products you'd like to pick up in the sales (we offer detailed hardware buying guides), and maybe some alternatives in case those don't pop up, and set yourself a strict budget too.
Products like graphics cards and processors have obvious tiers (though the different companies work damned hard to make product names as confusing as possible), and SSDs have rated speeds, but for peripherals it's tougher to tell from the specs whether they're worth the money. Checking for reviews, from such luminaries as ourselves, should guide you on your way, and checking price comparison sites like our sibling site Getprice will let you know if a deal's more than just skin deep.
Are there any Black Friday tips and tricks?
If you haven't already used it up during a credit card splurge around Amazon Prime Day, then you ought to take the opportunity to sign up for a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime. That will get you early access to the Lightning Deals, and help you grab some of Jeff's best deals of the day. It will also net you free shipping on a host of products and speedy delivery too, and at the very worst it'll be handy when it comes to bagging some last-minute Christmas gifts for that aunt you always forget about.
But whatever happens around Black Friday 2021, we'll be on hand to see you through and make sure that you're told about the best PC gaming deals going down around the event, and hopefully put a stop to any potential buyer's remorse.
We're also deploying the full bot-powered might of our price comparison engine, to check for the best deals on the key PC gaming product categories every hour of every day.