Best Laptops for Animation

7 Best Laptops for Animation & Animators (2023) Review

Being an animator, don’t you wanna wow everyone around you with your stunning illustrations, remarkable designs, and mind-blowing animations? Or Impress the world with your unique ideas and creative 2D and 3D models? Of course, you do!

No doubt, you may have the skills to achieve this target on your own; however, having the technology that caters to the specific needs of a skillful animator, whether for professional purposes or regular use, plays a massive part in what your outcome appears to be.

We’re well aware, the animation is not an easy task. Hence any device that may be used for this purpose has some minimum requirements like being portable, having sufficient storage, large display, and above all, a fast speed processor and battery time, without which the animating process would not be as convenient.

Therefore, choosing the perfect laptop is one of the critical factors for an animator to make sure his/her imagination and creativity do not only remain limited to his mind rather, but he/she is also able to showcase their talents in the best way possible for other people to view and admire.

For this purpose, here is a list of some of the best laptops that you can opt to create the most amazing graphic designs and breathtaking illustrations, keeping in view all the necessary features an animator must require in a laptop.

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Best Laptops For Animation (2023)

    1. Acer Predator Helios 300 Gaming Laptop G3-571-77QK

    The top-rated laptop for animation has got to be the Acer Predator Helios 300 Laptop as it is not only the most preferred by users for its excellent graphic designing but also shows remarkable results when working on 2D and 3D animation models.

    The graphics card that this top-quality laptop uses is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060, 6 GB GDDR5 VRAM providing maximum graphic quality, which is supported by the highspeed 7th Gen Intel Core processor making this laptop the perfect one for creating designs and animations without any kind of lagging or buffers.

    And if this combination was not incredible already, the turbo boost technology integrated into this laptop takes this product to a whole new level of speed and super processing by causing the core processor to exhibit its maximum potential within temperature and power limits.

    16 GB RAM Memory and 256 GB storage are 2 of the more important features of this laptop that make this one of the best options for picture and video editing as it can easily carry the number of applications required for this purpose.

    Weighing a little heavy at almost 6 pounds, this laptop comes in a smooth black frame with an appealing red design. The 15.6 inches full 1080p HD screen with IPS technology provides the perfect canvas for the artist to express his/her artistic capabilities without any kind of hurdles or difficulties.

    Last but not least, this laptop provides sufficient battery time of 7 hours that helps carry out our activities effortlessly without the user having to worry that all the video editing and designing will drain the power at a higher rate.

    PROS

    • Impressive design
    • Well-engineered cooling system
    • Good battery life of up to 7 hours
    • Good price for the number of features
    • Fantastic screen display
    • Portability issue as it is a little heavier than usual laptops

    This laptop is perfect when the user prefers a high-speed product that lets them design illustrations with ease, whether for professional or amateur use, without any kind of storage or battery issues and a high-quality display.


    2. OEM Lenovo ThinkPad E15 Business Laptop

    If you are looking for an animation laptop for more professional use like that of architectural designing or graphical drawing, then this Lenovo ThinkPad is the right product for you as it has features that are more relevant for work use.

    A perfect substitute for the workplace desktops, this laptop comes with the Nvidia Quadro series graphics card causing the hardware to produce high-quality graphic images and videos and other animation related operations like 3D model formations.

    The Intel Core i7-9750H Hexa-core processor integrated into this laptop is one of the most powerful processors that gives such high speed that is not only sufficient for animating but also other important tasks at the same time.

    It comes with a jaw-dropping 32GB memory and 500GB SSD, enabling it to store massive amounts of data like heavy animated videos and clips without causing any kind of slowing down or lagging of the device.

    Weighing at about 4.3 pounds, this laptop has a variety of ports along with a backlit keyboard allowing the user to work in low light conditions. The screen provides an anti-glare, 15.6 inches 1080p massive display with FHD technology that not only provides an elevated viewing experience but also helps keep the eyes protected from harmful rays or any other kind of strain to ensure comfortable use for the user.

