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We strive to answer the question, "what laptop should i get if ___" as we know you have different workflow and entertainment needs and preferences, from graphic design to gaming. The only real drawback of this laptop is the lack of a dedicated GPU. Despite that, the MacBook Air 15 performed great on our Geekbench test, scoring 9,993, which is above the 8,389 category average. It also has more than enough battery life, lasting 14 hours and 59 in our test, far more than the category average of 9 hours and 55 minutes. Desktop PCs can usually be configured according to your needs, and tend to be more affordable than a laptop with comparable specifications.
1. Real-world Testing
Though primarily a business laptop, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 8 impresses with its robust build, responsive keyboard, and excellent port selection, making it a powerful option for design professionals. While it’s certainly not going to set any speed records, it’s still a capable computer that will handle basic image editing and graphic design software, along with general use including web browsing and watching movies. For bulky, powerful laptops like the MSI Creator Z16, battery life doesn't matter as much.

Best Windows computer for graphic design
The Acer Chromebook Spin 714 has some features not usually found in a Chromebook, so if you're happy to work in the cloud this is an excellent budget option. With 2-in-1 functionality, it has a glorious Full HD touchscreen, lovely build quality and powerful processor (for a Chromebook). As a graphic designer, particularly if you’re working with print assets, what you create on the screen should be as accurate to the finished article as possible. Look for those with a wide color gamut, ideally hitting 100% DCI-P3, although a high-percentage sRGB coverage will be fine for more general use.
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Another factor to take in mind when choosing a computer is if you would need mobility or not, in this case you would prefer to invest on a professional laptop allowing you to work anywhere. The thin case is made of glass and metal, with a thick black frame and a curved back panel made from aluminum. The AMD part has a base clock of 3.5GHz, which is faster than the Intel chip, and it peaks at 4.7GHz – barely any slower. About CGDirector CGDirector is all about Computer-Builds & Hardware-Insight for Content Creators in 3D-Animation, Video Editing, Graphic Design & many more fields of Digital Content Creation.
The best all-in-one computer for 2024: top home and office AIO PCs - TechRadar
The best all-in-one computer for 2024: top home and office AIO PCs.
Posted: Thu, 04 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
How to choose a laptop for graphic design?
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Thanks to its compact size, the workstation can be placed in any place you find convenient. This powerful multipurpose PC can greatly simplify the work of a graphic designer. The iMac Pro is ideal for files conversion, adding effects, and adjusting colors in high-definition videos. The Twinmotion software for architects handles 3D object manipulation without delay. For basic video editing and project storage, 1 TB SSD is enough and some to spare, although you may need external drives for 4K-8K videos.
Mac mini (M2 Pro,
Then, your laptop needs enough speedy SSD storage to download and store your graphic design files. If you prefer to work with a macOS but would like a more affordable option that still has machine learning features, the MacBook Air is an excellent choice. This sleek laptop has a light design and was built with the Apple M1 chip, giving it faster performance and speed than most laptops within its price range. You’ll get an 8-core CPU and GPU, and 18 hours of battery life in a single charge with this compact laptop. All 2020 iMac 27-inch models are equipped with 10th generation Intel Core processors.
The best dual-screen laptop for graphic design
Computers like the MacBook Air, Dell XPS, or HP Pavilion series are suitable for novice graphic designers. A dedicated graphics card provides better performance, faster rendering, and smoother handling of graphic-intensive applications, enhancing the overall productivity and efficiency of a graphic design computer. Both the CPU and GPU play important roles in graphic design, but the CPU (processor) is generally more critical for tasks like rendering, exporting, and multitasking. However, a powerful GPU is essential for tasks involving 3D rendering, video editing, or working with complex visual effects.
256GB is the minimum amount we’d recommend, but 512GB is obviously better. If you work with large files, you may want to even go for a 1TB+ SSD. Again, the right amount of storage really depends on the size and complexity of your project. The simplicity of its operating system, combined with its high build quality, lend professionals an assurance of reliability and quality.
When it comes to MacBooks, Apple has its own chip – the M1 – which performs brilliantly as well. If you’re going for Intel or AMD, we recommend getting an 13th gen Intel or AMD Ryzen 7000 mobile processor if you want to future-proof the laptop. When choosing a laptop for graphic design, you’ll want a laptop with a lot of power. Graphic design work can be pretty intensive and so you’ll need a laptop that can properly support that and run your host of creative tools.
And, of course, it gives you the freedom to choose more specialized displays that are suitable for particular industries, ranging from 4K to 8K resolution, or with specialized features such as DCI-P3 for video-editing work. However, if you plan on working with 3D models and animation, you'll want more RAM to properly render images and scenes. Desktops geared towards graphic design can be configured with up to 128GB of RAM, which is definitely overkill for most people.
The image manipulations you have in Graphic Design usually don’t need the GPU to update high-resolution images multiple times a second, as is often the case in Motion Design or Animation. A good thing about Graphic Design is, that there are almost no GPU intensive tasks like there are in 3D Animation, Simulation, GPU Rendering, Video Editing or Encoding. If your working files don’t fit into your RAM, the system starts swapping these files to your slower storage devices and that will slow down your PC considerably. When opening the case of a Computer, what you’ll notice right away, is the bulky cooling solution underneath which is the CPU (Central processing unit) also called the Processor. I have put together a list of what you should be on the lookout for when buying your Graphic Design Computer and Workstation that will be your workhorse of creative endeavors in the years to come.
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