Top Black Friday deals on all-in-one PCs, hybrid and touchscreen laptops

Here at PCWorld we are jaded about Black Friday. Hype often outweighs actual good deals on PC hardware. That's why the eagle-eyed team of PC experts here have set out to separate the wheat from the chaff when it comes to Black Friday deals on all-in-one PCs and hybrid computers. Our criteria was to find the best deals on the best hardware we could find.

In fact, all week we'll be bringing you some of the best deals available on PCs, laptops, HDTVs, tablets, and computer accessories for Black Friday, November 23 , the official start of the holiday shopping season. Let's dive in.

Model: B540- 57310400

Specs: 23-inch, 10-point multitouch display with 1920-by-1080 resolution; 2.9GHz Intel Pentium G645 processor; 4GB RAM; optical drive; 500GB HDD; 720p Webcam; media reader (SD, SDHC, SDXC, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, and MMC); 2 x USB 3.0; 4 x USB 2.0; Windows 8 64 bit.

Thoughts: This AIO doesn't have the more fashionable Sandy Bridge or Ivy Bridge Core processors, but you do get a 23-inch 1080p touchscreen display, a fair-sized hard drive, and six USB ports.

Model: ZX4250

Specs: 20-inch LCD with 1600-by-900 resolution; 1.6GHz AMD Vision processor; 4GB RAM; 500GB HDD; AMD Radeon HD 6310 graphics; optical drive; media card reader (SD, SDHC, MMC, Memory Stick; Memory Stick PRO, Memory Stick PRO-HG); 6 x USB 2.0; Windows 8 64 bit.

Thoughts: You won't get a touchscreen at this low price, and the Gateway seems to come with its fair share of crapware. But you still get a solid little machine for a cheap price. You get a traditional mouse with this unit, so you should also check out prices on a touch-based mouse such as the new peripherals from Logitech to take advantage of Windows 8 gestures.

Model: 33474HU

Specs: 12.5-inch touchscreen; 1.7GHz Ivy Bridge Intel Core i5-3317U; 4GB RAM; 500GB HDD; 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi; 720p Webcam; 4-in-1 media card reader; 2 x USB 3.0.

Thoughts: As of Monday, this was the sole convertible laptop available based on the Black Friday offerings of most major retailers. The Twist regularly sells for around $900 at Staples, so you can save yourself $200 and pick up one of the only cheaply-priced convertible notebooks this Black Friday.

Model: 20-b013w

Specs: 1.4GHz AMD E1-1200; 20-inch display with 1600-by-900 resolution; 4GB RAM; 500GB HDD; optical drive; AMD Radeon HD 7310 graphics; 6-in-1 media card reader; 2 x USB 3.0; 4 x USB 2.0; 1 x PCI Express; Ethernet and 802.11b/g/n; and Windows 8.

Thoughts: If you can't get to Best Buy for a cheap-o AIO, then give this model on sale at Walmart a try. The two AIOs are very similar, but the HP has a leg up since it includes USB 3.0, while the Gateway does not.

Model: io2320-3335BK

Specs: 23-inch non-touch display (resolution unknown); 3.3GHz Intel Sandy Bride Core i3-2120; 4GB RAM; 1TB HDD; 6 x USB 2.0; 8-in-1 media card reader; optical drive; Windows 7.

Thoughts: If you're looking for a Windows 7 AIO or are willing to shell out $15 for a Windows 8 upgrade, then this is a great buy. You won't get speedier USB 3.0 ports, but you will get a great-sized hard drive, a reasonable amount of RAM, and a solid processor.

Model: 23-B090

Specs: 3.60 GHz AMD A6-5400K processor; 23-inch display with 1920-by-1080 resolution; 6GB RAM; 1TB HDD; 2 x USB 3.0; 4 x USB 2.0; 6-in-1 media card reader; Ethernet and 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi; Windows 8.

Thoughts: A great buy at Office Depot that includes a great hard drive capacity, a good amount of RAM, and a full HD display.

Model: SVT13124CXS

Specs: 13-inch touch display with 1366-by-768; 1.8GHz Intel Core i3-3217U processor; 4GB RAM; 500GB HDD; 32GB SSD; 1 x USB 3.0; 1 x USB 2.0; Windows 8; 1.3 megapixel Webcam; Windows 8.

Thoughts: Sony VAIO fans looking for a touchscreen laptop will want to head to Staples on Black Friday. This notebook usually sells for about $800-$850.