Are you a 2D/3D animator who’s looking for the best laptop for creating nice and impressive animations?
If you want to purchase a laptop where you could mix aesthetics, logic, storytelling, and creativity, then you’re definitely at the right place.
The laptops covered in this article contain the best specs from amazing RAM, dedicated GPUs to the best multi-core processors to help you in making complex 3D/2D animations. Well, not only they are highly fast but also lightweight and portable laptops.
Guaranteed – you can run both (2D and 3D) animation software and apps i.e., Maya, After Effects and Blender, etc to create the best visual content for yourself and for your clients. Without further ado, let’s find out what are the ten best laptops for animations (2D and 3D):
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What are the Ten Best Laptops for Animation(3D & 2D)?
Best hardware, sleekness, and impressive display capabilities make the best laptops for 2D and 3D animation. Therefore, we have clearly analyzed the best laptops for animators and graphic designers here. Plain simply, they are amazingly handy, and lightweight:
| 1 | GIGABYTE AERO 17 | View on Amazon |
| 2 | Lenovo ThinkBook 14S YOGA | View on Amazon |
| 3 | Acer Aspire 5 A515 | View on Amazon |
| 4 | Razer Blade 15 Base Gaming Laptop 2022 | View on Amazon |
| 5 | HP Pavilion x360 14” Touchscreen Laptop | View on Amazon |
| 6 | Dell XPS 13 9310 Touchscreen 13.4 inch | View on Amazon |
| 7 | HP 15 Laptop | View on Amazon |
| 8 | Dell Inspiron 13 5310 | View on Amazon |
| 9 | Acer Swift X SFX14-41G-R1S6 | View on Amazon |
| 10 | ASUS Chromebook Flip C433 2 in 1 Laptop | View on Amazon |
GIGABYTE AERO 17
| Standing screen display size | 17.3 Inches |
| Max Screen Resolution | 3840 x 2160 |
| Processor | 4.6 GHz Intel_Mobile_CPU |
| RAM | 16 GB DDR4 |
| Memory Speed | 4.6 GHz |
| Hard Drive | 1 TB SSD |
| Graphics Coprocessor | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 |
| Chipset Brand | NVIDIA |
| Card Description | Dedicated |
| Graphics Card Ram Size | 8 GB |
| Number of USB 3.0 Ports | 3 |
Let’s start off by knowing what are the top ten laptops for animations (2D/3D) by GIGABYTE AERO 17. This laptop for animation specialists and graphic designers tops our list because it is equipped with a few amazing features to make your digital life easier than ever. And, your creative journey as an animator will become more entertaining and full-of-creativity because you’ll get to use following features:
First, it has the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070: a graphics card with VRAM of 8GB GDDR6. Noiseless and well-engineered fans are what make this GPU stand out because they don’t heat up even when they hit 75 degree celsius temperature. On the flipside, it has a few drawbacks which can be turn-off i.e., it requires 650W power supply with extra power draw and this graphics processor is not enough for 4k – sadly. But, still, you’ll enjoy top-notch performance when you’re working on your most animation projects.
Second, it is packed with 11th Gen Intel Core i7-11800H – a CPU with clock speed of 2.3 GHz and turbospeed of 4.6 GHz. Altogether, this CPU is comparatively faster as compared to Intel Core i7 – 10750H to boost your productivity as 2D/3D Animators — Thanks to higher IPC, better efficiency and 2-extra cores of I7 – 11800H.
Third, you can use extendable 16GB memory with storage capacity of 1TB SSD which is more than enough for animation specialists. Whereas, you’ll be able to use a 17.3” Thin Bezel UHD 4K display in 3840×2160 screen resolution.
CPU Benchmark
GPU Benchmark
Pros
- Best Speed
- Impressive GPU
- Sleek and portable
Cons
- Expensive (costs more than $2000)
- Disappointing battery performance
Lenovo ThinkBook 14S YOGA
| Standing screen display size | 14 Inches |
| Screen Resolution | 1920 x 1080 |
| Max Screen Resolution | 1920 x 1080 Pixels |
| Processor | 2.4 GHz core_i5 |
| RAM | 8 GB DDR4 |
| Hard Drive | 256 GB ssd |
| Graphics Coprocessor | Intel Iris Xe Graphics |
| Chipset Brand | Intel |
| Wireless Type | Bluetooth |
Lenovo ThinkBook 14S YOGA is a simple yet highly reliable laptop for animation. Of course, you’ll have fun working creatively with this laptop for animation. Are you wondering why? Let’s look into its tech specs below:
- It is equipped with Intel Quad-Core Processor i5 – 1135G7 with 2.40 GHz turbo speed which is highly powerful with 2MB larger L3 cache size and so much more.
