Creator, Guide
Jun 15, 2023
Author: ASUS Reading time: 7 minutes
Jun 15, 2023
When today’s content creators choose their next computer, they often wonder if they should get a desktop or a laptop. With the emergence of creator laptops, the choice for content creators is no longer limited to powerful desktops. This guide will lay out the advantages of both desktops and laptops, as well as other considerations to keep in mind when deciding which option is best for meeting individual needs.
A desktop computer can be a great choice for some content creators, especially if they usually work at a dedicated space at home or in an office or studio. Below are some advantages of desktops.
A key advantage of desktops is the plentiful I/O port availability, which enables extensive connectivity.
Many content creators need a number of peripherals to help them work efficiently, especially if using a multiscreen setup. For desktop users, a keyboard and a mouse, as well as an audio system of some kind―be it speakers or headphones―are essential.
ASUS offers dedicated ProArt mouse with a special ASUS Dial design that allows users to streamline their creative workflows with precision. It also features an independent middle button, especially useful while working on 3D designs.
To accompany the mouse, we also offer a ProArt Mousepad which allows precise and comfortable control. It features a magnetic side area and leather top that help organize your accessories. In addition, this unique mousepad comes with an 18% grey card, giving photographers reference point at a glance.
Other peripherals frequently used by creative professionals include a pen tablet, a control station with a dial to help operate creative software (unnecessary for ProArt Mouse users), and some sort of solution that helps connect comfortably.
Desktops are always connected to a power source, so you’ll never have to worry about battery life. Why is that a concern?
Content creators need to render their work after completion. Rendering can be a power-intensive and time-consuming task, especially with 3D work or video. Therefore, many creative pros render their work overnight. With a desktop, power is always connected―so there is no chance of forgetting to plug in the machine, as can be the case with a laptop. For users rendering on a laptop, power loss during a render may result in issues that can cost time and money.
With an always-connected desktop, you won’t see this happening, unless you face a power outage. If this is a frequent occurrence where you live and work, you may want to invest in an uninterruptable power supply (UPS).
Desktops are built with independent parts―components―that can be changed at any time. If you wish to upgrade a part, it’s usually easy to do―as long as the part is compatible with your computer’s motherboard and fits into the case.
This is important, because the initial cost can be lower as your first build may be made with lower-grade parts, and then you can upgrade parts over time as needed.
In the long term, having an easily upgradeable machine can help save money—when you need more power, you can simply purchase a new component instead of needing to upgrade the whole computer.
Also, building a PC can be a satisfying, fun thing to do, and you can customize your machine aesthetically to suit your style.
Desktops are not very portable, and require peripherals to be able to work. Likewise, portability is an issue for content creators who travel often or need to work from multiple locations.
Desktops and necessary peripherals require space.
Desktops also need to be situated in a proper way (not on the floor), to avoid damage or overheating. When deciding on the placement of your computer, pay attention to easy access to the rear I/O ports. Most computer desks have access slots that make it easy to route the wired permanent peripherals to ports.
Here are a few more tips for organizing a creator workstation
As mentioned previously, one of the advantages of a desktop is the ability to upgrade virtually any part. Building a machine from scratch can also be an enjoyable project. But there are challenges to upgrades and new builds, including compatibility and ensuring adequate cooling.
For those who don’t want the challenge of upgrades or building new, pre-built options such as the ASUS ProArt Station PD5 are a good solution.
An attractive alternative to a desktop has become available in recent years. Today, content creators can purchase a high-performance laptop built specifically with their needs in mind. Below are some key ideas to keep in mind when considering the option of a laptop.
Laptops are made to be portable. This means that you can slip your creator laptop into a backpack and work from virtually anywhere.
While not quite as slim and light as some ultraportable consumer laptops, creator machines are powerful and many weigh less than 2.5 kg.
ASUS builds creator laptops in a way that allows you to work completely free of peripherals if you so choose.
Each ASUS creator laptop offers a robust CPU and graphics, plus a user-friendly keyboard, mouse and display screen, and other input options. Some laptops such as the Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED feature two touchscreens, enabling exceptional workflow and multitasking.
Most ASUS creator laptops support stylus input as well.
A unique ASUS feature that creators find very useful is the ASUS Dial, a convenient rotary input device placed next to the touchpad—or embedded in one in case of DialPad—that facilitates easy manipulation of creative software features. This feature is compatible with Adobe Photoshop®, Premiere Pro®, Photoshop Lightroom Classic®, After Effects®, and Illustrator®, as well as Microsft 365 apps, entertainment software, and Internet browsers Color-accurate 2.8K OLED displays with 120 Hz or higher refresh rates in ASUS creator laptops offer incredible visuals. These high-quality displays mean you won’t need an expensive professional monitor to see your work accurately.
These laptops also have a full set of I/O ports. And if you need to plug in more when stationary, you can always purchase a docking station.
The computing power in ASUS creator laptops can go toe-to-toe with many desktops. For instance, the ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED comes with up to an Intel® Core™ i9- 13980HX multicore processor with up to 5.6 GHz with Turbo Boost and up to NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 4070 dedicated GPU. The discrete graphics card allows your computer to handle heavier graphics-related tasks and frees up CPU power.
The ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED offers 64 GB of memory with two SO-DIMM slots for upgradeability, so you can count on responsiveness, even when handling heavy tasks. You can also choose up to high-performance 4 TB + 4 TB M.2 NVMe™ PCIe® 4.0 Performance SSD storage.
A dedicated GPU provides much more computing power when handling graphical tasks, but it also requires more power than an integrated graphics card. This will eat into how long the battery can last.
In addition, even the most powerful batteries can see the time between charges shrink significantly when handling heavy tasks like video editing or 3D design.
If you use creative software on the go, always remember to bring a charger with you, and save your work frequently to avoid losing your progress due to your laptop turning off as a result of low battery charge. You may also want to consider a laptop power bank like the ZenPower Pro for emergency charging.
Laptops are not as easily customizable or upgradeable as the desktops. While components such as SSD or RAM can be added via available upgrade slots, some parts like CPU or GPU simply cannot be changed.
That means that if you “outgrow” your laptop’s capabilities, you may need to upgrade to a new machine.
One solution to this is purchasing a machine more powerful that what you currently need, but that may require increasing your budget.
If you’re wondering how to ensure you have a powerful-enough laptop for content creation, we offer a short guide to creator laptop specs
Optimally, you’d have a desktop for when working at the desk, and a laptop for working on the go. However, if you need to settle for just one computer, we believe that a laptop specifically made for content creators may be your best option.
That said, for heavy creative work (such as intensive 3D renders), a desktop may be a better way to go.
Versatility and mobility are, however, very important for many users, and these can be achieved only with a laptop. Thanks to new powerful laptop processors and dedicated creator tools such as the ASUS Dial, working on the go no longer means making a compromise on your choice of device.
Even for many advanced creators doing heavy work such as 3D design or video rendering, laptops can still be a good option. You can use a powerful ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED, even on the go—just remember to ensure your laptop doesn’t turn off.
If you so prefer, when stationary, simply dock it at your desk and treat it as a desktop PC, plugging in peripherals as needed. Then, if a time comes when you want to work on the go, you will appreciate its portability.
Discover ASUS Creator Laptops
ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED (H7604)
Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED (UX8402)
ASUS ProArt Station PD5
