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Laptops for graphic design: fast laptops for designers

Laptops graphic designers
Design

Written by Niek van Son MSc on January 22, 2025

Niek van Son

Last updated August 15, 2025

Introduction

If you are a graphic designer or multimedia design student, for example, designing logos, editing corporate videos or creating animations, not every laptop is equally suitable. You need a real powerhouse. In this blog post, we tell you everything you need to consider when buying a laptop and the top 10 laptops for graphic designers. Also, if you're looking for the best laptop for photo editing, these are top notebooks.

Why do you need a powerful laptop as a designer?

As a designer, you often work with graphics-intensive software such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. Editing high-resolution images, creating complex graphic designs and rendering 3D models requires a lot of computing power from your computer. Therefore, you need a powerful laptop to perform these tasks faster and more efficiently, allowing you to be more productive and spend more time designing instead of waiting on the computer. In addition, many designers are often on the road and it is convenient to have a laptop that performs well even when you are on the road. So a powerful laptop is an investment in yourself. So it is definitely worth pulling out your wallet, although of course you can always look out for good deals.

Best laptop for photo editing and video editing

What should you look for when you need a notebook for photo editing or video editing? As a graphic designer, you need a large display, sufficient working memory, powerful video card, ample storage and a fast processor. Below we explain each point.

Choose a large screen

It probably needs no explanation that as a designer it is better to choose a large screen. Bigger is always better in this case, but at least go for a screen of at least 16 inches. Optionally, you can choose to connect a second screen. The need to buy a large-screen notebook is then a little less. You can then set up a workstation at home and disconnect your laptop when you need it on the go.

 

In addition to the size of the monitor, the quality of the monitor is also important. After all, you want to see your creations on the screen as sharp as possible. At a minimum, go for a QHD screen. This will give you a screen resolution of 2560×1440 pixels.

At least 16 gigabytes of working memory

There are a number of other specifications to consider. First, the working memory is important. This is also known as internal memory or RAM. If you want to run heavy programs like Photoshop and InDesign on your laptop, at least 16 gigabytes is desirable. More, of course, only works finer. The more working memory, the faster a laptop works.

Graphic video card with 6 gigabytes of VRAM

Your laptop's graphics card can be thought of as the processor for graphics performance. An important part of a designer's laptop. Choose a video card with at least 6 gigabytes of VRAM. For example, you can choose a video card from the NVIDIA GeForce GTX series.

Preferably an SSD with 512 gigabytes of storage

It is convenient if your laptop has an SSD, or Solid State Drive. This is a very fast hard drive and makes your laptop boot up quickly and function quickly in general. There are even affordable laptops these days that have this. So most laptops are equipped with an SSD. However, it is still good to pay attention to it because it does not apply to all models.

Most laptops have an SSD with 256 gigabytes or 512 gigabytes of storage. It is recommended to choose at least 512 GB of storage. By the way, this choice is not the most important, because you also have the option to upgrade to an SSD later.

Which processor do you choose?

In addition, the processor is important. This is also called the heart of a computer and largely determines how well your laptop performs. As a graphic designer, you need at least an Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 5. An Intel Core i7 or AMD Ryzen 7 is even a better choice. With a nice laptop offer, you won't pay top dollar for those either.

Top 10 laptops for graphic designers

To help you make a choice, or simply give inspiration as to what the options are, we have compiled a top 10 of good laptops for photo editing and video editing:

  1. MacBook Pro 16-inch
    Apple's top-of-the-line laptop, perfect for designers because of its powerful processor, high-resolution display and long battery life.
  2. Dell XPS 15
    An excellent Windows laptop with a 4K OLED screen, powerful graphics card and slim design.
  3. HP Spectre x360
    A powerful 2-in-1 laptop with a bright display and long battery life.
  4. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon
    A lightweight, durable laptop with long battery life and outstanding performance.
  5. Asus ROG Zephyrus G16
    A gaming laptop also suitable for designers because of its powerful processor and graphics card, and slim design.
  6. Acer Predator Helios
    Another gaming laptop with excellent performance for designers, a high-resolution display and a slim design.
  7. Microsoft Surface Laptop 5
    A stylish laptop with a bright screen, long battery life and excellent performance.
  8. Razer Blade 15
    A powerful gaming laptop that is also suitable for graphic designers because of its powerful processor and graphics card.
  9. Gigabyte Aero 15 OLED
    A laptop with an excellent OLED screen, long battery life and powerful performance.
  10. MSI Prestige 15
    A lightweight laptop with long battery life and powerful performance, ideal for graphic designers on the go.
Niek van Son
THE AUTHOR

Niek van Son MSc

Marketing Management (MSc, University of Tilburg). 10+ years of experience as an online marketing consultant (SEO - SEA). Occasionally writes articles for Frankwatching, Marketingfacts and B2bmarketeers.nl.

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