- This laptop comes with 8GB DDR4 RAM: It’s most appropriate for specialist animators.
- An extendable storage space with 256GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD that is helpful for professionals and students of animation as they have to download and store big files while they’re working on most important projects and assignments.
- Lenovo ThinkBook 14S YOGA comes with Intel Iris Xe graphics based on low-power architecture to help you in graphic designing and multitasking. Since it’s built with a deep-learning powered AI engine, you can create animations in a record time and can enhance videos/photos for maximum clarity.
- A screen display plays a mission-critical role in the world of animators and graphic designers because a right-fit screen helps them in optimizing the quality of visual content. That’s why; this laptop comes with a 14 inches touchscreen display with 1920 x 1080 screen resolution.
- CPU Benchmark
GPU Benchmark
Pros
- Comes with stylus pen
- Needs improvement in speakers
- Covered with Mineral Gray which is soothing to eyes
Cons
- Expensive
- Mediocre screen brightness
- Needs improvement in speakers
Acer Aspire 5 A515
| Standing screen display size | 15.6 Inches |
| Max Screen Resolution | 1920 x 1080 Pixels |
| Processor | 3.5 GHz ryzen_3 |
| RAM | 4 GB DDR4 |
| Memory Speed | 3.5 GHz |
| Hard Drive | 128 GB SSD |
| Chipset Brand | AMD |
| Card Description | Integrated |
| Wireless Type | Bluetooth |
| Number of USB 2.0 Ports | 1 |
| Number of USB 3.0 Ports | 3 |
| Average Battery Life (in hours) | 10 Hours |
Acer Aspire 5 A515 is an feature-filled laptop for animation where you get AMD Ryzen 3 3350U to deliver world-class performance with amazing battery life in a 3.99 lbs lightweight laptop. This laptop gets up to 3.5 GHz for your high-end apps with precision boost.
You’ll enjoy stunning visuals on a 15.6” FHD display with a 16:9 aspect ratio, 82.58% screen-to-body, and narrow bezels. This PC has a backlit and biometric fingerprint reader to keep this laptop for animation secure. As far memory is concerned, you will get 4GB DDR4 onboard memory with 1 slot available. Plus, it comprises a 128GB NVMe SSD to store your critical files and media.
It has a few other best features i.e., purified voice technology, improved digital signal processing for canceling out background noise, speech accuracy enhancer to make voice and video calls cleaner.
Advanced security features for protection against phishing, malicious software to make your online security intact when you navigate the internet or download apps or anything.
CPU Benchmark
GPU Benchmark
Pros
- WiFi 6
- USB 3.2 Type-C, two Type-C, two USB 3.3 Gen 1, USB 2.0, HDMI 2
- 10-hours battery life
- Backlit keyboard
- Slim, lightweight and travel-friendly
Cons
- Keypad is itchy
- Noise quality is not good
- CPU fan noise becomes annoying
Razer Blade 15 Base
| Standing screen display size | 15.6 Inches |
| Screen Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels |
| Max Screen Resolution | 1920 x 1080 Pixels |
| Processor | 2.6 GHz corei7_10750h |
| RAM | 16 GB DDR4 |
| Hard Drive | 512 GB SSD |
| Graphics Coprocessor | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 |
| Chipset Brand | NVIDIA |
| Card Description | Dedicated |
| Wireless Type | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth |
| Number of USB 3.0 Ports | 3 |
| Average Battery Life (in hours) | 6 Hours |
Razer Blade 15 comes fourth in our list of the top 10 laptops for animations. This PC is packed with everything to enhance your creativity to new heights and make your animations lively and engaging. It has an amazing GeForce 30 GPU to produce cutting-edge performance and that too in an ultra-compact 15” laptop. Professional animators look for laptops where they could enjoy not just long-lasting batteries but also an amazing processing power to keep them immersed in their creativity for long-haul without fear of a system crashing down or slow processing.
