Many people ask me what's the best laptop for graphic design, so I reviewed a range of brands to give you my recommendation as a designer.
Graphic design is a serious job that requires good hardware and software to get the job done.
With so many brand available on the market, there is not shortage of good laptops for graphic design these days.
When choosing a laptop, you need the right balance between performance and weight, large screen and portability, battery life and affordable price and so on.
Which laptop is best for graphic design?
What laptops most graphic designers use?Most creatives I know use Apple products e.g. I work on my Macbook Pro [late 2019].
Its no secret that most creatives love Apple products, but in case youre not an Apple fan, in this article I cover a variety of other great laptops that will certainly do the job.
So without further ado, heres my list of the 10 best laptops for graphic design.
10 Best Laptops for Designers
- Microsoft Surface Laptop 4Best Microsoft
- Dell XPS 15 9500Best for pros
- Apple MacBook Air 2021Most popular
- MacBook Pro 14" 2021best Apple laptop
- Acer Aspire 5 A515budget option
- ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14best Asus laptop
- GIGABYTE AERO 17 HDRMost powerful
- Razer Blade 14" 2021Best for gaming
- Lenovo ThinkPad X1Best 2-in-1 laptop
- Huawei MateBook X ProMost Apple-like
How to choose the best laptop for graphic design
What should a graphic designer consider when buying a laptop?
There are certain features you should look for in a laptop and things to consider before buying one.
When it comes to choosing the best laptop for your specific graphic design needs, you should consider these 7 factors:
- Operating System [OS]
- Processor Power [CPU]
- RAM Memory
- Disk Storage
- Display
- Battery Life
- Price
Now lets shortly describe each of them and what they mean when it comes to getting the graphic design work done.
Operating System [OS]
First things first, at the start you need to decide whether you like using Windows or you consider switching to MacOS or perhaps simple ChromeOS would be enough?
I started my graphic design career using Windows and then after a few years I made my transition to MacOS.
Processor Power [CPU]
Clearly, the most important thing when deciding on which laptop to choose is how powerful it is.
Any serious graphic design software will require a powerful processor [CPU] to run all your tasks smoothly.
Go on sites like Adobe and check out their CPU requirements for specific apps like Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects, Premiere Pro etc.
For example: to do heavy lifting like 3d rendering and video editing, you must go for the maximum performancelook for a quad-core.
RAM Memory
The next thing to consider is RAM, which basically allows you to run multiple apps simultaneously.
How much RAM do I need for graphic design?Get at minimum 8 GB of RAM, recommended 16GB or as much as you can afford.
I would strongly recommend you to go for the maximum RAM.
As a graphic designer you will often have to switch between different apps like Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and moreso you need that extra juice.
Disk Storage
Depending on what specific graphic design work you do, you will need some space to save those often heavy files.
Graphic design source files [PSD, AI, INDD, AEP etc.] tend to be very heavy so you need that extra disk space to save all of them.
Especially if you work in 3d graphic design or video editing, or just working with photos these things require a lot of space on your disk.
Display
Obviously, a decent display choice is very important to any graphic designer.
This is because as a designer, you need optimal brightness, great color accuracy, and the bigger the screen the better.
When it comes to screen size: 13 screen is a bit too small, 15 is optimal, and 16 or 17 will be very appreciated.
Here, you can also think whether you want to have a touchscreen to be able to use it as a tablet [good for drawing illustrations]
Battery Life
Since you want to buy a laptop, then battery life must be important to you.
Especially if youre living a nomadic life or just have to move your laptop frequently without having to plug it every single time.
Dying battery in the middle of your work can be a very frustrating thing.
Price
And of course, with all that being said, probably one of the most important factors is affordability as well, right?
Who wants to spend money only to find out later that there was a better deal?
You should set your budget first and then look for laptops within that budget rangeaffordable, but powerful enough to handle your creative work.
Take all of that into consideration and check out my list of the best laptops for graphic designers in 2022.
1. Microsoft Surface Laptop 4
If youre a fan of Microsoft and is looking for the best laptop among all those available, then the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 is for you.
