With countless architects now working from home due to the COVID–19 pandemic, a computer with high level capabilities is essential in order to stay efficient and continue to deliver high quality drawings and renderings for clients. We’re back with our annual round-up of top laptops and mobile workstations for architects and designers, and this year, picking the right machine for you is more crucial than ever.

When you buy a laptop or any other product through Amazon links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. As long as your software needs to render, it can and will use your video card for processing output.Architizer Journal is reader-supported. This is especially true if you're working with 3D modeling software and video and photo editing, among others. Most graphic design software takes advantage of the power of discrete graphics cards. Q: Do You Need a Graphics Card if You're a Graphic Designer? That's why you should prefer higher-clocked CPUs over multi-cover processors with lower clock speeds. Most graphic design software relies on a single-core instead of spreading the load across multiple cores. Q: Are Four Cores Enough for Graphic Design? If you prefer the portability of small-screen laptops, you can choose to have an external monitor in your main work area instead.

These specifications will run the most common graphic design software, like Adobe Photoshop. Graphics Card: Preferably with a discrete video cardĭisplay: Minimum Full HD resolution, with a preferable display size of 15 inches Storage: At least a 256GB SSD, preferably 1TB Processor: At least Intel Core i5 or Apple M1 If you're going to work with graphic design software, here are the recommended specifications you should have: FAQ Q: What Laptop Specifications Do I Need for Graphic Design?

Best laptop for graphic designers