Top 10 Best Laptops for Animation in 2023 for 2D/3D/VFX

If you are searching for the best laptop for animation, you have landed on the right page. Are you in the process of buying a laptop for 2D and 3D animation? Then it is critical to understand first what animation is? Animation is an art of creating an illusion of movement through the moving frames. The animations become close to life when 2D or 3D effects are added to the creations. But now, it is no longer a complicated thing. With a little practice using electronic devices like laptops, anyone can become an animator. Many software are being used all over the world that can make the work even easier. Before purchasing a laptop, it is important to know that what is needed in the machine to make it the best laptop for animators.

Is there any Laptop made only for the purpose of animation?

The answer to your question is “NO”. If any such laptop was manufactured, then it wouldn’t have been called a laptop but it would have been named like some animator device. Actually, animation software is available in the market that works on a laptop with excellent configuration.

This article is mainly for a new animator who is looking out for a 2D-3D animation laptop in the year 2023. You have to be very selective and calculative while making this major investment.

Basics about 2D and 3D Animation

Let’s get your basics clear about 2D-3D animation laptop before getting into laptop configuration details.

The real-world objects or still pictures are depicted in such a way through animation that it creates an illusion of movement. You can find different graphics software used to create 2d and 3d animation. In order to successfully use such software to create an illusion of continuous movements; you need a laptop with an excellent configuration.

What are the features required in a laptop that supports animation?

• A versatile laptop can make it easy for you to run the required application.
• Check the screen size of a laptop and if you need the portable product then the 14-inch screen can be good for you.
• What kind of storage system you need, SSD or Hard Drive? Look for the laptop according to your answer to this question.
• Check the battery life of the laptop. Generally, 7 to 8 hours of battery life is an ideal choice for the audience.
• It is important to look out for the storage drive performance and the speed of the CPU.
• Search for the laptop that comes with the 4 GB RAM and if your budget allows you to spend more than you can even lookout for the 8 GB RAM laptop.
• If you want more content on your screen with the sharper look then check out the pixels. If the display is good then animation act can become interesting.
• Look out for the integrated graphics chip that can support 2D and 3D animation.
• Check out the laptop ports so that you can easily get different connections.
• Usually, animators make use of the quad-core or dual-core processor.

The Top 10 Best Laptops for Animation

If you are an animator planning to buy a new laptop, then choose from the following laptops that are suitable for animators in the market:

New Apple MacBook Pro, 8-core i9, 512GB SSD

The artists highly appreciate Mac Book Pro for its outstanding performance in 3D animations and several types of visual effects. The highly advanced features make it a great machine for the animators who consider it as the best laptop for animators. The latest model comes with the 9th Gen 8-core powerful i9 processor that can handle anything for the next 5 years. As usual, the price is on the higher side. If the animation work is your bread and butter, then investing in the solid hardware will pay you back well in the future.

Features

• The screen size is 15-inch retina display with True Tone
• Get a screen resolution of 2880 by 1800 pixels.
• Dedicated 4GB display card from Radeon which is good enough for animation work.
• You can find more than 5 million pixels for the retina display.
• It has the latest 9th Gen 8-Core i9 Processor.
• Get 802.11ac Wi-Fi, user-facing web camera and 5.0 Bluetooth.
• This Apple MacBook has 16 GB RAM that can be upgraded up to 32GB.
• The hard drive with the flash memory solid state is of 512 GB.
• It has 10 hours of battery life.

Note: It has no optical drive and is also not upgradeable.

MSI Stealth (Best Windows laptop for Animation)

Looking for a classy and efficient laptop? Here we present you a masterpiece that will bring wonders in your gaming world. The graphics provided in this laptop is the real charm. The silky glass touchpad will let you smoothly control and operate everything. You are all set to play games without worrying about the storage space. Moreover, your laptop won’t heat up too quickly now. Feel free to use it.

Features

• The processor is Intel Core i7-8750H 2. 2 – 4. 1GHz.
• The graphics provided by the laptop are NVIDIA GeForce RTX2080 8G Max-Q GDDR6.
• Its maximum memory is 32GB.
• For cooling, it has the 3 fans, 4 exhausts, and 7 copper heat pipes.
• The storage of 512GB NV Me SSD.
• It has a silky glass touchpad, MSI App and a slimmer power adapter.
• The display size is 17.3 inches.

