Arek Dvornechcuck
Branding Expert
I'm a branding expert and graphic designer based in NY. I specialize in the development of brands: brand strategy, identity & web design. Need help with your project?—Get in touch
The best Microsoft laptop for designers in 2023. Has incredible speed for intensive and uninterrupted design sessions.
The best laptop for professionals looking for quality and innovative design. Has a larger touchpad and screen for comfort.
The most popular and best Apple laptop for regular graphic design work. Easy to set up and features a stunning display.
I'm a branding expert and graphic designer based in NY. I specialize in the development of brands: brand strategy, identity & web design. Need help with your project?—Get in touch
So, it is important to understand that getting the best laptop for graphic design is a serious job, as graphics design requires suitable hardware and software to get the job done.
The good news is that, with so many brands available on the market, there is no shortage of good laptops for graphic design these days.
Nevertheless, when choosing a laptop, you need the right balance between performance and weight, a large screen and portability, battery life and an affordable price, and so on.
Which laptop is best for graphic design?
What laptops do 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. not Apple fans.
In this article, I cover a variety of other great laptops that will certainly do the job.
So without further ado, here's my list of the 10 best laptops for graphic design.
Do you want to add your product to the list?—Find my address on the contact page and send your product for review.
When it comes to choosing the best laptop for your specific graphic design needs, you should consider these 7 factors:
Now let’s briefly describe each of them and what they mean when it comes to getting the graphic design work done.
First things first, at the start, you need to decide whether you like using Windows or if 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 the transition to MacOS.
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 maximum performance—look for a quad-core.
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 least 8 GB of RAM, a recommended 16GB, or as much as you can afford.
I would strongly recommend you 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.
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.
Obviously, a decent display choice is very important to any graphic designer.
This is because, as a designer, you need optimal brightness, and great color accuracy, and the bigger the screen the better.
When it comes to screen size: a 13” screen is a bit too small, a 15” is optimal, and a 16 or 17” will be very much appreciated.
Here, you can also think about whether you want to have a touchscreen to be able to use it as a tablet (good for drawing illustrations)
Since you want to buy a laptop, 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 in every single time.
A dying battery in the middle of your work can be a very frustrating thing.
And of course, with all that being said, probably one of the most important factors is the 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 in 2022.
If you’re a fan of Microsoft and are 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.
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The apple-like aluminum body gives this Surface Laptop 4 a familiar, premium feel and protects what’s inside at the same time.
The Surface Laptop 4 is a great choice if you’re 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.
What’s very interesting about this laptop is the new fast-charging feature that enables an 80% charge in less than an hour!
Still undecided between the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 and the MacBook Pro 14?—Check out this article.
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
Buy Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 on Amazon
If you’re not an Apple fan but don’t mind spending more on a quality laptop, then the 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.
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This XPS 15 9500 from 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 laptop 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.
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 don’t mind spending over $2k for a quality machine.
Overall, the Dell XPS 15 9500 is a powerful device that is both affordable and efficient when it comes to running graphic design software.
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
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The MacBook Air 2021 is a budget version of Apple products, and it might be a good option for those designers who don’t need a super powerful Macbook Pro.
The most popular laptop for regular graphic design work.
Previous versions of MacBook Air weren’t powerful enough to handle advanced graphic design software like Adobe CC.
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Having the same M1 chip means this Apple MacBook Air 2021 is as powerful as the MacBook Pro but much cheaper.
This MacBook has 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.
The 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.
CPU: Apple M1 chip
Graphics: Integrated
RAM: 4GB, 8GB
Screen: 13.3 Inches
Storage: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB
Buy Apple MacBook Air 2021 on Amazon
It may come as no surprise that the MacBook Pro 14" 2021 is my top pick, as it is still considered the best laptop for designers.
The best Apple laptop for every graphic design job.
This specific MacBook is my favorite as it comes with a larger screen than its previous models, giving you more space to work with.
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Moreover, Apple managed to keep the iconic light and slim design while increasing the 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 a 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.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14" 2021 is also an excellent choice for anyone looking to run Adobe CC apps like Photoshop or Illustrator.
It is a very powerful laptop thanks to the perfect combination of a Core i9 processor and a ton of RAM to run your graphic designer software smoothly.
CPU: Apple M1 pro max
RAM: 16GB
Screen: 14 Inches
Storage: 512GB
Buy Apple MacBook Pro 14" 2021 on Amazon
If you’re looking for the most affordable graphic design laptop to buy this 2022, look no further, because the Acer Aspire 5 A515 is for you.
A budget option for graphic design laptops for creatives.
Its narrow-bezel design offers more real estate for amazing images and true-to-life colors come alive on a 15.6" Full HD IPS display with Acer Color Intelligence.
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It also delivers desktop-class performance with the AMD Ryzen 7 3700U Mobile Processor enabling powerful performance and amazing battery life.
