One of the most challenging things you can do as a graphic designer is deciding on the laptop that meets your needs. A graphic designer’s laptop is different from any other laptop in the market. It must come with features that make it suitable for your type of work and portable.

If you’ve been in graphic design enough, you may already know how frustrating laptops can get. Regular laptops cannot match the number of tasks laptops specialized for graphic design do. This is why you should own the best laptop for graphic design.  

The latter are powerful, smaller in size with more robust internal components and specifications.

Picking the right laptop will save you a lot of hanging, overheating, etc. Besides, it will help you move around easily and complete your work within the designated time. It is, therefore, essential that you pay attention to a variety of hardware and software features. 

This article will dig deeper into what you need to look for when buying such a laptop.

Here are the features that matter most.

1. Style of Design

Many people believe the software matters most in a graphics laptop, but that’s not it. Before you purchase it, it must please your eyes with all parts intact. The design style differs from person to person, and therefore, you need to define what you want before anything else.

For instance, you could be looking for a stylus-based system. A Microsoft tablet-style laptop would be the best pick for you. Most people who love these kinds of laptops desire control of the finer details. It comes with a stylus pen that makes it easy and convenient to do anything you want.

Another set of designers prefer using touchscreen-enabled laptops. That is suitable, especially if you trust the accuracy from your fingers. Otherwise, a stylus pen gives you better accuracy, and it feels as if you were using a pencil to write.

Design is not only in keyboards and touchscreens. Many other design features may interest you. Therefore, you need to write them down and counter check when window shopping.

1. Get the right Operating System

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It would be best to determine what will work best for you between a Mac and a PC. These two have different software that it works with to give good results. Like many others, the graphics software works perfectly with either iOS or Windows, thus dictating the device you should use.

Mac is the most commonly used when it comes to graphic design. Traditionally, Macs came with many benefits that you won’t find with PCs, such as color clarity and accuracy. But things are changing fast as PCs now match the Mac color quality and many other features.

Manufacturers have been working on PC parts, improving them from time to time to fit the graphics job. Getting rid of less important parts of PCs has helped reduce volume, making PCs more sleek, streamlined, and portable. They also are easily upgradable on a software to software basis and can run general software much more easily. They, therefore, double up as graphics machines and for office or home use.

1. What Kind of Graphics Card Does it Have?

Commonly, people believe graphics cards only matter in gaming. But then, these cards are equally as important for every graphic design laptop. A computer’s visual ability determines how well it will serve you in your graphics job and, therefore, an essential factor to consider.

There are integrated cards and others that you buy separately and add to your computer. Dedicated graphics chips have previously supported better spreadsheet and web page display. Now, things are getting even better with integrated cards that can efficiently run graphic software.

On cost, integrated graphics cards come cheaper and are therefore perfect for starters or anyone working on a budget. Separate graphics cards are more robust but more expensive as compared to the latter. If you’re working with complex 3D design software, investing in a different graphics card is best.

Some perfect examples of graphics cards to consider when selecting one include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX1050 and AMD’s Radeon R7. There’re more to consider, such as NVIDIA’s latest ten series, but that may require a higher quality machine with powerful software and hardware.

1. The Amount of Memory Available

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RAM is an important factor to consider in every laptop despite the purpose you’re buying it for. This memory plays a vital role in enabling a seamless usage of different applications on your computer. It makes it easier to open large files and multiple applications and to switch between them easily.

The RAM is what supports the current program or file you’re viewing. Therefore, it’s impossible to work with zero RAM, and you can get away with 1GB RAM in some instances or fail in others. However, it is advisable to aim at a minimum of 2GB RAM or get to 8GB RAM for an easier flow of work.

The best thing about RAM is that you can upgrade it anytime you want to. It is cheap and can be found separately and installed without any technical assistance. As your workload increases, you can consider adding to the available RAM over time to improve your computer’s ability to handle your new workload.

Ample RAM should be among a graphic designer’s top factors when selecting a laptop. However, it would be best if you did not frown on a good laptop because it has 2 or 3GB of RAM. As mentioned, if other factors are impressive, buy the computer, purchase RAM separately, and upgrade it yourself.

1. The Type and Amount of Storage

You’re most likely to come across HDD and SSD when purchasing a graphic design or any other laptop. The former means hard disk drive, while the latter means solid-state drive.

These two types of storage drives have different characteristics and have huge differences between them. HDD is more traditional, cheaper, but not very reliable for graphic designing. 

Despite having a better capacity, HDD storage is difficult to work with as it is slow, especially on complex tasks.

