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How to choose the right laptop for the on-the-go creators
Creator, Guide
How to Choose the Right Laptop for On-the-Go Creators?
Sep.15 2022
Author: ASUS Reading time: 8 minutes
Sep.15 2022
So you are a creative professional or a content creator, but the
type of work you do doesn't allow you to stay at your desk all
day ─ perhaps you're a videographer or a photographer, a
freelance graphic designer, work for a travel influencer, or are
a content creator yourself. You need to be mobile and bring your
work with you.
All creatives need computers that can help them edit images or
videos or run other creative software. Until recently, most
professional content creators opted for a desktop device. But as
you are becoming more mobile, need to be more versatile, and
your job or clients require fast results, waiting until you get
back to the studio to see the results of your work and edit your
files might just not be optimal.
A whole new category of laptop devices has been gaining
popularity among creatives like yourself. So-called "creator
laptops" are machines built with creative professionals in mind,
meeting the characteristics and performance requirements of
handling the kind of work you do while on the go.
But how to choose the right device for you? What are some
characteristics of a great content creator laptop?
One reason why you are selecting a laptop over a desktop is so
that you could slip it into your backpack and go. So you don't
want a big, clunky device. Choose one that doesn't weigh too
much, has a slim form factor, and has an appropriate screen
size.
Selecting the weight for the laptop seems fairly
straightforward. One would think that the lighter, the better.
But it's important to remember that the more powerful the
machine, the heavier the device will be. The battery also
weighs, so the lighter, the less power your battery will carry.
A rugged, sturdy shell that is often a key when on the go also
weighs quite a bit.
The laptops for lighter creative work like graphic design or
photo editing can still be very light while packing enough power
and battery life. With heavier workloads comes the heavier
weight of the laptop.
All that being said, aim for at most 2.5kgs in a very powerful
machine, but optimally between 1.5 and 2kgs for a machine that
can cover all your needs. Lighter machines are also available,
but they may not meet your performance requirements or may
achieve lighter weight by cutting down on the battery size and
cooling, which is not optimal for a creator laptop.
In addition, the larger the screen size, the more the computer
will weigh, so also take that into account when choosing your
next laptop.
We recommend choosing a machine with between 14" and 16" screen
size. Anything smaller might not be large enough to let you work
comfortably, and anything larger may not be very portable and
mobile.
It is important to mention that some machines come with a better
screen-to-body ratio by implementing a thinner bezel, meaning
that often the screen size will be larger than you would expect
from the dimensions of the computer. Many ASUS laptops come with
a size larger screen than usual for the same form factor,
meaning that for example, a 16" screen is packed into a 15"
body.
Long Battery Life
Working on the go very often translates into working away from
an electrical outlet. A strong, powerful battery should be a
very important consideration for creative pros who value
mobility.
This is a key for creators like yourself because the
applications you use burn off the power stored in the battery at
a very fast pace. Achieving a full work day away from an outlet
is much more difficult when running Adobe Photoshop or After
Effects than Microsoft PowerPoint or Excel.
You will need to look up the battery life of the computer when
choosing one. It would be great if the number was 8hrs or
larger. But remember that this is based on a certain mode of
operation, so you'll also want to look at the battery capacity
for a more objective point of view. You'll want at least 63Wh.
Better 75Wh. The best would be 90Wh.
As mentioned, however, battery weighs, so you'll need to strike
a good balance between the mass of your laptop and the battery
size.
Plenty of Power
Handling your workloads without a hitch requires a powerful
machine. Creative software is very power-intensive, meaning you
will need to run a lot of heavy processes in parallel.
Choosing the right setup to help you carry your load boils down
to 4 components: processor (CPU), Graphic card (GPU), Memory
(RAM), and Storage. We will try to give some simple directions,
because understanding all the computer specs isn't easy, which
is why we've written an article about choosing the right
computer specs for creative professionals .
Take a look!
When choosing the CPU, you will compare different options by
analyzing their core number, thread count, and power. For each
of these, in general, the higher, the more powerful.
To simplify these, two major CPU manufacturers, Intel and AMD,
divided their offerings into tiers, with numbers indicating the
level.
We would recommend Intel i5 or Ryzen 5 at the very least, but
better if you opt for i7 or Ryzen 7. Higher options would give
you a ton of power reserve that may come useful when handling a
really heavy workload, but this comes with a higher cost. An
Intel i7 or Ryzen 7 should be powerful enough to handle quite
heavy work already.
When it comes to GPU, the first thing to know is that there are
2 types: integrated and discrete (a.k.a. dedicated). You will
want to go for the latter. Similarly to the CPU manufacturers,
NVidia, the leading GPU manufacturer, divides its offering into
tiers, and again, the higher number, the more powerful the card.
But here, things get a little bit trickier, because there are
two product lines offered in creator laptops: GTX and RTX. We
would suggest choosing the RTX option as it supports ray
tracing, which can help you deliver amazing creative results.
RAM (Random Access Memory) is another spec you should pay
attention to. This will determine how smoothly you can switch
between different tasks. Once again, the larger the number, the
better. But for creative professionals, 8GB will be the bare
minimum, but we would recommend 16GB. You may also find out if
the laptop you are considering comes with additional slots that
will enable expansion in the future.
Finally, storage. Files you are generating, e.g. videos of RAW
pictures are quite heavy, and you can run out of storage really
quickly. Your hard drive is the component responsible for
storing your files. There are two types of hard drives: SSD and
HDD. Sometimes you will also come across the hybrid of the two,
called HHD. Our recommendation would be to opt for an SSD
option. These drives allow you to boot up your computer faster
and access all your files quicker. The larger the number, the
better, but 512GB is the bare minimum. This spec is probably the
least important of all the mentioned, because whatever you pick,
you will likely soon need an external drive to store your files,
or you will be forced to delete older ones to make space for the
new work. But the more storage your computer has, the less
frequently you will need to do that.
Ability to Multitask
Hardly ever one open window is all you need while working. Very
often, you will need to have a good couple of applications open.
Switching between them constantly isn't optimal, especially when
one is a reference, and the other is what you're working on.
When adjusting colors, for example, seeing references and your
file side-by-side is crucial.
You will need a laptop that comes with multitasking in mind.
ASUS offers innovative laptops with dual screens, made with
creators in mind. The
Zenbook Pro Duo 15 OLED, for instance, comes with a second touchscreen for you to use
in parallel with your main one. Whether you choose to display
the reference materials there or increase the working canvas in
Photoshop or Illustrator by moving the controls to the
ScreenPad™, you are sure to achieve more without constantly
switching between various windows.
Some Zenbooks from ASUS also come with a smaller second screen
in place of a touchpad, which can also come very useful to
control secondary apps or display small reference images while
working on your files.
To maximize the effectiveness of multitasking, we install
ScreenXpert 3 on all new laptops. This app can help you manage
your displays’ real estate by enabling you to quickly switch
between various layouts, as well as app groups. A convenient
taskbar also lets you quickly change the settings (e.g. adjust
brightness, turn on or off your camera or microphone, switch
between layouts, or navigate apps and tasks), saving you time.
For the models that do not come with the ScreenPad™, we have a
solution too. All new ASUS laptops for creatives come with
GlideX preinstalled. This app allows you to use your mobile
devices (e.g. smartphone or tablet) as an external screen.
Whether you choose to do so wirelessly or via a wired
connection, the second display extends your viewing space and
allows you to multitask more smoothly.
Finally, if color accuracy and high display quality are of
utmost importance to you, you may want to invest in a portable
screen like the
ProArt portable display. These are indeed another thing to carry, but they are much
more mobile than a regular monitor. These may just prove to be
the perfect solution for multitasking in a café.
Recommended Laptops for On-the-Go Creators
For the photographers and graphic designers or videographers out
there that often travel for work, and need a light, thin device
with plenty of computing power and a vibrant display, but do not
need to handle very heavy edits (e.g. 3D design, large-format
video, etc.), we recommend the laptops in the
Vivobook Pro lineup
. These youthful devices will fit into any backpack and help you
edit on the go.
When you need more computing power for heavier work,
Zenbook Pro
products are what you should be looking for. Elegant, thin, and
light, these professional machines carry plenty of additional
benefits. The star among them is perhaps the Zenbook Pro Duo,
which is an amazing solution for professional creators who would
like to enable desktop-like workflows while mobile.
Finally, for those who need to handle very heavy creative work
like editing large format images and videos, movies, 3D designs,
or architectural designs, the
ProArt Studiobook
products will be perfect! As powerful as laptops can be, tough
and durable, and elegant, these devices were designed with
top-notch creatives in mind. ProArt Studiobook comes equipped
with an ASUS Dial, which can help you handle your creative
software conveniently. With ProArt, you can ensure you will have
plenty of computing power for years to come.