Amazon Prime Day 2022: How to Find the Best Hardware Deals

Amazon Prime Day 2022
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Amazon Prime Day is happening on July 12th and 13th 2022. Whether you’re shopping for Kindles or Amazon Echo speakers, you’ll find significant discounts on mainstream consumer gadgets on those two days and in the period right before and possibly right after. 

We are covering Prime Day, cataloging the best Prime Day hardware deals, best Prime Day laptop deals, best Prime Day monitor deals and best Prime Day SSD deals

But what can you expect in terms of prime day deals on PC hardware and other tech? 

Though the hottest selling items overall on Prime Day are usually Amazon’s own gadgets, there are some great Prime Day deals on components such as monitors, gaming PCs and laptops, along with other tech necessities such as keyboards, mice and monitors. Accessories such as USB hubs, chargers and power banks are always great to buy around this time, too. 

Here are a few tips to keep in mind as you plan your Prime Day shopping.

When is Prime Day in 2022? 

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Amazon has confirmed that Prime Day 2022 will happen on July 12th and 13th.

The big shopping spectacular is back to taking place in July after some previous dat changes relating to the global pandemic. Having Prime Day in July allows the company to create a new shopping holiday in the middle of the summer, months before people are thinking about the holidays. 

Prime Day Isn’t Just Amazon

As the top online retailer in the world, Amazon has the power to drive its competitors. In order not to be left out, retailers like Newegg, Walmart, Best Buy, Dell and Lenovo are likely to have their own sales that coincide with Prime Day. They obviously can’t call their sales “Prime Day,” but the deals will likely be just as sweet.

Newegg tends to have a better selection of PC components than Amazon, so it’s possible that it will have some of the most appealing deals on CPUs, RAM, SSDs and other internal parts.

Prime Day is for Prime Members

Keep in mind that, if you want to take advantage of Amazon’s Prime Day deals, you need to be a member of the company’s Prime program. You can sign up for a free 30 day Prime membership trial if you need to.

Where to Look for Prime Day Hardware Deals

  • Tom’s Hardware coverage: When Prime Day begins, we’ll be rounding up the top Amazon Prime day deals on this page and on our home page.
  • Amazon’s Computer’s and Accessories Page: Don’t just go to Amazon’s Prime Day deals page and scroll past all the irrelevant products. Click on the Computers and Accessories category in the left nav .We also recommend choosing lightning deals to focus on the short-term, hottest deals. 

Amazon Prime Day 2022

(Image credit: Amazon)
  • Check Newegg, Dell, Lenovo, Best Buy and Walmart: Each of these sites is likely to have its own set of deals. Newegg is the most likely candidate, and you can see its current discounts on its Shell Shocker page.

How to Tell if a Deal Is Real

Don’t believe the hype. Not every sale price you see on Prime Day is an all-time low price. The price you find could be the same as it was the week before Prime Day or it might be higher than it was just a month before. It may even be the case that another site has a better regular price than Amazon’s (or someone else’s) sale price.

To find out whether you’re really looking at a deal, take a few steps:

1. Use the Camelizer plugin for Amazon deals, 

This plugin will show you a complete price history for a product, based on the database at Camelcamelcamel. When you’re on the product’s Amazon page, just click the plugin button and you’ll see a chart.

(Image credit: Future)

2. Search PCPartPicker.

That site maintains a price history of nearly every component, across half a dozen retailers, but usually not Amazon.

3. Check competing sites to see if any of them has an even better sale on the same product.

For example, if you see a great deal on a graphics card at Amazon, check Newegg also.

What Kind of Products to Look for on Prime Day

While it’s possible that you’ll find the CPU or GPU deal of your dreams on Prime Day, these types of products are more likely to be on big sales, both on Amazon and its competitors.

Amazon Devices

While not necessarily enthusiast devices, Amazon's Fire, Kindle and Echo devices will be on huge sales. 

Storage

There are always a ton of good deals on both external storage and internal drives. And you can always use more storage.

  • microSD Cards: Great for Raspberry Pi users (see best Raspberry Pi microSD cards) or people with Android smartphones, microSD cards give you a ton of storage in a tiny space. Look for a name-brand 256GB card that’s under $35, a 128GB model that’s less than $18 or a 64GB card that’s under $10. 32GB cards on sale should go for less than $5.
  • USB Flash Drives: If you need to move data using a “sneakernet,” a USB flash drive can come in handy. Look for a name-brand 128GB USB 3.0 drive for well under $20. You’ll pay extra for additional features, such as ruggedness or the addition of a Type-C port.
  • SSDs: Who doesn’t need bigger, faster internal storage? Look for a name-brand 1TB SATA SSD for less than $100 or an NVMe drive in the same price range.
  • USB Hard Drives: If you need bulk storage that’s easy to carry, USB hard drives are always a good deal during peak sale times. Look for a 2TB drive that’s well under $60.