SSD storage drives are lighter compared to HDD. They’re also faster, durable, and more reliable, especially when handling demanding tasks like graphic design. Depending on your work scope, you should consider the capacity of the storage drive, whether it is HDD or SSD.

Mostly, laptops come with either 500GB or 1TB of storage drive space. The bigger the capacity, the easier it will be to design software and store your projects. If doing a graphics job, a 1TB SSD storage drive should be an excellent pick. Besides, you can upgrade it with time so don’t shy off from starting at 500GB.

1. The Size and Quality of Screen

Graphic design requires good visuals, and a quality screen is important in this case. You should consider screen display in two main aspects – size and resolution. These aspects need to be good to ensure you have an easy time with your graphic design work.

First, screen size matters when it comes to a graphics laptop. A good viewing experience requires a bigger screen, such as a 17 inches sized one. However, it will be better if you can efficiently work with a 15 inches screen size as it is smaller and more portable.

Second, you need a top-quality screen with perfect resolution. The higher density of pixels in laptop screens means a better focus on the details and, eventually, better viewing. If you’re going to window shop for graphic laptops, be keen to select one with 1920×1080 pixels.

A good balance between size and resolution is important for a graphic designer. Being a professional level laptop, both of these will help you complete your tasks easily. Besides, you should consider your budget as the bigger the screen and the better the resolution, the higher the price you pay for it.

1. What is The Processor Type?

The CPU is the brain of your laptop – to describe it best. It comes with different features, and you choose one depending on the purpose you want your machine to serve. That’s to say, a general home or office use CPU doesn’t need to be of graphics-use quality.

As you know, graphics work uses sophisticated software that may overwhelm some computers. To run this software hitch-free, you need a top-quality quad-core or extreme series processor or CPU. The more robust a processor is, the more software you can run simultaneously without overheating.

For a graphic design beginner, you should consider an Intel Core i5 processor. The more the cores, the better the machine, and therefore, seasoned designers prefer Core i7 or AMD’s FX processors. Additionally, it would be best to look at the generation; the latest one will work perfectly.

The processor usually impacts greatly on price. You should consider your budget before choosing your graphics machine. A constrained budget should get you a core i5; otherwise, avoid going for anything less than that, as it may be disappointing in the end.

1. The Color Quality

Many buyers tend to ignore color accuracy when buying laptops only to realize how important it is later. It is worth noting that a good viewing experience takes into account a long list of features. You should not only look at the screen size and resolution when selecting a laptop.

It is important to focus on finer details like color and choose a screen with a wide color palette. I would advise you to go for at least 100% of Adobe RGB to give you the kind of viewing experience you desire in your work. It helps to take time and consider various laptops before picking one that meets your needs.

It would help if you were careful when picking a laptop with color accuracy as your major concern. The Delta-E used in measuring how accurate a laptop screen is can be confusing. A highly precise screen will have a lower number of Delta-E and vice versa. A low score means the screen won’t get some colors right on display.

If you’re comfortable with any color accuracy, you can consider a laptop with 100% sRGB. Despite providing lower accuracy, you’re more likely to buy it on a budget and still get some level of color accuracy. But then, it isn’t advisable to pick laptops with low color accuracy for graphic designing.

1. Extra Accessories

Although you may not need a camera and microphone in your design work, they’re essential components of a laptop. At one point, communication and networking with other designers around the world became necessary. You may not manage it if your computer lacks a good camera and microphone.

A freelance graphic designer needs these two components more than anyone else. Working remotely for clients from different parts of the world requires prompt communication. A built-in mic and camera will save you the hassle of purchasing these two components separately, only to use them a few times.

Another reason to go for a laptop with these components built-in is portability. It becomes easier to carry it with you when both are undetachable; besides, it improves security and reduces the risk of losing one of the two components when moving from one location to another.

Whether you’re a freelancer or not, you should not assume the importance of a camera and mic. After a short while, your job may change from sitting in a company office to video chatting with potential clients and handling their projects and home. You will find your laptop even more convenient than a smartphone.

Final Thoughts

Those are some of the tips you need when looking for a graphic design laptop. As you have seen, buying such a computer is not an easy task as you need to look beyond its outward appearance. The internal components, such as storage drives, RAM, etc., need to be of the right quality.

Additionally, it should be portable as you may sometimes work on the go. The extra accessories such as a camera and microphone also must be available for easier connectivity. You’re likely to find the kind of laptop you desire much quicker if you follow these tips to the latter.