Design, is one of the best courses you can study today. Here, we’ll look at the best Laptops for Design Students. Apart from pen and paper, a lot of design happens digitally. You need a laptop that you can use for prototyping, designing, rendering and 3D Designs. Some of the software used by design students include 3DS Max, SolidWorks, Sketchup, Cinema 4D, Blender and many more.
We’ve come up with a criterion for the best laptops recommendations for Design Students. This includes, performance, build quality, battery life, weight and display size. When it comes to performance, this list, contains only laptops that ensure that you can use majority of the commonly used 3D Design Software. Intel Core i5, is the minimum. With that, you get fast boot times, fast performance when using the various design software, in addition to fast load times. When it comes to the RAM 4GB laptops is the minimum listed here. This ensures that you can run multiple programs at the same time without performance issues. You can intuitively switch, for example, from your browser to blender without the program lagging.
For design students, a GPU in a laptop is crucial. With that, you can have fast rendering times, in addition to improved performance in programs that offload some of the CPU work to the GPU.
The display size and quality, is a crucial part in a design laptop. Not only should it be color accurate, but also large enough to ensure that you can effortlessly work on your digital designs. Preferably, you should get a laptop with at least a 14 inch display.
Since many students are constantly on the move, having a lightweight laptop ensures that you can, for example move from class to library, then to the coffee shop easily. This list has some lightweight laptops for consideration to those who value a lightweight laptop.
This list has laptops that have a minimum of 5 hours of battery life. This is with moderate usage. Having CPU intensive programs running can drastically reduce this. Having long battery life, helps in ensuring that you can use your laptop for a full day in college without the need for sitting next to a power outlet.
In this list of best laptops for design students, you can get brands such as Apple, Asus, Microsoft Surface, Dell, Gigabyte, Lenovo, HP, Acer and more.
You can also take a look at the best laptops for Content Creators in addition to the best laptop for Adobe Premiere Pro.
The Following are the Best Laptops for Design Students (2021):
- MSI P65 Creator-1084 Laptop
- Microsoft Surface Pro X
- Gigabyte AERO 15 YA-7US5450SP Laptop
- Lenovo Yoga 730 2-in-1 Laptop
- Razer Blade 15.6 inch Laptop
- ASUS VivoBook Pro 17 Laptop
- HP Envy X360 Laptop
- Apple MacBook Pro 15 inch-i9-512GB
- ASUS ZenBook 3 Laptop
- Dell XPS 9370 Laptop
- ASUS VivoBook 15 Laptop
- MSI Modern 14 A10M-460 Laptop
- MSI GS65 Stealth-002 Laptop
- Lenovo Yoga C930 2-in-1 Laptop
- Razer Blade Stealth 12.5 inch Laptop
- Microsoft Surface Pro 6
- GIGABYTE AERO 15 Classic-YA-F75AMP Laptop
- Acer Spin 3 Convertible Laptop
- DELL Precision 17 7730 Laptop
- Acer Aspire 5 Slim Laptop
- Samsung Notebook 9 Pro
- Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch-i5
- Gigabyte AERO 17 SA-7US1130SO Laptop
1MSI P65 Creator-1084 Laptop
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| CPU | Intel Core i7-9750h 2. 6 - 4. 5GHz |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 6G GDDR6 |
| Display Size | 15.6 inches |
| Display Resolution | Uhd (3840*2160) |
| RAM | 32GB (16G*2) DDR4 2400MHz |
| Storage Space | 1 TB Flash Memory Solid State |
| Operating System | Windows 10 Pro |
| Ports | HDMI, USB, Ethernet |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 15.08 x 10.24 x 0.69 inches |
| Weight | 8.55 pounds |
| Pros | Performance, Display quality |
| Cons | Heavy |
2Microsoft Surface Pro X
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| CPU | Microsoft® SQ1™ |
| GPU | Microsoft® SQ1™ Adreno™ 685 GPU |
| Display Size | 13 INCHES PixelSense |
| Display Resolution | 2880x1920 (267 PPI) |
| RAM | 8GB or 16GB LPDDR4x RAM |
| Storage Space | 128, 256, or 512GB SSD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | 2 x USB-C, Surface Connect Port, Surface Keyboard port, Nano SIM |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 11.3 in x 8.2 in x 0.28 in (287 mm x 208 mm x 7.3 mm) |
| Weight | 1.7 lbs (774g) |
| Pros | Lightweight, Portable, Good performance, Long battery life |
| Cons | NA |
3Gigabyte AERO 15 YA-7US5450SP Laptop
