As with every profession, knowing how to choose between the best laptops for graphic design is always a subtle game of balance between performance and weight, a large screen, portability, the best functionality and affordable price.
It is important that you have a screen of good resolution, brightness and sharpness to help you work, to visualize the results in the most real way possible, also consider that the best laptops for Graphic Design should be thin and light so you can take them with you while traveling .
What defines the best laptops for Graphic Design?
Among the many laptops that you can find in the market, there are special features that define those that are ideal for your Graphic Design career:
Performance
The performance and speed of laptops are the sum of three parts: processor, RAM and storage unit.
The processor
The processor is an integral part of a laptop that guarantees that several open applications can run smoothly. There are numerous processors to choose from, but here they are the most suitable for projects related to graphic design: Core i7, Core i9, AMD Ryzen and Intel Xeon.
RAM
RAM, also known as random access memory, is a hardware that stores data inside the computer. RAM stores data temporarily, so that when you turn off the computer, all data in RAM is lost.
Storage unit or hard disk: unlike RAM, the storage unit can store information permanently. The SSD can guarantee super-fast startup and activation times and better processor performance.
Monitor
Perhaps, the most important part of the selection process of a laptop is choosing the correct screen. A higher resolution screen would mean better details and color accuracy. The size of a screen also matters. A larger screen makes it much easier to work with the design. A 15-inch screen size is a gold standard in the world of graphic design.
Keyboard and touch screen
The graphic designers rarely make single design. They usually work in teams or with clients. So, a convenient keyboard is a must. You don't want to keep losing your keys and spend hours editing your emails. In addition, designers often use keyboard shortcuts, so the correct placement of the keys and ergonomic design can be critical to their working speed.
Are you looking to buy a laptop with a touch screen? There is no universal approach among designers when it comes to touch screens. Some love them, as they provide a quick and easy way to zoom in and out, others hate touch screens, since they don't add much to the experience. But, certainly, after a while, you get used to the touch screen and stop being a nuisance.
Battery duration
With a good battery, you can take your laptop anywhere and get the job done, while enjoying the freedom of a digital nomad. 12 to 14 hours of battery life will take you to the other side of the Atlantic and for a long productive day.
The best laptops for Graphic Design
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Apple Macbook Pro 15 with Touch Bar
CPU: Intel Core i9 | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 630 / AMD Radeon Pro | RAM: 8GB - 16GB | Screen: 15 inches | Storage: 128GB - 2TB PCIe 3.0 SSD
If you are a professional creative and want to appear as such, the personal image of the brand and the operating system are the two main reasons why graphic designers choose Apple products.
Apple is known for making excellent products for creative professionals, and the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar is the best laptop for graphic design. It is also the best MacBook Pro that Apple has created. It comes with the touch bar, which is a thin OLED screen on the top of the keyboard that can be used to scan your fingerprint to log in, or offer application-specific shortcuts. It has an impressive display and powerful components that will run for almost any graphic design application with ease.
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Dell XPS 15
Full HD monitor 15.6 »| Resolution: 1920 x 1080 pixels | Intel Core i7 8th generation
Dell has always been known for producing reliable machines at comfortable prices. But recently it has entered the field of graphic design with a powerful and affordable product. The Dell XPS 15 has a 15.6-inch screen, runs on the Core i7 CPU and has 16 GB of RAM.
Dell may seem too "business" for a designer's taste, but it offers one of the best returns on the market. There are many ports that include an HDMI, two USB, a Thunderbolt and an SD card reader.
Combine it with a 512 GB SSD and an amazing graphics card and you will have a high-performance laptop at an attractive price.
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Lenovo Yoga 730
15.6 ″ FullHD convertible touch laptop | Intel Core i7-8550U | 8GB RAM | 512GB SSD | Nvidia GTX1050-4GB | Windows 10
Another laptop that combines a reasonable price and exceptional quality, the Lenovo Yoga is equipped with a 15.6-inch touch screen, has an eighth-generation Intel Core i5-i7 and has 8 GB of RAM with 256 GB of space that can be updated. While this laptop may not work as well as the MacBook Pro or the Microsoft Surface Book, it still offers an excellent graphic design experience at a fraction of the price.
If you are starting with graphic design and do not have much budget, this laptop is a perfect option. Its performance is good enough for graphic design purposes and its display screen is of the best quality. The touch panel may be too sensitive, but this can be easily solved with the help of an external mouse. See also: the best gaming laptops