    Having a battery life of 3 hours, the Lenovo ThinkPad provides sufficient time for users to carry the laptop along for shorter trips, however, compared to many other laptops in the market, the battery life of this laptop is lagging in competition.

    PROS

    • Provides Anti-glare display
    • Processes powerful graphic processing unit
    • Sufficient storage
    • Lightweight laptop
    • Insufficient battery time for longer trips

    This laptop is perfect for use in offices, businesses, and similar workplaces. With their amazing graphics and large memory and storing capacities, animators can easily and efficiently carry their graphic operations according to their needs.


    3. Apple MacBook Pro – Space Gray (Previous Model)

    One of the finest laptops for the purpose of graphic designing and animation is the Apple MacBook Pro, most well known because of its ability to manage large amounts of data and applications effortlessly, making it ideal for editing those long-length videos and animations.

    The Radeon Pro graphics card, powered by one of the most powerful GPUs, not only exhibits high-class performance with 3D graphic designing but its power-saving technologies make it a longer-lasting option for the animator to use.

    In this price range, this laptop is generally one of the best laptops for computer science students.

    The mac operating system and the Ninth-generation 6-Core Intel Core i7 Processor together provide the user with high-speed processing, better protection from any threats and other security issues, and ensures greater productivity.

    The memory offered by the MacBook Pro is up to 16 GB with storage of 256 to 512GB making it easier to store larger files and applications. Providing a long battery time of up to 10 hours, this laptop is perfect for those who prioritize portability, as users like these are always on the go and require laptops having better energy-saving technology to ensure long-lasting use for hours of uninterrupted work.

    Apart from its spectacular specs, the sleek and stylish design of this laptop contributes to the high worth of this product being at a weight of only 4.3 pounds; this laptop has a sleek backlit keyboard, with no basic ports that are seen available in most regular laptops in the market, this, however, may be a troublesome feature for some as users may have to purchase additional products in order to make their laptops compatible with their own devices.

    The most important feature for animators, the screen, is of brilliant retina display integrated with true tone technology, which prevents unnecessary strain to the eyes of the user, helping animators to work day and night efficiently and comfortably.

    PROS

    • Excellent battery life of up to 10 hours
    • Lightweight and sleek, stylish design
    • Best speaker technology for laptop
    • Very high processor
    • Anti-glare screen
    • Very expensive
    • Lack of ports

    If you are an animator who can afford to make a long term investment for a laptop that has high-speed processing, excellent screen resolution, and lasting battery life, then the Apple MacBook Pro is definitely the perfect laptop for you.


    4. Dell XPS 15 laptop XPS7590-7565SLV-PUS

    The dell XPS 15 makes it into the list of the best laptops for animation not only because of its aesthetic design and remarkable graphics display but also for the wide range of storage options it provides that is preferred by many animators for the large number of editing software they require for their work.

    The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 graphics card, boosts the GPU performance by about 10-30 percent, making it ideal for animators to edit and modify videos and pictures to create different illustrations without any kind of lags and buffering.

    This laptop comes in processors Up to 9th Generation Intel Core i9-9980HK ensuring faster 4K video editing, which is perfect for animators who require a product that can help them save time while getting top quality performance from it.

    Having a memory of 16gb DDR4 RAM, what is interesting about this laptop is the 1 Tb storage it provides that allows the users to save a variety of high-quality editing applications required for their animations along with many more files that may be useful, without having to worry about overloading the laptop with unnecessary data.

    The screen display of 15.6 inches is a 4K UHD Infinity Edge touchscreen having anti-glare technology that allows comfortable working for the user in different lighting conditions. However, with so many powerful features and innovative technology, the battery life is affected as it is lower than the average heavy-duty animation laptops.

