Black Friday 2026 gaming PC: dates, which components really drop in price and which don't
Black Friday 2026 is on 27 November and Cyber Monday on the 30th. Which parts can genuinely get cheaper, why RAM and graphics cards keep going up, how to spot an inflated discount and how to plan your gaming PC purchase over those days.
In this article
Black Friday 2026 falls on Friday 27 November and Cyber Monday on Monday 30 November. If you're looking for Black Friday 2026 gaming PC deals, here's the short answer: RAM and graphics cards reach November in the middle of a price surge, and they're very unlikely to go back to what they cost a year ago. Monitors, peripherals, processors and other parts do have room for genuine discounts, as long as you check the price history before you pay.
The market data in this guide is from October 2026. Prices change every week, so treat them as a trend rather than an exact price.
When is Black Friday 2026 and how long do the deals last?
Black Friday is held the day after Thanksgiving in the United States, which in 2026 falls on Thursday 26 November. These are the dates worth noting down:
Singles' Day: Wednesday 11 November, the month's first big discount event.
Black Friday week: Monday 23 to Sunday 29 November, when many shops concentrate their deals.
Black Friday: Friday 27 November.
Cyber Monday: Monday 30 November, focused on online shopping and tech.
Each shop decides when its campaign starts and ends, and many stretch it across the whole month. That works in your favour: in the study that the British consumer organisation Which? published in November 2025, none of the 175 products it tracked hit its lowest price only on Black Friday itself. There's no need to rush your decision.
Black Friday 2026 gaming PC: why this year is different
Since summer 2025, memory manufacturers have been devoting more and more of their production to artificial intelligence servers, leaving fewer chips for RAM modules, SSDs and graphics cards. The effect has been building up all year:
Gartner estimated in February that DRAM and SSDs would rise by a combined 130% by the end of 2026 and that the average price of a PC would go up by 17% compared with 2025.
TrendForce, in its report of 30 September, expects contract prices for conventional DRAM to rise by another 10–15% in the fourth quarter and those for NAND memory (the kind used in SSDs) by 15–20%. It also expects graphics memory (GDDR) to keep rising and DRAM supply for PCs to remain tight in 2027.
Barclays doesn't expect any relief before 2029, and SK Hynix's top executive talks of shortages until the end of 2030, as reported by PC Games Hardware.
Contract prices are what manufacturers pay, and they reach shops weeks or months later, so a November discount may be applied to a price that has already gone up. According to TrendForce's forecast, the pressure on consumer prices will continue throughout the quarter. That's why it pays to separate the parts that depend heavily on memory from those that don't.
What probably won't get cheaper: RAM and graphics cards
RAM: the hardest-hit component
According to the price analysis by PC Games Hardware published on 18 October (with data from the previous day in Germany), the 3DCenter index puts DDR5 at 5.6 times its July 2025 price. The cheapest 2 × 16 GB DDR5-6000 kit cost €447, and a 32 GB Kingston Fury Beast DDR5-6000 CL30 kit that could be found from €114 in September 2025 started at €579. DDR4 isn't spared either: the cheapest 2 × 16 GB DDR4-3200 kit went from €210 to €239 in a single month.
With that trend, a 10 or 15% discount won't bring memory back to a reasonable price. If you need RAM, buy it when you need it and compare against the lowest price of the previous weeks, not against the crossed-out price. And if your current PC uses DDR4, consider keeping the platform and changing only the processor and graphics card: we explain how in our 2026 gaming PC components guide.
Graphics cards: across-the-board increases and buyers holding back
Graphics cards use GDDR memory, so they're under the same pressure. In PC Games Hardware's October data for Germany, GeForce cards cost on average 74% more than in September 2025 and Radeon cards 51% more. Two examples: the RTX 5070 starts at €834 (€104 more than a month earlier) and the 8 GB Radeon RX 9060 XT at €499, 28% more in just one month.
On 16 October the analyst firm CONTEXT published an analysis with European channel sales data up to August. Its figures show that many gamers have stopped buying:
Spain: an average selling price for a graphics card of €486 so far in 2026, compared with €417 in 2025 and €345 in 2024, peaking at €556 in April. Units sold have fallen by 36%.
Germany: €829 on average between January and August (52% more than in 2025), with a peak of €1,037 in May and 26% fewer units.
France and Italy: unit sales down 45% and 44%, respectively.
