11 Best Laptops For Artists | Reviews & Buyer’s Guide

Are you an artist who aspires to create one-of-a-kind and beautiful artwork but finds it difficult to do so due to a sluggish computer?

Paper, pen, paint, and brush are traditional tools of an artist. However, a modern-day artist needs an excellent laptop with digital tools for creating great art pieces. 

But selecting a model that fulfills the artistry needs of an artist can be a complicated process. Some artists search for a laptop that is easy to carry around, while others want a two-in-one unit that supports an active pen. Additionally, any professional artist requires running highly graphics-intensive software that can be difficult to run on a laptop with average configurations. 

Although knowing about the features to look for can be very helpful for an artist in selecting an ideal one. Hence, through our understanding and in-depth research, we developed a list of the best laptops for artists, professionals, or art students. 

Without further ado, let’s get into it. 

Top Laptops For Artists

1. Apple Macbook ‎Pro MK193LL/A

Apple has been a standout brand in the technology market and has created a niche positioning with its premium range of products. Its latest innovation, the Apple Macbook MK193LL/A is packed with a powerful processor, Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), and a brilliant display that helps render a stunning look to your art piece. 

Why Did We Like It?

Apple MacBook Pro is one of the most powerful laptops for professional artists to run graphics-intensive software. It comes with a blazing-fast M1 Pro chip and 10-core CPU that delivers game-changing performance and next-level battery life. 

The company promises to deliver the best display with a resolution of 3456 by 2234 pixels and an XDR retina display. Images come with incredible details, sharp text, bright whites, and deep blacks, along with vibrant reds and greens, thereby providing a stunning look to your artwork. 

Its 16GB RAM ensures you won’t have to wait for your device to deliver the most demanding tasks. Moreover, the laptop is compact and easier to carry around.

Lastly, its 1TB HDD internal storage ensures you would never run out of storage, helping you store those artworks for a more extended period. So, if you’re a professional artist, we’d suggest you go for it.  

What Could’ve Been Better?

One of the primary setbacks of this model is the extravagant cost that it comes with. However, if you’re willing to spend big, this Apple laptop will be a perfect fit. It is unquestionably a good investment for those labor-intensive artworks.

2. ‎ASUS ZenBook

The Asus Zenbook Duo is one of the best touch screen laptops with a 14-inch FHD NanoEdge touchscreen. It also has an additional 12.6-inch matte touchscreen, viz., the ScreenPad Plus, making it a tailor-made product for professional artists.What’s more, a high-end processor and fast storage let you create unique designs with ease. 

Why Did We Like It?

There are a lot of things to like about this product. A unique feature is its 12.6-inch matte touchscreen, ScreenPad Plus, which optimizes your multitasking tasks and allows opening more tabs and spread your work further. The Asus Stylus included with it allows you to draw directly on the screen, giving you a traditional pen and paper experience. 

It also delivers an immersive viewing experience with ultraslim bezels, a NanoEdge display, and 400 Nits for an expansive 93% screen-to-body ratio. The PANTON display is for professional-grade color accuracy and a TUV-certification for lower blue light emission. It means you can work for a long time without hurting the eyes. 

Powered by the latest Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor that clocks up to 4.7GHz and NVIDIA GeForce MX450 graphics, it can run some of the most graphics-demanding programs. An ultrafast PCIe SSD also ensures rapid app loads and fast boot times. So, you won’t be able to resist getting creative on every occasion! 

What Could’ve Been Better?

Apart from being a very expensive product, its portability is an issue. You might not be able to carry it around all the time. However, with the features it delivers, these puny setbacks can be ignored. It is capable of delivering professional-grade artwork with ease.  

3. HP ‎ENVY x360

The HP Envy x360 is a two-in-one touchscreen laptop that delivers superlative performance integrated with a powerful GPU and CPU. Along with it, it’s the fantastic display, well-built design, and excellent battery life come at an incredible price. It makes the product a viable choice for artists who don’t want to spend much but expect a seamless user experience. 

