I was choosing a laptop for a whole year, and I realized that the market now lacks the ideal model for the artist and creator. I was able to find one option that came as close as possible to my requirements. As soon as this laptop comes to me and I test its capabilities, I will make a separate post. In the meantime, I want to describe the laptop of my dreams, how I imagined it when I was just starting the search, and how my vision changed over time.
I must say right away that I am not a super-rich artist, so I focused on a budget of no more than $ 1000, but it would be ideal to find notebook for $ 750-800.
I need a laptop for professional creative work with videos, photos and drawings. I mainly use Photoshop, Adobe Premiere Pro, Zbrush, OBS for streams; I also program in Python. Initially, I was focused only on laptop performance and selected a device with the following technical characteristics:
- fresh processor of the intel i5 or i7 line;
- screen size from 15″ to 17″ inch;
- 16 GB of RAM or more;
- memory SSD or SDD + HDD;
- screen resolution from 1920×1080 FHD;
- discrete graphics card NVIDIA 1050 or higher.
After choosing several suitable models, I found that these are gaming laptops; their weight was about 2.7-3 kg. The design in most cases was also a game-style with bright buttons, color backlighting and an aggressive body. For entry-level gaming laptops, screens are usually not very suitable for working with graphics, since the color gamut is only 50% sRGB and lower. Having studied a little the laptop market, I decided to look for a light laptop / ultrabook with a better display.
Creative Variations on gaming MSI and HP Notebook Design
The general technical requirements were supplemented by aesthetic preferences in design and appearance, as well as a good screen. Additional requirements for a laptop specific to creative work as a traveler video blogger, artist and writer are:
- weight up to 2 kg;
- plain design in a metal case;
- unusual color of the case (not silver and not as colorful in the style of gaming);
- 360-degree drop-down case – tablet mode;
- card reader, USB type-c, fingerprint scanner, HDMI, 3.5 mm headphone jack;
- front camera 5 megapixels or more;
- IPS matrix display with a good color range (close to 100% sRGB);
- maximum brightness from 300 and more nits;
- matte screen;
- touch screen and wacom stylus support.
When I tried to find the perfect laptop, it turned out that it simply does not exist in nature. But it is in my imagination. What to do? You need to prioritize and look for the most suitable option.
I decided to write down laptop usage scenarios to figure out what works for me:
- Mobility for travel:
- Description of the video on YouTube;
- Create thumbnails for videos;
- Edit photos for social networks and posts for websites;
- Video editing;
- Stream + screen recording;
- Work with text (websites, social networks, books);
- Page-proofs of the book, illustration;
- Python programming.
- Video with drawing:
- Recording the drawing process from the screen;
- Making video showing me and the computer screen on which I draw and make notes;
- Streaming on YouTube / Twitch.
It occurred to me that in addition to laptops, there are other modern devices on the market that might suit me. And I began to study different options. How else can I work comfortably while traveling or away from my desktop computer? Today there are the following options:
1) Using a standalone device:
- regular laptop;
- transformer laptop with touch screen;
- the tablet;
2) Using Samsung DEX — I have a Galaxy S10 smartphone, which can be connected in a new mode to any Windows device or just to the screen. In this case, the phone deploys on the screen a kind of Windows operating system with windows, a mouse and an external keyboard. There are several suitable devices for DEX mode:
- external screen;
- any device on Windows;
- Wacom graphics tablet.
If we talk about the key features of these devices for me, then laptops have an advantage in technical power (you can edit and stream video) and they have screens of a comfortable size, but the built-in front camera is of very poor quality. And also most powerful laptops are quite heavy and large.
Tablets come in size from 10″ to 14″ inches, which is not enough for me; power is also on the verge, but the camera is much better and the whole device is less weight. There are tablets on Windows or on Android / iOS; there are quite productive tablets at a price of $ 1000, on which you can work in Photoshop and edit some video. But on average, their price is higher than the price for laptops of more power.
If you think about DEX with a Wacom tablet or with an external screen, then these devices do not have a camera, and this whole construction is held on the phone. This is not so comfortable, there is no autonomy, you have to connect all the parts to each other on the table, it is difficult to move from place to place. And working in DEX mode is not as convenient as it seemed to me before.
Analyzing all the possibilities, I came to the conclusion that the most suitable option for me was a laptop – transformer that combines the functions of a regular laptop, tablet and Wacom graphic monitor.
Do you have a laptop, tablet or transformer? What device do you work on and draw on? Tell us about your electronic assistant.