Buying a computer is always a significant investment, so when looking for the best laptops for animation, it’s essential to purchase one that can cater to what you need and will last you a long time.
In addition, if you’re buying a laptop instead of a desktop computer, you will need to research more as desktop parts can be tweaked, but laptops come as a finished product, and there is only a little you can do to modify its features.
That is even truer when you are an animator or willing to use your laptop for 2D and 3D animations. We’ve reviewed the best laptops for animation.
If you are an expert animator, you already know what kinds of laptops are great for animation. But if you are entirely new, you need assistance picking the best laptops for animation before finally choosing the best one per your budget.
In this article, we review some of the best laptops for animation to help animators. After reading this post, I hope you can pick the best laptop for animation as per your budget.
The Facts About Laptops For Animation
You must understand that no particular laptop or desktop computer is made only for animation. So it would have been called something like an “animation machine” or something like that.
It would help if you had laptops with a decent configuration to use all the animation software and work effortlessly without any issues.
So, we have researched and tested various laptops available in the market to find the best laptops perfect for high-quality animation works.
Table of Contents
Best Animation Laptops In 2023
HP ZBook 15u G6 Workstation Laptop
The black and silver-colored HP ZBook is a workhorse with features and specifications that make a dream come true for any animator out there. There are many reasons to buy the HP ZBook 15u G6. This laptop must be one of the best laptops for animation you can buy.
Key Features Of The HP ZBook
Adobe RGB & sRGB fully factory-calibrated the color display. The color-rich presentation is made even better by the 304 nits for brightness, which puts this laptop ahead of others in its league.
The screen is 15.6 inches, and the maximum display resolution is 1920 by 1080 pixels, backed by LED-lit display technology that makes the color pop out of the pictures.
It has 802.11abg for wireless compatibility, the memory size is 32 GB, the processor is 8th Gen Intel Core, and the storage size is 256GB Samsung SM96. In addition, it has a powerful processor, enabling you to run heavy applications on the computer.
The operating system is Windows 10 Pro. It has USB 3.1 generation and 3.0, a micro card slot, an Ethernet cable port, and a SIM slot.
Pros Of The HP ZBook
- Sold with a 65W Power Supply, 3-Cell 56WHr Battery battery which can last 6 hours
- 1-year warranty from HP for labor and parts
- Powerful speakers with an excellent base
- Touchscreen
- The excellent antiglare display, even when used in the sunshine
- The widescreen display makes viewing internet movies a delight
Cons Of The HP ZBook
- Battery life could be better
Acer Aspire 5 Laptop
Built with gaming in mind, the Acer Aspire VX 15 is an incredible investment for animators, artists, and graphic designers. However, it is affordable, and it packs pretty valuable features.
Key Features Of The Acer Aspire
The display size is 15.6 inches, and the resolution is 1920 by 1080.
15.6-inch, 1,920 x 1,080 display. This is enough to give you an incredible video viewing experience, gaming, and streaming movies from the internet in crisp, clear quality. The processor is an Intel Core i7; the speed can be up to 3.8GHz.
The storage is 256 GB SSD, and RAM is an impressive 16 GB DDR4, with dedicated GDDR5 video memory of 4 GB for NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti. This laptop is great for gaming, graphic design, and many more heavy art projects.
You will get a great sound experience from the Acer TrueHarmony system and the Dolby Audio Premium Sound. The keyboard is backlit, and for cooling, there are two fans.
The OS is Windows 10.
Pros Of The Acer Aspire
- Fastest graphics on a computer – useful for gaming
- Best quality for sound
- Excellent cooling, no overheating
- The keyboard is adorably silent.
- Has 11ac for Wi-Fi with MU-MIMO technology
- Bluetooth 4.0 connection
- It has two USB ports, 3.0 and one 2.0 USB port, and an HDMI port for connecting to a more prominent display.