Like we’ve said — it comprises all the best features to keep you engaged in your work, so it does what it promises. You get to use 144Hz FHD thin display with upto 100% sRGB colors. And, you will enjoy your animation work more than ever. You will like a newly-added feature in Razer Blade 15 known as DLSS AI Acceleration: An AI rendering to boost frame rates to generate crystal-clear and uncompromised image quality through the use of dedicated AI processing on GeForce RTX.
You will use NVIDIA Reflex – a feature that measures and quickly optimizes system latency for flawless animation through the use of a suite of technologies. It comes with expandable memory (16GB RAM of 2933 MHZ dual-channel memory with 512GB PCIe SSD).
CPU Benchmark
GPU Benchmark
Pros
- Green Back-Lit Keyboard
- Very Fast
- Stylish and Slim
Cons
- Poor fans and thermal
- Serious Overheating issue
HP Pavilion x360 14” Touchscreen Laptop
| Standing screen display size | 14 Inches |
| Screen Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels |
| Max Screen Resolution | 1920 x 1080 Pixels |
| Processor | 4.2 GHz core_i5 |
| RAM | 12 GB DDR4 |
| Hard Drive | SSD |
| Graphics Coprocessor | Intel Iris Xe |
| Chipset Brand | Intel |
| Card Description | Integrated |
| Wireless Type | Bluetooth, 802.11ax |
| Average Battery Life (in hours) | 9 Hours |
HP Pavilion x360 14” Touchscreen Laptop comes fifth in our list of the best laptops for animation. This best laptop for animation gives your creations a vibrant display on 14” diagonal FHD in 1920×1080 screen resolution where multitouch is enabled.
Make your animation look stellar and impressive with Intel Core i5 – 1135G7:a processor that turns mediocrity into artistry. To add more versatility into your animation, Intel Iris Xe Graphics is hand-picked for this top laptop for professional animators and students of animation.
HP Pavilion offers you expandable memory with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD storage with long-lasting streaming power to keep you immersed for up to 8 hours and 15 minutes. On the other hand, you’ll enjoy fast charging around 50% in less than 45 minutes.
A laptop specially for Animation isn’t a complete package without good quality audio. So this laptop comes with built-in dual speakers and audio by B&O. As this world has become work-from-home friendly after the pandemic, you will enjoy using this laptop while working remotely on the most important projects.
CPU Benchmark
GPU Benchmark
Pros
- Portable
- Slim
- Good CPU
- Nice touch-screen but poor trackpad
Cons
- No fingerprint reader
- No backlit keyboard
- Noisy fans
Dell XPS 13 9310 Touchscreen 13.4 inch
| Standing screen display size | 13.4 Inches |
| Screen Resolution | 1920 x 1200 pixels |
| Max Screen Resolution | 1920 x 1200 Pixels |
| Processor | 3 GHz core_i7 |
| RAM | 16 GB LPDDR4 |
| Memory Speed | 4267 MHz |
| Hard Drive | 512 GB SSD |
| Graphics Coprocessor | Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics |
| Chipset Brand | Intel |
| Card Description | Intel Iris Xe Graphics |
| Wireless Type | Bluetooth |
Previously we’ve analyzed laptops for animation through the lens of CPU and GPU but we will start off reviewing Dell XPS 13 9310 Touchscreen 13.4 inch by its capability to deal with overheating. This animation and graphic designing laptop is known as a portable PC with a noticeable heating system.
In particular, it is built with advanced and well-engineered thermal design with heat pipes and dual-fans for best performance in every situation. This laptop is based on the latest Intel Dynamic tuning technology for highly adaptive performance with zero glitches.
It has a 13.4” Full HD display with 1920×1200 screen resolution, anti-reflective, InfinityEdge touch display. In order to provide best performance, it comes with the 11th generation Intel Core i7 – 1185G7 processor with a turbo speed of 4.8 GHz and 12MB Cache. Next, it comprises 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD (Solid State Drive) with 16GB 4267 MHz LPDDR4X memory. To sum up, these features make it a highly reliable laptop for animation and graphic designing.
