In order for the maximum productivity, a graphic designer need a laptop that does not limit creativity, and functionality in any way. Here, we’ll look at the best laptop for Graphic Designers. Several tools exist for graphic designers using laptops. These include programs such as Photoshop, Illustrator, just to name a few. These programs, require a laptop that can easily handle them without having performance issues. We’ve come up with criteria for choosing the best laptop that you can buy for graphic design.
Criteria Used: First, the laptop, should easily be able to handle all the common software used by graphic designers. You don’t need a laptop that is not able to handle large posters, images and designs. This is a disservice to your creativity and productivity. For that reason, a minimum of Intel Core i5 laptop, or equivalent have been listed here. Speaking of the RAM, you should get at least 8GB. Anything less than that, you start experiencing problems when using most design software. You won’t be able to switch intuitively between programs when using less than 8GB RAM in a laptop. When handling large designs, the programs are known to temporarily store assets in the RAM, therefore, you need as much RAM as possible.
The display, size, type and quality, is one of the features that is of great importance when choosing a laptop for graphic design. You don’t want to be in a situation where the tone of colors you choose for your designs change when viewed in another screen, or printed. To avoid this situation, a color accurate display is important. A highly subjective matter, is the screen size preference. Some people, can comfortably work with 12 inch displays, while other prefer larger ones of 15 inches. Anything from 14 inches, to 15 inches, will suit many people.
Other features taken into account include, battery life, build quality and weight. All the laptops here, are recommended for graphic designers and meet the criteria above. You’ll get laptop brands such as Microsoft Surface, Asus, Dell, Lenovo, HP, Razer, Gigabyte, MacBook and many more.
Also see best laptops for Adobe Illustrator.
The Following are the Best Laptops for Graphic Designers (2021):
- Apple MacBook Pro M1 13-inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD
- Omen 15t Laptop Intel i9
- Acer Predator Triton 500 PT515-52-77P
- Alienware m15 R4
- MSI GE76 Raider 10UG-232 Laptop-i7-RTX3070
- MSI 15 Inch Laptop- 2TB - RTX 3060
- Razer Blade Pro 17 Laptop i7-RTX 3080
- ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo UX581 Laptop
- Apple MacBook Pro M1 Chip (13-inch, 8GB RAM, 512GB)
- GIGABYTE AERO 15 OLED KC
- OMEN 15 Laptop-RTX 2070 Super Max-Q
- GIGABYTE AORUS 15G XC
- Dell G7 15.6 4K OLED Laptop
- Alienware m17 R3 Laptop RTX 2070 8GB
Apple MacBook Pro M1 13-inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD |
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| CPU | Apple M1 chip; 8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores; 16-core Neural Engine |
| GPU | M1 8-core GPU |
| Display Size | 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology |
| Display Resolution | 2560-by-1600 native resolution at 227 pixels per inch |
| RAM | 8GB RAM |
| Storage Space | 256GB |
| Operating System | MacOS |
| Ports | Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports with support for: Charging, DisplayPort Thunderbolt 3 (up to 40 Gbps), USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10 Gbps) |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 13.41 x 11.97 x 0.61 inches |
| Weight | 3 Pounds |
| Pros | Performance, Battery Life |
| Cons | NA |
Omen 15t Laptop Intel i9 |
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| CPU | Intel i9-10885H |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super Max-Q 8GB GDDR6 |
| Display Size | 15.6 inches |
| Display Resolution | 4K AMOLED (3840x2160) |
| RAM | 32GB DDR4 |
| Storage Space | 512GB NVMe Solid State Drive + 1TB Hard Disk Drive |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | USB, Ethernet, HDMI, Audio |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 14.17 x 10.35 x 0.79 inches |
| Weight | 5.28 pounds |
| Pros | Performance, Design, Display Quality |
| Cons | None |
Acer Predator Triton 500 PT515-52-77P |
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| CPU | 10th Generation Intel Core i7-10750H 6-Core Processor |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER Graphics with Max-Q |
| Display Size | 15.6 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels |
| RAM | 32GB |
| Storage Space | 1TB SSD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | 1 - Thunderbolt 3 (Full USB 3.1 Type C) Port, 3 - USB 3.2 Gen 2 Ports (One with Power-off Charging), 1 - HDMI 2.0 Port with HDCP Support, 1 - Mini Display Port |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 14.11 x 10.04 x 0.7 inches |
| Weight | 10.52 pounds |
| Pros | Performance, Display Quality |
| Cons | Weight |
Alienware m15 R4 |
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| CPU | Intel Core i7-10870H (8-Core, 16MB Cache, up to 5.0GHz Max Turbo Frequency) |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 8GB GDDR6 |
| Display Size | 15.6 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels |
| RAM | 16GB |
| Storage Space | 1TB SSD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | USB, Ethernet, Audio |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 10.86 x 14.19 x 0.78 inches |
| Weight | 5.5 pounds |
| Pros | Performance |
| Cons | Weight |
MSI GE76 Raider 10UG-232 Laptop-i7-RTX3070 |
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| CPU | Intel Core i7-10870H 2.2-5.0 GHz |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX3070 8GB GDDR6 |
| Display Size | 17. 3 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels |
| RAM | 32GB (16G*2) DDR4 3200MHz |
| Storage Space | 1TB NVMe SSD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | Killer LAN E3100 | Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX210(2*2) | BT 5.2 |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 1.08 x 15.63 x 10.57 inches |