    Apart from its battery time, the price tag for this laptop also makes up for all the fantastic features this product provides, as it can almost be considered on par with the Apple MacBook Pro when considering the price range.

    PROS

    • Slim and stylish design
    • Remarkable graphic display
    • Amazing storage options
    • Fast processing
    • Lower battery life than average
    • A little costly

    If you are a user that requires a laptop with high definition graphic resolution with fast processing and that massive storage capacity for your numerous editing apps and video files, then the Dell XPS 15 laptop is the laptop for you. Although a little pricey, this top-notch product is definitely worth every buck you spend.


    5. Acer Aspire E 15, E5-576G-81GD

    This laptop makes its mark on the best laptops for animation list because of its budget-friendly price, making it the perfect product for use by students or young adults that are interested in animations and graphic designing without having to spend too much for good quality resolution results and impressive editing techniques.

    The 8th gen Intel Core i7 processor used in this laptop increases the turbo boost frequency allowing the user to run their programs at higher speed with maximum efficiency within safe temperature limits. This makes it perfect for animators to make quick and good quality graphic content, especially well designed 2D illustrations and models.

    This content is further improved by the integration of the NVIDIA GeForce MX150 graphic coprocessor, making it easier to use a number of editing applications compatible with it, that too, at a higher speed producing high-quality results almost similar to many high priced laptops in the market.

    Having a sleek and smooth design and a screen size of 15.6 inches, this laptop has an LED-lit IPS display, which helps reveal high-quality videos and images with brighter and more vibrant colors, adding another reason for why it is considered as a good choice for animations.

    With a memory of 8GB RAM and 256gb SSD, the Acer Aspire E 15 may not be the best option if you’re looking for efficient storage; however, at a price like this, it can be considered as sufficient enough for running all necessary features and applications without any kind of problems.

    One of the best features of this laptop is its long-lasting battery providing a battery time of about 15 hours, making it perfect for users who spend hours making animations or are mostly on the go and require long-lasting batteries to be used while traveling and visting places where charging outlets might not be available.

    PROS

    • Long battery time
    • Budget-friendly for young users
    • High-speed processing power
    • Bright display
    • Not enough storage
    • Overall performance is not up to mark with the high priced laptops.

    If you’re a young animator who has just started working on creating new animations and illustrations and are looking for a laptop that is lighter on the pocket while providing you with all the necessary features required for high-quality graphic designing, then the Acer Aspire E 15 is definitely the right laptop for you to purchase.


    6. ASUS ROG Zephyrus S Ultra Slim Gaming PC Laptop, GX531GS-AH76

    The reason the ASUS ROG Zephyrus makes it into the best animation laptops count is its all-rounder capabilities making it not only one of the top choices for animating and designing but also for users who prefer using the same laptop for other daily work alongside creating illustrations.

    It has an impressive design with a 5mm vent built in to maximize the airflow to prevent any dust from entering as well as to promote an excellent mechanism of cooling of the device, which is something highly preferred by every laptop user to prevent overheating of the device, although these fans may get loud at times.

    Along with this, a variety of ports are also built into this laptop, like the USB and HDMI supporting 4K display technology, which is great for use when the user is on the go. Similarly, the back-lit keyboard in this laptop adds to the impressive design.

    With processors Up to 9th Generation, Intel Core i9-9980HK, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4 GB GDDR5 graphics card, this laptop ensures high-speed graphics processing and faster video editing, making it easier for animators to carry out any task at hand.

    With a 16GB RAM and 512gb Storage, this laptop helps cater to the needs of the animator to save numerous files containing some heavy videos or animations and designs as well as different programs required to edit, format, and create these animations.

    Apart from the design and storage, the ASUS ROG Zephyrus has dual speakers having huge bass and good quality audio technology, making it easier to hear every sound if included in the working of the animator. The screen, on the other hand, does not possess a 4k resolution display; however, it is still thought to perform better than most laptops possessing this 4k feature with its jaw-dropping visual resolution and picture quality.

