11 boring (but practical) tech deals to grab during Black Friday

Black Friday is the perfect time to pick up a laptop, desktop, or other tantalizing PC gear. But there are also a bunch of more mundane products that are on sale too — and they’re just begging to be bought while the goings are cheap.

I’m talking about USB cables, docking stations, desk accessories, and the like. You know — things that you need but you might not often shop for. When the Black Friday and Cyber Monday discounts are this good, it’s a great time to restock those items and save a bundle. Be sure to browse and snap up a bargain when you can.

High-Wattage USB cables ($12.69)

Belkin

USB-C cables won’t be performing at their best if they’re old or frayed, leaving your devices hanging at half charge. That’s why you should use the opportunity of the Black Friday sales to upgrade to faster, more efficient cables like this Belkin 6ft, 100W USB-C cable.

Get a 6ft 100W USB-C cable for $12.69

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A surge protector 2-pack to save your precious devices ($22.09)

Mifaso

If you’ve spent a lot of time and money building up your PC to be the beast that it is, you’re going to want to protect it. Electrical surges can happen at any time. When they do they put your much-loved electrical devices at risk of damage. But you can protect your devices with a surge protector.

This Black Friday, Mifaso is selling a 2-pack of surge protector power strips for just $22.09. Each protector’s outlets let you charge or power six devices at the same time, offering 900 joules of overload current protection. Each one comes with four additional USB ports.

Get a 2 pack of surge protectors for $22.09

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A Thunderbolt 4 dock for your laptop ($161.49)

Ugreen

At home you can really get more out of your laptop. Like a desktop PC, you can have a full setup with multiple monitors, a dedicated microphone, USB accessories, and more.

With a hub or docking station you can easily connect and disconnect your laptop from all the extras you’d plug in. This Ugreen Thunderbolt 4 dock is equipped with three Thunderbolt 4 ports, as well as three USB-A ports and a gigabit ethernet port.

Get a Thunderbolt 4 dock for $161.49

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An enclosure for your old drives ($16)

Ugreen

If you’ve got old PCs lying around with old M.2 SSDs in them, why not turn these spare parts into an external SSD that you can use again? This deal on a Ugreen enclosure was good enough to get me over the line. This model accommodates different M.2 lengths including the less typical 2242, which means it’ll stay versatile when I swap out different drives.

Get an SSD enclosure for $16

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An M.2 SSD for your desktop ($370)

Samsung

SSDs have gone up in price since last year, so Black Friday may be your last chance to get a deal on an SSD before the new year brings even higher prices. We’ve found a nice bargain for you too in the Samsung 9100 Pro 4TB, which is now $370, reduced by 21 percent.

Get a 4TB SSD for $370

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A 12TB external drive for backups ($230)

Western Digital

Backing up your PC should be part of a daily or weekly schedule. Syncing your files to the cloud isn’t enough — you can accidently delete files on your computer and in the cloud, for example.

An easy way to keep copies of your file is on a local drive — and one with a lot of storage, like this 12TB Western Digital external desktop hard drive. It has plenty of storage for all your files and can accommodate multiple copies.

Get a 12TB external hard drive for $230

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A laptop stand to see your laptop better ($30)

Lamicall

If you’re sick of hot-lap syndrome, where your laptop gets too hot on your lap, then you need a laptop stand. Laptop stands are great for laptop airflow, allowing cool air to circulate beneath them by raising them off a flat surface.

What’s more, laptop stands angle your laptop for better viewing. You just need a laptop stand for a great price like this Lamicall adjustable laptop stand this Black Friday.

Get a laptop stand for $30

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A gas monitor arm to save on desk space ($33.24)

Huanuo

A monitor arm as a desk accessory can make life a lot easier. Specifically, I recommend a gas monitor arm, which makes movement so much simpler and is ideal if you share desk space with others. This Huanuo model is one of the lower-priced gas monitor arms on Amazon right now. This version supports 13- to 32-inch monitors, VESA 75×75 and 100×100 mount brackets, and up to 19.8 pounds in weight.

Get a gas monitor arm for $33.24

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A power bank for your devices when away from home ($27)

INIU

No matter whether you’re off on vacation or just travelling to and from work, a power bank will keep your phone powered up all day long. For $30 you can score this popular 20,000 mAh model from INIU. It’s small and fits easily into a pocket. What’s more, the included charging cable doubles as a carrying strap.

Get a power bank for $27

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A compact multi-device charger ($24.50)

Ugreen

A small charger can keep your devices powered up. If you have a 45W laptop, phone, and tablet (or portable gaming console), this UGREEN 65W 4-port GaN charger can do that with ease.

But if you need more energy you might need to ramp up the power. Consider this Anker Prime 100W 3-port model instead, which still can provide 65W of charging off the primary USB-C port when you have a second device (e.g., phone) plugged into a secondary port.

Get a multi-device charger for $24.50

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A powered USB hub for all your devices ($25)

TP-Link

Need all the ports to turn your laptop into a desktop clone but don’t want to spend out on a fancy docking station? Then why not get a powered USB hub, instead? This TP-Link powered USB hub features a heap of USB 3.0 ports — seven of them with speeds up to 5Gbps. It also comes with two additional ports that can charge devices at 5V/2.4A.

Or you could get Anker’s 11-in-1 USB hub that will equip you with 2x USB-C 5Gbps power delivery ports, 3x USB-A 5Gbps ports, and 3x USB 10Gbps ports (1x USB-A, 2x USB-C). It also comes with a 100W USB-C PD-in port and SD card reader.

Get a powered USB hub for $25

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Also, be sure to check out our roundups of the best Black Friday tech deals in a wide assortment of categories: