Any graphic designer worth their salt will be well versed in the numerous Adobe designing software available. One integral tool in particular, Adobe Illustrator is a necessity for many designers and artists. To help them get the very best results out of their designs, many graphic artists will be on the look for the best laptops for Adobe Illustrator. There are many capable laptops out there to help create beautiful and eye-catching artwork but we're on the look for the best of the best. Before that, let's take the time to understand what Adobe Illustrator is all about.
What is Adobe Illustrator and What's it Used for?
The design software has multiple possible use cases, such as for designing and creating digital/physical images, cartoons, charts, logos , website mock-ups and a whole bunch more. Among the numerous features on Illustrator, one of the most used is the ability to import a photograph into the software. From there, graphic artists can use the picture to trace around objects and elements within the image. This is great for creating artwork and highly stylized designs, drawings and sketches.
Another great feature is the ability to manipulate text in various styles, fonts, sizes, and shapes. This flexibility makes it a fundamental tool in a graphic designer's arsenal. The features above, added to the ability to not lose image quality regardless of resolution size makes it very convenient to use. Adobe Illustrator is often used to create these vector images, which then can be placed into other artwork, designs, and editing software to blend in seamlessly without losing image quality regardless of how big or small you make the vector graphic.
What this really means is that a lot of the things you see around the world like brand logos, magazine layouts, website design and illustrations (among many other possibilities) is the result of the hard-work graphic designers put into Adobe Illustrator.
But to do all this isn't as simple as opening up the software and starting your work. You're going to need a minimum to get the Illustrator up and running, and even more power to have your design process running smoothly. That being said, let's dive straight into what Adobe Illustrator needs for its minimum system requirements to better understand what we're looking for.
Minimum Requirements
From the minimum system requirements, we can tell that the best graphic designer laptop will require some modest power. It isn't too much to ask for with only a Multi-core Intel Core or AMD Athlon processor, 8GB of RAM, and only 2GB of storage on your hard disk. These specs are essentially already a base for many laptops and brands so it should make our search for the best laptop for Adobe Illustrator much easier.
However, if we did follow these minimum requirement specs, we're almost positive you'll face issues with program. Mainly because it's not the program which is demanding, but as you pile more and more artwork and designs into Illustrator, you're going to face slowdowns, lag, and long, long loading times. To make sure that doesn't happen you, let's take a look at the recommended specs.
Recommended Specs
From this, we get a better picture of what the best laptops for Adobe Illustrator should be housing. Comparing the minimum to these specs, there's no changes for the processor but you're going to need some extra firepower on the rest of your laptop. Mainly 16GB of RAM, a recommended SSD, 1920 x 1080 display and 4GB VRAM on your graphics card. This is quite a big step-up from the stated minimum which is unsurprising as design software like Adobe Illustrator are big, resource intensive programs.
Something to note about Adobe Illustrator is that it has a Touch workspace. This means any touch-screen enabled monitors, 2-in-1 laptops or tablets running Windows 10 can use the design software with touch or a stylus/pen. Knowing this, 2-in-1 laptops may be the best bet for your money when looking for the best laptops for Illustrator.
However, there are some other important features we should expand upon, which arguably, are just as integral to the design process.
The Extras
There are some other important features we should expand upon, which arguably, are just as integral to the design process.
Screen Size & Display
This is probably the most base requirement for great designer-centric laptops. Having a big enough screen and high resolution will allow you to work more confidently in Adobe Illustrator and other similar design software. The screen size isn't as important, so anything between a 13-inch to 15.6-inch laptop should suffice. The more pressing spec is the resolution.
Having a high resolution display will make everything you see on your laptop crisper, clearer, and color accurate. The base we should aim for is a Full HD display (1920 x 1080) as stated in the recommended specs. Another important aspect we can consider for the best laptops for Adobe Illustrator is touch screen functionality as I mentioned above. This will undoubtedly be useful for the serious graphic designers and artists out there. Sometimes you just need to get in there and sketch by hand.
