The best back-to-school laptop of 2025 is cheaper than ever, $650 off a monster RX 9070 XT gaming PC and more — Power Picks

Power picks
(Image credit: Future)

We’re back with a bang. Today’s power picks are significant, as you can get $200 off my favorite budget laptop (a great back-to-school buy), a beasty AMD RX 9070 XT gaming PC for $650 off, 35% off one of the best gaming mice you can buy, and much more!

But first, I need to warn you about something in my first of a (hopefully) not long-running segment — bad deals watch.

Bad deals watch — don’t buy this 🚫

(Image credit: Amazon)

So I’ve seen certain tech sites covering this Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 deal for 74% off. It’s a big number to brag about that does get you on Google News, but there are so many red flags that make this a do not buy.

  • 40GB DDR5 RAM!? The IdeaPad Slim 3 has never shipped with this, and if you look further down the specs, you see it labeled as SO-DIMM (something totally different)
  • Ships from EliteComputer: A quick look at the storefront reviews shows a lot of 5-star reviews that look a little suspicious, while a look at the 1-star reviews reveal a little more about the origin of the brand and how there’s non-existent customer service after buying it.
  • No U.S. reviews: The international reviews that are available (mostly originating from Saudi Arabia) look either bot farmed or, given the age of them, are a review of a different product that was on this same page, which the retailer has switched out.

But I’ve found something that is so much better — cheaper, more powerful and brand new with an actual warranty. It’s a great get for back to school or for all your productivity needs.

Oh, and those power picks I found on Friday? Yeah, they’re still available! That means you can still bad $700 off the MSI Aegis gaming PC with RTX 5070 power, and $200 off the M4 MacBook Pro.

But for now, let’s get into today’s top deals.

Show me today’s best deals

Today’s power picks

Lenovo  IdeaPad Slim 3x (Snapdragon X)
Save 27%
Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3x (Snapdragon X): was $749 now $549 at Best Buy

Dodge the other Slim 3 and look for the “x,” because with this you’re getting a seriously good powerhouse for dirt cheap. It’s one of my favorite budget laptops for that Snapdragon X chip bringing impressive Arm performance across all your Windows apps, alongside 16GB of DDR5 RAM, and you’re getting those fantastic keyboard and touchpad ergonomics that Lenovo is known for at $200 off!

Skytech  Azure Gaming PC (RX 9070 XT)
Save 26%
Skytech Azure Gaming PC (RX 9070 XT): was $2,499 now $1,849 at Newegg

Armed with an AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, I can assure you this machine is capable of some truly supreme gaming performance from my testing. Ensuring zero bottlenecks in performance is the best gaming CPU you can buy right now — the Ryzen 7 7800X3D — alongside 32GB of DDR5 RAM and a spacious 2TB SSD. All is packed into a sleek case with plenty of cooling and a $650 discount for good measure!

MSI  INSPIRE GeForce RTC 5070 Ti
Save 15%
MSI INSPIRE GeForce RTC 5070 Ti: was $929 now $789 at Newegg

This is as close to MSRP as I’ve seen my favorite GPU, the RTX 5070 Ti, come. I always say prepare to be flexible by around $50, and this falls into that window nicely. With the power under the hood, 4K gaming is a cinch, and this one is overclockable with a three-fan cooling array to keep it from overheating under pressure.

Razer  Basilisk V3 Pro wireless gaming mouse
Save 35%
Razer Basilisk V3 Pro wireless gaming mouse: was $159 now $103 at Amazon

The first of a two-parter on the best gear for a wireless gaming setup. With 35% off the listing price, the Basilisk V3 Pro is an easy must-buy for those looking for ultimate game control with a 30K DPI optical sensor, optical switches with a great tactile feel, 13 programmable controls, and customizable RGB to blend it into your setup.

Razer BlackShark V2 HyperSpeed wireless gaming headset
Save 27%
Razer BlackShark V2 HyperSpeed wireless gaming headset: was $129 now $94 at Amazon

Now for the audio part, and you can get $35 off the BlackShark V2 wireless headset to add a little extra Razer magic to your setup. At 280g, it's super lightweight on the head, but doesn’t sacrifice any of the immersive sound quality for it — thanks to those huge 50mm drivers and THS Spatial Audio support. Plus with a 70-hour battery life, you’ve got worry-free stamina in all your sessions!

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Jason England
Managing Editor — Computing

Jason brings a decade of tech and gaming journalism experience to his role as a Managing Editor of Computing at Tom's Guide. He has previously written for Laptop Mag, Tom's Hardware, Kotaku, Stuff and BBC Science Focus. In his spare time, you'll find Jason looking for good dogs to pet or thinking about eating pizza if he isn't already.

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