Best laptops for Photoshop in March 2024
The best laptops for Photoshop based on our hands-on testing
For a seamless Photoshop experience, your laptop needs to be a powerhouse. A modern, speedy processor like Intel Core Ultra i7/i9, AMD Ryzen 7/9, M2, or M3 chipset is crucial for tackling complex filters, large files, and layered projects without breaking a sweat. Don't skimp on RAM – 16GB is the minimum, but 32GB unlocks smooth multitasking and handling high-resolution images. Storage space is equally important; aim for at least 512GB SSD to comfortably store numerous image files and project backups.
Visual fidelity is critical when editing photos. Opt for a sharp, high-resolution display (QHD or 4K) that accurately represents colors. Features like wide color gamut coverage (e.g., DCI-P3) ensure your edits translate faithfully across different platforms. For heavy-duty tasks like 3D editing, intricate filters, or frequent use of demanding tools, consider a dedicated graphics card like Nvidia GeForce RTX or AMD Radeon RX.
Remember, budget plays a role. For basic editing, a modern CPU with integrated graphics can be a wallet-friendly option. Additionally, the upcoming wave of AI-powered laptops promises strong performance at more affordable prices, so keep an eye out for those!
We’ve reviewed quite a few laptops here at Laptop Mag, and the ones that made the cut for this list generally score high on our DCI-P3 color gamut, Delta-E color accuracy, and brightness tests. Combine top-tier displays with powerful internals, and you’ve got a pretty awesome laptop for Photoshop.
Working in Photoshop usually takes up your entire laptop screen, so check out our best monitor picks to expand your setup at home or our best portable monitors to give you more screen space on the go.
The Quick List
Best Overall
The best overall laptop for Photoshop
The Dell XPS 15 (9530) stands out for photo editing with its bright OLED display and powerful Intel Core i7-13700H CPU. This color-accurate powerhouse is sure to impress creators, but details on RAM, storage, and specific color gamut coverage would solidify its appeal.
Best Budget
The best budget laptop for Photoshop
The Acer Swift Go 14 provides a surprisingly vivid display and performs well with 16GB of RAM and an Intel Core i7-13700H CPU.
Best Workstation
The best workstation laptop for Photoshop
The HP ZBook Fury 17 G8 is a top-tier working laptop with a gorgeous 17-inch 4K display for your Photoshop creations.
Best With Discrete GPU
The best laptop for Photoshop with a discrete GPU
Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4 tackles graphics-intensive tasks with ease, thanks to its Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 GPU with 6GB of VRAM.
Best Samsung
The best Samsung laptop for Photoshop
With its 16-inch AMOLED display, speedy SSD, and high color accuracy, Samsung’s Galaxy Book 3 Ultra is a great laptop for Photoshop.
Best Compact
The best compact laptop for Photoshop
The LG Gram 17 weighs only 3.2 pounds, making it the perfect portable option. Plus, it has high color accuracy and a long-lasting battery—great for Photoshop on the go.
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Best MacBook
The best MacBook for Photoshop
The MacBook Pro 16-inch (M2 Max, 2023) is equipped with a beautiful display, a top-tier battery life, and powerful performance for gaming, working, or Photoshop.
Best Laptop for Photoshop Overall
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
Dell's XPS 15 (9530) boasts a gorgeous 3.5K OLED display (137.9% DCI-P3 color gamut) and a powerful 13th Gen Intel Core i7/Nvidia RTX 4070 combo, making it a photo editing powerhouse. While the battery life (8 hours 58 minutes) may not be stellar, its performance and stunning visuals justify the starting price of $1,499 (though the OLED display bumps it up to $2,799). Perfect for creative professionals!
Just note that because of its high-res screen and demanding GPU, Dell’s XPS 15 lasted 8 hours and 58 minutes on Laptop Mag’s battery test, which fell short of the premium laptop battery average at the time of our review. The model we reviewed was $2,799, and though the base model starts at $1,499, you’ll lose out on that stunning 3.5K OLED display.
See our full Dell XPS 15 (9530) review.
Best Budget Laptop for Photoshop
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
Acer Swift Go 14 packs a punch for photo editing at $749, but the $999 model shines brighter. This sweet spot boasts a vibrant OLED display (175.7% DCI-P3, 395 nits) and a powerful Intel Core Ultra i7 155H, making the $200 upgrade well worth it.
This laptop’s display is one of the most vibrant screens we’ve ever tested at Laptop Mag. Acer’s Swift Go 14 earned a score of 175.7% on the DCI-P3 color gamut, well above the category average of 107.5%. The laptop averaged 395 nits of brightness, also above the category average of 349 nits. The only place the Swift Go 14 faltered in terms of rich color was when we tried out the laptop’s True Black 500 HDR mode. It looked artificial, and the display is significantly better without this mode turned on.