Networking

If you’re reading this on the Internet rather than a printout someone handed you (and who would?), you probably have a router already. But does your router have the very latest technologies?

Routers are always going on sale at Amazon and elsewhere. Look for a three-router Mesh kit for less than $150 or a dual / tri-band Wi-Fi 6 router for around less than $220.

Robots, Raspberry Pi and Arduino

Electronics kits are often on huge sales during the Prime Day time frame. Companies such as Elegoo often have significant sales on Arduino starter sets or robots you can build yourself. We also expect to see some Raspberry Pi accessories or kits on sale during this time.

Monitors

If you see a good sale, Prime Day might be a great time to get a new display. A good deal on a 144 Hz or faster, 1080p display that’s 27 inches or larger is one that’s less than $200 and a name brand. If you’re looking for 4K, 60 Hz, a price under $250 is great.

Gaming Mice and Keyboards

Keep your eyes peeled for good deals on gaming peripherals, such as mice, keyboards and headsets. Look for products from well-known, reputable brands that cost less than usual. There will be plenty of no-name products for sale, but you should only consider those if they have a ton of positive user reviews.

Power Banks, Cables and Chargers

Prime Day is prime time to find deals on power banks and chargers for your mobile devices. If you own a laptop that charges over USB Type-C, look for deals on the best USB-C laptop chargers and external batteries that support USB PD (Power Delivery), preferably of at least 45 watts.

Bottom Line

Remember that Prime Day is about more than just Amazon.com, but also keep in mind that if you don’t find a great deal on a product you’ve been waiting for, there will always be holiday sales starting just a few weeks later. Whether it’s Prime Day or Black Friday or Cyber Monday, the best strategy during any sale is not to feel like you have to make a purchase, just because there’s a sale.

Avram Piltch
Avram Piltch is Tom's Hardware's editor-in-chief. When he's not playing with the latest gadgets at work or putting on VR helmets at trade shows, you'll find him rooting his phone, taking apart his PC or coding plugins. With his technical knowledge and passion for testing, Avram developed many real-world benchmarks, including our laptop battery test.
With contributions from
  • Shadowclash10
    I'd add on that don't buy a $300, Wifi 6, tricked-out router or something like that if you only pay for say, 100 Mbps. Or even 400 Mbps. Just like there isn't any point to having a high-end GPU if you have a bad 1080p monitor.
    Reply
  • Shadowclash10
    Also, we're seeing enough ~$80 1TB SATA SSD sales that I think you should say $90 or less is a worthwhile deal.
    Reply
  • Olivier_00
    if we are patient, is it better to wait black friday ?
    Reply
  • HideOut
    Shadowclash10 said:
    I'd add on that don't buy a $300, Wifi 6, tricked-out router or something like that if you only pay for say, 100 Mbps. Or even 400 Mbps. Just like there isn't any point to having a high-end GPU if you have a bad 1080p monitor.

    Its not just about bandwidth to the net for some people. Its about router range. WiFi6 routers carry their signals farther. I purchased a clearance WiFi6 about 6 months ago and it goes well past the distance of migh AC3200 did. I'm only on 220mb internet, but I needed better signal out in the yard and such.
    Reply
  • USAFRet
    Olivier_00 said:
    if we are patient, is it better to wait black friday ?
    There is no guarantee or expectation that your selected part(s) will be cheaper, or more expensive, on BF/CM.
    Reply
  • purple_dragon
    HideOut said:
    Its not just about bandwidth to the net for some people. Its about router range. WiFi6 routers carry their signals farther. I purchased a clearance WiFi6 about 6 months ago and it goes well past the distance of migh AC3200 did. I'm only on 220mb internet, but I needed better signal out in the yard and such.

    Also, a high end router will generally handle heavy traffic better if one runs many devices on their network.
    Reply
  • anonymousdude
    purple_dragon said:
    Also, a high end router will generally handle heavy traffic better if one runs many devices on their network.

    It also matters if you have a NAS or really any kind of home networking situation that requires more than just the basics.
    Reply
  • Heat_Fan89
    Amazon Prime Day used to be good several years ago. Now it's basically Amazon Garage Sale, trying to clear out their unsold junk few wanted in the first place.
    Reply
  • thisisaname
    If an articles is needed telling people how to find bargains in a sale then it is a fail sale.
    Reply
  • digitalgriffin
    Shadowclash10 said:
    I'd add on that don't buy a $300, Wifi 6, tricked-out router or something like that if you only pay for say, 100 Mbps. Or even 400 Mbps. Just like there isn't any point to having a high-end GPU if you have a bad 1080p monitor.

    I would say it would be wiser to buy Wifi 6E at this point. But there are multiple reasons to buy a giga speed router for 100Mbps internet connection. This is true if you have a NAS and like a game cache drive on the network, or system backups. Also the latest VR headsets are going to use Wifi 6/6E for wireless (or so the rumor mill says)
    Reply