Battery Life
Battery life is another important feature that the best laptop for graphic designers should have. Mostly because a bigger battery = longer hours for designing logos and drawing without having to charge the laptop back up. Especially so if you're planning on getting a 2-in-1 laptop which you'll be using as a tablet for working on your artwork. Having to limit yourself to where the charger is might break your concentration, cause mistakes and overall affecting your workflow.
Most laptops will get you there, but the best will have great batteries to help you work better.
2-in-1 Functionality
As I've mentioned a few times already, being able to use your laptop as a tablet is such a great feature, especially so for artists. Now of course, not all laptops on our list will be capable of 2-in-1 functionality as this type of laptop is usually higher priced. Depending on your budget, needs and what you envision seeing yourself working with for your vector designs, this might not be as important.
But the flexibility and versatility of being able to, if needed, is an extra reassurance that I'm sure many artists can see the value of. It's not integral or in anyway important to run Adobe Illustrator, but if you were serious about creating the best artwork and designs you can, you're probably looking for it already.
Top 5 Best Laptops For Adobe Illustrator
Now that we've outlined some of the recommended specs and some great extra features, let's get straight into the list of the best laptops for Adobe Illustrator!
*Note* - For ease of comparison, all laptops on the list will being running Windows 10 64-bit.
1. HP Envy X360
The HP Envy x360 could very well be the answer to many a graphic designers' wishes. The HP Envy x360 comes with a 15.6-inch Full HD Touchscreen LED display and is capable of turning into a 2-in-1 laptop. You can't detach it, but you can flip the display onto the back and use it as a tablet that way. A great feature for artists to fully take advantage of Adobe Illustrator. Accompanying the display is a 10th Gen Intel Core i5-1035G1 processor, 16GB of RAM expandable up to 32GB, and 512GB of SSD storage expandable to a 1TB SSD.
Overall, a pretty powerful laptop for graphic designers. One big missing part of the HP Envy x360 is the graphics card, which is only an Intel Iris Plus Graphics GPU. Not the best around, but it will be capable of handling Adobe Illustrator and other design software.
Some added extras the laptop comes with include a fingerprint sensor for quick access to the laptop, an Island style backlit keyboard and Bang&Olufsen tuned front facing speakers. For the battery, the laptop comes with up to 7 hours of battery life which doesn't look like much, but is pretty sizeable for the price. All these features packed in together with a relatively affordable price tag makes for a great Adobe Illustrator companion.
2. LG gram
While LG isn't well known for their laptop lineup, they do make some impressive devices with sizable power. The LG gram comes with a 15.6" FHD IPS LCD touchscreen which will let you see the smallest of details as you create artwork in Adobe Illustrator. The laptop also comes with an 8th Generation Intel Core i7-8565U which is a little outdated, but still more than capable of running Illustrator. The 8th Generation Intel Core i7 processor might feel inadequate but it makes up for it with 16GB of RAM and 256GB SSD for some quick load times and speedy performance.
However, this laptop like the HP Envy x360 is a little lacking in the graphics department housing the Intel Iris Plus Graphics GPU. Not a deal breaker, but certainly not ideal. Besides the internals, the laptop itself has a great design. It's simple, but very effective with achieving a minimalist style which I personally am very fond of.
One ludicrous spec the laptop is equipped with is an 18.5 hour battery life as LG claims. I'm not too confident on this because real life usage will almost always differ from the stated battery capabilities. But if they claim that the battery can last that long, it will probably get you through the day with Illustrator. All together, a very attractive package with some great features. It does land up on the pricier side of the tracks, but it looks to be very worth the money.
3. Acer Aspire 5
The Acer Aspire 5 is a great option for price conscious graphic artists without much compromise. The laptop comes with a 15.6-inch FHD display which will get the job done for Illustrator. It's not the fanciest laptop with all the bells and whistles of flagship laptops, but it's got all you need. On the inside the laptop is powered by a 10th Gen Intel Core i5-1035G1 processor, 8GB RAM and 512GB of SSD storage. Some great internals here which will be more than sufficient for Illustrator's requirements.