Why Did We Like It?

This laptop by HP is well-built and integrated with decent looks and design. Its touchscreen display is dazzling with 400 Nits of brightness that looks great inside and outdoors.  

It has attained a higher benchmark in terms of performance, thanks to its latest 11th Gen Intel Core i7 processor that runs almost any software seamlessly. Also, its 1TB PCIe SSD internal storage means you never have to compromise on your creativity. 

Talking about connectivity, it comes with five ports which include 1 HDMI, 1 USB Type-C, 1 USB 3.2 Gen 1, SD card reader, and a headphone port, which ensure that you always remain connected. Besides, the 720p HD webcam allows you to have crystal clear video calls with your clients or customers. It helps you establish a better network and boost your overall productivity. 

Last but not least, it comes with a digital pen that lets you show your creativity and innovation like a breeze.   

What Could’ve Been Better?

A laptop needs to be backed by a long battery life to bring your creative prowess to life. But this unit runs for approximately 4 hours once fully charged, which is not much as compared to other models in this range. However, it does come with a 65W supply charger, which recharges it in no time. 

4. Apple Macbook ‎MKGT3LL/A

The Apple Macbook ‎MKGT3LL/A is a 14-inch variant of MK193LL/A and was simultaneously launched on the market. It also comes with a powerful M1 Pro chip capable of running any graphics-intensive artistry software like Adobe Photoshop, Affinity, Procreate, and others. Along with that, its retina display makes sure your digital art doesn’t compromise on graphics.    

Why Did We Like It?

This unit by Apple features more or less similar features to its 16-inch counterpart. With a blazing-fast M1 pro chip equipped with 16-core neural processing engines, it can run your heavy applications with ease. 

A liquid retina display integrated with True Tone technology gives a radiant look to your artwork. The colors and textures get reflected in all their vibrancy, and users get a more natural viewing experience. 

With 16GB RAM and 8TB of superfast SSD storage, the apps and art files can be opened with a snap of your fingers. You can also work for a longer time (17 hours) with a single charge. So overall, you get a powerful yet compact and portable laptop.   

What Could’ve Been Better?

Like many Apple products,this unit also comes with an expensive price tag, which may not fit every budget. Other than that, you might find the unit to be a bit small, which can compromise your overall viewing and working experience. 

5. Dell ‎XPS

The Dell XPS9310-7422SLV-PUS, a two-in-one touchscreen laptop, is considered the best in its range in terms of value for money. Not only does it have immersive specs and a space-efficient design, but it can also be recycled or reused. 

Why Did We Like It?

This convertible laptop by Dell packs everything an art student or a professional look for. It comes at an attractive price point with unique features and displays. 

For one, the 11th Gen Intel Core mobile processors deliver guaranteed power in a remarkably light and thin laptop. Plus, integrating Intel Iris Plus graphics facilitates streaming, gaming, video editing, and creativity, making for an exceptional user experience. It also comes with a lot of ports for connecting all your peripherals and has a long-lasting battery.  

In terms of display, it packs an FHD+ touchscreen display, which offers optimum accuracy and detail of every pixel in your photos and artwork without needing to zoom in. Additionally, the 512 GB SSD provides you with enough space to store your designs and artwork.  

What Could’ve Been Better?

This Dell laptop is not as rich in features as the other models in this range, but it is enough to run your hardware-intensive tasks smoothly. You can create beautiful and unique artwork using this unit. However, we found that it tends to overheat after some time. 

6. MSI ‎Creator 15

MSI is a well-known name amongst gamers and gaming enthusiasts who look for a compelling laptop for playing graphics-intensive games like Minecraft, Fortnite, and others. Powered by an Intel Core i7 processor and the latest Nvidia GeForce GPU, it is also definite to fulfill your artistry needs.  

Why Did We Like It?

