The best computer for graphic design
The best computer for graphic design will have enough processing power to run demanding software such as Photoshop, a bright and detailed display with excellent colour reproduction, a great keyboard and more. To help you pick the right one, we’ve gathered together a range of options including both Macs and PCs.
These computers have been hand-picked by our experienced team of reviewers, who personally test and review all the latest computers and laptops. Their findings and opinions inform our comments here – read our page on how we test computers for more detail.
Note that some of the computers on this list don’t come with a screen, so you may want to read our the best monitors too. Alternatively, if you’d prefer a laptop to a desktop, check out our guide to the best laptops for graphic design.
Quick list
For a quick overview of the best of the best, we’ve summarised our list below with all the most important need-to-know information about the best computers for graphic design.
01. Mac mini (M2 Pro, 2023)
It may be tiny, but the Mac Mini M2 Pro is incredibly capable, packing Apple’s super-powerful M2 Pro chip. It handles complex creative tasks with ease, and it’s nearly impossible to overload, even when running multiple creative programs at once.
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With its M1 processing chips, the 2021 24-inch iMac offers incredibly fast performance, lots of storage and a neural processor in a sleeker and more sophisticated frame than the previous 2020 iMac, albeit with a slightly lower-resolution display.
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03. Microsoft Surface Studio 2+
If you’d rather run Windows than macOS, the Surface Studio 2+ is a great all-in-one alternative. With features like its high-resolution touch-sensitive display, and seamless colour profile switching, it’s a graphic designer’s dream; and it has a pretty nippy processor too.
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Best computer for graphic design overall
When you’re running graphic design software, the more power you have, the better. That means your software will load more quickly, run more smoothly and crash less often. Of course, the most powerful computers tend to be more expensive. But on the plus side, you’ll get your work done faster, saving you time and money in the long run.
With all that in mind, the Mac mini (M2 Pro, 2023) is the best computer for graphic design we can recommend today. Despite its admirably compact design, it’s very capable. And that’s because it features Apple’s latest, super-powerful chip, the M2 Pro, which takes performance to a whole new level.
In practice, our reviewer found it handled complex, labour-intensive tasks with ease. Indeed, she found it impossible to overload it: even when editing 8K video footage in Premiere Pro, while simultaneously running Photoshop, Freeform and multiple browser tabs.
Note that the Mac mini is just the computer, and you’ll still need a keyboard, monitor and mouse to go with it. So that does make it pretty expensive, and if you’re not running the most demanding apps, such as Cinema 4D, After Effects, 3DS Max or Premiere Pro, the amount of power it provides may be overkill. In which case, you may prefer some of the less pricey options on our list.
Best all-in-one computer for graphic design
The 2021 24-inch iMac doesn’t have the discrete graphics card of the previous 2020 iMac, and sports a slightly lower-res display. But our reviewer found that its M1 processing chips delivered absolutely blistering performance, plus the overall design is sleeker and more sophisticated.
The 2021 iMac also has a neural processor, meaning it can take full advantage of apps that use machine learning, such as the best AI photo editing software. And as we noted in our review, it offers a generous amount of built-in storage, something you can chew through surprisingly quickly if you’re working with high-res images.
For more details, read our full hands-on M1 iMac (2021) review, as well as our comparison article, iMac 24 vs iMac 27.
Best Windows computer for graphic design
Not everyone wants to use Apple products, of course. Fortunately, there are some great desktop computers for graphic designers who use Windows, chief among which is the Surface Studio 2+.
This exceptional computer boasts a few unique features of its own, not least of which is the fact that its high-resolution, touch-sensitive display allows it to seamlessly convert to a giant graphics tablet. Like doing your graphic design with a stylus? This is a great choice.
A little confusingly, the 2+ is the successor to the Surface Studio 2, which we loved when it was released in 2019. We’re not sure why they didn’t call it Surface Studio 3 to make things clearer. (It’s also not to be confused with the Surface Laptop Studio 2). The main difference from its predecessor is the upgrade to an 11th-generation Core i7 processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX GPU, which speeds everything up considerably without throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
Most powerful computer for graphic design
The Apple Mac Studio M2 Ultra is one of the most powerful machines you can buy right now. Although, as you may expect, with great power comes a great price tag. Our reviewer tested one and found it made light work of the most intense tasks and was exceptionally good when multitasking. At the same time, she felt both the price and the specs were overkill for the average user, marking this out as strictly for professional use monster.
In other words, if you’re performing intensive graphic design tasks like editing huge files in Photoshop, Mac Studio will perform admirably. If you’re doing a little less than all that, this is probably more power than you need. Our Mac Studio M2 Ultra review runs through all this in more detail.
iMac alternative for graphic design
Plenty of PCs have come out swinging against the iMac, but the HP ENVY 34 All-in-One is one of the best such challengers we’ve seen. Boasting an incredibly wide 24-inch 5K display, it’s ideal for losing yourself in your graphic design tasks, and has enough graphical and computing power to handle pretty much anything with ease. Also, it’s highly configurable, and if you’re willing to bump the price up a little, you can get it with a little more storage or processing power, or indeed a lot more.
The simplistic design of the ENVY 34 All-in-One means it blends in well in pretty much any home or office environment. It also can come with plenty of useful extras, some of which are a little unexpected – if you want, you can get a monitor stand that also doubles up as a smartphone charger! It’s unclear how useful this is, given that you’ll presumably have the computer set up at home or an office, where you’ll have access to plentiful chargers. But hey, it’s there if you want it.
The ENVY 34 All-in-One is graphically well equipped, boasting even in its simplest configuration an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 GPU. This should be more than capable of handling graphic design tasks, cementing this all-in-one computer’s status as a truly credible iMac alternative.
