Graphic designing, these days, is a lot easier than a child's play. With the help of a few tools and a moderate level laptop, everyone can edit and do a little photo editing, even if it's about adding one or two filers to the pictures. But if you are thinking of taking it to the professional level, then you must look for the best laptops for graphic designers available in the market that fall under your budget.
The choices and options for the best laptop for graphic design vary from designer to designer, but there are some of the main things you need to focus on, including:
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Disk Speed
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Screen Resolution
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Processor Speed
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Memory
1. Disk Speed
The speed of the storage disk plays a crucial role in the performance of your device. High speed ensures that your programs launch faster, and work without any lag. Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) and Solid State Drives (SSDs) are the two options available for anyone looking for the best laptops for graphic design applications.
Hard Disks are magnetically coated, metal disks that rotate at much higher speeds. In terms of shape, they look just like record players. Solid State Drives, on the other hand, have no moving parts. They are based on a huge array of memory chips.
Both have their own advantages and disadvantages. Hard Disks are cheaper than SSD drives. In fact, you can get the same amount of storage as that of an SSD, but at less than half of the price. Solid State Drives are highly durable and much faster than the Hard Disks, as they don't have any moving parts.
So, if you plan to go with hard disk drives, then ensure that it meets the minimum requirement of 7200 rpm disk speed. Whereas, for the storage, a 1 TB drive is more than sufficient, but 2 TB wouldn't also be a bad choice.
2. Screen Resolution
As far as the capabilities of your monitor are concerned, all you need to do is make sure that they have a resolution of at least 1280 * 800 pixels. Anything less than this isn't acceptable and will be unable to run the software of your choice.
Moreover, a wide range of the display devices in the market are Twisted Nematic (TN) panels, as they are very cheap and, consequently, are much more common; but the color quality which they produce is not good. So your quest for great graphic design laptops will only be fruitful if the display of your device is VA (Vertical Alignment) panel based or an IPS monitor.
If you decide to go above that, then Retina displays can also a great choice. In fact, many Apple laptops come with Retina-ready displays. You can estimate the awesomeness of a retina displays from the fact that a normal monitor features the standard resolution of 72 PPI (Pixels Per Inch), but a retina display can go up to 401 PPI.
3. Processor Speed
At the time being, the software required for the graphic designing purposes are resource-hungry and will need any system with more 1 GHz processor speed (or CPU). Anything more than that is highly recommended (as 1 GHz is just the minimum limit). And if you can afford it, then it is better to look for an even faster machine.
4. Memory
Don't confuse it with the storage memory stuff as it is an entirely different thing. You got it! We are talking about the RAM that acts as the forefront of the mind of the system. For the purpose at hand, an 8 Gigabytes of the RAM provides the optimum environment for most of the programs, but go for a higher one, if you are able to afford it.
RAM vs Processors of graphic design laptops (which one should go higher?)
Just as we mentioned above that these values are just the minimums, but the fact that you can improve your system even further can never be denied. As the CPU is already in GHz range, it is unlikely to notice an observable increase in the performance of the computer by going for a higher processor. Therefore, this money can be spent in a much better way, if you go for 16 or 32 Gigabytes of the RAM.
Should you go for a MAC or Windows-based laptop?
It is a common misconception that the Macs are the perfect machines for artists looking for graphic design laptops, while windows devices are more suited for official purposes. Even though it is true that Apple has been ruling the market for decades, which is why this misconception got huge popularity but saying the same thing today would be nothing more than an outdated biased claim.
In fact, almost all of the graphic design applications and software work perfectly on both OS X and Windows. However, windows devices are highly customize-able and affordable. Moreover, it helps if your OS is compatible with that of your clients. So, the final answer depends upon how you answer these questions: What can you afford? What are you comfortable with?
Bottom line:
Keep in mind that the laptop you choose needs not to be “cool looking”, but should cater for your needs. Once you have selected from the best graphic design laptops, all you will be needing is education, hard work, practice, and talent.