With such a brilliant, bright display, it’s no surprise that the battery life isn’t incredible. But listen, for the price and the gorgeous color accuracy, this budget laptop is a perfect option for Photoshop users. The Swift Go 14 lasted 8 hours and 5 minutes during our battery test, slightly below the category average of 8:13.
See our full Acer Swift Go 14 review.
Best Workstation Laptop for Photoshop
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
HP's ZBook Fury 17 G8 packs serious muscle for demanding tasks like Photoshop editing. Though starting at $2,118, its top configuration boasts a powerful Intel Xeon CPU, Nvidia RTX A5000 GPU, 64GB RAM, and 1TB storage. While pricey, this powerhouse delivers exceptional color accuracy (161.7% DCI-P3) on its bright 4K display. Opting for lower storage/RAM or a less powerful GPU can reduce costs for more moderate photo editing needs. Battery life is lower than average (7h 10m), but performance is undeniably impressive.
For Photoshop purposes, it’d be smart to stick with the top-tier 17-inch 4K BrightView LED touchscreen display. The ZBook Fury 17 G8 averaged 532 nits of brightness and delivered 161.7% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, high above the premium laptop average of 84.4%. At only 150 nits of brightness during our battery test, HP’s ZBook Fury 17 G8 lasted 7 hours and 10 minutes, lower than the premium laptop average of 10:23.
See our full HP ZBook Fury 17 G8 review.
Best Laptop for Photoshop With a Discrete GPU
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4 excels for graphics-intensive tasks like Photoshop with its 11th Gen Intel Core i7 CPU, Nvidia RTX 3060 GPU, and 16GB RAM. Though its 16-inch display boasts high brightness (426 nits), color accuracy isn't its strongest suit. However, powerful internals ensure smooth Photoshop performance and even handle AAA games. Battery life (7h 50m) is lower than average, so keep a charger handy. Starting at $2,074, this option prioritizes performance over color fidelity.
The ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4 is equipped with a 16-inch 2560 x 1600 display with a 16:10 aspect ratio that makes the screen taller than many of its competitors. This laptop may not have OLED display technology, but it’s plenty bright with 426 average nits, which is higher than the premium laptop average of 392 nits. Colors come through as vivid and rich, though the ThinkPad X1 Extreme’s Delta E score for color accuracy was 0.31, falling short of the premium laptop average score of 0.25 (the closer to zero, the better). Then, at 83.5%, the laptop’s DCI-P3 color gamut score was just shy of the premium laptop average of 83.9%.
Just be sure to have a charger handy as this laptop only lasted 7 hours and 50 minutes, less than the premium laptop average of 10:26.
See our full Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4 (2023) review.
Best Samsung Laptop for Photoshop
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
Starting at $2,199, the Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra packs a powerful Intel Core i7 CPU, RTX 4050 GPU, and 16GB RAM, making it a strong contender for photo editing. Its 16-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display impresses with vibrant colors and a smooth 120Hz refresh rate, even in the base model we tested. While pricier options offer more storage, the base configuration delivers solid performance for demanding tasks like Photoshop.
The display produced 86.2% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, which was lower than the premium laptop average (88.8%) but higher than the MacBook Pro 16 (83.7%). However, this test was performed at the laptop’s default setting, and you can adjust the display settings to increase vibrancy. With our Delta-E color accuracy test, the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra performed swimmingly, with a low score of 0.15 (the closer to zero, the better). This color accuracy score was higher than both the premium laptop average (0.24) and the MacBook Pro 16’s score (0.21).
At this point, it may sound like this laptop is without flaws, but with powerful specs, a discrete GPU, and a stunning display packed into a thin, light package, it’s no surprise that the battery life isn’t great. It’s not bad, but it’s not great. In our battery test, Samsung’s Galaxy Book 3 Ultra lasted for 8 hours and 48 minutes while utilizing the 120Hz adaptive refresh rate and 150 nits of brightness. Compared to the average premium laptop (9:55) and the MacBook Pro 16 (18:56), this is a lower-than-I’d-like battery life, but it’s still enough to last a full work day without a charge.
See our full Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra review.
Best Compact Laptop for Photoshop
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
LG Gram 17 prioritizes portability despite its large 17-inch screen, weighing just 3.2 pounds. This powerful option packs a 13th Gen Intel Core i7 CPU, Nvidia RTX 3050 GPU, 16GB RAM, and 1TB SSD, making it a capable photo editing companion at around $2,000.
The LG Gram 17 boasts a spacious 17-inch display (2560 x 1600, 144Hz) perfect for pixel-peeping. It delivers vibrant colors (115% DCI-P3) and impressive brightness (438 nits), ensuring accurate editing. While color accuracy (Delta-E 0.26) is good, it falls slightly short of some competitors. This powerful and portable option starts at around $2,000.