The best Microsoft laptop for designers in 2022.
This laptop from Microsoft is not only a great budget choice, but it also comes with a very beautiful design.
In terms of design, it definitely resembles a Macbook and does so in many ways.
The apple-like aluminum body gives this laptop a familiar, premium feel and protects well whats inside at the same time.
Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 is a great choice if youre looking for the best overall graphic design laptop today.
Inside you will find a powerful processor that makes graphics render and it ensures minimal lag while using Adobe CC products.
Whats very interesting about this laptop is the new fast-charging feature that enables an 80% charge in less than an hour!
Still not sure which one should you buy: Microsoft Surface Laptop vs Apple MacBook Pro?Check out this article.
Specifications
CPU: Intel 11th Generation Core i5
Graphics: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
RAM: 8GB, 16GB, 32GB
Screen: 13.5 Inches
Storage: 256GB SSD, 512GB SSD, 1TB SSD
Pros
- Eye-catching design
- Speedy Processors
- Fast-Charging Feature
Cons
- Mediocre Battery Life
Buy Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 on Amazon
2. Dell XPS 15 9500
If youre not an Apple fan, but dont mind spending more on a quality laptop, then Dell XPS is your best choice.
The best laptop for professionals who value quality and design.
This Dell laptop is perfect for graphic design as it combines powerful components in a thin, light, and very stylish design making it a great choice for all creatives.
This Dell checks-off everything a designer would look for in a laptop.
With a 15-6-inch display and a discrete Nvidia graphics card, it is a perfect choice for graphic designers who do intensive creative work.
The latest tech from Intel makes this laptop skillful at images, video editing software, and some gaming as well.
As they say You get what you pay for and it couldnt be further from the truth in this case.
Dell XPS 15 9500 is a great choice for graphic designers that want the best dell laptop available today.
Solid performance in a beautiful design for those who dont mind spending over $2k a quality machine.
Overall, Dell XPS 15 9500 is a powerful device that is both affordable and efficient when it comes to running graphic design software.
Specifications
CPU: 10th-generation Intel Core i5 i7
Graphics: Intel Iris Plus Graphics - Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti
RAM: 8GB 64GB
Screen: 15.6" FHD+ [1920 x 1200] IPS - UHD+ [3840 x 2400]
Storage: 256GB 1TB SSD
Pros
- Fast performance
- Eye-catching design
Cons
- GTX 1650 Ti is a little weak
Buy Dell XPS 15 9500 on Amazon
3. Apple MacBook Air 2021
MacBook Air 2021 is a budget version of Apple products and it might be a good option for those designers who dont need super powerful Macbook Pro.
The most popular laptop for regular graphic design work.
Previous versions of MacBook Air werent powerful enough to handle advanced graphic design software like Adobe CC.
Having the same M1 chip means this Apple MacBook Air 2021 is as powerful as the MacBook Pro, but much much cheaper.
Plus, it has a fan-less design, ensuring complete silence in use, without overheating.
This Macbook has also a wider palette of colors on display, up to 25% more colors than sRGB, which really matters for graphic designers.
However, dont expect it to be a good choice if youre into some heavy design work like video editing or 3d rendering.
Apple MacBook Air 2021 is an excellent option for those who do some simple graphic design work, like branding, logo or web design.
Moreover it comes with a whole bunch of features that Apple is known for: Touch ID, True tone technology, Force Touch trackpad, WI-FI 6, USB 4 and many more.
Specifications
CPU: Apple M1 chip
Graphics: Integrated
RAM: 4gb, 8gb
Screen: 13.3 Inches
Storage: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB
Pros
- Powerful M1 chip
- Silent in use
- Great battery life
Cons
- Can get hot [no fan]
Buy Apple MacBook Air 2021 on Amazon
4. Apple MacBook Pro 14" 2021
It may come as no surprise that MacBook Pro 14" 2021 is my top pick as it is still considered as the best laptop for designers.
The best Apple laptop for every graphic design work.
This specific MacBook is my favorite as it comes with a larger screen than its previous models, giving you more space to work with.