Buying a laptop is a fantastic option if you don’t want to spend all day at a desk editing photographs. Modern notebooks have lots of power, ensuring that Photoshop performs at its peak performance.
However, since Photoshop is a demanding program, you must ensure that the laptop you pick has enough power to run it effectively.
The ideal laptop for graphic designing is more than just a capable compact laptop; it features a powerful graphics card, enough RAM, and a competent processor. Whether you’re working on 3D design or illustrations, you need something more than exceptional performance to get you through your graphic design needs. Additionally, important elements include a great display, a huge SSD, and portability.
A greater capacity SSD so that users can access all of their project files and can access them more quickly. The same goes for a screen that won’t strain your eyes, displays colors accurately, and has the appropriate color spaces. Portability and prolonged battery life are also crucial if you intend to travel and work throughout the year.
Best laptops for Graphic Design
To help users in making the best decision, we’ve compiled our list of the best laptops for graphic design:
- MacBook Pro 14-inch (2021)
The MacBook Pro has undergone a genuine transition into a laptop for creative pros with the introduction of the M1 Pro- or M1 Max-armed MacBook Pro 14-inch (2021). With mind-blowing power and equally mind-blowing battery life, it certainly impresses. After that, Apple adds their XDR display, which has a wide color gamut and a peak brightness of 1600 nits, making it perfect for graphics work. There is an SD card slot, an HDMI port, and three Thunderbolt 4 ports to ensure that you have access to all the necessary devices.
- Dell XPS 17 (2021)
The Dell XPS 17 (2021) is capable of handling virtually any graphic design task. You can even attempt some 4K video editing with specifications of up to an Intel Core i9 CPU, 64Gb ram, and an Nvidia RTX GeForce 3060, especially if you upgrade to a UHD monitor. All of this performance manages to fit in a device that is only 0.77 inches thick, making it remarkably portable. The XPS 17 is an excellent device for a creative professional, even though it is expensive and should have a few extra ports.
- Gigabyte Aero 17 (2021)
The Gigabyte Aero 17 (2021) is a laptop made explicitly for content creators. Such a device would typically come with a hefty price tag, but the base model costs just $1,599 (roughly £1,170) and includes an Intel Core i7-10870H processor, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 with Max-Q, 16GB of 2,933Hz DDR4 RAM, a 1TB SSD, and a 17.3-inch full HD screen.
The 17.3-inch 4K HDR400 Oled screen with Pantone factory calibration for 100% Adobe RGB is available for $3,699 (about £2,700), but for that price, you also get an Intel Core i9-10980HK, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080, and a 4K OLED display.
- MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1, 2020)
The MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1, 2020) may not have undergone a significant design update, but performance and battery life more than makeup for what it lacks in that area. The new 13-inch MacBook Pro offers outstanding performance and battery life thanks to Apple’s ground-breaking M1 processor. It performs so well that it can easily handle 4K and even 8K videos. This is, without a doubt, one of the best MacBooks for graphic design money can buy.
- Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio
You can edit photos or create illustrations without worrying about being close to a power source because of its thin and light design, stunning screen, and exceptional battery life. However, the two-in-one form factor of this laptop’s touch screen and stylus capabilities really jumps out for its users when they use Photoshop. Users can use the Microsoft Slim Pen 2 to immediately draw or sketch on the laptop’s screen by sliding the screen down to transform it into a sizable tablet. The surface is a joy to use for photo editing and graphics.