CPU Benchmark
GPU Benchmark
Pros
- Lightweight
- Best travel laptop
- Good processing
- Useful for animation-related tasks
Cons
- No USB port
- Terrible noise
- Poor webcam quality
- Noisy fan
HP 15 Laptop
| Standing screen display size | 15.6 Inches |
| Screen Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels |
| Max Screen Resolution | 1920 x 1080 Pixels |
| Processor | 4.2 GHz core_i5 |
| RAM | 8 GB DDR4 |
| Hard Drive | SSD |
| Graphics Coprocessor | Intel Iris |
| Chipset Brand | Intel |
| Card Description | Integrated |
| Wireless Type | Bluetooth, 802.11ax |
| Average Battery Life (in hours) | 8 Hours |
HP 15 Laptop makes little details clear and bigger on 6.5 mm micro-edge bezel display with 82% screen-to-body ratio. Create animation of unparalleled quality with stunning and crisp visuals and level-up your entertainment for ultra-wide viewing angles and multi-monitor set-ups, anti-glare display on a 15.6” FHD.
A good processor for a laptop is as indispensable as carbon is to steal. A processing power has a mission-critical role to play in animation. No professional animator expects to sit idly because processing speed has slowed down while working on system-heavy software or apps due to any reason. So if you want to accomplish more in less time, this is the right laptop for you where the 11th Gen Intel Core i5 – 1135G7 processor enhances responsiveness and quality of animations.
If you are a freelance 2D/3D animator who’s working from home then this is the right laptop for you where you’ll get a fully integrated keyboard, MU-MIMO support for multi-device homes and HP True Vision 720p HD Camera to make your professional life incredibly best at your home.
Enjoy 256 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD that’s 15 times faster performance than a traditional HDD at HP 15. Thanks to 8 GB RAM for letting you enjoy high bandwidth for improved multitasking while you’re creating eye-catching and jaw-dropping animations.
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GPU Benchmark
Pros
- 3x fast file transfer speed
- WiFi 6 and Bluetooth Combo
- Lightweight and thin
- Fast processing
Cons
- No backlit keyboard
- Not upgradeable hard drive
- Problematic touch-screen
Dell Inspiron 13 5310
| Standing screen display size | 13.3 Inches |
| Screen Resolution | 2560 x 1600 pixels |
| Max Screen Resolution | 2560 x 1600 Pixels |
| Processor | 4.8 GHz core_i7 |
| RAM | 16 GB LPDDR4 |
| Memory Speed | 4267 MHz |
| Hard Drive | 512 GB SSD |
| Graphics Coprocessor | NVIDIA GeForce MX450 with 2GB GDDR6 |
| Chipset Brand | NVIDIA |
| Card Description | NVIDA GeForce MX450 |
| Graphics Card Ram Size | 2 GB |
| Wireless Type | Bluetooth |
| Number of USB 3.0 Ports | 2 |
At number eight, a laptop for animation which we’re going to discuss is Dell Inspiron 13 5310. Primarily, we’re going to start reviewing this personal computer from its awe-inspiring portability. Yes, you’ll enjoy its sleek and travel light body (1.25 kgs) with 13.3 inches.
Then, comes dual thermal heat pipes – a well-engineered cooling system with dual fans to prevent overheating. A well-engineered lift hinge design to improve air circulation and adaptive thermals to accommodate thermal profile to keep your laptop cool when you’re working for long hours.
To provide amazing performance, This laptop comes with 11th Gen Intel-Core i7-11370H processor with 12MB Cache, 4.8GHz to provide amazing performance, responsive, smooth and seamless multitasking experience. You will enjoy back and forth switching in apps – thanks to DDR4 memory and SSD storage. Plus, it comes with a 13.3” Full HD Screen with 2560×1600 resolution with anti-glare, narrow borders.
And, for superb graphics processing, it is equipped with NVIDIA GeForce MX450 that has 2 GB GDDR6 graphics memory along with 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD. Also, you will get Modern Standby feature to keep your device running and ready. This best laptop for animation comes with a power button and fingerprint reader to make your PC safe and secure. Both of them (power button and fingerprint reader) are fixed perfectly to align with the sleek look of a laptop and they work instantly in a single touch.
CPU Benchmark
GPU Benchmark
Pros
- Impressive graphics processor
- Backlit keyboard
- Fast boot-up
- Impressive battery life
Cons
- Heats up fast
- No touchscreen
- Poor quality integrated audio
Acer Swift X SFX14-41G-R1S6
| Standing screen display size | 14 Inches |
| Max Screen Resolution | 1920 x 1080 Pixels |
| Processor | 4.4 GHz amd_ryzen_7 |
| RAM | 16 GB LPDDR4 |
| Hard Drive | SSD |
| Chipset Brand | NVIDIA |
| Card Description | Dedicated |
| Graphics Card Ram Size | 4 GB |
| Wireless Type | 802.11ax |
| Number of USB 3.0 Ports | 3 |
| Average Battery Life (in hours) | 12 Hours |
Acer Swift X SFX14-41G-R1S6 is the best known laptop for an uncompromised battery life for ultimate performance. It is equipped with AMD Ryzen 7 5800U – a processor, with Zen 3 Core architecture – highly appropriate for ultra-thin laptops – so that you save time from all types of distractions.