| Weight | 6.39 pounds |
| Pros | Performance, Display Quality |
| Cons | Quite Heavy |
MSI 15 Inch Laptop- 2TB - RTX 3060 |
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| CPU | Intel Core i7-10750H |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 |
| Display Size | 15.6 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1920 x 1080 |
| RAM | 32GB RAM |
| Storage Space | 2TB NVMe SSD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | USB, Ethernet, HDMI, Headphone Jack |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 14.13 x 9.99 x 0.85 inches |
| Weight | 4.1 pounds |
| Pros | GPU, CPU, Design, Performance |
| Cons | NA |
Razer Blade Pro 17 Laptop i7-RTX 3080 |
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| CPU | Intel Core i7-10875H 8-Core |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 |
| Display Size | 17.3 inches |
| Display Resolution | 3840 x 2160 pixels |
| RAM | 16GB |
| Storage Space | 1TB SSD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 Home |
| Ports | USB, Ethernet, Audio, SD Card |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 10.23 x 15.55 x 0.78 inches |
| Weight | 6.06 pounds |
| Pros | Performance, Display Quality |
| Cons | Quite Heavy |
ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo UX581 Laptop |
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| CPU | 10th Generation Intel Core i7 processor |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 graphics |
| Display Size | 15.6 inches |
| Display Resolution | 4K UHD |
| RAM | 16 GB of RAM |
| Storage Space | 1 TB SSD |
| Operating System | Windows |
| Ports | USB, Ethernet, Audio |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 14.1 x 9.7 x 0.9 inches |
| Weight | 5.5 pounds |
| Pros | Performance, Display Quality |
| Cons | Weight |
Apple MacBook Pro M1 Chip (13-inch, 8GB RAM, 512GB) |
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| CPU | Apple M1 chip; 8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores; 16-core Neural Engine |
| GPU | M1 8-core GPU |
| Display Size | 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology |
| Display Resolution | 2560-by-1600 native resolution at 227 pixels per inch |
| RAM | 8GB RAM |
| Storage Space | 512GB |
| Operating System | MacOS |
| Ports | Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports with support for: Charging, DisplayPort Thunderbolt 3 (up to 40 Gbps), USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10 Gbps) |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 13.41 x 11.97 x 0.61 inches |
| Weight | 3 Pounds |
| Pros | Performance, Battery Life |
| Cons | NA |
GIGABYTE AERO 15 OLED KC |
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| CPU | Intel Core i7-10870H (2.20 GHz) |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU 6 GB GDDR6 |
| Display Size | 15.6 inches |
| Display Resolution | 300Hz Refresh Rate FHD 1920 x 1080 |
| RAM | 16 GB RAM |
| Storage Space | 512 PCIe SSD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | 1 x Thunderbolt 3 (Type-C), 1 x Mini DisplayPort 1.4 | 3 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (Type-A), 1 x HDMI 2.1 | 1 x UHS-II SD Card Reader |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 9.8 x 14 x 0.78 inches |
| Weight | 4.5 pounds |
| Pros | Performance, Design |
| Cons | None |
OMEN 15 Laptop-RTX 2070 Super Max-Q |
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| CPU | Intel Core i7-10750H |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super Max-Q |
| Display Size | 15.6 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels |
| RAM | 32GB DDR4 |
| Storage Space | 512GB |
| Operating System | Windows |
| Ports | SuperSpeed USB Type-C(R) (DisplayPort(TM) 1.4, HP Sleep and Charge), 3 SuperSpeed USB Type-A, RJ-45, 3.5mm Headphone/microphone combo (DTS: X(R) Ultra), AC smart pin, Mini DisplayPort(TM), HDMI 2.0a |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 14.17 x 10.36 x 0.79 inches |
| Weight | 5.12 lbs |
| Pros | Display, Performance |
| Cons | n/a |
GIGABYTE AORUS 15G XC |
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| CPU | 10th Gen Intel Core i7-10870H (2.2GHz - 5.0GHz) |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU 8 GB GDDR6 |
| Display Size | 15.6 |
| Display Resolution | 1920 X 1080 pixels |
| RAM | 32GB |
| Storage Space | 512GB SSD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | 1 x USB 3.2 Gen1 (Type-C), 1 x Mini DisplayPort 1.4 | 3 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (Type-A), 1 x HDMI 2.1 |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 9.6 x 14 x 0.9 inches |
| Weight | 4.4 pounds |
| Pros | Performance |
| Cons | |
Dell G7 15.6 4K OLED Laptop |
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| CPU | Intel Core i7-10750H |
| GPU | NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2070MQ |
| Display Size | 15.6 inches |
| Display Resolution | 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160) OLED |
| RAM | 16 GB DDR4 |
| Storage Space | 1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe Solid State Drive |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | Standard SD card Slot, 2x USB 3.2, USB 3.2 Gen 1 with PowerShare, Thunderbolt 3 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, Mini Display Port, HDMI 2.0, RJ-45, Headset jack |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 14.1 x 10.5 x 0.72 inches |
| Weight | 3.7 pounds |
| Pros | Good performance, Quality Display |
| Cons | None |
Alienware m17 R3 Laptop RTX 2070 8GB |
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| CPU | Intel Core i7-10750H |
| GPU | Nvidia Geforce RTX 2070 |
| Display Size | 17.3 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels |
| RAM | 16GB |
| Storage Space | 1TB SSD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | USB, Ethernet, Audio |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 15.74 x 11.59 x 0.89 inches |
| Weight | 5.51 pounds |
| Pros | Performance |
| Cons | |
You can also take a look at the Best Laptops for Architects in addition to the Best Tablets for Adobe Illustrator.