Best Laptop For Ux Design
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).
It's no secret that most creatives love Apple products, but in case you're not an Apple fan, in this article I cover a variety of other great laptops that will certainly do the job.
Here's my list of the 10 best laptops for graphic design.
10 Best Laptops for Designers
- MacBook Pro 16" (Renewed) —Most popular
- HP Envy X360 (2020) —Budget-friendly
- Dell XPS 15 9500 —Best overall
- Microsoft Surface Laptop 3—Best Microsoft
- Gigabyte Aero 17 (2021) —Most powerful
- Razer Blade 15 (2020) —Best for gaming
- MacBook Air (2020)—Most inexpensive
- Lenovo ThinkPad P1—Best for pros
- Huawei MateBook X Pro—Most Apple-like
- Google Pixelbook Go—Best Chromebook
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 let's 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 performance—look 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 more—so 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 you're living a nomadic life or just have to move your laptop frequently without having to plug it every single time.
Dying batter 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 range—affordable, 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 on the market in 2021.
1. MacBook Pro 16" (Renewed)
It may come as no surprise that MacBook Pro is my top pick as it is still considered as the best laptop for designers.
Macbook Pro is the most popular laptop among graphic designers.
This specific MacBook is my favorite as it comes with a larger screen than its previous models, giving you more space to work with.
Price: $2,599.99
Moreover, Apple managed to keep the iconic light and slim design while increasing screen size.
As Apple says in its press release "...designed for developers, photographers, filmmakers, scientists, music producers and anyone who relies on a Mac to create their life's best work."
This MacBook is blazing-fast, has bigger battery, awesome speakers and massive amounts of storage.
If wasn't always an Apple fan, but I remember when I got my first Macbook Pro about a decade ago—and I never looked back ever since.
Do you need a touch screen for graphic design?—I don't prefer a touchscreen display over a regular one for graphic design.
Macbook Pro is also an excellent choice for anyone looking to run Adobe CC apps like Photoshop or Illustrator.
MacBook Pro 16" is a very powerful laptop thanks to the perfect combination of Core i9 processor and a ton of RAM to run your graphic designer software smoothly.
Specifications
CPU: 9th-generation Intel Core i7 – i9
Graphics: AMD Radeon Pro 5300M – Radeon Pro 5500M
RAM: 16GB – 64GB
Screen: 16-inch Retina display with True Tone
Storage: 512GB – 8TB SSD
Average Battery Life: 11 hours
Pros
- Stunning 16-inch screen
- New, improved keyboard
Cons
- Expensive
- Limited to 4 Thunderbolt 3 ports
2. HP Envy X360 (2020)
If you're a designer that needs a laptop that looks and feels premium, but without breaking the bank, HP Envy X360 is a solid choice.
The best budget-friendly and versatile laptop for graphic designers.
As the name suggests, other designers will envy your new 2-in-1 laptop that you can flip and use as a tablet as well.
Price: $829.00
Thanks to its great design and excellent performance, it makes as a perfect choice for creatives that can't afford spending over $2k on a Macbook.
The 15" touchscreen is very bright with wide color spectrum—making the HP Envy X360 a perfect choice if you're looking for a laptop for drawing.
You can also buy a pen from HP which allows you to create beautiful illustrations easily.
But the most exciting aspect of this laptop is probably what's inside for this price: AMD's Ryzen 4000 series which can handle multitasking fast and easy.
And if you also love gaming, you will get performance delivered here as well.
Is gaming laptop good for graphic design?—It definitely is, and HP Envy X360 is a great example.
Overall, HP Envy X360 is the best budget laptop for graphic design you can buy in 2021.
Specifications
CPU: Intel Hexa-Core i7-9750H
Graphics: 4GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650
RAM: 32GB DDR4
Screen: 15.6", 4K UHD OLED (3840 x 2160)
Storage: 2TB PCIe SSD
Average Battery Life: up to 7 hours
Pros
- Good performance for the price.
- Touchscreen capability (2-in-1 laptop)
Cons
- Battery life not so long.
- Not great colour reproduction.
3. Dell XPS 15 9500
If you're not an Apple fan, but don't mind spending more on a quality laptop, then Dell XPS is your best choice.
The most decent laptop for creatives 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.
Price: $2,399.00
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 couldn't be further from the truth in this case.
Looking for a the best dell laptop for graphic design?—Look no further.
Solid performance in a beautiful design for those who don't mind spending over $2k a quality machine.
Overall, Dell XPS 15 9500 is a powerful machine 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
Average Battery Life: Up to 8 hours
Pros
- Fast performance
- Eye-catching design
Cons
- GTX 1650 Ti is a little weak
4. Microsoft Surface Laptop 3
If you're not an Apple fan, but didn't like previously mentioned Dell, then you might consider Microsoft Surface Laptop 3.
The best Microsoft laptop for designers in 2021.
This laptop from Microsoft is not only a great budget choice, but it also comes with a very beautiful design.
Price range: $799.00 to 2,799.00
I the 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 what's inside at the same time.
