This post will help you chose a perfect laptop for the latest version of Adobe Illustrator and Adobe PhotoShop.

Being an illustrator or graphic designer, you spend a lot of time illustrating and designing your art work. And if you have chosen a random laptop to run such heavy software like Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, it’s going to take even longer and sometimes if your laptop is not built and configured to run such heavy software; your laptop may crash suddenly and in worst case scenario you might even lose your artwork. So, to run photo editing and illustration software smoothly, you need to pick a sturdy and compatible laptop with high-end graphics to save your precious time make your illustration and photo editing process supportive and enjoyable.

Laptop Specifications & Configuration for Adobe Illustrator

There are a few basic laptop configuration and specifications that you should remember while selecting a laptop for your photo design and illustration gigs, that are RAM, Graphics Card, Screen, Processor and the storage (HDD/SDD). To ensure that your computer can handle these latest heavy design/illustration applications, you need to buy a laptop with Intel i7 or i5 processor (preferably 8th gen) with a discrete Graphis card of Nvidia or AMD, and 16 or 32GB RAM and most importantly stylus. So, it doesn’t matter whether you’ve taken the first steps in this digital artwork or you want to upgrade your work as a freelancer. Some laptops for illustrators are sturdy, lightweight, and easy to use.

Below are some of the best laptops for illustrators and graphic designers:

Microsoft Surface book 2

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Processor: 8th Gen Intel Quad Core i5 7300U || i7 8650U – 1.9GHz

RAM: 8GB (expandable up to 16GB)

Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 (2GB GDDR5 VRAM) || Intel UHD Graphics 620

Screen: 15-In 3240 x 2160, 260 PPI || 13.5-In 3000 x 2000, 267 PPI

Storage: Upto 1TB SSD

Battery: 6-8 Hours

Microsoft surface book 2 is a high speed and powerful device. It runs on the full version of Windows 10 and the keyboard is also detachable so that you can use it as a tablet. It comes with a dedicated graphics card which makes it a perfect laptop for illustrators. If you want a high performing laptop but want to stick Windows OS, then it’s a good alternative of the MacBook Pro.  

Acer Aspire E15

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Processor: 1.9GHz Intel Core i3-4030U (3MB cache)

RAM: 8GB (expandable up to 16GB)

Graphics: GeForce MX150 2GB

Screen: 15.6-inch, 1366 x 768, LCD Multi-touch screen

Storage: Upto 500GB (with 16GB SSD)

Battery: 7 Hours

Acer Aspire E15 is a budget laptop with a good processor and screen quality. It is a value for money devices and provides you with more features than the other laptops in the same price range. You can use most of your designing tools like Adobe Illustrator, DaVinci Resolve, and Premiere Pro and can also do medium gaming on it. If you’ re in a tight budget but want a good device for your work, then Acer Aspire is a great option to go for. 

MSI GE72 Apache Pro-029

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Processor: 2.60 GHz Intel Core i7-9750H 9th Gen (6MB cache)

RAM: 16GB DDR4 RAM

Graphics: GeForce MX150 2GB

Screen: 15.6-inch, 1366 x 768, Matrix display

Storage: Upto 1TB 7200rpm HDD along with 256GB NVMe SSD

Battery: 8-9 Hours

MSI laptops are one of the best laptops when it comes to gaming, editing, graphic designing, and other stuff. This beast provides you with amazing power with its i7 9th processor and 16GB RAM. Plus, it also has two hard drives of both solid-state and rotating one. 

Acer Predator Helios 300

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Processor: 2.2GHz Intel Core i7-8750H (8MB cache)

RAM: 16GB DDR4 RAM

Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 (6GB GDDR5)

Screen: 15.6-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,080)

Storage: 256GB PCIe SSD

Battery: 5-7 Hours

Acer Predator is a powerful illustrator’s aid with better screen quality and high-speed processor with the clock speed of 3.8GHz. It provides you with a versatile work environment which makes it a better laptop for illustrators. It is a mid-range laptop with 144Hz PPI display.

Apple MacBook Pro with Touch Bar

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Processor: 8th-generation Intel Core i5(8MB cache)

RAM: 16GB DDR4 RAM

Graphics: Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645

Screen: 13.3-inch, 2,560 x 1,600 Retina

Storage:  Upto 2TB SSD

Apple is a renowned company and provides the best gadgets in the market. Its’s retina display gives you a clear view of the designs and videos. It’s is one the best MacBook Pro that Apple has ever made smoothly performs the rendering and other operations in the editing software. It is the perfect laptop for illustrators across the globe. 

The choice of the laptops for illustrators can vary from person to person depending on the individual’s needs. You need to focus on Storage, RAM, Screen, Processor, and Graphics. Also compare different devices so that you can find the perfect laptop for your work.

Bottom Line

If you are looking for best laptop for Adobe Illustrator or PhotoShop, go for a laptop with stylus support that will make the illustration experience enjoyable and speedy as well.