An artist needs a laptop that offers a stellar display for making their digital art pieces look amazing and lets them focus on its intricate details. And the Intel UHD graphics of this unit offers true contrast and color, whether you are gaming or working on your next project. 

Powered by an 11th Gen Intel Core i7 processor with eight cores, it can clock up to 4.6 GHz, delivering high performance and running any task with ease. Apart from that, it comes with a powerful NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 that processes graphics-demanding tasks without much fuss.

Not only that, but its lightweight design also makes for easy portability. Lastly, it comes with the exclusive MSI Cooler Boost Trinity+ technology that ensures optimal thermal dissipation so that your device doesn’t heat up when used for a longer time.  

What Could’ve Been Better?

The only limitation we found with this product is its fan sound, which might sometimes irritate users. Artistry requires much attention to detail and perfect brush strokes every time, which can get disrupted due to continuous humming noise. Other than that, the budget can be an issue for some users. 

7. HP Envy

A subnotebook, the HP Envy 13 offers a wide array of features and a lightweight and compact design. Along with the latest Intel Core processor and a dedicated graphics card, it comes with a 400-nit display, making it an attractive choice for artwork and entertainment. Artists and professionals will find this laptop to be a valued option. 

Why Did We Like It?

In general, the laptop has good artistry and spacing dimensions. A metal body makes it highly resistant to bending and warping, while the lightweight design of 2.88 pounds makes it portable and easy to carry around. 

Coming to the screen resolution, its pixel value is 1920 x 1080, which is good enough for an artist. Apart from its high-quality display, it comes with Bluetooth 5 and WiFi 6, which guarantees you super fast data transfers. 

It is packed with Intel Core i7-1165G7 quad-core processor with a variable clock speed of 1.20GHz to 2.8GHz, which can clock up to 4.7GHz. A unique aspect of this chipset is that it uses a SuperFin processing node, making it highly efficient. 

Lastly, it is equipped with several ports on the right and left sides, including USB Type-C, SD card reader, DisplayPort support, and data transmission rates, ensuring seamless connectivity all the time. These attractive features, along with 13-hours battery life, make it an excellent choice for artists, writers, and professionals.   

What Could’ve Been Better?

One of the significant limitations of this unit is its confined storage space. As a professional artist, you need to store massive data, and limited storage can be a potential issue. Other than that, the audio output of this laptop is very average. 

8. Lenovo

The newly launched Lenovo Flex 5 is a versatile and attractive convertible laptop. The machine is reliable, fast, and costs not much compared to other high-end laptops. With several ingrained features and high-quality hardware components, the unit serves the multiple needs of an artist.  

Why Did We Like It?

Powered by AMD Ryzen 5 5500U processor, a new and advanced gen-processor that can clock between 2.1 and 4.0 GHz. With its six cores, 12 threads, and 16GB DDR4 RAM, you can efficiently run any heavy-performance software as well. 

There is 256GB SSD storage available, which allows you to save a lot of your artwork with ease. Also, its compatibility with a stylus pen makes it suitable for artists who need to make quick drawings. It comes with a Lenovo Digital Pen, so you don’t need to purchase one separately. 

Adding to it, its battery life is adequate for allowing you to work for a longer time. With its 52W battery, you can watch videos and draw designs for around 8-9 hours. Overall, this reasonably priced laptop can suit art students who couldn’t spare the extra budget for purchasing one.  

What Could’ve Been Better?

The unit by Lenovo comes with a plastic body, which is not as durable and sturdy compared to other laptops in this range.  Also, 3.31 pounds makes it a bit heavy, and a user might find it challenging to carry around. 

9. Microsoft Surface

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 offers impressive audio, strong performance, a comfy keyboard, and good battery life. Backed by the promise of Microsoft, you have a robust performing laptop in hand that can fulfill all your artistry needs and tools. 

Why Did We Like It?

The Microsoft Surface is evolving in terms of packed improved components into a slim chassis, making it super portable and easy to carry around. After testing the laptop for a long time, we found it can be a superb choice for professional artists. 

