Yes, gaming laptops can be used for graphic design. At the end of the day, they are just powerful computers targeted at an audience that enjoys PC gaming.
However, if we were to go into detail as to why you might consider a gaming laptop for your graphic designing needs. And why you should avoid it altogether if certain things bother you about it.
Reasons why you can use Gaming Laptops for Graphic Design
Powerful Hardware
The powerful hardware under the hood is one of the main reasons why a graphic designer may opt for a gaming laptop. Gaming laptops are equipped with multi-core processors with great multithreaded performance that can come in handy during video rendering. And though GPUs are usually intended for gaming, they can come in handy for hardware encoding, especially thanks to something like the Nvidia NVENC Encoder.
All of these factors make a gaming laptop a compelling option for those looking to be creative on the go.
Buttery smooth screen
A high refresh rate display is something that even those who don’t game can enjoy. Once you use a high refresh rate display, you simply can not go back. Even while doing mundane tasks like working on spreadsheets or writing word documents, you would be delighted to work on a high refresh rate.
Thankfully, almost every gaming laptop on the market comes with a high refresh rate. So even if you opt for a budget gaming laptop, you would most definitely get a buttery smooth screen.
Satisfying Keyboard
When it comes to gaming, users demand a decent amount of travel with good tactile feedback on their keyboard, and gaming laptop deliver on that. This allows gaming laptop keyboard’s to not only be great for gaming but also be a great option for those who want to type.
And even while editing, the tactile keys feel great when you are using Photoshop or scrubbing around the timeline on Premiere Pro. So a tactile and responsive keyboard is a great addition to a graphic designer setup.
Great I/O
One of the great things about gaming laptops is that they have a great I/O. Connecting an external monitor, connecting extra peripherals like a drawing tablet, or connecting to a local NAS via ethernet, you can do it all on a gaming laptop without needing a dongle.
Even if you run out of ports, most gaming laptops are equipped with a Thunderbolt port so you can use it to expand upon and add more peripherals to your laptop. Hence this makes a gaming laptop a viable option for many graphic designers.
Reasons why you can not use Gaming Laptops for Graphic Design
Awful Battery Life
Gaming laptops are not bought with the intention of being used on battery power. A gaming laptop under load can barely last for an hour on battery power. This means that if you plan to do some creative work on the go on a gaming laptop, then you need to stay near a power outlet, or you will run out of juice.
This is where something like a Macbook with Apple silicon would come in handy as they blow a gaming laptop out of the water when it comes to performance on battery power. So if most of your creative work is done on the go, then I suggest avoiding a gaming laptop.
Bulky and Chonky
To provide adequate breathing room for the power-hungry components inside a laptop, the manufacturers need to include thicker heatsinks inside the gaming laptop. This obviously would result in a bigger size and bulky form factor of the laptop.
Though gaming laptops have gotten quite slim over the years, they still tend to have a bit of bulk compared to traditional thin and light laptops. Your only option would be to go with a Macbook that is thin and light while also packing in a punch.
Most lack color-accurate displays
Though many graphic designers may be tempted by the beefy CPU and GPU of a gaming laptop, they often miss out on the color accuracy of a display on a gaming laptop.
On budget laptops, to save cost, manufacturers include displays that might be buttery smooth due to a higher refresh rate, but they may lack any detail and have washed-out colors.
This makes gaming laptops a bad option for someone who might wanna do color-sensitive work on a laptop.
One way to get around this issue is by using an external monitor, but since the whole point of a gaming laptop is to be portable, you can’t carry a desktop monitor around with you on a regular basis.
Gamer aesthetics may not be for everyone
Though gamers may have a strong belief that RGB lights improve their gaming performance (it doesn’t) and one should have it, it just isn’t for everything. Apart from RGB, the sharp-looking aesthetics of a gaming laptop may not make it suitable to take it into a board meeting or any formal environment where your gaming laptop may stick out like a sore thumb.
Though some gaming laptops like Asus TUF Dash 15 have super minimal design and lack RGB, most gaming laptops on the market aren’t like that, so keep that in mind.
No value for money
Unless you are someone who is always on the move, a gaming laptop is not value for money when it comes to performance. You could get much more performance for your money on a desktop PC, and even at a lower price!
This lack of value is of the main reasons why a desktop PC is just better than a gaming laptop for graphic design.
FAQs
Is a 4K display necessary for Graphic Design?
No, a 4K display isn’t necessary for graphic designing. For most people, a 1080p display would work just fine. Though if you regularly work with 4K files, then you might consider using a 4K display for editing videos.
What is the difference between a Gaming Laptop and a Creator Laptop?
Though gaming laptops and creator laptops may be similar when it comes to performance, they end up being different in features.
For example, gaming laptops may lay emphasis on a high refresh rate display with lower latencies and gaming aesthetics, whereas creator laptops may have a color-accurate display and have simple aesthetics while also packing in tons of horsepower.
Are Gaming Laptops good for Adobe Illustrator?
Yes, gaming laptops are good for Adobe Illustrator. Just make sure that the gaming laptop you are buying has a color-accurate display.
Can Gaming Laptops run Photoshop?
Yes, gaming laptops are powerful enough to run Photoshop. Though if your work is intensive, we recommend going with a gaming laptop with 32GB RAM or more.