Cons Of The Acer Aspire
- Short battery life – just six hours
- No cable and HDD bracket to add a hard drive
Lenovo ThinkPad P50 Laptop
Key Features Of The Lenovo ThinkPad
You will get a full 15.6-inch screen with the Lenovo ThinkPad P50, wide enough for streaming movies from the internet. The resolution is 1920 by 1080, and the display is IPS.
The Core i7 processor – 6700HQ Quad Core and a processor speed of 2.60GHz to 3.5GHz make this a powerful computer.
It is powered by a RAM of 16GB DDR4 RAM, and the storage is a 500 GB hard drive that works at 7200 RPM. It is sold preinstalled with a Windows 7 Pro operating system. Graphics power is from a 2 GB memory NVIDIA Quadro M1000M.
Other features include a webcam, microphone, and Intel Dual Band AC 8260 Wireless with an M.2 card. All these fantastic features make it one of the best laptops for amination.
Pros Of The Lenovo ThinkPad
- Comes ready to use, preinstalled with Windows 7 Pro operating system
- Spill-resistant keyboard
- Excellent connectivity from four 3.0 USB ports, Type C USB port Thunderbolt 3, HDMI, Dock connector, and Mini DisplayPort.
- Has fingerprint reader
- Sold with three year Lenovo warranty
- Excellent quality for pictures, videos, and other content
- Very powerful
- Decent battery life from the six-cell Li-ion battery
Cons Of The Lenovo ThinkPad
- Heavy – 5.7 pounds
- It does not have a card reader
ASUS ZenBook Pro
You can buy this powerful laptop for animation, heavy graphics, and artwork. It has a powerful CPU with Intel Core i7-6700HQ 2.6-GHz.
Key Features Of The ASUS ZenBook
A comprehensive display of 15.6 inches is excellent for viewing streamed content. It has a resolution of 3840 by 2160, which gives excellent clarity even when using the computer outdoors. In addition, the 4K resolution makes for an exemplary color display.
It has a RAM of 16 GB DDR4 and 2GB video memory. In addition, the ASUS ZenBook Pro UX501VW-US71 comes with a 512 GB SSD for storage.
For connectivity, there are features like 802.11ac Wi-Fi, One Thunderbolt 3 USB Type C, 3 USB ports 3.0, Bluetooth 4.0, one HDMI port, and an SDXC reader.
It is a Windows 10 Home computer.
Pros Of The ASUS ZenBook
- One year of international warranty coverage
- Fast, Thunderbolt transfer at speeds of 20 GB per second
- Great graphics ensure high performance even in a high-resolution setting.
- Excellent sound experience from the SonicMaster and Olufsen speakers
- Touch screen with ten touch points for more control
- Factory color calibration for Photoshop and other design programs
- Good heat management
Cons Of The ASUS ZenBook
- No optical drive
- A bit heavy, slightly more than two kg
- The user does not access the battery, SSD, or graphics card.
Acer Predator Helios 300 Gaming Laptop
If you like the name Predator, you will find that this Acer laptop lives up to that name. It is made with gamers, graphic designers, and artists in mind, thus packing many game-centric features.
Key Features Of The Helios
It has a Core i7, 7700HQ quad-core processor, GeForce GTX 1060 graphics from NVIDIA, a 16 GB RAM/ddr4, which can do a speed of 2.4 MHz, and for storage, there is a 256 GB SSD.
The widescreen measuring 15.6 inches and 1920 by 1080 is great for art and design projects, animation included.
It has a metal cover that ensures protection; there are dual fans for cooling the processor and other internal components.
For connectivity and communication, there are the Acer TrueHarmony speakers, an SD card reader, Bluetooth 4.0, two USB ports 2.0, one USB port 3.0, one HDMI port, an HD webcam(1280 by 720), and 802.11ac Wi-Fi with 2 MIMO technology.
The operating system is Windows 10 Home, and the graphics card size is 6 GB.