Its powerful processor, Intel Iris Xe graphics, and 16GB RAM make it lightning-fast, which loads your artistry apps easily. Also, it comes with a Surface Pen that allows you to make drawings easily on the touchscreen. 

Apart from that, its battery life can extend up to 17 hours on a single charge means you won’t get interrupted during your creative work. It also comes with several ports, ensuring that you remain connected to peripheral devices all the time.   

Lastly, its screen is designed to have the highest contrast with low glare, which allows you to work anywhere at any time.  

What Could’ve Been Better?

Apart from being an expensive product, the limited storage option can be an issue for entry-level artists. It can be a major issue, especially when working on large projects. You wouldn’t be able to store a large chunk of designs and information at a time. 

10. ‎Dell Inspiron 17

Dell Inspiron 17-inch flagship 2-in-1 laptop is powered by the latest 11th Gen Intel Quad-Core i7 processor and 32GB DDR4 RAM. Intel’s Iris Plus graphics ensure lag-free and faster performance. With a powerful processor, a laptop like this can handle advanced multitasking, seamless gaming, demanding computing, multiple-tab browsing, and other tasks.   

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Why Did We Like It?

Overall, the model’s touchscreen is exceptionally portable and slim, despite its large screen size (17.3 inches). Its backlit features allow you to work during the day or night. Also, a QHD+ (2560 x 1600) display is laid with impressive color contrast and clarity. 

Its latest 11th Gen Core i7 processor can clock up to 4.7GHz, adding a notch to the performance and making it suitable for any significant and hardware-intensive project. However, we would not recommend max boosting the clock speed, as it heats the device and damages the processor if continued for a longer term. 

It has been optimized for productivity to use Microsoft Windows 10 Home, a standard operating system for multitasking. Also, it includes several ports on both sides, allowing you to stay connected with all your peripherals. 

Lastly, a 720p webcam delivers crystal clear visuals and sound for video conferencing and online classes. 

What Could’ve Been Better?

Overheating is the major limitation of this unit, which can raise many other issues. With prolonged heating, it might get unusable over time. The added heat increases chemical reactions within a battery, leading to a reduction in its lifetime. 

11. HP Pavilion x360

HP Pavilion x360 is a convertible laptop that is a practical choice for art students or professionals with its standard performance and glaring display. A natural silver body and a reflective brand logo deliver a stylish look. Also, you will find its keyboard quite satisfying to type and work with. 

Why Did We Like It?

The model by HP has an 8GB DDR4 RAM and an Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor to deliver speedy performance. Despite claims made by the company, it runs for around 6 hours 42 minutes with almost full brightness levels and uses WiFi. 

It is compatible with a stylus pen, letting you draw your artwork straight on the screen, giving a pen-paper experience. Also, you can perform your day-to-day tasks quickly and efficiently. 

In terms of connectivity, several ports like one USB 3.0 port, a security lock slot, a headphone jack, one USB Type-C port, an HDMI port, and an SD card slot are present. Overall, it is a suitable companion for busy professionals, teachers, artists, writers, art students, or people who need to take notes regularly.  

What Could’ve Been Better?

The laptop’s display is not as bright and vibrant and feels dull compared to other models in this range. Also, you will need to purchase a stylus pen separately from the market. Nevertheless, if you don’t want to spend big on your laptop, it can be worth buying. 

Laptops For Artists Buying Guide

Now that we have completed our reviews of the best laptops for artists available on the market, it’s time you select one for yourself. 

However, you can get confused while searching for good laptop computers with several aspects and features to consider. Don’t worry, I’ll walk you through each of them. 

To simplify things, you just need to think about six things: hardware, display, accessories, battery, portability, and budget. 

Sounds simple? Let’s understand them. 

1. Display

Compared to a regular laptop user, a digital artist relies mainly on display. I have broken it down into resolution, brightness, color reproduction, and screen size. Don’t worry; it won’t be a lecture. 