ASUS Ultra Slim Gaming PC Laptop

Expert craftsmanship is required to bring such products into the market. It is so beautifully crafted with extraordinary features that you won’t be able to take your eyes off. Apart from the smooth display, it has an 8th-generation Intel Core processor. Having your laptop for animation is no longer a dream now.

Here is the list of features that make it worth the investment:

Features:

• It has a display of 15.6”.
• 3ms response time.
• The processor is an 8th-generation Intel Core i7 8750H.
• A magnesium alloy body with a premium cover. 0.62″ thin and 4.6 lbs.
• It has a Rog active Aerodynamic system. (AAs)
• This Laptop has anti-dust tunnels and 12V fans.
• Customizable ASUS Aura RGB keyboard with 4 zones.
• RAM of 16 GB DDR4.

MSI 15.6″ GE63 Raider

Are you interested in a good laptop but can’t afford one? Not a problem now. Here, we present you a version of MSI laptops at a reasonable price. Providing you with all the excellent features you ever desired. To give you more confidence, we have listed down some of the features.

Your animations have more detail and depth with its specifications that are listed below:

Features:

• It has an Intel Core i7-8750H processor with a speed of 2.2GHz.
• 16GB RAM, Wireless-AC WLAN 2×2 Gigabit + Bluetooth 5.0
• This Laptop has a display of 15.6″.
• 2x 3W Giant Speakers.
• Wireless compatibility of 802.11ac.
• Intel processor.
• Its screen resolution is 1920×1080 pixels.
• It has a 1TB 72000RPM Hard Drive and a 256GB NVMe solid-state drive.

Razer Blade 15

Tired of the big laptops? We can see it. Let’s have a look at one of the world’s smallest laptops. You no longer have to carry the large laptops. Using a compact laptop with ultra-powerful features is in trend now. If you are an animator, then we highly recommend you get your hands on this laptop. This will not only give you comfort but ultra-speed and power. Moreover, you will fall in love with its look. It is so perfectly designed at an affordable price.

Features of the laptop

• A display of 15.6″ 60Hz.
• Thin and compact.
• Durable CNC aluminum body.
• It has an 8th generation Intel Core i7-8750H 6-core processor.
• Efficient cooling system with gaming mode power boost.
• It has NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q design graphics.

HP 17.3″ HD+ SVA WLED-Backlit Notebook

HP always considers building a laptop with good specs at a fair price. So does this HP 17.3” notebook. It is power-packed with several features that animators find lucrative. We are here to help you out by introducing you to the backlit notebook laptop for your animation projects. The very first thing that will catch your attention is its color. It is available in silver, which gives it a classy and professional look. It is on the list of best laptops for animation due to its amazing features.

Features of the laptop:

• It has an 8th-generation Intel Core i5 Quad-core processor.
• It has a 17.3-inch display with an SVA Bright view WLED.
• This Laptop has a 16GB of Intel Optane memory.
• It has an island-style keyboard.
• Its operating system is Windows 10 Home.
• The computer’s memory size is 8GB.
• Efficient wireless connectivity.

Microsoft Surface Book 2 (Under $1000)

One of the best and the most loved laptops for animation is the Microsoft Surface Book 2. The beginners love this system for their 2D and 3D animation. It has various models, but you can get the basic model that is good enough for animation. Easily, it can be converted into a tablet. The battery life is awe-inspiring, it can work up to 17 hours of video playback.

Listed are the features that will help you know what you get along with it:

Features:

• The fast Intel Core i5 gives you an amazing animation experience
• Pre-installed Windows 10 Pro operating system
• Incredibly portable at 3.38 pounds, making it simple to carry to places
• Integrated display, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD Storage

Acer Predator Helios 300 (9th Gen)

With ‘Helios 300 gaming laptop’, Acer tried to bag the low-budget users that are looking for a quality laptop with speed, good graphics, and long battery life.

The latest version of Acer predator Helios 300 has a 9th gen Intel i7 6 Core processor that can boost up to 4.5GHz. The one thing that impresses most animators and gamers is its NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti graphics with 6GB dedicated GDDR5 VRAM for better graphics performance.