Pros Of The Helios
- The four-cell Lithium-Ion battery can last more than 7 hours of use.
- It does not overheat, even when gaming
- High-quality exterior build – metal
- The matt screen is antiglare even when using it outdoors.
- Reasonable price considering its specifications
- The predator sense app works great and turns the fans on promptly.
- Easy to upgrade the SSD, for example
Cons Of The Helios
- It does not come with a cable for an extension HDD
- Weighing 2.7 kg, that is too heavy
Microsoft Surface Laptop For Animation
They say this stylish and sleek laptop was designed as an alternative to college students who did not want to use Apple’s MacBook Air, and indeed, it is as slim as brilliant and light.
Key Features Of The Surface
It weighs a paltry 2.75 pounds and measures 12.1 x 8.8 x 0.57 inches. This laptop has a 13.5-inch wide monitor enabled with the PixelSense display with a high resolution of 2256 x 1504 so that you can watch videos and see your photos to an excellent level of detail.
It is Bluetooth enabled and will connect with your mouse, keyboard, smartphone, and Surface Pen devices.
Further connectivity is ensured by the presence of a 3.0 USB port, a small DisplayPort, a jack for the headset, and on the adapter, they have provided a USB port that you can use to charge your smartphone. For Wi-Fi connectivity, there is 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.0.
It runs on Windows 10 s which boots faster than Windows 10 Pro. It has a processor speed of 2.5GHz, Core i5 – 7200U, and 620 Intel HD graphics.
Pros Of The Surface
- Excellent battery life – can run for more than 12 hours of use
- Crisp, clear display, high resolution
- Omnisonic speakers give good sound
- Great to use, thanks outdoors to the PixelSense 10-point touch screen and 365 lumens
- Thin, sleek, and portable
- 8 GB of RAM is enough to power any animation project
- Ample storage of 256 GB
Cons Of The Surface
- It does not work with the most-used browsers like Chrome
- Very few ports
- No slot for a microSD card
Microsoft Surface Pro – Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM
This is a more advanced version of the Microsoft Surface with more advanced features. It offers an excellent experience for animators and artists, ample RAM, and other incredible features.
Key Features Of The Surface Pro
It is a 7th-generation Intel Core i7 processor. The RAM is 16 GB, and the storage is 512 GB SSD. It runs on Windows 10 Pro.
For communication, it has two cameras. The rear-facing camera is 8MP, and the front-facing one is 5MP. Connectivity-wise, the laptop packs Bluetooth 4.1, a microSD slot, a headphone jack, Wi-Fi capability, USB 3.0, mini DisplayPort, and TPM.
The screen measures 12.3 inches, has a resolution of 2736 by 1824, and is touch-enabled. The battery can do 13 hours and 50 minutes of running time.
This is a two-in-one machine; it can work as a laptop or tablet. Thanks to its incredible power, this laptop is deemed a valuable tool for graphic designers, but it is also great for college students. It comes with a kickstand for support.
Pros Of This Surface Pro
- The keyboard is compatible with other Microsoft Surface computers.
- Long battery life
- Incredible rear and front cameras
- It supports Microsoft Surface Dial.
- Cools without the use of vents
- Ample storage, which is still expandable with a microSD card slot
- It has a USB port
Cons Of This Surface Pro
- It gets hot
Conclusion
These are some high-configuration, multi-purpose laptops perfect for animators. While most of these laptops might be costly, the quality is guaranteed. By the way, do you know how long laptops last?
Also, check the best gaming laptops under 300 dollars if you are looking for quality but cheap gaming laptops. You can check these best gaming laptops for under 600 dollars if you have a higher budget.
Finally, you might also want to read these guides about laptops:
- The best laptops for drawing and graphic designers (this is similar to animation in some ways, and the features you’ll need in the laptop are identical!)
- Have a look at the best portable monitors because if you’re an animator, sometimes you need to take your designs on the road with you!
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