Oct 13, 20215 min read

Best Laptops for Designing Work in 2021

Updated: Jan 3, 2022

There are so many laptops in the market to choose from. The laptop range from an individual's requirements and work expertise. There are different laptops for Graphic designing, Video Editing, and 3D modeling & animation. But new users always get confused in the beginning while choosing the best laptop that suits their work field.

Best always comes at a price tag. If you are looking for the best laptop for a long run, then you would have to do a little more research than what you typically do. There are many brands of laptop you can pick. Some of the major laptop brands are Dell, Apple (MacBook), Acer, Asus, HP, MSI and Lenovo.

Looking for a laptop to use for graphic design can be a challenge, and different than purchasing a laptop for general use or gaming. You want a laptop that's light enough to be portable but powerful enough to do complicated work.

Also Read: 7 Digital Art & Portrait Style To Learn And Start In 2022

Before getting too far in the decision-making process, consider the kind of work you do and your budget. If you do complex 3D work you will need to be on the upper end of all the specifications. If your work is mostly 2D, you can be at the mid to low end of the range.

The most important specs to look at for graphic design are the operating system, CPU, the memory or RAM, the storage drive, the display type and size, and color accuracy. Here are 5 laptops to buy in 2021 for graphic designing.

1. 2020 HP ENVY x360 13.3”

HP Envy x360 13 (2020) is a Windows 10 Home laptop with a 13.30-inch display that has a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. The HP Envy x360 13 (2020) packs 512GB of SSD storage. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth and it comes with Headphone and Mic Combo Jack ports.

Processor: 11th Gen Intel Core i7-1165G7 ((up to 4.7 GHz with Intel Turbo Boost Technology, 12 MB L3 cache, 4 cores) | Memory: 16 GB DDR4-3200 MHz RAM (2 x 8 GB) | Storage: 512 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
Operating System & Pre-installed Software: Pre-loaded Windows 10 Home with lifetime validity, FREE Upgrade to Windows 11* (when available, refer product description for more details) | Microsoft Office Home & Student 2019
Display & Graphics: 35.6 cm (14") diagonal, FHD (1920 x 1080), multitouch-enabled, IPS, edge-to-edge glass, micro-edge, 250 nits, 45% NTSC | Intel Iris Xe Graphics
Ports: 1 SuperSpeed USB Type-C 10Gbps (USB Power Delivery, DisplayPort 1.4, HP Sleep and Charge), 2 SuperSpeed USB Type-A 5Gbps, 1 headphone/microphone combo, 1 AC smart pin, 1 HDMI 2.0 | 3-cell, 43 Wh Li-ion Battery, Supports battery fast charge: approximately 50% in 30 minutes
Features: Camera: HP Wide Vision 720p HD camera | Microphone: Integrated Dual array digital microphones| Fingerprint Reader | Audio: Dual Speakers, Audio by B&O | Keyboard: Full-size backlit keyboard | Alexa Built In | Networking: Intel Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 AX201 (2x2), Bluetooth 5 combo

2. ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14

The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is an impressive 14-inch gaming laptop that delivers on several fronts, with great performance, incredible battery life and unbeatable portability. Dynamic and ready to travel, the pioneering ROG Zephyrus G14 is the world's most powerful 35.56cm(14-inch) Windows 10 Home gaming laptop.

Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS Processor, 3.0 GHz (8MB Cache, up to 4.3 GHz, 8 Cores, 16 Threads)
Memory: 32GB (2x 16GB) DDR4 3200MHz Dual-Channel RAM with | Storage: 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD
Graphics: Dedicated NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q GDDR6 6GB VRAM
Display: 14-inch (16:9) Quad HD (2560 x 1440), 300 nits Brightness, Anti-Glare IPS-level panel, 60Hz Refresh Rate, 100% sRGB, Pantone Validated, Adaptive sync, 85% screen-to-body ratio
Software Included: Pre-installed MS Office Home and Student 2019 | Operating System: Pre-loaded Windows 10 Home (64bit) with lifetime validity

3. DELL XPS 15 9500 15.6”

Dell XPS 15 9500 is a Windows 10 Home laptop with a 15.60-inch display that has a resolution of 1920x1200 pixels. It is powered by a Core i7 processor and it comes with 16GB of RAM. The Dell XPS 17 10750H packs 512GB of SSD storage.

Processor:10th Generation Intel Core i7-10750H Processor (12MB Cache, up to 5GHz,6 cores)
Memory & Storage: 16 GB DDR4 at 2933 MHz (2 x 8 GB), dual channel | 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe Solid State Drive
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti 4GB GDDR6
Display: 15.6” UHD (3840 x 2400) InfinityEdge Anti-Reflecitve 500-Nit Display I Eyesafe technology
Operating System: Windows 10 Home Plus Single Language & Microsoft Office Home and Student 2019
Design: CNC machined aluminum in platinum silver with carbon fiber composite palm rest in black | Laptop weight 1.83Kg | 18 mm thin
Keyboard & Battery: Backlit chiclet keyboard | 6-Cell Lithium Ion Battery | 6 cell 86 Whr | 21 hrs battery life

4. Acer 15.6" ConceptD 3 Ezel Multi-Touch 2-in-1

The ConceptD 3 Ezel is the creative toolbox designed for creators on the go with its slim and lightweight design and up to 15.6” FHD touchscreen display. Sketch, finalize, and present on one device, with the 15.6" ConceptD 3 Ezel Multi-Touch 2-in-1 Laptop from Acer.

Alongside the included Active Stylus Pen, Acer's patented 360° Ezel Hinge gives users six different modes to choose from, allowing them to easily collaborate with others in Share Mode, create efficiently in Float Mode, work on the move with Stand

Features: 360° Hinge | Active Stylus Pen
Processor: 2.6 GHz Intel Core i7 6-Core (10th Gen)
Memory & Storage:16GB DDR4 RAM | 1TB NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD
Display: 15.6" 1920 x 1080 IPS Matte Touchscreen

5. LENOVO ThinkPad P1 Gen 3

Premium design. Powerful computing

The ThinkPad P1 Gen 3 is the perfect combination of form and function. This stylish mobile workstation is built with rugged, thin, and light carbon fiber.

The stunning design hints at what’s inside: an amazingly powerful system that offers a choice of 10th Gen Intel® Core™ or the latest Xeon® processors and professional NVIDIA® Quadro® graphics.

Features:

Processor: 10th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-10750H Processor (6 Cores / 12 Threads, 2.60 GHz, up to 5.00 GHz with Turbo Boost, 12 MB Cache)
Operating System: DOS
Memory: 8 GB SO-DIMM DDR4 3200MHz
Hard Drive: 256 GB M.2 2280 SSD
Display Type: 39.62cms (15.6) FHD (1920x1080) IPS Anti-glare 300nits Non-Touch
Graphics: NVIDIA® Quadro® T1000 Max-Q 4GB GDDR6
AC Adapter: 135W
Warranty: 3 Years Onsite
Camera: 720P HD with Microphone
Wireless: 11AX (2x2) & Bluetooth® 5.0 vPro
Fingerprint Reader: Yes
Keyboard: Backlit, English (India)
Battery: 4 cell, 80Wh, Upto 9 hours

Doing a little bit of research before buying a laptop can benefit you on a long run. Always choose a laptop that suits your work field even if its not a designing or video editing related work. Laptops aren't cheap to buy and wasting a good sum of money isn't worth it. You can check laptop websites, compare them on online platforms or simply visit a local seller for a better idea.