Similarly as with Macbook, you can choose from a variety of sophisticated-looking colors: Cobalt Blue, Mate Black, Platinum and Sand Stone.
Inside you will find a powerful processor that makes graphics render and it ensures minimal lag while using Adobe CC products.
What's 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 Core i5 – i7 / AMD Ryzen 5 / AMD Ryzen 7
Graphics: Intel Iris Plus Graphics / AMD Radeon Vega 9 / AMD Radeon RX Vega 11
RAM: 8GB – 16GB
Screen: 13.5" or 15" PixelSense (2,256 x 1,504 or 2,496 x 1,664)
Storage: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB or 1TB SSD
Average Battery Life: Up to 8 hours
Pros
- Eye-catching design
- Speedy Processors
- Fast-Charging Feature
Cons
- Mediocre Battery Life
5. Gigabyte Aero 17 (2021)
If you're looking for one of the latest pieces of tech with a powerful engine and excellent display, then consider the new Gigabyte Aero 17 just released in 2021.
The most powerful laptop for 3d designers and video editors.
This laptop brings you everything you need when it comes to portable computing.
Price: $5,279.00
The notebook is ultra-light yet gives you the optimized power and speed for high resolution rendering of your creative projects.
It also offers outstanding refresh rates for playing your favorite AAA games.
This laptop with zero compromise, it's a versatile workhorse designed for modern on the go pros.
You can get up 16 TB disk storage, which definitely comes in handy for heavy video or 3d model renderings.
The best thing?—Average battery life of 10.5 hours is extremely attractive for graphic designers who need a mobile version of their powerful desktop computer.
And the 17.3 inches of space you can use, what else would a designer wish for in a laptop?
Specifications
CPU: 10th Generation Intel Core i7 2.3 GHz 8 Core
Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX™ 2070 Super with Max-Q Design
RAM: 16GB – 64GB
Screen: 16-inch Retina display with True Tone
Storage: 1-16 TB
Battery Life: 10.5 hours
Pros
- Great display
- Abundance of ports
- Very powerful
Cons
- Runs hot
- Looks cheap
6. Razer Blade 15
If you're a designer who also likes gaming, Razer Blade 15 is a wonderful choice.
The best laptop for gamers and designers
This is a well built, sleek and compact laptop with great performance and for affordable price.
Price: $1,499.99
The screen is a beautiful Full HD display that provides an immersive and insanely fast visual experience for gaming and design.
You will be able to game or create with the colorful and accurate visuals of the thin bezel, factory calibrated 15.6" display, with support for up to 100% sRGB color!
Probably the only downside to Razer Blade 15 is its low battery life of 5-6 hours.
However, it has exceptionally better hardware than the much more expensive Macbook Pro.
And hardware optimization is a very important element to keep in mind when choosing a laptop for your graphic design work.
Besides, this laptop is fully loaded with Wi-Fi 6, Gigabit Ethernet, Thunderbolt 3, USB type-A and type-C ports, and HDMI—all of which gives you a desktop-class like experience.
And an interesting feature is that you can customize the backlight color of the keyboard, making the Razer Blade 15 uniquely yours.
Specifications
CPU: 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8750H
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q
RAM: 32GB
Screen: 15.6" OLED 4K Touch 60Hz, factory calibrated
Storage: 1TB SSD
Battery Life: 5-6 hours
Pros
- Powerful
- Lightweight
Cons
- Expensive
- Low battery life
7. MacBook Air (2020)
MacBook Air is a budget version of Apple products and it might be a good option for those designers who don't need super powerful Macbook Pro.
The most inexpensive laptop for regular graphic design work.
Previous versions of MacBook Air weren't powerful enough to handle advanced graphic design softwares like Adobe CC.
But this latest model comes with the same Apple M1 chip that's in the more expensive 13-inch MacBook Pro, which I've mentioned earlier in this list.
Price: $999,99
Having the same M1 chip means this Apple MacBook Air 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, don't expect it to be a good choice if you're into some heavy design work like video editing or 3d rendering.
Macbook Air is a good 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 with 8‑core
Graphics: Integrated 7-core – 8-core
RAM: 8GB – 16GB unified memory
Screen: 13.3-inch 2560 x 1600 Retina display
Storage: 256GB – 2TB SSD
Average Battery Life: Up to 18 hours
Pros
- Powerful M1 chip
- Silent in use
- Great battery life
Cons
- Can get hot (no fan)
8. Lenovo ThinkPad E15
Lenovo ThinkPad P1 is another excellent laptop for high-level graphic designers who need a powerful yet portable machine.
The best for professional designers and content creators.
If you prefer Windows, then this laptop is a stylish choice: powerful processors and great battery life in a unique, sophisticated design.
Price: $1,299.99
The combination of a pro-grade graphics, up to 64GB of RAM, and options for Intel Xeon processors make this ThinkPad from Lenovo an extremely powerful laptop.
And yet, despite its eye-catching looks and impressive performance, it's still affordable and represents real value to any demanding graphic designer.