LG’s Gram 17 packs powerful internal specs that give you a stutter-free Photoshop experience and a large, vibrant display that accurately shows off the colors you’re working with. It’s so incredibly light at 3.2 pounds that you’ll barely feel it in your bag. You won't even have to add extra weight from the charger because this laptop has a stellar battery life. During our battery test, the LG Gram 17 lasted 12 hours and 2 minutes, longer than the premium laptop average of 10:14.
See our full LG Gram 17 review.
Best MacBook for Photoshop
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
For Apple users and design enthusiasts, the 2023 MacBook Pro 16-inch with M2 Max CPU reigns supreme for photo editing. While pricey (starting at $3,499), it offers powerful performance and a seamless experience within the Apple ecosystem. Opting for a 1TB SSD and 32GB RAM configuration delivers ample storage and smooth Photoshop performance, making it a compelling choice for creative professionals.
With either configuration, you’ll get that brilliant 12-core Apple M2 Max CPU mentioned earlier, as well as a 38-core Apple GPU with a 16-core Neural Engine and a gorgeous 16.2-inch 3456 x 2234 Liquid Retina XDR display. Despite how colorful our review unit’s display appeared, it only earned a DCI-P3 score of 83.7%, lower than the premium laptop average at the time (88.1%). The laptop scored well on the brightness test, with an average of 447 nits, brighter than the category average of 391 nits.
Buying the MacBook Pro 16-inch (2023) is a smart choice for Photoshop because of the beautiful, bright display and the powerfully smooth internal specs. However, there’s another crucial spec to consider: the battery life. MacBooks are known for having great battery life, which is a fantastic feature for those wanting to use Photoshop on the go. The 16-inch MacBook Pro lasted an amazing 18 hours and 56 minutes in our battery test, significantly longer than the premium laptop average of 10:02.
See our full MacBook Pro 16-inch (M2 Max, 2023) review.
How To Choose a Laptop for Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop isn’t an incredibly demanding software, so you won’t necessarily need a high-end, expensive laptop to create your visual masterpieces. However, there are a few key specs to look out for. When choosing a laptop for Photoshop specifically, the display specs are perhaps the most important, followed by the laptop’s CPU and amount of RAM and storage.
Working in Photoshop, color accuracy and a wide array of colors is important. That’s why Laptop Mag chose tested laptops with high color accuracy and a high percentage on the DCI-P3 color gamut for this list. The size of your display won’t matter as much as the resolution, brightness, and display technology. Modern OLED displays, in particular, are fantastic at displaying rich, deep blacks and bright, vivid colors.
For a CPU, we’d recommend not buying anything less than an 11th Gen Intel Core i7 or equivalent. Then, a good laptop for Photoshop should have at least 16GB of RAM to run the software smoothly and at least 512GB of storage to store all your Photoshop creations when you’re done editing.
If you also love to play video games, some of the best gaming laptops are equally great for Photoshop. Gaming laptops typically come with a discrete GPU, which is ideal for a graphics-intensive software like Photoshop, but it’s not necessary. You can save a bit of money buying a laptop with integrated graphics and still produce some amazing things in Photoshop.
How We Test Laptops for Photoshop
Every laptop we test goes through countless lab tests before a review goes live. We look at how a laptop fairs in regards to its performance, battery life, speakers, heat management, and display. While each laptop on this list has gone through every test we could run on it, there are a few specific test results we paid close attention to when choosing the best laptops for Photoshop.
When you work with Photoshop, it’s important that the colors you’re working with will accurately translate to other screens when your file is shared. To detect a laptop’s display brightness and DCI-P3 color gamut, we use a Klein K10 colorimeter test. We also pay attention to each laptop’s Delta E score, showing how accurate a display’s colors are.
Additionally, performance is important in a laptop running Adobe Photoshop. The Geekbench benchmark tests a laptop’s overall performance. To test a laptop’s GPU, the 3DMark benchmark determines how well a laptop can run graphic-intensive applications. Discrete graphics are ideal when selecting a laptop for Photoshop, but you might forgo a discrete GPU for a more budget-friendly laptop.
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Mark has spent 20 years headlining comedy shows around the country and made appearances on ABC, MTV, Comedy Central, Howard Stern, Food Network, and Sirius XM Radio. He has written about every topic imaginable, from dating, family, politics, social issues, and tech. He wrote his first tech articles for the now-defunct Dads On Tech 10 years ago, and his passion for combining humor and tech has grown under the tutelage of the Laptop Mag team. His penchant for tearing things down and rebuilding them did not make Mark popular at home, however, when he got his hands on the legendary Commodore 64, his passion for all things tech deepened. These days, when he is not filming, editing footage, tinkering with cameras and laptops, or on stage, he can be found at his desk snacking, writing about everything tech, new jokes, or scripts he dreams of filming.