Best laptops for graphic design 2023: Top picks and buying advice

A high-quality display is a crucial tool for graphic designers when working on projects, which is why you should consider picking up the Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro 360. The AMOLED display is absolutely stunning, producing vibrant colors and some of the deepest blacks we’ve ever seen. The display has a resolution of “3K” which is an upgrade from the previous Book2 version with 1080p and a respectable 120Hz refresh rate.

The Galaxy Book3 also packs a decent punch in the processing department. With a Core i7 CPU you should get plenty zippy for basic graphic design needs and general use. It also has 16GB of RAM and up to a 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD storage. That’s more than enough for multitasking or running a couple of applications simultaneously. If you’re frequently on the go, the Book3 provides excellent battery life as well, with our tests showing over 13.5 hours of continuous us via 4K video loopback—an outstanding stretch. The only trade-off to be aware of is the underwhelming webcam which shouldn’t be a deal breaker anyways. Overall, the Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 is a great machine that any graphic designer would love.

Why have one display when you could have two? The Asus Zenbook Pro 14 makes this possible, with a 14.5-inch 4K touch OLED panel that outputs an ultra-bright 547 nits while covering 100 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut. The main display is worthy enough for even the most serious designers, but the truly unique feature is the secondary 12.7-inch 2880×864 screen located just above the keyboard. Since Windows counts it as a second monitor you can use it for all sorts of things such as a second trackpad or for displaying a panel of touch controls for certain Adobe apps. It’s not just pretty screens either; the Zenbook Pro 14 packs solid performance thanks to a Core i7 processor, GeForce RTX 3050 graphics, 16GB of DDR5 memory, and a 1TB NVMe SSD.

Due to its high-powered features, it suffers from mediocre battery life, which means you may need to carry around a charging cable if you plan to do any work on the go. Still, the Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED is a great option for graphic designers or any other content creator, and the latest version of Asus’ dual-screen laptop is the best yet.

1.

How much processing power will I need?

If you’re just beginning a career in graphic design, go for an Intel Core i5 or i7 processor. If you work in video editing or motion design, we’d recommend an Intel Core i9. However, the number of cores is important for design work. That’s because the processor has to divide the workload when running a 3D-rendering program. A processor with four cores is the minimum requirement (in our book at least), but the more cores the better. As for AMD processors, the Ryzen 5 series is powerful enough for basic graphic design work. For more oomph, shoot for a Ryzen 9.

2.

Do I really need a GPU?

For graphically intensive projects like 3D design, you’re going to want a dedicated graphics card. Fortunately, most gaming laptops have dedicated graphics and should be able chew right through those projects. If you’re looking to save some money, go for an Nvidia RTX 3060 or 3050 Ti. For a serious boost in graphics performance, we’d suggest springing for an Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti or an AMD Radeon RX6800S.

3.

What about memory?

Graphic designers are constantly juggling a bunch of files, so you’re going to want at least 8GB of RAM to keep things relatively speedy. That’s the bare minimum, though. For bigger projects, 16GB of RAM should be plenty.

4.

Should I spring for a hard disk drive or an SSD?

For those massive video editing projects, you’re definitely going to need a high-capacity SSD. 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.

5.

How big should my display be?

Ah, the display. It may be one of the most important aspects of a laptop, especially for design work. The size and resolution really depends on the complexity of your project, though. First, let’s talk about the size. Do you regularly commute into the office? If so, you’ll want a 13- or 14-inch display, as it’s smaller and more portable. If you’re working on high-resolution files or something that requires a lot of screen real estate, you’re going to want a 17-inch. However, the bigger the screen, the heavier the laptop will be. As for the resolution, don’t settle for anything less than 1080p. That’s the baseline you want to go for. If you can stretch your budget, a 4K display is lovely and the ideal option for creative work.

6.

How long should my laptop last on a single charge?

If you plan on carrying around your laptop, you’ll want something that can last 10 to 12 hours on a single charge. That’s more than a full work day. However, battery size directly impacts the portability of the machine. The bigger the battery, the heavier the laptop.

7.

How diverse should my port selection be?

A wide array of ports is always a good thing, as it eliminates the need for an adapter. You should get a laptop that has both USB-C and USB-A. An HDMI port is good, too. This is useful for hooking up to an external monitor, especially if the laptop’s display is dim or not as clear.