In fact, the Lenovo ThinkPad E15 provides the same kind of performance you'd expect from a powerful desktop workstation.
But unlike a desktop computer—it's portable, allowing you to work on the road or travel with it.
And best of all, this laptop is designed to withstand almost anything you can throw at it—even water.
It's proven to work in nearly any environment from freezing cold to a dry hot.
So that any even accidental knocks, drops, and spills won't stop it from running.
Moreover, it also offers a range of ports so that you don't have to buy any additional accessories to connect your other devices like hard drives, cameras etc.
Overall, Lenovo ThinkPad E15 is perfect for working with multimedia.
Is Lenovo good for graphic design?—it certainly is and ThinkPad E15 serves as a great example.
Go with the FHD low-power display option for enhanced battery life.
Specifications
CPU: 10th gen Quad-Core i5-10210U
Graphics: Nvidia Quadro P1000 / P2000
RAM: 8GB-64GB
Screen: 15.6" Full HD (1,920 x 1,080)
Storage: 128MB-2TB SSD
Average Battery Life: Up to 11 hours
Pros
- Excellent performance
- Slim design
- Antiglare display
Cons
- Pretty expensive
- Color accuracy (51% of sRGB)
9. Huawei MateBook X Pro
While Huawei is probably best known for its smartphones, but it has also been offering really good laptops in recent years.
The most Apple-like laptop for those who use Windows.
As might have already noticed that the name sounds very familiar: Is it MateBook or MacBook?
Price: $967.99
In fact, the similarities don't end there and span beyond just naming.
We can clearly see that this laptop tries hard to imitate Macbook Pro in its look as well.
But its not just name and looks either, when it comes to performance and durability, Huawei MateBook X Pro can proudly stand next to more established brands.
For that reason, this laptop is a valid option if you like Apple's product design, but don't want to break up with your beloved Windows.
For much less money than its competitors like Apple or Dell laptops, Huawei MateBook X Pro offers you a sleek looking laptop and solid performance.
You also get pretty decent screen and overall specs, so that all your creative and graphic design softwares will run perfectly on it.
Again, Huawei MateBook X Pro is a great choice for designers who like how sleek Apple products look, but want to keep running on Windows.
I would even so far to say that this is probably the best windows laptop ever.
Specifications
CPU: 8th generation Intel Core i5 – i7
Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620, Nvidia GeForce MX150 2GB GDDR5
RAM: 8GB – 16GB
Screen: 13.9-inch 3K (3,000 x 2,080)
Storage: 512GB SSD
Average Battery Life: 8-10 hours
Pros
- Great battery life
- Fantastic display
- Sleek design
Cons
- No SD card slot
- Not a great webcam
10. Google Pixelbook Go
And last but not least on my list is Pixelbook Go from Google which makes as a great tablet for some simple and light graphic design work.
The best Chromebook for quick design on the fly.
This laptop is a good option for those who don't need Adobe CC apps—for example, web designers who use web-based software like Webflow or Figma etc.
Price: $631.12
The two primary reasons for why you would want to buy a Chromebook is probably the price and battery life.
Pixelbook Go lets you stay unplugged for up to 12 hours, so that you don't need to carry a charger.
And when you do need a charge, you can get up to 2 hours of battery use in just 20 minutes of charging.
This Chromebook it's barely 2 pounds and 13 mm thin making it easy to carry around.
Pixelbook Go is a quiet and comfortable laptop with a backlit keyboard, and a spacious touchpad that only needs a light touch.
You will also get amazing picture quality with the brilliant HD touchscreen display.
For this price, Pixelbook Go is a definitely no-brainer for those who don't need to run any advanced software like Adobe, AutoDesk or CorelDraw.
So if you work with online web design tools, such as Webflow or Wordpress, or graphic design tools such as Canva—they will run effectively on this Chromebook.
Specifications
CPU: Intel M3
RAM: 8GB
Screen: 13.3" LCD touchscreen display
Storage: 64 GB
Battery: Up to 12 Hours
Pros
- Excellent battery life
- Light weight
Cons
- Can't install .exe files (Chrome OS)
- Can't use Adobe CC
Conclusions
So which laptop should you buy for graphic design?—Apple Macbook Pro is a trusted choice of many designers.
If you're not an Apple fan, then any other item from my list of top laptops for graphic design will surely do the job.
This was my general buying advice on how to choose the perfect laptop for your specific graphic design needs.
Because graphic design is a very broad term and your design software will dictate a specific list of hardware requirements.
Combine it with your own preferences and inclinations—and you can spend hours trying to find the best price-features combination.
Again, the MacBook Pro remains the #1 option for many graphic designers due to its minimalist look and excellent performance.
However, there are other great brands who make good looking, great performing laptops that cost less than Apple products.
What's the laptop of your choice as a graphic designer?—Leave a comment below.
More Top Gear for Designers
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- Best printers for designers
- Best monitors for designers
- Best mouses for designers
Best Laptop For Ux Design
Source: https://www.ebaqdesign.com/blog/laptops-graphic-design
Posted by: huntthiskes.blogspot.com
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