Microsoft Surface Laptop 3
Graphic design is a fast-paced industry that requires the right equipment to get the job done. It is an integral part of our everyday life. From the books we read to the television shows we watch, graphic designers play a vital role in making sure that all visual media looks great and effectively communicates its message.
A graphic designer also acts as a visual communicator, which means they create images for advertisements, branding campaigns, websites and more.
It is one of the most important aspects of any project. Whether designing a logo or an advertisement, it needs to be visually captivating to get the client’s attention.
But all too often, graphic designers are limited by their equipment and have to work on low-quality screens that make them feel like they’re fighting with technology rather than using it as a tool for creativity. Luckily, there are now laptops designed specifically for graphic design-and; this article will help you find the perfect one.
The following reviews of the best laptop for graphic design will cover different features, including screen resolution, processor speed, graphics card type, weight and more, so you can compare models side by side. Let’s get started!
At A Glance:
Best pick
HP Envy X360
HP Envy X360
✓ Function-packed keyboard
✓ Exceptional battery life
✓ Sturdy build and great display
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Staff Pick
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3
✓ Long battery life
✓ Superb keyboard and touchpad
✓ Light and attractive design
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Budget Pick
Acer Swift 3
Acer Swift 3
✓ Durable all-metal chassis
✓ Highly portable
✓ Battery lasts all day
View on AmazonOur Recommendations
| Award | Modal | Design | Retailer |
|---|---|---|---|
| HP Envy X360 | HP Envy X360 |
|
View on amazon |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 | Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 |
|
View on amazon |
| Acer Swift 3 | Acer Swift 3 |
|
View on amazon |
| MacBook Pro 16-inch | MacBook Pro 16-inch |
|
View on amazon |
| Asus Chromebook Flip | Asus Chromebook Flip |
|
View on amazon |
| Razer Blade 15 | Razer Blade 15 |
|
View on amazon |
| MacBook Pro 14-inch | MacBook Pro 14-inch |
|
View on amazon |
| 2021 Lenovo ThinkPad E15 | 2021 Lenovo ThinkPad E15 |
|
View on amazon |
HP Envy X360
Best pick
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Brand: HP | Screen Size: 15.6 Inches | Operating System: Windows 10 | Human Interface Input: Touchscreen, Microphone, Keyboard | CPU Manufacturer: AMD | Hard Disk Size: 256 GB | Color: Nightfall Black | Processor Count: 6 | Chipset Brand: AMD
The HP Envy X360 is the perfect device for anyone who wants a powerful and versatile laptop. It features a hexa-core AMD Ryzen 5 4500U processor that can reach up to 4.0GHz, as well as 8GB of high-bandwidth RAM.
The 15.6” Full HD IPS display has anti-glare properties and a micro-edge design that makes it look sleek and stylish. And with Radeon graphics, you’ll be able to enjoy stunning visuals and gameplay no matter what you’re doing on your laptop.
The built-in HD camera and microphone let you stay connected with friends and family, while the backlit keyboard lets you work in low light. When designers ask for more from their laptops, this gear gives them a 4K display panel that is perfect for viewing the content in high detail. This touchpad will make ordinary tasks faster - almost magical at times.
The Pros
✓ Function-packed keyboard
✓ Exceptional battery life
✓ Sturdy build and great display
The Cons
✗ Too heavy to hold
✗ No Thunderbolt 3 or HDMI
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3
Staff Pick
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Brand: Microsoft | Series: Surface Laptop | Operating System: Windows 10 Home | Screen Size: 13.5 Inches | Human Interface Input: Touchscreen | Color: Platinum | CPU Manufacturer: Intel | Connectivity Technology: Wi-Fi | Hard Disk Size: 128 GB
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 is the perfect companion for your daily adventures! An eye-catching, sleek design lets this laptop transcend borders in more ways than one. It also comes in a variety of rich tone-on-tone colour combinations. Plus, the improved speed and performance ensure that you can get your work done quickly and efficiently.
It’s thin, light, and available in four beautiful colours – including a new Sandstone tone. With the latest processors, it’s up to two times faster than the Surface Laptop 2. The USB-C port and USB-A port are compatible with multiple devices and accessories. On the other hand, the accessory charging port provides power to your other devices even if your laptop is not running.
It is ideal for all-day power, providing up to 11.5 hours of battery life, so you can stay productive throughout the day. Plus, fast charging gets you up to 80% battery life in just 1 hour.
The Pros
✓ Long battery life
✓ Superb keyboard and touchpad
✓ Light and attractive design
The Cons
✗ No fingerprint reader
✗ Standard sRGB display
Acer Swift 3
Budget Pick
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Brand: Acer | Series: Acer Swift | Screen Size: 14 Inches | Operating System: Windows 10 | Human Interface Input: TouchPad | CPU Manufacturer: Intel | Hard Disk Size: 256 GB | Color: Sparkly Silver | Processor Count: 4
The Acer Swift 3 strikes a perfect balance between style, power and value. It offers a powerful processor, as well as a light frame and thin body for sleek portability. You can enjoy all your movies, games, and other entertainment needs with the NVIDIA GeForce MX150 graphics card.