Apart from the great graphics performance, it comes with 256GB SSD storage. Acer is keen to provide an extra slot for a 2.5-inch hard drive or SSD. The 16GB of RAM and 15.6-inch full HD IPS display make this laptop a high-performing machine that delivers a little bit of everything that an animator needs.

Below are features that make this device worth buying.

Features:

• Display – 15.6-inch full HD IPS screen with 144Hz refresh rate and 1920×1080 pixel resolutions.
• Processor – 9th generation Intel Core i7 with 6 core (up to 4.5GHz)
• Graphics – NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 6GB VRAM
• RAM – 16GB DDR4
• Hard Drive – 256GB SSD (1 empty slot for 2.5-inch hard drive or SSD)
• Backlit Keyboard

Microsoft Surface Pro 6

Another Microsoft laptop in this list is the Microsoft Surface Pro 6 which is another worthy buy. It is the best for beginners who are still learning and do not want to spend a lot on the laptop. It has all the basic features that an animator looks for in a laptop for 2D and 3D animation. You can choose the processor type, disk capacity, and RAM size while buying. Since the upgrade is not possible later, get the best model at first.

Check out the list of features below to know why it is worth buying for your animation needs.

Features:

• It is stocked with the latest 8th Gen processor, Intel Core i5
• Ample storage for beginners with 8GB memory and a 256GB solid-state drive plus a microSD slot
• Laptop cum tablet so animation experience made simpler
• Working throughout the day made comfortable with the 12.3″ PixelSense touch screen with 2736 x 1824 resolution
• Easy portability with item weight being 1.74 lbs
• 13.5 hours of video play battery life

Razer blade stealth

This is a lightweight laptop from Razer that is built for gaming purposes but it has good specs that can work for animators too.

Apart from all these features, what makes it stand out is its 11-hour battery life. When we couple it with its ultraportable weight, it becomes a handy tool to carry anywhere. Animators who love to travel should consider buying this laptop.

Features

• Display – 13.3-inch full HD screen with 1920×1080 pixels resolution.
• Processor – 8th gen Intel Core i7-8565U
• RAM – 16GB
• Hard Drive – 256 GB SSD (Upgradable)
• Graphics – NVIDIA MX150 4GB GDDR5 VRAM
• Connectivity – 2 USB 2.0, 2 USB 3.0 ports
• Weight – 2.89 pounds
• Battery life – Up to 11 hrs

FAQs

What are the best laptops for animation and VFX?

Here are the basic requirements to have most of the VFX software.

• Windows 10, 8 or Windows 7 and Mac OS X 10.9 higher versions
• 64-bit of Intel or AMD Multi-core processor. Intel Core i5 or higher processor type is recommended.
• Minimum 4GB RAM, 8GB is recommended. We suggest for 16GB RAM
• Dedicated display card
• SSD disk for faster disk process.

By considering these above points, we recommend the following laptops.

New Apple MacBook Pro
MSI Stealth
Razer Blade 15
Acer Predator Helios 300
Microsoft Surface Pro 6

What MacBook is best for animation?

We suggest the new MacBook Pro 16-inch for better performance while doing animation and VFX work. It has a powerful processor, 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD. The larger screen is an added advantage compared to 13-inch MacBook Pro.

How much RAM do I need for animation?

As we mentioned earlier, 8GB is recommended by most of the programs. But having 16GB RAM can boost the performance of your work. While buying the laptop, at least make sure that the memory is upgradable and free memory slot available.

Do I need to dedicated display card for animation?

We highly recommend that. Animation and rendering software utilize the GPU of the computer. Having a dedicated powerful display card can easily handle this request. Even you can go for a basic dedicated display card instead of high-end graphics cards. High-end cards may require for extensive work of VFX and animation. You need to choose this part wisely depending on the scope of work you will be doing on your laptop.

The conclusion of Best Laptop for Animators

This updated list in the year 2023 of the 10 best laptops for animators is just a glimpse. The animators can look forward to many options that can ensure quality work in the world of 2D animations and 3D animations. It all depends upon the vigilance of the user what he chooses and how he chooses. Instead of getting impressed by merely the brand name and the price tag, you must look into the characteristics and features of the laptops available and then get the best available option.