Best Buy's early Black Friday sale: the TV, laptop and soundbar deals worth your money

Best Buy's first Black Friday sale is live now, and it's the early window before the main event. The early sale runs from Friday, Nov. 6 through Sunday, Nov. 8. The main Black Friday sale follows from Nov. 19 through Nov. 28, with a Cyber Monday sale after that. Black Friday falls on Nov. 27 this year and Cyber Monday on Nov. 30. If you're not in a hurry, that's a long runway, but the best-looking discounts from the early window tend to be the ones worth jumping on.

The TV and soundbar markdowns are the headline

The biggest dollar savings are on the home theater side. The Samsung 65-inch R84H Micro RGB TV is listed at $999.99, down from $2,099.99, a 52% cut that works out to $1,100 off. Samsung's latest Micro RGB set is the higher-end model here, but the R84H is a slightly stripped-back version of it. The reviewer's read is that its color accuracy, contrast and detail come close to premium OLED sets. The picture is paired with Samsung's Object Tracking Sound Lite, which builds a 3D virtual surround field that follows on-screen action.

If you'd rather spend less on the TV and more on sound, the Sony HT-A5000 soundbar is down to $499.99 from $999.99, half off. It's a 5.1.2-channel system with Dolby Atmos virtual surround, AirPlay and Google Cast support, and Bluetooth. The review describes it as a great mid-range soundbar, which is a fair way to put it. It's not a full-blown separate-speaker setup, but for most living rooms it gets you a lot of height and width for the money.

There's also a bigger Sony TV in the sale. The Bravia 6 OLED 77-inch is pitched as Sony's entry-level OLED, offering picture and audio quality similar to its premium sibling at a lower price. The listing's price text was garbled in the source, so check the current figure on Best Buy's site before you decide. On the soundbar side, the Samsung HW-Q900F, a 7.1.2-channel soundbar and subwoofer combo, is listed at $697.99, saving $800. It supports Dolby Atmos virtual surround and adaptive sound that adjusts volume and EQ automatically.

Laptops and desktops: the Apple discount is modest

The MacBook Air M5 with 15-inch display is the Apple deal to look at, but the markdown is smaller than the others. This configuration is $1,299.00, down from $1,499.00, so you're saving $200, or about 13%. It comes with a 10-core M5 CPU, a 10-core GPU, 16GB of unified memory and a 512GB SSD. The reviewer's take is that it has plenty of headroom for video calls and light gaming. If you're already leaning toward Apple, that's a reasonable price for this spec. If you're still undecided between sizes or models, the discount alone shouldn't settle it.

The Mac Mini M6 is also on sale at $799, saving $100. It's listed with 16GB of memory and a 256GB SSD. That's a smaller storage pool than many buyers will want, so think about external storage or the cloud before you commit.

For gaming, the Alienware 15 is the standout. It's listed at $1,049.99, down from $1,599.99, a 34% cut. The configuration uses an Intel Core Ultra 7 240H, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD and an Nvidia RTX 4050. The 15-inch display is 2K with a 165Hz refresh rate. The reviewer's view is that Alienware's budget model still has enough power for current games, though it's a budget machine, not a flagship. Expect to make some settings compromises at higher resolutions.

The Microsoft Surface Pro is listed at $1,299.99, down from $1,999.99, a 35% discount. This configuration uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus CPU, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. The reviewer calls it a strong 2-in-1 that's light enough to carry around, a good fit for students and professionals. The source's display specs don't agree with each other, so I'd check the exact size and resolution on the product page before buying.

On the desktop side, the HP OmniStudio 27 all-in-one is $1,099.99, saving $610. It's a touchscreen all-in-one with an Intel Core Ultra 7, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. The Lenovo Legion Tower 5 gaming desktop is $2,549, saving $1,100. It has an AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and an RTX 5070, plus a 1TB docking station. The HP Victus 15 gaming laptop is $1,029, saving $445.99, with a Ryzen 7 7445HS, 16GB of RAM and an RTX 4050 on a 15.6-inch 1080p, 144Hz screen.

Graphics cards, memory and storage

The Asus RTX 5060 Ti 8GB is down to $646.99 from $736.99, a 12% cut. It has 8GB of GDDR7 memory and supports up to 8K output and four external displays. That discount is modest, so it's worth comparing against recent prices before you buy. Graphics card pricing has been moving around, and a 12% drop doesn't tell you much on its own.

Storage has some good options. The Lexar NM1090 Pro 2TB M.2 SSD is $369.99, saving $230. It's a PCIe Gen5 drive rated for read speeds up to 14,400MB/s and write speeds up to 13,400MB/s, according to the listing. It's aimed at serious gamers and content creators, and that spec sheet is the reason to pay for it. For most people, a cheaper Gen4 drive does the job.

Memory is the caveat. You can find some discounted RAM kits, but the savings may not be dramatic. Memory supply is under pressure as chipmakers prioritize AI workloads, and that's pushed prices up. If you need a RAM upgrade, don't expect Black Friday to fix the price. Buying now for a build you'll do later could be the wrong move if the market keeps climbing.

The 4K OLED monitor and the cheap speaker

The LG UltraGear 32-inch OLED gaming monitor is $899.99, saving $500. It's a 4K panel with a 240Hz refresh rate that can run at 480Hz at 1080p, and it supports both Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync for smoother motion. It's a premium pick for serious gamers and designers.

At the other end of the price range, the Nautica Nayman portable Bluetooth speaker is $14.99, down from $49.99, a 70% cut. It's rated at 12W with deep bass and carries an IPX5 water-resistance rating, so it can handle a shower, a beach trip or a pool deck. A speaker this cheap is a low-risk buy if you just want something for the backyard.

Should you buy now or wait?

My read is that the early sale is worth a look for the TV and soundbar deals, where the percentage cuts are large and the products are established. The Samsung R84H and Sony HT-A5000 have the biggest dollar savings and the strongest reviewer praise. The Alienware laptop is a good value for gaming on a budget. The MacBook Air and graphics card discounts are smaller, so compare them against other retailers and prior prices before you commit. Since the main sale runs through Nov. 28 and Cyber Monday follows, you have time to check whether an item you want drops further. Just don't wait on RAM expecting a big break, because the current market doesn't point that way.