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| CPU | Intel Core i7-9750h (2.6Ghz-4.5GHz) |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 with MAX-Q |
| Display Size | 15.6" 0.11 inch ultra-thin bezel |
| Display Resolution | UHD 3840x2160 AMOLED |
| RAM | 32GB DDR4 2666MHz |
| Storage Space | NVMe PCIe 1TB Intel 760P SSD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 Pro |
| Ports | Card Reader, HDMIs, USB, LAN |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 14 x 9.8 x 0.8 inch |
| Weight | 4.4 pounds |
| Pros | Performance, Price, Display Quality, Design |
| Cons | None |
4Lenovo Yoga 730 2-in-1 Laptop
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| CPU | 8th Generation Intel Core i7-8550U Processor (Quad Core, 6MB Cache, 1.8 GHz up to 4.0 GHz Turbo Boost) |
| GPU | Intel HD Graphics 620 |
| Display Size | 15.6 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1920 x 1080 |
| RAM | 16GB DDR4 |
| Storage Space | 512GB SSD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | 1 x Thunderbolt 3, 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C, 1 x USB 3.0 Type-A, Stereo Speakers, 1 x Headphone/microphone Combo Jack, 1 x RJ-45 (10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet) |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 14.2 x 9.8 x 0.7 inches |
| Weight | 6.2 pounds |
| Pros | Design, Build Quality, Performance |
| Cons | Quite heavy |
5Razer Blade 15.6 inch Laptop
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| CPU | 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8750H 6 core processor |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q Design VR Ready graphics |
| Display Size | 15.6 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1920 x 1080 144Hz |
| RAM | 16GB |
| Storage Space | 512GB SSD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | USB, HDMI, Mini Display, Ethernet |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 9.25 x 13.98 x 0.66 inches |
| Weight | 4.63 pounds |
| Pros | Performance. Lightweight |
| Cons | None |
6ASUS VivoBook Pro 17 Laptop
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| CPU | 8th generation Intel Core i7-8565u Processor (8M Cache, up to 4.6 GHz) |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 4GB |
| Display Size | 17.3 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels |
| RAM | 16GB DDR4 |
| Storage Space | 256G M.2 SSD + 1TB HDD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | USB-C (Gen1), USB 3.0 Type-A, USB 2.0, HDMI, & headphone/mic ports |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 16.2 x 10.6 x 0.8 inches |
| Weight | 4.85 pounds |
| Pros | Powerful, Large display for productivity, Long battery life |
| Cons | None |
7HP Envy X360 Laptop
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| CPU | AMD Quad-Core Ryzen 5 2500U Processor, 2.0GHz Base Frequency, up to 3.60GHz, 6 MB Smartcache |
| GPU | AMD Radeon Vega 8 |
| Display Size | 15.6 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels |
| RAM | 8GB 2400MHz DDR4 SDRAM |
| Storage Space | 256GB PCle Solid State Drive |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C, 2 x USB 3.1, 1 x HDMI, 1 x Headphone/microphone Combo Jacks, 1 x microSD Media Card Reader |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 9.68 x 14.13 x 0.74 inches |
| Weight | 4.49lbs |
| Pros | Design, Performance, Build Quality, Long battery life |
| Cons | Storage space |
8Apple MacBook Pro 15 inch-i9-512GB
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| CPU | 2.3GHz 8-core Intel Core i9 |
| GPU | Radeon Pro 560X with 4GB of GDDR5 |
| Display Size | 15.4 inches |
| Display Resolution | 2880-by-1800 native resolution at 220 pixels per inch |
| RAM | 16GB |
| Storage Space | 512GB SSD |
| Operating System | MacOS |
| Ports | Four Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports |
| Dimensions (H x W x L) | 0.61 x 13.75 x 9.48 inches |
| Weight | 4.02 Pounds |
| Pros | Performance, Price, Lightweight, Touch Bar |
| Cons | Expensive |
9ASUS ZenBook 3 Laptop
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| CPU | Intel Core i7 2.7GHz 7500U |
| GPU | Intel HD Graphics |
| Display Size | 12.5 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels |
| RAM | 16GB of 2133MHz DDR3 |
| Storage Space | 512 GB Flash Memory Solid State |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | USBs, HDMI, Audio Jack |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 7.5 x 11.7 x 0.5 inches |
| Weight | 2.1 pounds |
| Pros | Display, Performance |
| Cons | NA |
10Dell XPS 9370 Laptop
