The best laptops for graphic designers: Expert tested and reviewed

Taking the top stop as our best graphic design laptop is Apple’s 14-inch MacBook Pro from 2023. This entry probably comes as no surprise, as MacBooks are lauded for their hardware performance, and this model is no different. It boasts the latest rendition of Apple silicon in the form of the M3 chip. The hardware allows the MacBook to multitask across various apps, handle resource-heavy software like games, and allow users to edit 4K resolution videos without missing a beat. 

Review: MacBook Pro (M3 Max)

Its high performance level is apparent thanks to the stunning 14-inch Liquid Retina XDR display, which outputs content at 4K resolution. Moreover, it has a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio for bright, vivid colors and support for ProMotion tech, enabling an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz. To top it all off, the M3 MacBook has a maximum battery life of 22 hours, enough to last an entire day.

There are two versions of the 2023 MacBook: the 14-inch model we just described and the 16-inch option. We recommend the former for its more compact design and lower price point. However, if you want the best of what the MacBook Pro can deliver, go with the 16-inch laptop. Keep in mind that both are still expensive.

Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch specs: CPU: Apple M3 | GPU: M3 integrated graphics | RAM: 8GB | Storage: 512GB SSD | Display: 14-inch Liquid Retina XDR Display 

Earning its place as the best 2-in-1 graphic design laptop is Lenovo’s recent Yoga 9i 2-in-1 refresh. These types of devices lend themselves very well to this line of work. You can write up a document while the machine is in laptop mode and immediately flip the screen to place it into tablet mode. What’s great about this particular model is it houses a stunning 2.8K OLED display. Vibrant colors practically leap from the screen, showing off various shades. Our review referred to it as the “shining jewel” of the Yoga 9i.

Review: Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1

Lenovo also made some great design choices. The speakers are housed on the hinge, allowing users to hear the full breadth of the Yoga 9i’s audio system. Media, from music to movies, sound great coming out of the model, complete with subwoofers giving it that extra punch. Each key has a travel distance of 1.5mm, ensuring comfortable typing. A light touch is all you need to register an input. It’s easy on the hands and allows you to work fast. If that wasn’t enough, the Yoga 9i looks lovely in its Cosmic Blue color scheme and polished metal on the sides. Also, you get a free stylus when you purchase.

If you buy this laptop, keep the charger close by because Lenovo’s Yoga 9i quickly drains its battery. On a single charge, it will last around 7.5 hours.

Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 OLED specs: CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7 155H  | GPU: Integrated Intel graphics card | RAM: 16 GB | Storage: 512 GB | Display: 14-inch 2.8K resolution OLED

We lauded the original Surface Laptop Studio for its focus on graphic design work, and the same can be said for its follow-up: the Surface Laptop Studio 2. Like its predecessor, the revamped model is a 2-in-1 computer with a screen that can be folded flat to serve as a tablet or upright as a traditional laptop. Also, an extra hinge allows users to tilt the screen like an easel, which is ideal for drawing with the Surface Slim Pen 2 (although you must buy it because it doesn’t come with a stylus).

It’s not all the same array of features. The Surface Laptop Studio 2 makes multiple improvements to the original. The most impactful is the more powerful hardware. In addition to having a better processor, the model offers the option for a Nvidia GeForce RTX 40-series graphics card. With this graphics card, the device can handle intensive workloads better than the older machine.

Review: Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2

Speaking of the previous laptop, the Surface Laptop Studio 2 also sports a sharp, touch-sensitive display, but this time, it outputs a much higher resolution of 4,500 x 3,000 pixels. Overall, it’s superior to the old in almost every way except that it is expensive.

Acer Swift X 14 specs: CPU: 13th Gen Intel Core i7-13700H | GPU: Intel Iris Xe, 6GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050, 8GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060, 8GB Nvidia RTX 2000 Ada | RAM: 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB LPDDR5 | Storage: 512 GB, 1 TB, or 2 TB SSD | Display: 14.4-inch PixelSense Flow DIsplay, 120Hz

Dell started 2024 off strong with the launch of the XPS 16. It is a fantastic laptop that’ll make any graphic designer smile from ear to ear because it has so much going for it. For starters, the 4K display is stunning. Colors leap out of the screen. Shadows look as dark as the abyss, and the 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio will allow you to see a high level of detail. I called it the crown jewel of the model in the review. It’s that good. And it’s made even by the thin bezels around the glass, making the display more prominent than it is. Dell’s machine takes full advantage of the real estate it’s given.

Of course, not everything is skin deep, as the XPS 16 boasts impressive hardware. At its best, the laptop houses an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 graphics card and an Intel Core Ultra 9 processor, supported by 64GB of RAM alongside a 4TB SSD. Hardware at this level is overkill for scenarios. The model’s base configuration is still quite powerful. However, creative professionals who want a machine that can handle their work, like rendering large video files, will need all the strength they can get. And that can get it in the 2024 XPS 16.

Review: Dell XPS 16 (2024)

Don’t just take my word for it. User reviews on Dell’s website are filled with glowing praise from people who love the performance, speed, and output of the OLED display.

Now, the laptop is tricky to travel with. It’s bulky and relatively heavy, so carrying this device around won’t be easy. Something else you should know is that the laptop is expensive. Start saving those pennies.