A. Resolution

A laptop with a screen resolution of Full HD, Ultra HD or 4K, and 8K is viable for an artist to make intricately detailed designs. These resolutions mean 1920 x 1080, 3840 x 2160 and 7680 x 4320 respectively. A saying, the higher the screen resolution, the greater details will be visible. 

B. Color Reproduction

One and the best way of determining accurate color reproduction in the best laptops for artists is through a color gamut, which means how many colors are represented in a display. You should remember a thumb rule: Higher the color gamut, saturated and richer colors you’ll get. 

As of now, 100% is the highest available in PC display and comes closest to what our eyes can see naturally. 

C. Brightness

Brightness is simple, though. If you are going for outside painting, you’ll need a laptop with more brightness. This is where nits come into the picture. A 400-nit panel is brighter than a 200-nit one. 

D. Screen Size

Professional artists are more comfortable drawing on a bigger screen, allowing them to view the full design at a time. Also, larger touch screens are easier to draw on. However, you need to understand the larger the screen size, the heavier the laptop gets. 

Luckily, the best laptops for artists come in various sizes with otherwise identical specs. So, select your laptop first without giving much importance to your screen size. 

2. Hardware

This is probably the most critical aspect that needs to be looked upon before purchasing an art laptop. I have divided it into memory, processor, graphics, and storage. 

 A. Processor

It is particularly important for running heavy art applications like Photoshop, Clip Studio Paint, and others. Two types of processors are generally available: Intel and AMD. 

The Intel family has four levels of processors, i3, i5, i7, and i9. On the other hand, AMD has A4, A6, and A8. These levels differ in terms of features or a particular feature. Artists might not need the most powerful and expensive processors for drawing beautiful designs and artworks. 

 B. Memory (RAM)

The next thing to look into is its memory or RAM (Random Access Memory) as it affects the performance of a laptop. It’s used for storing your project data and necessary information, which can also be used in your future projects. More significant the memory, the more data you can store. 

RAM generally starts from 8GB and can extend up to 64GB, the highest yet available in the market. 

 C. Graphics Card

A competitive graphics card or GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) is essential for artists. Do not compromise on this. Some art software runs better and smoother when a dedicated graphics card is present on your laptop. You can either opt for Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060, 1070, or the latest Intel Iris graphics card. 

 D. Internal Storage

Unless you are going to store the artwork and graphic design on cloud storage, you should look for internal storage. 

Many of you might get stuck into high-end processors, displays, and graphics cards and end up choosing a laptop that is limited in its storage ability. Don’t forget, you need to store massive data and artwork in your unit, which requires ample storage. 

3. Accessories

Some touch screen laptops are compatible with a stylus pen and come along with it. So, make sure to check if your laptop has included one with it. It makes your designing process much more straightforward and gives you a traditional painting experience. 

4. Portability And Battery Life

Size and battery life go hand in hand and are valid for most devices. I already talked about how the portability of a laptop is essential. 

Are you going to carry it all the time? So look for a light and portable laptop for you. 

Also, if you are going to work for a long time, the battery needs to last long. So, your laptop battery needs to last for at least 10 hours. 

5. Budget

The final aspect is the budget. Your profession and need determine how expensive your laptop needs to be. If you’re a professional and can afford the additional costs for advanced features and high resolution, then sky’s the limit. 

Verdict

With that, we have come to an end of a comprehensive review-based guide for the best laptops for artists. You should now select a suitable unit for showcasing your creativity. 

However, before leaving, we’d like to mention some of our favorites from the list. If budget is not an issue and you want to spend big, the Apple Macbook ‎Pro MK193LL/A is the most credible option. With a blazing-fast M1 pro chip, high storage, and 21 hours of long battery life, you can create a detailed art piece with ease. 

If you’re a student looking for a cheaper option, then the HP ‎ENVY x360 will be an option, and you won’t have to compromise on features. 

See you another day. Till then, take care!

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