Top 10 Black Friday Deals and Holiday Gift Ideas For Gamers - 2016

Arguably the most important holiday of the year, Black Friday is the day where Americans can splurge on sick discounts online and get the most bang for their buck when it comes to the holiday season.

Check out some this year's must-haves if your wallet is itching or you know a gamer friend who needs to stop being bad and needs some assessories to save him from Elo Hell.

Introduction

Arguably the most important holiday of the year, Black Friday is the day where Americans can splurge on sick discounts online and get the most bang for their buck when it comes to the holiday season.

Check out some this year's must-haves if your wallet is itching or you know a gamer friend who needs to stop being bad and needs some assessories to save him from Elo Hell.

Gaming Mouse

Come on guys, it's almost 2017. It's time to put away the dinky wireless laptop mouse and upgrade to something that will get you some REAL LP gainz.

This marvel of engineering is the Razer DeathAdder Essential, now on sale for 16% off at the time of this article for $34.99. That's way better than the $60 I paid for it long ago, and at this price there's no reason not to get one...unless you already have one.

Meanwhile, if that's out of your price range you could always pick up this $9.89 mouse instead, currently 51% off with over 1000 reviews on Amazon. Pretty sick deal considering it's a weighted mouse.

Mechanical Keyboard

Last year when we talked about Mechanical Keyboards, a lot of you thought the Razer Blackwidow was a bit too expensive, although it's available for 30% off right now at $77.99, originally $109.99. 

Since that's the case, check out this alternative, currently going for 44% off a a measly $33.59, 

• TOMOKO 87 Key Mechanical Keyboard - I'm actually fairly surprised they can put out a real mechanical keyboard with blue switches at this price. As an added bonus, they're water-resistant too for those of you that are spill-prone.
• TOMOKO Mechanical Gaming Keyboard (104 Key) - Personally, I'd probably get this one since it comes with a number pad. It's a bit more pricey at $52.99, and only 18% off at the time of writing though.

I probably wouldn't try this at home...

Gaming Headset

As your friends can attest, nobody likes listening to your in-game sounds over Skype. If you've been putting off getting a headset because of the massive variety to choose from, just bite the bullet and pick one.

Here, I'll make this easy for you:

• Sentey GS-4731 Virtual 7.1 USB DAC - It's currently selling for 47% off at $42,50, down from $79.99 and has 4.5 stars with 2000 customer reviews. Not only that, but it looks awesome. Looks like a win to me.

Personally, I wouldn't cheap out on a headset since this thing will be sitting on your head and can quickly get very uncomfortable if you don't get a good one. 

Laptop Cooling Pad

If you're someone who tends to play games mostly on their laptop or know someone who does, you'll know that they tend to heat up very quickly during gaming sessions.

For people who choose to continue doing so, a laptop cooling pad is a great investment since it'll protect both your laptop and possibly your legs from getting burned if you take the "lap" part thing seriously.

The best selling fan on Amazon by HAVIT is currently going for $20.49, down from $39.00, not a bad purchase.

Mouse Pad

Last year I recommended an aluminum mousepad, which is still really cool. The only issue is that it makes sound when you move your mouse over it, and it kinda gets cold in the winter.

Nowadays, I use the SteelSeries QcK Gaming Mouse Pad, which is crazy cheap at $10 and lasts for quite a while considering it's just cloth. The best part is, it doesn't freeze my hand in the winters.

Can't get easier than this

New Graphics Card

The latest NVIDIA graphics cards are absolutely phenomenal. They're much more energy efficient, and are simultaneously more powerful as well, which is a bit ridiculous if you think about it.

If you're like me and were using a graphics card from 2010, it might be time to upgrade. This generation is magnitudes more powerful than the last, so if you have anything before a few years ago, this upgrade is going to leave you spinning.

• EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 SC Gaming ACX 3.0 - It doesn't come cheap at $407.99, but it packs a massive punch.
• ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 8GB ROG STRIX - If money is no object, make sure you go all out and get the $600+ GTX 1080, the most powerful consumer card money can buy. Get two of them and make your computer really crazy.
• EVGA GTX 1050 SC Gaming - This one is for the more budget conscious, and still uses the new Pascal architecture. This one says, "I like you and I know stuff about computers, but I don't like you THAT much". It's okay though, this one will play almost any game you throw at it.

Webcam

1080P is all the rage now, and if you don't have a 1080P webcam, you're behind on the curve. Who wants to watch a stream at 720? Pshaw.

Pick yourself up the #1 best seller on sale for 26% off this week, the Logitech HD Pro Webcam C920. I got one for the full price of $67.99. Should have waited until now! 

Amazon Echo

After picking one of these bad boys (girls?) up last year, I can't imagine life without it. Alexa's one slick gadget that outperforms Google Home when it comes to:

• Voice-activated alarms and reminders
• Voice-activated weather reports
• Voice-activated music control
• Basically it's voice-activated and never ignores you like your mom does.

For those of you that get too deeply immersed in your gaming sessions to remember to do real life responsibilities, this thing is perfect. It's also great if you suddenly realize that an awful song is playing in the middle of a teamfight and absolutely need to switch to the next one. 

The thing stands about 9 inches high and is currently selling for $139, down from $179, available now on Amazon at this link.

Discount Snacks in Bulk

If you're into the long hour gaming sessions, it's a great idea to have some snacks on hand in case the grocery store closes and you're left starving at your desk (I'm not ashamed to admit it's happened on occasion).

I'm not going to be your nutrition expert, but you could always order some Kind Bars, which are both healthy and nutritious. They're also an excellent alternative to the normal ramen and hot pocket diet. Let me know if you find somewhere I can get like 50 for half price.

Teemo Cosplay Hat

Sometimes you end up stuck in Bronze and you're not sure why. There might be a variety of issues, but the easiest way to change your mindset is by sticking your head in a Teemo hat. Then your mind will be set in a different setting. GET IT?

Get a Teemo Hat. Be different.

Got more ideas for Black Friday or gift shopping that would be perfect for gamers? Comment below!