You can now travel with ease and look great while working with the Aspire 5 A515’s thin, light design and aluminum top cover.
It is the best Acer laptop for all types of creatives, especially graphic designers and photo editors.
The Acer Aspire 5 A515 is a great choice if you’re looking for the best graphic design laptop available.
Additionally, it allows you to work comfortably in any environment with the convenience of a backlit keyboard.
CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 3200U
Graphics: Integrated
RAM: 4 GB DDR4
Screen: 15.6 Inches
Storage: 128 GB Flash Memory Solid State
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If you’re a fan of Asus and are looking for the best graphic design laptop from the brand, then the ROG Zephyrus G14 is for you.
The best Asus laptop for designers, editors, and gamers.
This laptop for graphic designers is one of the best mid-range laptops available today.
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The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 is perfect for both beginners and professionals in graphic design.
It can provide you with an amazing performance and all the functions that you need to be able to work comfortably and seamlessly.
This is the best-buy laptop not only for graphic designers but also for photo or video editors and gamers.
ROG Zephyrus G14 has 16GB of system memory, which is ideal for multitasking and gaming.
So if you’re looking for the best graphic design laptop from Asus, then this is a must-buy for you.
CPU: 2.3 GHz AMD R series
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060
RAM: 16 GB
Screen: 14 Inches
Storage: 1 TB SSD
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If you’re looking for one of the latest pieces of tech with a powerful engine and an excellent display, then consider the new GIGABYTE AERO 17 HDR.
The most powerful laptop for 3D designers and video editors.
This laptop brings you everything you need from portability and great performance, which is ideal for every kind of designer.
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The notebook is ultra-light yet gives you the optimal power and speed for the high-resolution rendering of your creative projects.
It also offers outstanding refresh rates for playing your favorite AAA games.
The GIGABYTE AERO 17 HDR is a great choice for creatives looking for the best graphic design laptop for everyday use.
This laptop has zero compromises and is a versatile workhorse designed for modern on-the-go pros.
You can get up to 16 TB of disk storage, which definitely comes in handy for heavy video or 3D model renderings.
The GIGABYTE AERO 17 HDR’s battery life of 10.5 hours is extremely attractive for graphic designers who need a mobile version of their powerful desktop computer.
Specifications
CPU: 4.6 GHz Intel_Mobile_CPU
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070
RAM: 16 GB DDR4
Screen: 17.3 Inches
Storage: 1 TB SSD
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If you’re a designer who also likes gaming as well, the Razer Blade 14" is a wonderful choice.
The best laptop for graphic design and gaming.
This is a well-built, sleek, and compact laptop with great performance for an affordable price.
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And an interesting feature is that you can customize the backlight color of the keyboard, making the Razer Blade 14" 2021 uniquely yours.
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 the Razer Blade 14" 2021 is its low battery life of 5-6 hours.
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 give you a desktop-class-like experience.
The Razer Blade 14" 2021 is a great choice for graphic designers who wants the best gaming laptop available today.
CPU: 3.3 GHz Ryzen 9
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
RAM: 16 GB DDR4
Screen: 14 Inches
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The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 is another excellent laptop for high-level graphic designers who need a powerful yet portable machine.
The best 2-in-1 graphic design laptop for beginners and pros.
If you prefer Windows, then this laptop is a stylish choice with powerful processors and great battery life in a unique, sophisticated design.
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The combination of pro-grade graphics, up to 64GB of RAM, and options for Intel Xeon processors make this ThinkPad X1 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 X1 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.
Overall, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 is perfect for working with multimedia.
And best of all, this laptop is designed to withstand almost anything you can throw at it—even water.
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.
Is Lenovo good for graphic design?—it certainly is, and the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 serves as a great example.
CPU: 2.8 GHz Core i7
RAM: 8 GB SDRAM
Screen: 14 Inches
Storage: 256 GB
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While Huawei is probably best known for its smartphones, it has also been offering really good laptops in recent years.
The most Apple-like laptop for those who use Windows.
As you might have already noticed, the name sounds very familiar, is it MateBook or MacBook?
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We can clearly see that this laptop tries hard to imitate MacBook Pro in its look as well.
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, the Huawei MateBook X Pro offers you a sleek-looking laptop and solid performance.
You also get a pretty decent screen and overall specs, so that all your creative and graphic design software will run perfectly on.
Again, the 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 go so far as to say that this is probably the best Windows laptop ever.
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
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Apple MacBook Air M2 is Apple's latest fanless Air design and is also easier to carry about.
The best laptop for creative professionals in 2022.
This is also suitable for designers as it comes with a Liquid Retina display, which is sharper and provides an extensive color range.
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The Apple MacBook Air M2 has excellent battery life for designers who don't want to walk around with their chargers.
It can last you the whole day on a single charge while you work on your basic design applications.
The MacBook Air M2 is also fanless, making it efficient as it speeds up time-consuming tasks such as editing 4K videos.