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| CPU | Intel Core 8th Generation i7-8550U Processor (Quad Core, up to 4.0 GHz, 8M Cache) |
| GPU | Intel UHD Graphics 620 |
| Display Size | 13.3'' |
| Display Resolution | 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160) InfinityEdge Touch display |
| RAM | 8 GB DDR3 |
| Storage Space | 256GB SSD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | 2x ThunderboltTM 3 with PowerShare & DC-In & DisplayPort, 1x USB-C 3.1 with PowerShare, DC-In & DisplayPort, 1x card reader, 1x headset jack, 1x Noble lock slot |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | Height: 0.3"-0.46" (7.8mm-11.6mm), Width: 11.9" (302mm), Depth: 7.8" (199mm) |
| Weight | 2.67 lbs 1.21Kg |
| Pros | Quality display, Good performance |
| Cons | Storage may be inadequate for some people |
11ASUS VivoBook 15 Laptop
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|
| CPU | Intel Core i3-8145U Processor (4M Cache, up to 3.9 GHz) |
| GPU | Intel UHD Graphics 620 |
| Display Size | 15.6 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels |
| RAM | 8GB |
| Storage Space | 128 GB Flash Memory Solid State |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | USB 3.1 Type-C , USB 3.1 Type-A, USB 2.0, and HDMI; Gigabit Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 14.1 x 9.1 x 0.75 inches |
| Weight | 3.75 pounds |
| Pros | Performance, Price |
| Cons | None |
12MSI Modern 14 A10M-460 Laptop
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| CPU | 3.4GHz Intel Core i5 |
| GPU | Intel HD Graphics |
| Display Size | 14.1 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels |
| RAM | 8 GB DDR4 |
| Storage Space | HDD 512GB NV Me SSD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | USB 3. 1 Gen 1 Type C *2 USB 3. 2 Gen1 *2 Wireless Intel 9560 Jefferson Peak (2x2 802. 11 ac) BT 5 720p HD Webcam |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 12.68 x 8.74 x 0.63 inches |
| Weight | 2.62 pounds |
| Pros | Lightweight and Portable, Long battery Life |
| Cons | None |
13MSI GS65 Stealth-002 Laptop
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| CPU | Intel Core i7-8750H 2. 2 - 4. 1GHz |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX2070 8G Max-Q GDDR6 w/ New Ray Tracing Technology |
| Display Size | 15.6 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels |
| RAM | 32GB (16G*2) DDR4 2666MHz |
| Storage Space | 512GB NVMe SSD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | USB, HDMI, Ethernet |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 15.08 x 10.24 x 1.16 in |
| Weight | 4.19 lbs |
| Pros | Performance |
| Cons | None |
14Lenovo Yoga C930 2-in-1 Laptop
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|
| CPU | Intel Core i7 |
| GPU | Intel UHD Graphics 620 |
| Display Size | 13.9 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1920 x 1080 resolution |
| RAM | 12GB DDR4 2400 MHz |
| Storage Space | 512GB PCIe solid-state drive (SSD) |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | Two Thunderbolt 3 ports for connecting advanced monitors and external drives; Built-in HD webcam with stereo microphone; Microphone-in/headphone-out combo jack |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 12.6 x 8.93 x 0.57 inches |
| Weight | 3.04 lbs |
| Pros | Performance, Design, Build Quality |
| Cons | |
15Razer Blade Stealth 12.5 inch Laptop
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| CPU | Intel Core i7 processor |
| GPU | Intel HD Graphics 520 |
| Display Size | 12.5” 4K Touch Screen Display |
| Display Resolution | 3840 x 2160 |
| RAM | 8GB RAM |
| Storage Space | 256GB PCIe SSD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | Thunderbolt, USB, DisplayPort, and power over USBC |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 8.1 x 12.6 x 0.5 inches |
| Weight | 2.75 pounds |
| Pros | Lightweight and Portable, Good Display Quality |
| Cons | None |
16Microsoft Surface Pro 6
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|
| CPU | Intel® Core™ 8th Gen i5-8250U or i7-8650U |
| GPU | Intel® UHD Graphics 620 (i5), i7 |
| Display Size | 12.3” PixelSense™ Display |
| Display Resolution | 2736 x 1824 (267 PPI) |
| RAM | 8GB or 16GB RAM |
| Storage Space | Solid-state drive (SSD) options: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | USB 3.0, Mini DisplayPort, 3.5mm headphone jack, MicroSDXC Card reader, Surface connect port |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 11.5” x 7.9” x 0.33” (292 mm x 201 mm x 8.5 mm) |
| Weight | 1.73 lbs (784 g) |