With a full HD 1080p IPS display that brings brilliant images to life on its large 14-inch screen size or 8GB of lightning-fast memory along with 256GB SSD hard drive space, this laptop is perfect for work or play.
Furthermore, its super-fast connection speeds, sleek, thin design, and extra-long battery life make it the ideal device for work play, and everything in between. With its powerful processing and stylish aluminum chassis, the Swift 3 provides a most memorable multimedia experience. And thanks to its backlit keyboard, you can type comfortably in dimly lit environments.
The Pros
✓ Durable all-metal chassis
✓ Highly portable
✓ Battery lasts all day
The Cons
✗ Dim display
✗ Speakers are just okay
MacBook Pro 16-inch
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Brand: Apple | Specific Uses For Product: Multimedia, Personal, Business | Operating System: Mac OS |Screen Size: 16 Inches | Human Interface Input: TouchPad | CPU Manufacturer: Intel | Color: Silver | Connectivity Technology: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, USB | Processor Count: 8
You deserve the best of the best, and that’s why we’ve got the brand-new MacBook Pro 16-inch. It is perfect for creative professionals and gamers, thanks to its stunning Retina display, powerful processor, and AMD graphics card.
Additionally, it offers the best entertainment experience with its 6-speaker sound system and a force-canceling woofer. An ultrafast SSD means faster loading times, and Intel UHD Graphics 630 gives you outstanding visuals. Its battery life can last up to 11 hours so that you can stay productive for the entire day.
The touch ID and the Touch Bar provide an intuitive way to interact with your device, while the optimized thermal architecture ensures smooth performance no matter what you’re working on. Take advantage of this incredible gear - order your 16-inch MacBook Pro today.
The Pros
✓ Impressive audio performance
✓ Beautiful Liquid Retina XDR display
✓ Incredible performance
The Cons
✗ Pricey
✗ The display is not 4K
Asus Chromebook Flip
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Brand: ASUS | Series: ASUS C302CA-DHM4 | Operating System: Chrome OS | Screen Size: 12.5 Inches | Human Interface Input: Touchscreen with Stylus Support | CPU Manufacturer: Intel | Color: Silver | Connectivity Technology: Wireless | Hard Disk Size: 64 GB
This affordable and versatile device functions as a hybrid laptop and tablet, adding a unique keyless input experience. This Asus Chromebook Flip has an Intel Core Processor, 4GB RAM, and 64 GB SSD, so all your work stays in one place no matter what mode you’re using.
You can adjust the screen resolution to optimize battery life for going on a long trip. With its elegant and durable aluminum design and up to ten hours of battery life, this powerful notebook will hold up even when your travels take you to unpredictable places.
The C302 is also great for productivity, thanks to its rounded edges, lightweight and sturdy metal body. The item won’t take up much space in your bag or weigh down your shoulder when traveling. It features an HD display with an IPS panel and a 12-inch touch panel.
The Pros
✓ Sleek and premium design
✓ Three USB ports and HDMI port
✓ Elegant tablet mode
The Cons
✗ The price is a bit high
✗ Battery life is good, but it could be better
Razer Blade 15
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Brand: Razer | Series: Blade 15 | Screen Size: 15.6 Inches | Operating System: Windows 10 | CPU Manufacturer: Intel | Color: Black | Human Interface Input: Touchscreen | Processor Count: 6
The Razer Blade 15 offers the perfect mix of power and performance, making it the ideal graphic design laptop for serious designers. The 10th Gen Intel Core processor provides six cores of powerhouse performance. While the NVIDIA GeForce with Max-Q Design gives you stunning cinematic graphics.
Plus, with the ultrafast 144Hz 15.6” Full HD thin-bezel display, you’ll get more frames per second and an edge over your competition.
Despite its compact size, this powerful device is packed with features, including a CNC aluminum unibody frame, Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, Thunderbolt 3 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, and more. Plus, you can customize the keyboard’s backlight with Razer Chroma to make it uniquely yours.
The Pros
✓ Comfy keyboard
✓ Speedy performance for creative tasks
✓ Plenty of ports and 1TB of storage
The Cons
✗ Gets hot
✗ Low productivity compared to competitors
MacBook Pro 14-inch
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Brand: Apple | Model Name: MacBook Pro | Screen Size: 14 Inches | Operating System: Mac OS | CPU Manufacturer: Apple | Color: Silver | Connectivity Technology: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi | Processor Count: 8
You don’t care where you are or what you do; MacBook Pro’s powerful performance will take your ideas expressively from thought to creation. So when inspiration strikes, there are no limits to what you can achieve. The thinner and lighter design features a stunning Retina display that takes everything you do to the next level.
