Gaming laptops pricier in 2026 as retailers, not Amazon, lead Prime Day deals

Component shortages and a RAM squeeze have pushed gaming laptop prices up in 2026. As AI manufacturers hoover up memory, consumer-facing brands are being squeezed and the final products are taking the biggest hit.

Prime Day has produced early discounts on several favorite models, but Amazon is largely absent: Newegg and Best Buy are running competing deals and offering better overall discounts. Of eight top picks, Amazon appears only once.

Some discounts bring RTX 5060 systems into the low $1,000s and RTX 5070 models near the $1,500 mark, yet many 2026 rigs carry a noticeable upcharge. Sellers are also trimming specs to hit lower prices, dropping memory from 32GB to 16GB, reverting to cheaper GPUs, or cutting display quality.

Older 2025 machines remain easier to stomach, and many of the top picks are a year old. There are also Prime Day deals on gaming PCs, monitors and tablets being prepared for those seeking alternatives.

gaming laptops, prime day, amazon, newegg, best buy, rtx 5060, rtx 5070, ram squeeze, ai manufacturers, 16gb ram