The best laptops for graphic design in 2017 are fully explained in this post, featuring all hardware aspects you should consider to work as a designer
This post featuring the best laptops for graphic design will give an insight for any graphic designer who is looking for a reliable device that will fully suit to his work needs.
Best Laptops for Graphic Design: Overview
The first thing we need to stress on is the fact that there are a number of different segments in graphic design. While many of them share some core values that a laptop should have, there are still many specifications that should be approached and analysed differently.
For example, as a designer who works with vectors certainly doesn’t need a very powerful hardware as a CGI artist. However, both do require a decent wide screen with the maximum resolution possible. That will influence greatly on their work flow, making life easier.
Let’s take a look at each one of the specifications and what you should know to buy your optimal laptop. Every aspect should be considered according to the type of graphic design you work with.
15 or 17 inch laptop for graphic design?
The screen dimensions and resolution are probably the only aspects that apply evenly for all types of graphic designers.
While I think 15 inches are good enough for designers, you might also choose a 17 inch model for optimal results. I wouldn’t in any case buy a laptop with a screen smaller than 15 inches if I would work with graphic design (which by the way I still do every now and then).
You can still get great results with some 13 or 14 inchers in most graphic design jobs. However, if you tend to spend long hours in front of your screen analyzing details, a larger screen will definitely come handy.
As for the resolution specs, a full hd 1080p (1920 x 1080 pixels) will mostly likely suit to all your needs as a designer. If you work with photography and video, you might already consider a Ultra HD laptop. As technology improves, it will probably become the standard in the next 2 years or so.
Dual or quad core laptop for graphic design?
In most of the cases, a dual core Kaby Lake or Skylake laptop will be more than enough for your graphic designer needs. This is especially the case for those working mostly Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator. It will be also good if you are a front end developer or a web designer, since you won’t need so much computing speeding. In these cases, a dual core laptop with compact dimensions will be ideal.
If you work with any type of design that requires rendering, such as a 3d modelling or video productions, I strongly advise you to buy a quad core laptop. A quad core processor will decrease your render speeds drastically, improving your efficiency. It will also allow the user to perform other tasks while rendering. This way you can multi-task while your laptop is rendering your projects.
SSD or HDD laptop for graphic design?
When choosing the best laptop for graphic design, storage is an important aspect. While solid state storage is all about speed, HDD aims for storage capacity at lower prices. Designers usually need a lot of storage to keep all their previous works, WIPs and mock ups. Graphic design software are usually heavy themselves to be installed, thus requiring more storage capacity.
Nowadays SSDs are slowly becoming more popular, bigger (in terms of storage) and cheaper. That change will allow users to accesss data and software faster, as well as booting your PC. However, if you choose a lot that only has an SSD, make sure it has enough space for your needs.
Ideally for graphic designers, I would recommend laptops using both types of drives. A laptop can use the SSD for booting and frequently accessed software and an HDD (for large storage capacity).
Windows or Mac laptop for graphic design?
This is probably the most controversial point in this list to determine what would be the best laptop for graphic design in 2017.
Apple produces excellent laptops, and they are run some graphic design software amazingly. However it will depend on the software you need. There are quite an important number of software not available for the Mac OS (macOS).
The other issue is that you may have your software running nicely on your mac but some plugins might not.
You can circumvent this problem by running windows as a virtual machine on your mac, but it requires patience. If you want to buy a mac for graphic design make sure the required software will run on it. In case you sure that a Macb, then most certainly you will make a good purchase.
Laptop for Graphic Design: Budget
Most laptops suitable for graphic design have wide screens with good resolution, which are more common to see in mid to upper end models. It will be very hard to find a good laptop for graphic designers under 500 dollars, while you can find a good array of options if you budget is around 1000 dollars. There is no upper limit for prices, depending on what you are willing to spend.
Now that the main points to be considered are already analyzed, let’s see our list of the best laptops for graphic design in 2017. First starting with models available on Amazon.com and the on Amazon.co.uk (for UK users).
List of the best laptops for graphic design 2017
Laptops available on Amazon.com
MSI PE70 7RD-027 17.3″ Work and Play Laptop Intel Core i7-7700HQ GTX 1050 16GB DDR4 128GB SSD + 1TB Windows 10 Pro
This laptop has one of the best designs among models available in 2017. It also has a powerful hardware, making it one of the best laptops for graphic design currently.
Click here to buy this laptop on Amazon.com
| Processor | Intel Core i7-7700HQ |
|---|---|
| Display | 17.3 inches Full HD |
| RAM | 16 GB DDR4 |
| Storage | 128 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD |
Eluktronics P670HP6 Premium VR Ready Gaming Laptop
The P670HP6 comes with a 17.3 inch screen, which might appeal some types of user. In my opinion a bigger display is especially good if you work with CGI software.
Its hardware is as impressive as any of the latest Eluktronics laptops. The P670HP6 is also powered by the i7-7700HQ processor, from the Kaby Lake generation of Intel chips.
Click here to buy this laptop on Amazon.com
| Processor | Intel Core i7-7700HQ |
|---|---|
| Display | 17.3 inches Full HD |
| RAM | 16 GB DDR4 |
| Storage | 512 GB SSD |
ASUS F556UA-UH71 15.6-inch Full-HD Laptop, Core i7, 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD with Windows 10
This is a more compact option for graphic designers, ideal if you work with photo edition. It is quite slim an lightweight, and has an i7 dual core Intel processor part of the Kaby Lake generation.
Click here to buy this laptop on Amazon.com
| Processor | Intel Core i7-7500U |
|---|---|
| Display | 15.6 inches Full HD |
| RAM | 8 GB DDR4 |
| Storage | 1 TB HDD |
Laptops available on Amazon.co.uk
MSI GL62 7QF 1670UK 15.6-Inch Gaming Notebook – (Black)
This MSI is extremely powerful, using a quad core processor, and a great dedicated video card. It is great for gaming and also for graphic design.
Click here to buy this laptop on Amazon.co.uk
| Processor | Intel Core i7-7700HQ |
|---|---|
| Display | 15.6 inches Full HD |
| RAM | 16 GB DDR4 |
| Storage | 1 TB HDD + 128 GB SSD |
HP Pavilion 17-ab200na Laptop (17.3 inch, Full HD, Intel Core i7-7700HQ, 16 GB RAM, 128 GB SSD, 1 TB HDD, Windows 10)
A great option if you are looking for a powerful 17 inch laptop in the UK. Definitely of the best laptops for graphic design currently available in Britain.
Click here to buy this laptop on Amazon.co.uk
| Processor | Intel Core i7-7700HQ |
|---|---|
| Display | 17.3 inches Full HD |
| RAM | 16 GB DDR4 |
| Storage | 1 TB HDD + 128 GB SSD |
MSI GP62 7RD (Leopard) 079UK 15.6 Inch Gaming Laptop (Black) – (Kabylake Core i5-7300HQ, 8 GB RAM, 128GB SSD, 1TB HDD, GTX 1050, Windows 10)
One of the best MSI releases in the UK for 2017, featuring the new Kaby Lake i5-7300HQ processor. The MSI GP62 7RD 079UK is quite affordable and ideal for 3d and video renders.
Click here to buy this laptop on Amazon.co.uk
| Processor | Intel Core i5-7300HQ |
|---|---|
| Display | 15.6 inches Full HD |
| RAM | 8 GB DDR4 |
| Storage | 128 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD |
That is it for our list of the best laptops for graphic design in 2017. You may also be interested in checking our article on the best i7-7700HQ laptops, the best laptops for architects and the best laptops for AutoCAD.