The laptop also comes with an NVIDIA GeForce MX350 GPU with 2GB in-built VRAM. This doesn't match up to the VRAM recommended spec for Illustrator, but paired with the rest of the specs under the hood you should be more than alright. Some other notable features the laptop houses include a backlit keyboard, audio by Acer TrueHarmony, and a narrow bezel design on the display. For the battery, the laptop comes with up to a humble 8 hours of battery life.
This laptop isn't the biggest hitter when you talk about power, but its affordability and what you get for the money is really a great deal. Ideal for any graphic designers out there looking for a budget laptop for Adobe Illustrator.
4. ASUS ZenBook 13
Are you looking for a laptop that's slim, comes with a smaller display but enough power to handle Illustrator? Then the ASUS ZenBook 13 might be the right fit for you. The laptop comes with a petite 13.3-inch FHD NanoEdge bezel display, probably attributed to the paper thin bezels around the display. Powering the laptop is a 10th Gen Intel Core i7-10510U, 16GB RAM and 512GB of SSD storage. Considering it comes packed with one of the latest Intel Core i7 processors, the ASUS ZenBook 13 is definitely a speedy performer. Another powerful contender in the fight for the best laptop for Adobe Illustrator.
It also houses an NVIDIA GeForce MX250 GPU which is competent enough to handle design processes in Illustrator. It' not going to be very helpful in the newest, high graphic games but it will get you through the day with less buffering and load times in design software. One of the best features about the laptop though is definitely the screen built into the touchpad. This makes the user able to control the laptop in different ways and will help with multitasking and navigation. Certainly a unique feature-set for this laptop.
Some other notable features include a whole host of ASUS specific utility apps like Quick Key, facial recognition and up to 14 hours of battery life. While it is one of the pricier laptops on the list all these features packed in does make for a very tempting purchase.
5. Lenovo Flex 5
The Lenovo Flex 5 is another great 2-in-1 laptop that comes with some great power for the price. On the display is a 14-inch FHD touchscreen panel, perfect for getting some work done. The laptop also comes with an AMD Ryzen 5 4500U processor and paired with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD storage. With an AMD Ryzen 5 mobile processor, you're getting comparable performance to Intel's 8th Gen Core i5 and i7 processors making it more than capable of handling Adobe Illustrator. For the graphics card, it comes with AMD Integrated Graphics which leaves a lot to be desired but should be sufficient for our needs.
One of the best features of the laptop of course will be its 2-in-1 functionality. It comes with four various modes that it can transform to thanks to the 360⁰ hinge: Tent mode, tablet mode, laptop mode and stand mode. This makes it incredibly versatile for graphic designers using Illustrator for sketching and tracing. The best part about all this? It comes with a digital pen included in the box so you don't have to go out of your way to purchase it separately. For the price? This one is a steal for all these features and the digital pen right out of the box.
Other great features the Lenovo Flex 5 comes with includes up to 10 hours of battery life, a physical webcam shutter and narrow bezels on the display. The laptop itself was already very affordable, but the combo deal with the included digital pen really makes this a hard offer to refuse.
Conclusion
After all the laptops we've seen thus far, only one manages to earn the title as the best out of the best laptops for Adobe Illustrator. All of our laptops listed here will get the job done in Illustrator with steady performance. So if you did see something else that tickles your fancy, that's the laptop you should go with.
But for today, our champion is none other than the ASUS ZenBook 13!
The ASUS ZenBook 13 has got a lot going on for it. From the powerful internals, stellar design and innovative in-built screen pad, it's hard not to see the value this adds for graphic designers and artists. It meets all the criteria for Adobe Illustrator and adds in extra goodies which will help you bring your creativity out onto the gorgeous display. All this in such a petite and lightweight package, perfect to take your art with you wherever you go.