The device looks stunning and feels even better thanks to Touch Bar and Touch ID. All-new True Tone technology calibrates color temperature across thousands of degrees in real-time.
With the latest Apple M1 chip, performance is excellent when surfing the web, creating audio files and video projects at fantastic speeds. Moreover, it delivers beautifully refined graphics at native resolutions for more performance than ever before—all without compromises made anywhere else, even longer battery life.
The Pros
✓ Incredible performance with a beautiful display
✓ Long battery life
✓ Eye-catching HDR display
The Cons
✗ Absurd RAM pricing
✗ Some may find the screen too small
2021 Lenovo ThinkPad E15
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Brand: Lenovo | Series: Thinkpad | Screen Size: 15.6 Inches | Operating System: Windows 10 Pro | Human Interface Input: Microphone, Mouse | CPU Manufacturer: Intel | Connectivity Technology: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi | Color: Black | Hard Disk Size: 512 GB
The 2021 Lenovo ThinkPad E15 has some impressive features that set it apart from the competition. Its 6 MB cache and four cores let you perform multitask like a pro, while its 11-hour battery life means you can stay productive while on the go. Plus, with its upgraded 16 GB of DDR4 memory, you’ll never have to worry about running out of space. Don’t miss out on this great laptop.
The device features a sleek design and is equipped with various ports so you can connect to all your devices. Plus, it’s packed with features that make it perfect for work or designing tasks.
With its upgraded 512GB SSD storage, you can store large files and work through them with ease. And with enhancements to the overall performance, you’ll be able to breeze through your work without any lag time.
The Pros
✓ Flawless design and engineering
✓ Solid performance from a solid laptop
✓ A decent contrast ratio
The Cons
✗ Expensive
✗ It lacks an SD card reader
Things to Look for When Buying Best Laptop for Graphic Design
You should keep a few things in mind.
The laptop should have a good amount of RAM and a high-resolution screen. It’s also important to ensure your laptop has a powerful graphics card. Also, a higher-end laptop will generally include more USB ports and a better built-in sound system.
The average graphic designer needs between 4GB and 16GB of RAM in their laptop memory. However, you may need up to 32GB of RAM if you regularly work with large files. In terms of the screen, a high-resolution screen is necessary for graphic designers as it allows them to see more detail when editing their images.
The average graphic designer needs a mid-range graphics card from either NVIDIA or AMD for the graphics card. Some great laptop options use integrated graphics. While these may not be ideal, they will generally get the job done.
Ideally, you should look for a laptop with at least two USB 3.0 ports. Extra ports allow you to connect multiple devices such as hard drives and scanners simultaneously. It’s also important to look for a higher-end laptop with one USB 3.1 Type-C port, as this is the updated USB standard that allows for high-speed file transfers.
Finally, you should look for a laptop with more than one built-in speaker because laptops generally have very poor sound quality compared to external speakers.
Many new laptops are now touchscreen capable, allowing graphic designers to make changes directly on their applications without needing a mouse or trackpad. This is especially helpful in graphic design applications, as well as in professional photo editing software.
Summary
| Award | Modal | Design | Retailer |
|---|---|---|---|
| HP Envy X360 | HP Envy X360 |
|
View on amazon |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 | Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 |
|
View on amazon |
| Acer Swift 3 | Acer Swift 3 |
|
View on amazon |
| MacBook Pro 16-inch | MacBook Pro 16-inch |
|
View on amazon |
| Asus Chromebook Flip | Asus Chromebook Flip |
|
View on amazon |
| Razer Blade 15 | Razer Blade 15 |
|
View on amazon |
| MacBook Pro 14-inch | MacBook Pro 14-inch |
|
View on amazon |
| 2021 Lenovo ThinkPad E15 | 2021 Lenovo ThinkPad E15 |
|
View on amazon |
Conclusion
It’s important to have the right equipment for graphic design. You’ll need a fast laptop, has enough storage space and provides you with an excellent screen. With laptops like these on the market today, designers can work more efficiently without thwarting their creativity with low-quality screens or heavy devices.
Think about trying one of the MacBooks specially designed for creative professionals if you need a new laptop but aren’t sure where to begin because there are so many options out there. It will make your life easier and will allow you to succeed in this competitive field.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Microsoft laptops suitable for graphic design?
This laptop offers an impressively long battery life. Although usage may vary, this feature gives you the confidence to work long hours without the plugin. The Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 features a high-resolution display, making it a great choice for graphic design work.
Does an SSD make graphic design easier?
SSD storage is highly recommended for design work. You notice that programs open faster, large files load faster, and the overall system is more responsive.
Is 8GB of RAM sufficient for graphic design?
For graphic design, a laptop should have at least 8GB of RAM; more is better. With more RAM, Photoshop and Illustrator have more “superfast” space for storage while you work.
