Whether you're a professional DJ or just taking your first steps into photography, a capable machine is essential because it is the cornerstone of your workflow. There are many factors to consider when shopping for a laptop and, in this guide, our goal is to help you get a better idea of what specs are going to matter the most for the most common content creation applications.
Best Laptops for Photographers and Videographers on the Go
Videographers and photographers constantly on the move need a workstation that's powerful enough to handle tasks quickly and efficiently. Video editing is complex enough that we've gone into depth on the subject, but we think there's a reason the MacBook Pro has become the gold standard when it comes to content creation. Apple's flagship device has the specs to be a catchall for all kinds of creatives and applications, not just in this category but across several. The Pro is a fantastic device for anyone who needs power and portability.
CPU, RAM, and hard drives are all possible areas in which a laptop can bottleneck and, while that's more of an issue when it comes to video editing, having a laptop with strong processing power will make your workflow much smoother and save you a ton of time. The exact specs you'll need are going to vary on a case-by-case basis, but these are areas on which you generally don't want to skimp.
The best laptops for this category will have specs that prioritize performance, and the MacBook Pro has these in abundance. It's capable of running industry-standard programs for photographers and videographers alike. As for which MacBook to get, we recommend the 14-inch or 16-inch models that utilize M4 Pro or M4 Max chips—the best devices available now. The M4 Pro and M4 Max chipsets are designed with resource-intensive, graphically heavy tasks like editing 4K video in mind. The MacBook Pros also have three Thunderbolt™ 5 (USB Type-C) ports, as well as an HDMI port and an SDXC slot. The M4 Max chip is configurable with up to a 16-core CPU, 40-core GPU, 128GB of unified memory, and 8TB of storage. More information about this family of chips can be found here.
For those who would rather get a Windows laptop, the Dell Precision 5690 is another great alternative that comes with a 16" display, alongside a speedy Intel® Core™ Ultra 9 185H processor, 32GB of LPDDR5x RAM, and a respectable 1TB SSD. Not only that, but integrated NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada graphics boosts graphics to work on intense and highly detailed images. Whichever you choose, these laptops are designed for creatives who absolutely need portability but aren’t willing to compromise on power.
Best Laptops for Illustrators and Digital Artists
llustrators and artists need a laptop that can handle graphics-intensive tasks with ease. Ideally, on top of using a powerful machine, having a color-accurate display should be a priority for graphics-based work. Having enough ports that let you connect to a graphics tablet or even stylus support may be another essential factor for the working digital artist.
One of our favorite laptops in this category is the 16” Pro Art StudioBook 16 OLED from ASUS. It features a 3200 x 2000 OLED touchscreen with a 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, for starters. The display is Dolby Vision-certified, PANTONE Validated, and Calman Verified to ensure accurate color rendering, too. It also includes the ASUS Dial, which is a physical controller that gives you access to features, like changing brush size or an undo button, in creative apps within reach of your fingertips. Specs-wise, it comes with a 13th-Gen Intel® Core™ i9 processor, 32GB of memory and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060.
An alternative option, especially for those who are just breaking into the creative space, we recommend is the Vivobook 16X, also from ASUS. It does retain a lot of the usefulness of the ProArt StudioBook but doesn’t have the bells and whistles you’d find in that particular model. It features a 16” 1920 x 1200 resolution display. It's also got some great specs, with a 13th-Gen Intel® Core™ i9 CPU under the hood, alongside 32GB of memory and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060.
Best Laptops for Music Production
Like our other categories, there are a couple of things to keep in mind when choosing a laptop for music production. You'll naturally be working with a ton of different files and plug-ins, so ample memory and a larger storage drive are pretty essential in this category. A healthy selection of ports is also going to be a priority for plugging in other audio equipment, like a keyboard, for example. A laptop that fulfills this criteria would also be a great fit if DJing is more your passion.
As always, we'd be doing you a disservice if we didn't mention the MacBook Pro. If you're okay with spending more to get the most "future-proofing" from your purchase, the M4-based MacBooks from earlier are incredible options which you could read about right here.
Another great midrange choice is the Dell XPS 14 9440. While it’s not as beefy as the Precision we previously mentioned, its spot on this list is well deserved. It's equipped with a Intel® Core™ 7 155H processor, 16GB of memory, and 3 Thunderbolt™ 4 ports. It’s an ideal laptop for on-the-go creatives who need something portable but don't need a fancier display., or need immense power for incredibly heavy tasks.
What laptops are you currently using? Let us know in the Comments section, below, whether you're researching something to replace your current setup or if this is your first time shopping for a laptop geared toward content creation! For more information on the laptops mentioned, be sure to click through to the individual product pages.
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