    Having a battery of average only 2 hours, this laptop definitely lags in terms of its battery life from other laptops in the market but keeping in view the features it offers, it is still competent enough to make its position among the few top laptops used by animators.

    Suggested Read: Best Laptops for Streaming

    PROS

    • High-performance graphics card
    • Efficient cooling system
    • Slim and sleek design
    • Remarkable display
    • Low battery life
    • Loud fans used in the cooling system

    This laptop is perfect for animations as well as everyday use as its huge fans help protect from any overheating that may occur due to increased workload without affecting its sleek and smooth design, being a lightweight laptop at the same time.


    7. Razer Blade 15 Advanced Gaming Laptop 2024:Thunderbolt 3

    Designing new animations requires a lot of skill and technique, but at the same time, specific software is necessary for animators to perform their tasks efficiently. The Razer Blade 15 is considered one of the best laptops for animation because it ensures the compatibility of all these software for the animators to be able to use them.

    A specific certified graphic card, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, used in this laptop allows it to function in a power-saving mode by reducing power consumption. This technology is mostly used in sleek design laptops, making it travel friendly as these laptops are portable and mostly preferred by people who are traveling and are mostly on the go.

    This laptop is best for animations as well as one of the best laptops for CAD.

    The latest 9th gen Intel core i7-9750H processor with 6-cores used in this laptop offers 4.5GHz speed making it a high-performance laptop that allows quick processing and hence prevents any kind of lagging and buffering without compromising in its battery life, as it provides an average of 6 hours battery time.

    A memory of 16 Gb that can be expanded to 32 Gb along with 512 Gb storage makes this laptop perfect for storing all your images, videos, editing applications, and other heavier software without causing any kind of system overload.

    The screen of this laptop is a 4k OLED 15.6 inches touchscreen that offers several different features to ensure a vibrant wide color range of display and high-resolution picture quality, making it perfect for animators to design different animations using top-notch designing software and products.

    The new and compact cooling system integrated into this laptop allows the user to get the maximum potential from the laptop without having to worry about the overheating of the device as well as to maintain the sleek design of the laptop.

    PROS

    • Slim and Portable laptop
    • An excellent graphic processing unit
    • Lightweight laptop
    • Little costly
    • Could use an improved battery

    The Razer Blade 15 is ideal for people who prioritize portability, considering that they have a flexible budget. It’s lightweight and sleek and thin design, along with its power-saving technology, makes it easier for carrying around if you are someone who is always on the go.


    FAQs

    What is the best laptop for animation?

    The ACER Helios 300 consists of all the features that make it the best laptop for animation.

    Are Macbooks good for animation?

    Although expensive, MacBooks are some of the best laptops for animation due to their high-class performance and ability to effortlessly manage large amounts of data.

    What computer specs do I need for animation?

    Processor (CPU), graphics card (GPU), Storage/Hard drive (SSD /HDD), and Memory (RAM).

    Final Verdict

    The market has many different laptops that are up to the mark to be considered some of the best laptops used for animation and graphic designing; however, it is up to us, the buyers and the users, to decide what features we prioritize and what are our main requirements; According to that, we should select the one that we find most convenient for ourselves. Some of our top picks based on their specific features are:

    • Acer Predator Helios 300 Gaming Laptop for its turbo boost technology that allows high-speed processing and graphic designing.
    • Apple MacBook Pro for its high-quality performance and ease of managing large amounts of data without any complexity.
    • Razer Blade 15 Advanced Gaming Laptop 2024 for its portable and lightweight design.

    Take a look at these products from the same price range, that are available right now on Amazon:

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    • 4-Zone RGB Backlit Keyboard | Wireless: Killer Double Shot Pro Wireless-AX 1650i 802.11ax WiFi 6 | LAN: Killer Ethernet E2600 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN | DTS X:Ultra Audio | 4th Gen All-Metal...
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