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I need to buy a laptop for graphic design.

My requirements, from top to lowest priority:

  1. NOT ASUS

  2. MUST run all adobe programs and features fast and smooth (photoshop, illustrator, indesign, ect.).

  3. light weight is a big benefit.

  4. price (please give me 850$ option and 1300$options)
  5. screen size must not pass 15.6"
  6. hard disk space.

Price is important. If you can satisfy 1. and 2. with a low cost computer, please link to it.

I would be happy for more than one option to choose from.

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  • 15.6" is an industry standard. 15.4" and below are generally custom form factors limited to the manufacturer. This means it is harder to find high resolution screens and limited upgradability, crucial to the longevity of a graphic design computer in my opinion. Could you please provide an example price?
    – Raj Huff
    May 11, 2017 at 8:36
  • im sorry i meant 15.6
    – Gulzar
    May 11, 2017 at 8:45
  • Another option to the answer below which is cheaper than both would be the Dell Inspiron 5000 series laptops. I spent 650 GBP on mine, it was on offer, but it sports an Intel Core i7 processor, a 256GB SSD and a 4GB AMD M445 discrete GPU. I run all manner of After Effects and Photoshop instances on this machine with no problem.
    – Edward Nunn
    Jul 2, 2017 at 21:59

1 Answer 1

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I got an Acer Aspire V Nitro laptop last year for my wife to game on and it has been fantastic. It didn't come with a lot of bloatware, if we're doing normal internet/video/etc it will last 5 or more hours on a charge, it's screen has deliciously vibrant colors, and it runs all our games smooth and fast. I understand you don't necessarily need the ability to play games, but reaching that far means it should handle photoshop for years to come, right?

$1300 option: This model I think hits all your checkmarks plus a few of mine. Comparison Notes:

  • 1TB hard drive + 256GB SSD. Windows and programs will install on the SSD so that you get really fantastic start speeds. If you haven't yet seen photoshop start on a PC with an SSD, you're in for a treat. 1TB is about as big as you're going to get stock in a laptop.
  • 5.7lbs, a little bit heavier than the $850 option below. Probably still won't feel heavy though. Mine is 5lbs and it doesn't feel like a gaming laptop. It could easily masquerade as a cheap walmart special.

$850 option: This one's a refurbished previous generation model for considerably less. Comparison Notes:

  • This model lacks the SSD, which means it will take a little longer to boot and to open Photoshop. Still, it should do well enough.
  • The processor is the same i7, just 1 generation previous. Means that the $1300 option will have maybe 10% more cpu power. You won't notice it.
  • The GPU is considerably less powerful than the $1300's. If you were playing games, you'd have to tune some of them back from ultimate settings. But, you aren't playing games and this will already be overkill for photoshop and illustrator. So that doesn't really matter.

Honestly, you'd probably be just as happy with the $850 option. In fact, if it had the dual SSD/HDD configuration, I wouldn't even mention the more expensive option.

Good Luck!

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