Best affordable computer for graphic design
The Dell XPS line of desktop PCs is one of the few remaining desktop towers still being made for a non-gaming market, but thankfully it also happens to be one of the best. Opting for a Windows-based PC is likely to grant you more freedom to customise your components, on top of usually being a far cheaper option to buying an iMac or Mac Pro when you compare performance to affordability.
Even the lowest-spec model still packs a dedicated Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 so those without a tonne of cash to splash on something like an iMac can get a powerful and capable machine for significantly less. Better yet, if you do have some cash to burn then you can opt for the 11th generation Intel i9 processor and an RTX 3070 graphics card.
Outside of being budget-friendly and flexible to your needs, other benefits include having a good selection of ports across the front of the tower (which means you won’t have to fuss around with the rear of the machine), a built-in SD card slot and the fact that Dell offers plenty of corporate discounts, so you might be able to save even more cash through your employer.
Best gaming computer for graphic design
Gaming computers are far more abundant than family desktop towers these days, but because of the powerful components inside they also tend to be excellent graphic design PCs. This Alienware example is one of the best, with a flashy design and plenty of RGB lighting.
The Alienware Aurora Ryzen Edition R10 comes with AMD’s latest and greatest processors, and it also features Nvidia’s latest RTX 3000 series graphics cards as well. This makes it an incredible performer when it comes to graphic design. Best of all, it comes in a range of configurations, so you can easily pick a model that best suits your needs and budget. This is also a great option for anyone who wanted an AMD-powered desktop over an Intel device, which is becoming more popular in recent years thanks to AMD’s phoenix-like rise from the ashes.
Alienware products usually tend to be quite expensive, but the Alienware Aurora Ryzen Edition R10 is very reasonably priced, and it has a brilliant build quality and design. This computer for graphic design is well worth the investment if you need a lot of power.
FAQs
Should I buy a desktop computer or laptop for graphic design?
Desktop computers may have fallen out of favour with general home and office users over recent years, but they still play an important role in industries and markets that require a lot of power. While there are some great laptops for graphic design out there that can help with your graphic design work, they generally can’t offer the same level of performance as desktop computers due to them needing to be thin, light and portable.
Desktop PCs don’t have to worry about that, and you can usually configure them more easily to accommodate your needs. They can also be more affordable than a laptop with comparable specifications, but because the best computers for graphic design need powerful components like cutting-edge processors graphics cards, don’t expect any of these PCs to be particularly cheap.
What specs does a desktop computer need to run graphic design software?
A desktop with a processor (CPU) that has four, six or more cores will run apps like Photoshop or Illustrator with ease, while at least 8GB of memory, 256GB of SSD storage and fast memory will help you work on multi-layered, high-resolution documents, without your system slowing you down.
A dedicated graphics card is also advantageous, but most graphic design applications won’t be as demanding on your system as tasks like 3D rendering. Opting for a gaming PC that’s packing a beefy Nvidia RTX 3080 GPU will certainly help (and enable you to use ray tracing-boosted features), but integrated graphics will do at a push.
Many of our models in the list abve have displays built-in – these are called all-in-one computers, often abbreviated to AIO’s – the iMac is a great example, with everything is inside one box. Increasingly PCs have also moved to this form factor, but one drawback is that these are not as upgradeable as a standard, tower desktop PC, so that’s still the best option for flexibility and overall performance.
Is Mac or PC better for graphic design?
The battle between Apple and PC fans has been raging for decades, but as far as which brand is ‘best’ at graphic design, each has their respective strengths. There are very capable Mac and PC solutions for a range of demanding requirements across the market, but what brand you align yourself with will ultimately boil down to a few personal preferences.
Microsoft PCs are typically much cheaper than Apple alternatives, and desktop towers are usually easy to upgrade which can greatly prolong the lifespan of your machine. For an especially beefy build, you can even opt for a gaming PC as they usually pack a powerful graphics card, more memory (RAM) and a capable processor from either Intel or AMD.
Apple devices on the other hand, while more expensive in some regions, are known for being high-quality and having a simple, easy-to-use operating system. Historically, many graphic designers have used iMac and Mac products because of the Apple ecosystem and simply because it was considered the industry standard for several years.
These days, there’s no clear winner (despite our choices on this top ten list) because both operating systems are well optimised to support your hardware and software needs. It’s easy to find a product to suit your needs across either OS so we recommend that if you have plenty of experience using either PC or Mac, stick to what you know unless you’re looking to diversify your skills across both brands.
How to choose a computer for graphic design
When it comes to choosing which computer is best for graphic design, there are several key things you’ll want to look out for, and these are the pillars that also inform which devices we include in the list above.
For starters, you’ll need a lot of powerful components to handle creative work. You’ll want a CPU with four, six or more cores to run creative software, as well as at least 246GB SSD storage and 8GB memory to speedily handle your files and programs. A dedicated graphics card isn’t a must-have unless you’re also doing more demanding tasks like 3D rendering, and so you can get away with an integrated graphics card; but ideally, go as powerful as you can to future-proof your device.
Some PCs included in our list above are integrated, all-in-one devices with a screen. You might not need that, or you might see it as a huge boon to reduce desk clutter.
Now you know what your dream computer for graphic design looks like, you’ll need to crash somewhat down to reality and address the elephant in the room; budget. Generally speaking, the best computers for graphic design will need beefy components, which come at a hefty price; but you can make the odd concession to bring the price down.
How we test computers for graphic design
We test computers thoroughly with graphic design in mind. That means we carry out real-world graphic design tasks in software such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign to see how quickly and efficiency each computer runs in practice. We also run benchmarking tests to measure CPU and GPU performance objectively, along with paying attention to the display in terms of colour reproduction and resolution and the keyboard in terms of comfort, ergonomics and functionality. For more details, see our article on How we test.
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