Gamers are usually spoiled for choice with laptops during Amazon Prime Day 2023. However, a hefty discount doesn't necessarily qualify everything a place among the best gaming laptops. They're a fantastic way to enjoy AAA gaming on the go, thanks to a massive range of mobile-focused CPUs from Intel and AMD alongside laptop variants of the most popular GPUs, but the jargon can get a little complex, making them all sound like the best thing since sliced bread.

Thankfully, we test gaming laptops as part of our weekly routine at Windows Central, and we know which ones are worth your hard-earned cash. There's also the matter of artificial discounts around big sale events, so we'll be weeding out the fakers from the genuine bargains. Early deals appear online before Prime Day even starts, and we'll be rounding those up too.

Razer Blade 15: was $3,700 now $2,724 at Amazon

This powerful gaming laptop runs on a 12th Gen Intel Core i7 paired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti. Its high-end specs continue with a 15.6-inch 240Hz display and 32GB of RAM. This Razer Blade 15 was one of the best gaming laptops available just a year ago, and now it's 20% off.

Price check: Best Buy $2,915 (360Hz display) | B&H $2,780 (360Hz display)

Acer Predator Helios 300: was $2,099 now $1,299 at Best Buy

One of the best early deals on a gaming laptop is away from Amazon with this huge discount on an Acer Predator. It might be 12th Gen Intel and an RTX 3070 Ti but it's still supremely powerful, has a glorious 240Hz QHD display, Thunderbolt 4, DDR5 and an insanely low price. 

Price check: Walmart $1,555

Lenovo Ideapad Gaming 3: was $899 now $599 at Best Buy

Buying previous-gen hardware is the smartest play to save money on a new gaming laptop and this budget offering from Lenovo is a steal. You're still getting a beefy 6-core AMD Ryzen CPU and an NVIDIA RTX 3050 Ti GPU despite the low price. Perfect for 1080p gaming fun.

ASUS ROG Flow X13: was $1,599 now $899 at Best Buy

How does getting your hands on one of the most powerful 13-inch laptops ever made for under $1,000 sound? That's exactly what you're getting here with an 8-core Ryzen 9, RTX 3050 Ti, 120 Hz display, and a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD to store your games on. Deals like this don't come around all that often!

Price check: Newegg $1,230

• Best deals: Our best (so far) • GPU deals: AMD & NVIDIA • Motherboard deals: Intel & AMD • NAS deals: Network-attached storage • Router deals: Wi-Fi & mesh

Amazon Prime Day has almost always happened in July, rescheduled to October 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and closer to summer in June 2021. The specific days vary, and 2023 sees Tuesday and Wednesday chosen for the 48-hour sales bonanza.

Discounts don't necessarily wait for the official start date on Amazon, so some deals are already live across the store, but Prime Day officially closes at midnight on the last day in your region. Not just anyone can take advantage of the savings, though, so make sure you're ready.

As confirmed by Amazon, Prime Day will be live between 00.01 on July 11 and 23.59 on July 12 for '48 hours of great savings across all categories on everything they need for summer and beyond,' detailed in an official Amazon press release.

To qualify for Prime Day savings, you must have an active Amazon Prime subscription. You can either pay $14.99 a month or $139 annually, although if you're signing up for the first time, you'll be eligible for a 30-day Amazon Prime free trial which you can use during Prime Day and cancel afterward.

Amazon Prime free 30-day trial

Enjoy all the benefits of exclusive discounts during Prime Day, and cancel anytime. If you decide to stay, it's $14.99/month (plus tax) after the trial. Includes extra benefits like free games via Prime Gaming and more bonus content for subscribers.