| Pros | Performance, Lightweight, portable |
| Cons | Cannot run very heavy programs that require discrete GPU |
17GIGABYTE AERO 15 Classic-YA-F75AMP Laptop
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| CPU | Intel Core i7-9750h (2.6Ghz-4.5GHz) |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 GDDR6 8GB |
| Display Size | 15.6" 0.11 inch ultra-thin bezel | sharp 240Hz |
| Display Resolution | 1920x1080 |
| RAM | 32GB DDR4 2666MHz Samsung DRAM module |
| Storage Space | PCIe 1TB Intel 760P SSD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 Pro |
| Ports | HDMI2.0 | mini-DP 1.4, Intel Thunderbolt 3 | Intel Wi-Fi AC adapter |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 14 x 9.8 x 0.74 inch |
| Weight | 4.49 Ibis |
| Pros | Performance, Thin and Light, Display Quality |
| Cons | None |
18Acer Spin 3 Convertible Laptop
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| CPU | 8th Generation Intel Core i7 8565U Processor (Up to 4.6GHz) |
| GPU | Intel UHD Graphics 620 |
| Display Size | 14 inches |
| Display Resolution | Full HD (1920 x 1080) |
| RAM | 16GB DDR4 |
| Storage Space | 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | 1 - USB 3.1 Gen 1 port, 1 - USB 2.0 port, 1 - HDMI Port |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 12.95 x 9.41 x 0.78 inches |
| Weight | 3.75 pounds |
| Pros | Performance, Lightweight and Portable |
| Cons | None |
19DELL Precision 17 7730 Laptop
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|
| CPU | 2.7 GHz Intel Xeon |
| GPU | Intel HD |
| Display Size | 17.3 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1920 X 1080 pixels |
| RAM | 32 GB |
| Storage Space | 2TB SSD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | USB, HDMI, Audio Jack |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 6.81 pounds |
| Weight | 10.77 x 16.3 x 1.18 in |
| Pros | Performance |
| Cons | Heavy |
20Acer Aspire 5 Slim Laptop
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|
| CPU | 8th Generation Intel Core i3 8145u Processor (Up to 3.9GHz) |
| GPU | Intel UHD Graphics 620 |
| Display Size | 15.6 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels |
| RAM | 4GB DDR4 |
| Storage Space | 128GB PCIe NVMe SSD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | 1 USB 3.1 Type C Gen 1 port, 2 USB 3.1 Gen 1 Ports (one with Power off Charging), 1 USB 2.0 Port & 1 HDMI Port with HDCP support |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 14.31 x 9.86 x 0.71 inches |
| Weight | 3.97 pounds |
| Pros | Long battery life, portable |
| Cons | Storage capacity |
21Samsung Notebook 9 Pro
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| CPU | 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8550U Processor with TURBO BOOST to 4.00 GHz |
| GPU | Intel HD Graphics |
| Display Size | 15 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1920 x 1080 |
| RAM | 16 GB |
| Storage Space | 512 GB SSD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | Webcam; Backlit Keyboard; WiFi 802.11ac (2x2) + Bluetooth v4.1; 1x USB Type-C; 2x USB 3.0; microSD |
| Dimensions | 13.7 x 0.7 x 9.4 inches |
| Weight | 3.79 pounds |
| Pros | Performance, Display Quality |
| Cons | NA |
22Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch-i5
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|
| CPU | 2.4GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz, with 128MB of eDRAM |
| GPU | Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 |
| Display Size | 13.3 inches |
| Display Resolution | 2560-by-1600 native resolution at 227 pixels per inch |
| RAM | 8GB |
| Storage Space | 256GB |
| Operating System | MacOS |
| Ports | Four Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 0.59 X 11.97 X 8.36 inches |
| Weight | 3.02 pounds (1.37 kg) |
| Pros | Performance, Design, Display Quality |
| Cons | Storage size may be inadequate for some people |
23Gigabyte AERO 17 SA-7US1130SO Laptop
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|
| CPU | Intel Core i7-9750h |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti GDDR6 6GB |
| Display Size | 17.3" Thin Bezel LG 144Hz |
| Display Resolution | 1920x1080 IPS |
| RAM | 16GB DDR4 2666MHz |
| Storage Space | PCIe 512GB SSD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | USB 3.0, Mini Display Port, HDMI, Card Reader |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 15.6 x 10.6 x 0.84 inches |
| Weight | 5.5 pounds |
| Pros | Performance, Display Size |
| Cons | Heavy |
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