It has an improved battery life compared to the M1 and has been tested and confirmed to run for over 21 hours.
The MacBook Air M2 has only two available models: the 256GB model and the 512GB model.
CPU: Apple M2 (8-core)
Graphics: Integrated 10-core GPU
RAM: 16GB Unified LPDDR5
Screen: 13.6 -inch,2,560 x 1,664 Liquid Retina display (backlit LED, wide color P3 gamut)
Storage: 1TB SSD
Buy the MacBook Air M2 now on Amazon
The Apple MacBook Pro M2 is also one of the best laptops for general graphic designers and creative professionals.
The most efficient laptop for graphic design and video editing.
Like the MacBook Air, it also comes with the M2 chip and has the same look as the model that was released before it.
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The MacBook Pro M1 is perfect for designers who crave a portable, sleek laptop with excellent performance and a beautiful screen.
It also comes with an expansive trackpad, a pressure-sensitive force torch, and a touch bar.
With the inclusion of the M2 chip, it has up to a 40% increase in performance compared to the MacBook Pro M1.
The increased efficiency of the M2 chip also presents it with a long-lasting battery life of up to 20 hours per charge.
The MacBook Pro M1 offers a smooth experience for designers and sustainable performance.
CPU: Apple M2 (8-core)
Graphics: Integrated 10-core GPU
RAM: 16GB Unified LPDDR5
Screen: 13.3 -inch,2,560 x 1,600 Retina display (backlit LED, IPS, 500 nits brightness, wide color P3 gamut)
Storage: 1TB SSD
Buy the Apple MacBook Pro M2 2022 on Amazon
The Google Pixel Go is an excellent option for designers using Adobe programs such as Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator.
The best Chromebook with a good battery life.
This device boots in seconds, lets you go up to 12 hours per charge and gets another two hours of use in less than twenty minutes of charge.
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The Google Pixel Go comes with the 8th Gen Intel Core processor, ensuring its lightning speed and exceptional performance.
It also comes with an inbuilt stylus that allows you to create sketches and make notes on the screen while you work.
The Google Pixel Go is lightweight and thinner than most laptops of its kind (weighing 2.3 pounds and measuring 12.2 x 8.1 x 0.5 inches)
The 13.3-inch laptop has a glossy touchscreen display and is brighter and more colorful than other Chromebooks.
Additionally, if you are familiar with and more comfortable using Google software, the Google Pixel Go is a good choice for you.
CPU: 8th Gen Intel Core Processor
RAM: 8GB
Display: Full HD 1920X1080 (166 PPI)
Screen: 13.3" LCD touchscreen display
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The HP Envy x360 is a good option for entry-level designers that comes with a lower price and a good performance.
The best laptop for working at home office.
This Windows laptop comes with a 15.60-inch display and a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution and is also powered by a core i7 processor.
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Additionally, the HP Envy x360 can be easily converted into a tablet and is portable enough to be carried anywhere.
Similarly, it weighs about 2.8 pounds and measures 359 x 246 x 18.9 mm, with a battery life of about 8-9 hours of use.
The processor of the HP Envy x360 can handle numerous operations without lag, and you can open different tabs on your browser while working on Photoshop or illustrator.
Another feature is the microSD expansion slot of up to 512GB that you can use alongside its storage capacity.
The HP Envy x360 also provides you with the functions of a computer and a tablet and is a perfect fit for your backpack.
CPU: Intel Core i7-1165G7
RAM: 32GB
Screen: 15.6 Inches
Operating system: Windows 11
Storage: 1TB PCIe SSD
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If you need a slim and lightweight laptop as a graphic designer, then the LG Gram 17 is a good option.
The best lightweight laptop for designers
Despite its lightweight and slim design, it performs exceptionally well with creative software.
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The LG Gram 17 measures 1.7 inches thick and 2.9 pounds, making it portable and convenient to use on the go.
It likewise lasts about 13 hours of light productivity per charge and allows multitasking.
The LG Gram 17 also has a large and responsive touchpad, with a smooth touch to move your cursor around the screen and a good user experience.
It has a 16:10 screen ratio, an 11th Gen Intel CPU, and Thunderbolt 4 ports for swift data transfer.
The LG Gram 17 is also one of the laptops whose price offers good build quality, a fantastic screen, and efficient performance.
CPU: Intel Core i7-1165G7 (2.8 GHz, Turbo up to 4.7 GHz, L3 Cache 12MB, 28W)
Screen: 17 inch IPS WQXGA 2560 X 1600
Operating System: Windows 10 (64-bit)
Storage: 256GB
So which laptop should you buy for graphic design?—MacBook Pro 14" 2021 is a trusted choice by 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 a great feature combination.
Again, the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 remains the #1 option for many graphic designers due to its minimalist look and excellent performance.
However, there are other great brands that 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.
