However, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with the number of available choices. From professional graphic designers to novices, finding the right laptop for graphic design work can be a headache. Understanding which devices are suitable to house the required software is the first step in deciding on the best laptop.
Here are the best laptops for graphic design work available today.
Q: What Laptop Specifications Do I Need for Graphic Design?
If you’re going to work with graphic design software, here are the recommended specifications you should have:
It has a 13.5-inch touchscreen display with a 2256x1504 resolution, making it sharper than Full HD monitors. It also has an Intel Iris Xe graphics card, allowing it to perform better on video-related tasks than devices with integrated graphics.
Best of all, this laptop boasts an extended 17-hour battery life. Although this may vary with use, this feature gives you the confidence to work long hours without having to plug into an outlet. With plenty of RAM and a high-resolution display, the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 is a solid choice for graphic design work.
You can choose between 256GB and 512GB SSDs so that you can get the perfect storage capacity for your work. The additional features like the Touch Bar and Touch ID, ensure seamless logins and intuitive app use.
Furthermore, the typing experience is second to none with the backlit Magic Keyboard. The Magic Trackpad complements this, thus giving you a complete sensory experience when working on it. The seamless design coupled with an M1 chip makes the Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (2020) a powerful contender for graphic design use.
More than that, it offers a myriad of ports, like two USB-A and two USB-C outlets, plus an HDMI port. Its 15.6-inch Full HD Touchscreen display makes it easy and intuitive to use. And you get a webcam shutter and microphone mute button, thus ensuring your privacy.
If you’re going to use this laptop for media consumption, you’ll be delighted to know it has Bang & Olufsen-tuned speakers, ensuring high-quality audio. It also has a built-in fingerprint reader for use with Windows Hello. Whether you’re working on your next logo design or simply chilling out with some music, the HP Envy 15 is more than capable of handling multiple tasks and comes in at great value for money.
They can also use it as a built-in writing tablet with the included stylus. And behind all these, you get an Intel Core i7-10750H processor and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 video card.
The ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo comes with one USB-C and two USB-A ports, plus an HDMI outlet. And to make typing easier on its unique keyboard deck layout, you also get a detachable palm rest in the box.
It has a 15.6-inch monitor with a 4K UHD display, giving you sharp and crisp images as you work. It also doesn’t lack ports, with one USB-C and three USB-A outlets, one 3.5mm headphone jack and another 3.5mm microphone jack, an RJ45 ethernet jack, and a dedicated charging port.
You get all these with 2TB SSD storage and 48GB RAM. These features ensure you won’t run out of space and memory, letting you do everything you need. And despite all that power, the laptop weighs in at less than five pounds or two kilograms, making it a truly portable device.
And to keep it cool and efficient, it features two exhaust fans. That way, even when you’re using heavy applications, the computer will work as expected and avoid thermal throttling.
Even though the XPS 17 is a powerful laptop, it manages to stay sleek and thin. Although it does weigh in a little over five pounds or at two-and-a-half kilograms, you can still easily hold this laptop and carry it in your bag.
But aside from its hardware specifications, you also get a great selection of ports and slots. This laptop has one USB-C and three USB-A ports. You could also plug an external display either via HDMI 2.0 or the miniDP 1.4 port. And for a reliable internet connection, it has an RJ45 ethernet jack.
The Acer ConceptD 7 Pro boasts a 15.6-inch 4K UHD display allowing you to enjoy sharp and crisp images. Best of all, all of this comes in at 2.2lbs. You don’t have to break your back with heavy equipment just to get the power you need when you want to get creative.
Processor: At least Intel Core i5 or Apple M1 Memory: At least 8GB, preferably 16GB Storage: At least a 256GB SSD, preferably 1TB Graphics Card: Preferably with a discrete video card Display: Minimum Full HD resolution, with a preferable display size of 15 inches
These specifications will run the most common graphic design software, like Adobe Photoshop. If you prefer the portability of small-screen laptops, you can choose to have an external monitor in your main work area instead.
Q: Are Four Cores Enough for Graphic Design?
Yes. Most graphic design software relies on a single-core instead of spreading the load across multiple cores. That’s why you should prefer higher-clocked CPUs over multi-cover processors with lower clock speeds.
Q: Do You Need a Graphics Card if You’re a Graphic Designer?
Yes. Most graphic design software takes advantage of the power of discrete graphics cards. This is especially true if you’re working with 3D modeling software and video and photo editing, among others. As long as your software needs to render, it can and will use your video card for processing output.
