Over the years, Black Friday and Cyber Monday have made this the best time of year to be a PC builder.

And while some might find excitement in the classic Black Friday imagery of shoppers camping out and then making a mad scramble for the electronics department, we at Logical Increments prefer to stay at home and capitalize on mega discounts the more civilized way: Glued to the internet, mashing F5 on our browsers and searching of the best deals.

Just like last year, we’ll keep a blog post updated on Black Friday and Cyber Monday to track the best deals online. In the meantime, we offer this guide with 5 tips for anyone planning to upgrade their PC or build a whole new one on Black Friday.

1. Decide what you want beforehand

Make a list of list or spreadsheet of components you plan to buy in the event that you find it on sale. We find it helpful to list both the normal price and the price you’re willing to pay on sale. Knowing your trigger point ensures purchase decisions only take an instant.

If you need any insight on what parts to upgrade, consider comparing your current components to the latest recommendations on the Logical Increments parts guide (wink wink).

2. Be flexible on brand and model

Notice that we didn’t list brands or models on our spreadsheet? Sometimes you can find an incredibly good deal on a component if you’re willing to compromise by not having the best warranty or the flashiest looks.

3. Find some reliable resources

Like we said, we’ll be tracking our favorite deals right here on this blog. For other resources, we also really like the Black Friday forums at Fatwallet and Slickdeals.

4. Follow Black Friday pages for your preferred retailer (and subscribe to emails)

Newegg and Amazon both have pages dedicate to PC components for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Newegg’s e-blast newsletter is probably the single best daily email for deals leading up to the big day. They’re already sending out emails with pre-Black Friday deals. You can always unsubscribe after Cyber Monday.

5. Stay vigilant

Quantities are often limited and the best deals sell out within hours — or even minutes — of being posted online. Stay on top of developments and try to be quick!

Hopefully these tips will help get you in the right mindset to optimize your PC-related Black Friday shopping. Good luck out there!