Acer’s RTX 5070 gaming laptop with 16GB RAM just dropped to $1,250

Good laptop deals are nearly extinct now. The AI-driven RAMageddon has decimated the PC hardware market, driving up the prices of memory, storage, GPUs, and CPUs (not to mention all the other downstream effects). Looking for a solid laptop? You’ll have to pay a premium… but with this Best Buy deal, it won’t hurt as much. This weekend, the 16-inch Acer Nitro V is on sale for $1,250 (originally $1,499).

A year or two ago, that would’ve been a bonkers price; in late 2026, it’s about as good as you can hope for. You’re getting an Intel Core 7 240H CPU, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 with 8GB of VRAM, plus 16GB of DDR5 system RAM. That’s powerful enough to handle Windows 11, multitasking apps, and modern triple-A gaming at respectable settings. Whether you’re a college student or remote worker who likes to blow off steam with games between tasks, this laptop will serve you well.

Those games will look great on this 16-inch IPS display at 1920×1200 resolution and 180Hz refresh rate. Fast-paced shooters, high-octane racing, and action-heavy boss battlers will feel smooth on this screen that’s able to keep up with high frame rates. It also has an acceptable number of ports, including HDMI, USB-C video, triple USB-A data, Ethernet, 3.5mm audio, and a microSD slot.

What are the downsides? The 512GB SSD doesn’t provide much room for installing large apps/games or downloading lots of 4K video, so you’ll likely need one or more external SSDs to supplement. The laptop also isn’t the lightest at 4.2 pounds, so it won’t exactly be comfortable to lug around on long commutes—and battery life is only a few hours, so you’ll need to be tethered to a wall outlet. Don’t expect vibrant OLED quality or deep blacks when watching movies/TV shows either.

But those drawbacks are easy to overlook given that this is a budget gaming laptop. Again, you may not think of $1,250 as a “budget” price, but that’s the world we live in now. For 16GB of RAM and an RTX 5070, that’s not a bad deal at all. For more options, check out PCWorld’s picks for the best gaming laptops.