The Essential Creator Laptop Buying Guide

MicroCenterOfficial · October 2021

It’s easier than ever to find yourself as a creator. If you’re editing photos, videos, streaming on Twitch, or recording for YouTube, you’re a creator. And if you’re a creator, you know you need a computer that can handle whatever you need, as soon as you need it. And if you’re away, that desktop sitting at home isn’t going to deliver “as soon as you need it.”

Thankfully, more and more laptops are starting to focus on creators of all types. From high-end video editing to mid-range audio editing and streaming and even budget writing and photo editing, there’s a creator laptop out there that will make your work-away-from-work life a lot easier.

What Makes a Good Editing Laptop?

If you’re doing photo and video editing, you need a laptop that's color accurate, powerful, and portable. Color accuracy for a laptop’s screen is critical for any type of creative work (and gaming, if you’re hoping to pull double duty with your laptop).

If you're a creator, you already know color accuracy is a must-have. Visual editing requires precision, and if the laptop is color-inaccurate, then the end product is likely to be a different color when viewed on another device. This might not sound like a big deal to non-creators, but if you’ve spent hours finding that perfect color for your art piece only to have it turn out the wrong shade….

However, if your focus is more on the cuts when editing video, you’ll want a greater emphasis on power. Attempting to trim, edit and add special effects to recorded videos with an average editing laptop can be painfully slow.

The best work and performance laptops have a processor that is capable of heavy lifting, a solid GPU or integrated graphics, and a high-resolution display.

The Best Laptops for Creators

Asus Zenbook Pro Duo

This multi-touch Asus laptop is one of the best laptops for multi-tasking content creators. Powered by a 2.4 gigahertz Intel Core i9 processor, the laptop allows users to work in multiple programs seamlessly. 32 GB of DDR4 RAM, along with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 graphic card, makes this an absolute powerhouse of editing.

Not to mention, the double screen offers users a unique display option that allows users to work on multiple screens at the same time. Save screen space by putting your audio work on the bottom while you focus on the video!

Of course, no editing laptop would be complete without a fantastic audio system, and the Pro Duo comes prepared. This audio system is the collaborative efforts of the experts at Harmon Kardon and the ASUS Golden Ear team.

Microsoft Surface Pro X

The Surface Pro is a hybrid between laptop/tablet, which tend to be more recreation focused, rather than work. The Surface Pro, however, hides a lot of power in its wildly versatile design. Equipped with a Microsoft SQ2 processor, 16GB of DDR4 RAM, and a crystal-clear 13.2” screen, the Surface Pro is your stealth workhorse.

The Microsoft Surface Pro 2-in-1’s are a regular go-to for creators, thanks in no small part to their wide number of configurations and specs available.

MacBook Pro

The new MacBook Pro of Apple is often the go-to laptop for whenever creators are looking to upgrade their devices. Featuring a 16” retina display, a magic keyboard with a scissor mechanism, advanced thermal regulation, and everything else you could need to work on the go.

Designers at Apple have focused on the MacBook’s design and integrated features for professional use. It has all the capabilities to help creators produce high-scale and advanced content of all types: videography, photography, and audio editing are all a breeze with the Macbook Pro.

The MacBook Pro also comes in a wide range of models to choose from, so you can get exactly what you’re looking for.

Budget Laptops For Creators

We’ve dug into some heavy hitters so far, but heavy hitters come with some heavy price tags. If you’re looking for something a bit more wallet-friendly that will still get the job done, we’ve got those too.

Lenovo IdeaPad Laptops

While not as flashy as some of the other models, the Lenovo IdeaPad series is the ideal work laptop: Lightweight and portable, with power to spare.

The IdeaPad series is quite varied as well, offering fantastic writing laptops for as low as $430 all the way up to 4K photo editors. Whatever you’re looking to do, the IdeaPad will do it on the go without draining your bank.

Acer A5

The Acer A5 retails around $530, and may just be one of the best laptops in terms of value for money. Its solid yet light frame makes the laptop easy to carry around while hiding a surprising amount of power.

The display on this laptop is 15.6” full HD with an accurate color display, making it fantastic for on-the-fly video editing. Its sharp color profile also makes it amazing for gaming as well.

Final thoughts

Creators, more than anyone, need to be careful when choosing a work laptop. Almost every component has the potential to bottleneck speeds, so be sure to do your research before purchasing. Know what you are looking for and what you're going to use it for.

Hopefully, this guide has put you on the right path to the perfect creator laptop for you, but if you have any more questions or are looking for any more recommendations, be sure to stop by your local Micro Center!

More from the Micro Center Community:

Looking for more computer buying guides? We’ve got a full section dedicated to reviews and buying guides as well as The Ultimate Guide to Buying a Gaming Laptop, How to Choose Parts for you Custom PC Build, The Best Laptops for Under $1000, and reviews of the Maingear Vector Pro Series. And if you can’t find what you’re looking for, don’t hesitate to post a new discussion and the Community will be happy to help!

Seanwdym · December 2021

What about very specific use case like...

3D render - blender, unreal engine

High Res 4k and up video editing - premier

GPU recommendations and tgp specifications
For example would a 3070/8gb @ 80 watts

Or going for higher tgp is better like 3070/8gb @ 95 or 110 or the highest available to like 140w

And moving on to 3080/16gb ... Is 165w better compared to lower tgp ... Can you explain the difference in performance from a creator's use case

Is it just mostly for gaming so that the higher tgp can push more resulting in better fps etc...

MicroCenterOfficial · December 2021

https://community.microcenter.com/discussion/comment/38528#Comment_38528

Hi @Seanwdym -

In general, more GPU power is going to work better for both of your use cases, particularly for 3D rendering (You'll want the most VRAM for that). If you're looking to focus more on 4K editing, a 3070 would do just fine.