best laptops for graphic design under 500

#BEST LAPTOPS FOR GRAPHIC DESIGN UNDER 500 PRO#
#BEST LAPTOPS FOR GRAPHIC DESIGN UNDER 500 PLUS#
#BEST LAPTOPS FOR GRAPHIC DESIGN UNDER 500 MAC#

Asus calls it the ScreenPad Plus, and you can use it as a genuine secondary monitor to display another app to that on the main screen, or it can be split into two or three columns, each containing a different open app.

The big talking point with the ZenBook Duo is its huge touch-sensitive secondary screen above the keyboard.

This is a beautifully made notebook computer that's great for mobile image editing if you need supreme portability over a larger screen size. There are just two USB ports, which is annoying, it’s not really a lot smaller than a regular MacBook, even though it looks like it, and the 7-core entry level model is a bit of an odd proposition, but these are pretty minor complaints. It has that ‘Retina’ effect where you just don’t see the dots any more and makes a surprising and subtle difference to the way you view, edit and evaluate digital images. The contrast, definition and brightness are stellar, and while the 2560 x 1600 resolution isn’t 4K, it’s an important step up from a regular 1920 x 1080 screen. Apple says it has a 25% wider color range than sRGB, but doesn’t mention Adobe RGB, which leads us to assume it’s somewhere in the middle. Its Retina screen is, as ever, just beautiful.

#BEST LAPTOPS FOR GRAPHIC DESIGN UNDER 500 PRO#

The M1 may not be as flat-out fast as a specced-up 16-inch MacBook Pro (above), but if you value outright portability more than ultimate performance, the M1 is a better bet. The MacBook Air 13-in M1 is impressive in three main areas: first, its design, finish and ergonomics second, its sheer performance for a lightweight laptop third, its value for money given those other two things. There's even a built-in full-size SD slot something that’s sadly becoming a rarity in premium laptops.

#BEST LAPTOPS FOR GRAPHIC DESIGN UNDER 500 PLUS#

The selection of ports is also pretty good, with Thunderbolt 4, USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, plus adapters for USB-A and HDMI. 16GB or 32GB should be ample amounts of RAM for image editing. The extra cash does also buy you plenty of performance courtesy of a 11th-gen, 8-core Intel Core i9 processor, and you can choose from 16GB right up to a whopping 64GB of RAM, though we'd only recommend the latter if you'll be editing high res video as well as images. The only issue with that is few XPS 15 configs come with this display, and they're inevitably at the pricier end of the range. We reckon the best config for photographers is one which includes Dell’s best 4K+ (3840 x 2400) 16:10 screen, which boasts 500-nit brightness and touch sensitivity. The Dell XPS 15 range can be confusing: there are lots of different spec configurations to choose from, and pricing can frequently fluctuate.

#BEST LAPTOPS FOR GRAPHIC DESIGN UNDER 500 MAC#

See more Mac options in our Best Macbook for photo editing.

A smaller MacBook Pro 14-inch (2021) is less expensive alternative. The 2021 16-inch MacBook Pro is far from cheap no matter how you spec one, but your money is buying one of the most technically advanced laptops on the market right now. The current 16-inch MacBook Pro is also available with an M1 Pro chip (rather than M1 Max) if you want to save some cash, though RAM capacity is restricted to 16GB or 32GB, and its speed is lower.ĭespite all this power, the supreme efficiency of the M1 chip architecture, combined with a large 100-watt-hour battery, means battery life is up to an incredible 21 hours. This incredible Liquid Retina XDR display boasts an insane 1,600-nit peak brightness, making HDR content come alive, and it can display a high DCI-P3 color space coverage for accurate video editing. The current 2021 MacBook Pro not only smashes any RAM limitations courtesy of its Apple M1 Max chip, which can be had with 64GB RAM, it also comes with a 16-inch screen size, which is noticeably more comfortable for long editing sessions than a 13-inch panel. Not any more! Apple has addressed these concerns, big time. We still love the original (13-inch) M1 MacBook, but with a maximum 16GB RAM, it could never quite topple the older Intel-powered MacBook Pro to be a truly futureproofed image/video-editing powerhouse. Sure, the new MacBook Pro may be an obvious pick as the absolute best laptop for photo-editing, but it's hard not to be thoroughly impressed by what it has to offer.

Best laptops for graphic design under 500