Price threshold: in southern Europe, sales plummet once a graphics card goes above €400–450.
CONTEXT points out that in 2024 and 2025 shops boosted their fourth-quarter sales by between 36 and 69% by bringing graphics cards back down to their lowest prices of the year, and warns that a 5% discount on current prices won't win buyers over. Some shops with built-up stock may cut the price of specific models, but costs keep rising: TrendForce expects further increases in graphics memory and, according to industry reports not confirmed by the company, AMD raised the price of its GDDR6 memory kits to card manufacturers again from 1 October.
Bottom line: there may be one-off deals, but don't count on a return to 2025 prices. Decide beforehand which model you want (our RTX 50 vs Radeon RX 9000 comparison will help), set a target price and buy it if it gets there. If it doesn't, waiting until 2027 doesn't guarantee anything either.
What can get cheaper: monitors, peripherals and other parts
Monitors: OLED is getting cheaper, but check the price history
Monitors depend much less on memory, and OLED is going through a good patch. Analyst firm Omdia expects 6.1 million OLED monitor panels to be produced in 2026, 79% more than in 2025, and estimates that 27-inch 240 Hz OLED gaming monitors have become more than 40% cheaper over the course of the year.
There are two caveats. In August, AOC and KTC announced price rises in China due to the rising cost of chips and other components, with no percentages or date for Europe. And in OCU's tracking of Black Friday 2025 in Spain, monitors were among the products that, on several dates, were more expensive than in September and October. A good category for November, but only if the price drops below its recent low. You can browse models in our monitors section.
Peripherals: keyboards, mice, headsets and mouse mats
They're the Black Friday classic: they contain hardly any memory and there's plenty of competition between brands. Even so, OCU found that during Singles' Day week in 2025 headphones were on average 19% more expensive than in September and October. Always compare against the price history. If you're torn between models, our 2026 gaming peripherals guide covers what to look for in each one.
Processors, motherboards, cases, power supplies and cooling
They don't contain memory chips and their prices haven't seen increases comparable to those of RAM or graphics cards, so they're reasonable candidates for discounts. Nor is there an imminent replacement: AMD confirmed at Computex 2026 that it will keep the AM5 socket until 2029, and Intel's next desktop generation (Nova Lake) isn't expected, according to leaks, until 2027. With power supplies, use the discount to step up in quality: an ATX 3.1 model with 80 PLUS Gold certification can last through several PCs.
SSDs: it depends on the model
SSDs sit somewhere in between. The 3DCenter index puts them at 2.5 times their July 2025 price (9.6% more between September and October alone), although TrendForce believes the fourth-quarter increase for consumer SSDs will be more moderate because buyers have stock. If you see a PCIe 4.0 NVMe drive below its low of recent weeks, buy it: the trend is upwards. Also look at the price per TB: in Germany, 4 TB models work out at around €112 per TB, compared with €144 for 1 TB models.
How to spot an inflated Black Friday discount
Consumer association studies agree: many deals aren't really deals. In OCU's tracking of 2,475 products across 61 online shops, on Black Friday 2025 37% of prices were higher than the September and October low, 35% were lower and 28% were the same. Only 9% were genuine bargains. Which? reached a similar conclusion in the UK: 83% of the products analysed were at the same price or cheaper at least once outside the Black Friday weeks.
What the law says about the crossed-out price
In the European Union, when a shop advertises a price reduction, the previous price it shows must be the lowest it applied in the preceding 30 days. In Spain this is set out in article 20 of the Ley de Ordenación del Comercio Minorista (the Spanish retail trade act), and in September 2024 the Court of Justice of the EU clarified (case C-330/23) that the discount percentage must be calculated on that lowest price and not on the price the day before. Andorra isn't part of the EU and has its own regulations, so the best protection, wherever you buy, is to check the price history yourself.
Checklist before you pay
Check the price history of the exact model on a price comparison site with a price chart or, on Amazon, with tools such as Keepa or camelcamelcamel. What counts is the lowest price over the last 30 to 90 days.
Be wary of the reference price: the manufacturer's recommended price, or a crossed-out price the product never actually had, is no use for measuring the discount.
Check the full model number: the same graphics card with less memory (8 GB instead of 16 GB), slower RAM kits or ones with worse latency, QLC SSDs instead of TLC, or monitors with a different panel version.
Watch out for bundles that force you to take parts you don't need to get the discount.