For GPU, it has NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti – a laptop GPU, which comes with 4GB GDDR6 VRAM based on Ampere architecture with Tensor Cores, Ray Tracing Cores, and DirectX 12 supported streaming multiprocessors to enhance creativity, efficiency and productivity. Make your visuals truly appealing and take your content quality to next-level with 14” FHD, LED-backlit 100% sRGB display with 16:0 aspect ratio.
You’ll get 16GB LPDDR4X, 512GB NVMe SSD and Fingerprint Reader to keep your laptop safe and secure. This thin and lightweight laptop comes in metal design. It is the lightweight laptop (3.06) which you can carry anywhere and it comprises a powerful battery which gets charged very fast.
Long story short, if you want to use the best laptop for animation to optimize your creativity, sense of designing, and storytelling then this is the right platform for you to start off your professional career in a world of animation.
CPU Benchmark
GPU Benchmark
Pros
- DTS Audio with dual front-facing speakers for distortion-free and optimized bass response while streaming music and playback videos, etc
- USB Type-C Port USB 3.2 Gen 2 (over 10 Gbps), 2 USB 3.2 Gen 1, HDMI 2.0 with HDCP support
- Impressive for graphical performance
Cons
- Poor battery life
- No backlit keyboard
ASUS Chromebook Flip C433 2 in 1 Laptop
| Standing screen display size | 14 Inches |
| Max Screen Resolution | 1920 x 1080 Pixels |
| RAM | 8 GB |
| Memory Speed | 3.4 GHz |
| Hard Drive | 64 GB emmc |
In the tenth position, we have the ASUS Chromebook Flip C433 2 in 1 Laptop – The Best Laptop for 2D and 3D animation. And, believe you us – this laptop is highly-powered for top-notch and incalculably fast performance because it is powered with Intel Core m3-8100Y with 3.4 GHz turbo speed.
Since, it’s mandatory for animation specialists to run multiple software and apps, such as Autodesk Maya, Pencil2D, and Adobe Animate to make their work easy, therefore, this is the right-fit processing power to help you achieve your animation and graphic designing tasks in a record time.
It has FHD with a 360-degree hinge to flip touchscreen display in any mode from tent, table, and stand. As far as memory is concerned, it comes with 8GB LPDDR3 RAM, 64GB eMMC storage 2x USB Type-C, 1x Type-A ports with a backlit chiclet keyboard.
Its 14” touchscreen with 1920×1080 four-way NanoEdge display, highly narrow bezels – 5mm thin – to adjust the 14” screen into a 13” laptop. Impressive, isn’t it?
Long story short, you’ll get built-in virus protection, fast booting, automatic updating and so much more.
CPU Benchmark
GPU Benchmark
Pros
- Ultra-portable
- Lightweight
- Impressive CPU and GPU
Cons
- Poor battery life
- Problems with touch screen
- Bad speakers
Final Words – Best 10 Laptops for Animation (2D AND 3D)
This is the final part of the content. Thank you so much for making this far with us. It took in-depth research and unboxing of the best laptops for 2D/3D animation and, here, we came up with the best 10 laptops which we discussed in this article:
- GIGABYTE AERO 17
- Lenovo ThinkBook 14S YOGA
- Acer Aspire 5 A515
- Razer Blade 15 Base Gaming Laptop 2022
- HP Pavilion x360 14” Touchscreen Laptop
- Dell XPS 13 9310 Touchscreen 13.4 inch
- HP 15 Laptop
- Dell Inspiron 13 5310
- Acer Swift X SFX14-41G-R1S6
- ASUS Chromebook Flip C433 2 in 1 Laptop
As a matter of fact, they may vary in specs but these laptops won’t disappoint you when it comes to optimizing creativity and storytelling. Finally, our personal favorite laptop is GIGABYTE AERO 17; which one is yours?