Dell XPS 16 specs: CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, Intel Core Ultra 9 185H | GPU: Intel Arc, 6GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050, 8GB GeForce RTX 4060, 8GB GeForce RTX 4070  | RAM: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB | Storage: 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB SSD | Display: 16.3inch Full HD Plus, 16.3-inch Ultra HD Plus

Buying a budget graphic design laptop can be surprisingly tricky. It’s a type of workload that demands powerful hardware and computers that can meet user demands tend to be expensive. Acer’s Swift X laptop fortunately strikes a good balance delivering solid hardware components at a price tag that won’t make your wallet cringe. 

The base version comes equipped with an AMD Ryzen 7 5800U processor alongside 16GB of RAM and a Nvidia RTX 3050Ti graphic card. That setup won’t be winning any awards in 2024, but at the very least, it can easily handle the tough workloads graphic design tasks demand from photo editing to image rendering. 16GB is fast enough to hop from website to website without experiencing significant slowdown. Its display covers the entire sRGB color gamut so expect vibrant imagery. Do note the resolution peaks at 1080p. This, by no means, is bad resolution or anything, however it may come up short for professionals who want the higher quality. 

Other notable features include a 512GB SSD, thin bezels around the screen, and a lightweight form factor. If you have a little wiggle room in your budget, Acer also sells a more powerful version of the Swift X on their website which comes with a better processor and higher resolution display.

Acer Swift X specs: CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800U | GPU: Nvidia RTX 3050Ti | RAM: 16GB | Storage: 512GB SSD | Display: 14-inch Full HD display

MSI’s Creator Z16 HX Studio is our recommendation for content creators looking for a compelling laptop. At its highest configuration, this beast sports a 13th-Gen Intel Core i9-13900HX CPU, GeForce RTX 4070 GPU from Nvidia, and a whopping 2TB SSD. You can store hours of footage on this thing and still have plenty of room left over. Interestingly, on the product page, MSI states that Creator Z16 can process Photoshop and Premiere Pro much faster than its predecessor. It can render videos in 30 percent less time.

Speaking of videos, Nvidia Studio is installed on this machine. It consists of multiple AI features that can help turn your ideas into reality. The suite also houses some of the latest creation software tools, like ray tracing, to deliver realistic graphical works. Naturally, a laptop of this caliber sports a stunning Quad HD Plus (2,56 x 1,600 pixels) resolution display covering all of the DCI-P3 color gamut.

With this hardware level, a typical laptop would turn into a furnace. It’s going to be generating a lot of heat. To combat this, MSI installed a robust cooling system called the Vapor Chamber Cooler to ensure the Creator Z16 operates at a low temperature. 

MSI Creator Z16 HX Studio specs: CPU: 13th-Gen Intel Core i7-11800H, i7-13700HX, i9-13900HX | GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060, RTX 4060, RTX 4070 | RAM: 16GB, 32 GB | Storage: 1TB, 2TB SSD | Display: 16-inch QuadHD Plus touchscreen

In late 2023, Google announced a new generation of Chromebooks specializing in productivity. Multiple models were revealed, and among the group, the Chromebook Plus CX34 is the best one by far. It has a lot going for it. First, it’s pretty inexpensive. Second, the laptop has a 1080p display, enabling high-quality images. The one problem with the screen is that the bezels are thicker than we would’ve liked them to be — they get in the way. That said, Asus makes up for this by including an anti-glare coating to the glass so it can be outside without the sun ruining the image.

Review: Asus Chromebook Plus CX34

The neat thing about this Chromebook is that it’s among the first to support Photoshop—more specifically, the web version of Photoshop. This is a big deal because previous models couldn’t handle the editing software, forcing people to use other less-great options. Now, you get the best. And once you’re done with work, you can relax with a game of Minecraft because the title is unique to the laptop.

Additionally, the Asus Chromebook has a variety of AI-powered features. Our favorite is Magic Eraser, which can intelligently erase mistakes or cover up objects in photographs. It’s quite impressive. And there’s the nifty File Sync. It keeps a copy of Google Drive on the computer at all times, so you have access even when it’s offline.

Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 specs: CPU: Intel Core i3-1215U, i5-1235U | GPU: Intel UHD Graphics | RAM: 8GB, 16GB | Storage: 128GB, 256GB SSD | Display: 14-inch 1080p

Game laptops lend themselves very well to being awesome graphic design machines. Their hardware configurations make them a good fit for the task. But some professional may be hesistant to buy them since A) they light up like a Christmas tree due to their RGB lights and B) they can be huge. Well, Asus’ ROG Zephyrus G14 is none of those things and still delivers awesome performance.

The first thing you may notice looking at the device is it sort of looks like a MacBook. You have a primarily white body, square-shaped keys, and a screen surrounding by thin, black bezels. Its display even has a similar resolution output and it costs about the same as a MacBook. They have a lot of similarities. However, the Zephyrus G14 outshines Apple’s device in multiple ways. 

Review: Asus ROG Zephyrus G14

First off, it has better hardware, sporting an AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS processor and a Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 graphics card. This configuration allows the laptop to be flexible in tackling different kinds of workflows. When the day, you can game on it without skipping a beat. This is something very few MacBooks can boast. Second, the Zephyrus G14 has fantastic keyboard. Each keys has an indent guiding your fingers to the center and every button has a springy feel. It all results in a comfortable typing experience.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 specs: CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS 8 Core | GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 | RAM: 16TB | Storage: 1TB SSD | Display: 14-inch 3K OLED