Check the delivery time: in October PC Games Hardware found a 64 GB DDR5 kit at €799 with a wait of about four weeks, whereas with immediate delivery prices started at €1,078.54.
Work out the final price: shipping, taxes and, if you buy from outside Andorra, possible customs formalities and charges.
Check who the seller is and what warranty you get, especially on marketplaces, where the seller may not be the shop itself.
What to buy and what not to buy on Black Friday 2026
Good candidates
Monitors, especially 27-inch OLED models, if the price drops below its recent low.
Peripherals: keyboard, mouse, headset, mouse mat or controller.
Processors and motherboards on platforms with a future, such as AM5 or Intel LGA 1851.
Quality cases, cooling and power supplies.
2 or 4 TB SSDs, if you find a price below their recent low.
Proceed with caution, or better not to wait
RAM: discounts will be small compared with how much it has gone up. If you need it, don't expect a miracle in November.
Graphics cards: possible one-off deals, but not a return to 2025 prices. Go in with a clear model and target price.
Impulse buys: if it wasn't on your list before November, you probably don't need it.
How to plan a gaming PC purchase on Black Friday
Define your goal: resolution, refresh rate and games. In PCs by game you'll find performance examples for each title.
Make your parts list now, at the start of November, for example in the PC configurator, and note down the price of each part. OCU recommends tracking prices for at least a month before buying.
Set a target price for each part and a total budget with some leeway.
Separate the parts that are going up from those that may come down: if you need RAM or a graphics card, don't make the whole purchase depend on a discount that may never come; save November for the monitor, peripherals and accessories.
Check compatibility if you're buying parts from several shops: socket, BIOS version, graphics card length, cooler height and power supply wattage.
Check returns and warranty: with online shops in the EU you have a 14-day withdrawal period. Keep all your invoices, because each part will have its own warranty with its seller.
Don't buy in a hurry: campaigns last days or weeks, and the lowest price is rarely limited to a single day.
Another option is a prebuilt PC: it has also gone up because of RAM and graphics cards, but it comes with a single warranty and compatibility is already sorted.
Buying in Andorra and building your PC with MEGA SYSTEM
In Andorra prices include IGI (the standard rate is 4.5%) instead of VAT, and if you buy from shops elsewhere you may run into customs charges or a warranty handled hundreds of kilometres away. We explain it all in our guide to buying a gaming PC in Andorra.
At MEGA SYSTEM we build every gaming PC by hand in Escaldes-Engordany, put it through 24 hours of testing before delivery and give it a 3-year warranty, with repairs in our own workshop. You can put together your parts list at your own pace in the configurator, message us via chat or the contact form to have it reviewed (a person replies, not a bot) or drop into our shop at Av. Carlemany, 38, Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 13:30 and from 16:00 to 20:30. We deliver within 24 hours to every parish in Andorra, and in-store collection is free.
Frequently asked questions
When is Black Friday 2026?
Friday 27 November 2026, the day after Thanksgiving in the United States. Cyber Monday is on Monday 30 November, and many shops extend their deals throughout the week or even the whole month.
Will RAM get cheaper on Black Friday 2026?
It's very unlikely to drop significantly. In Germany DDR5 costs 5.6 times more than in July 2025, and TrendForce expects DRAM to rise by another 10–15% in the fourth quarter. At most, there will be one-off discounts on very high prices.
Is it worth waiting for Black Friday to buy a graphics card?
Only if you're clear on the model and your target price. Sales have fallen and some shops could cut the price of specific models, but the cost of graphics memory keeps rising, and neither Nvidia nor AMD has announced new consumer graphics cards with a release date.
Which is better for buying components, Black Friday or Cyber Monday?
There's no fixed rule. Cyber Monday focuses on online sales, but the lowest price rarely coincides with one particular day: track your parts from the start of November and buy when they hit your target price.
How do I know if a Black Friday discount is real?
Compare it with the product's lowest price over the previous 30 to 90 days, not with the crossed-out price or the manufacturer's recommended price. In the EU, the previous price shown for a reduction must be the lowest of the last 30 days.
Is now a good time to build a gaming PC, or is it better to wait until 2027?
If you need one, waiting makes little sense: forecasts suggest memory will stay expensive in 2027 and some analysts don't see relief until 2029. The sensible approach is to buy with a clear budget, prioritise the graphics card and use November for the monitor and peripherals.
