The best laptop for animation

The best laptops for animation need to have enough power for animation software and a display that allows you to see the details of what you're working on. Though this used to mean a bulky device or even desktop PC, nowadays there are sleek, versatile laptops to choose from that can save some desk space and offer more portability.

We've tested and reviewed every laptop on this list, putting them through their paces with extensive benchmark testing. The power, performance, battery life and display are just a few of the criteria we test against – so you can be sure you're in safe hands. Read our how we test laptops page for more information, and we also have some more insight into the best laptop for animation at the bottom of this article. 

Every laptop on this page can run the best animation software, including After Effects, Blender, Maya and more, but will differ in terms of cost, screen size and other important features. If you want something to see to your drawing needs, check out our picks of the best drawing tablets for animation, or alternatively branch out to other creative endeavours with one of the best laptop for graphic design or best laptops for game development.

The Quick List

The best laptop for animation in full

The best laptop for animation overall

We found the latest MacBook Pro 16 to be a beast of a laptop. With the M3 Max configuration that we tested, it was able to handle high-end animation programmes with ease. With up to 128GB RAM, 16-core CPU and 40-core GPU, there is an option for even the most performance-hungry animator. We tested it Cinema 4D, Blender and DaVinci Resolve, and projects felt super smooth.

The display is also wonderful for any kind of creative work , with excellent colour accuracy, brightness and contrast. Our own tests vouched for Apple's claim that the brightness of 1000 nits can be taken up to 1600 nits for HDR content, and we found the brightness enough to overcome glare throughout our testing.

Whether you are working on a short animation film, or find yourself rendering an 8K animation sequence for a major studio, we think the MacBook Pro M3 Pro, and in particular the M3 Max, is the best portable computer you could ask for today. Read our full MacBook Pro M3 review for the full lowdown.

The best Windows laptop for animation

We think Asus managed something quite special with its ProArt Studiobook OLED (H7604) laptop. It's packed with high-end components but stays cool and composed almost at all times. If you want to be able to do run your heavy workloads without worrying that your laptop is going to melt, Asus’s device will be very attractive. Our reviewer found it was easily powerful enough to cope with the demands of 3D animation.

Meanwhile the touchscreen OLED display is bright and hit 100% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut in our tests, making this another option for colour-accurate work. We also liked the built-in dial that sits above the trackpad. This can be customised to change its role depending on which app you’re running, and, once we got used to it being there, we found it useful for things like scrubbing through a timeline or tweaking brush sizes. With all that going for it, the ProArt Studiobook OLED is the laptop to go for if you’re not a fan of Apple’s MacBooks. Read our full Asus ProArt Studiobook OLED review for more details.

The best compact laptop for animation

Good things often come in small packages, and that’s never been truer than with the Dell Precision 5470 laptop. It may not have the expansive display of the 16-inch MacBook Pro, but this 14-inch parcel comes loaded with a huge amount of power for its compact frame. In fact, our testing put its performance close to that of a 14-inch MacBook Pro with Apple’s M2 Pro chip, convincing our reviewer, who is a self-confessed Apple obsessive.

While the screen is smaller, the 16:10 aspect ratio makes the most of the space with a little extra height than a standard 16:9, and every bit counts for cramped animation software interfaces. Our testing confirmed solid colour accuracy. 

The laptop also gave us a reasonable 12 hours of battery life in our testing. And it’s all wrapped up in a superbly well-made chassis that feels well-built and exudes quality. So if you want power and but need portability, Dell’s offering could be what you're after.

The best budget laptop for animation

Looking for a slightly more affordable option? MacBook Airs aren't as powerful as MacBook Pros, but the newest 2023 models aren't far off thanks to the use of M3 chips. The 15-inch model is a particularly attractive since it has a larger screen (although not as large or as bright as that of the M3 Pro MacBook Pro 16 at the top of our list). 

And despite the size, it's incredibly slim and light, which makes it very portable for a 15-inch device – It weighs just 1.51kg. The lack of a fan can mean that it runs hot, and there's a scarcity of ports too, with just 2x Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

We have yet to finish our full review of the 2024 M3 MacBook Air 15, but our first impression is that it's a solid iterative update on the M2 MacBook Air 15 from 2023, which we described as the perfect laptop for creatives in our 4.5-star review.

The best larger laptop for animation

Gaming laptops can be good options for animation too, and we found the Razer Blade 17 to be an excellent option for a larger 17-inch screen, which provides more space for those animating without an external monitor. It combines Razer's well-known build quality with powerful mobile components money in the form of the Intel 12th generation of processors, along with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti laptop GPU.

This is the most powerful GPU you can get in a laptop without spending a seriously huge amount of money, and we found that even the most complicated and detailed 3D animations run brilliantly. You can also add realistic lighting effects with ray tracing, taking animations to a whole other level.

It's very expensive, but for your money you're getting some of the best mobile tech available. Combined with a great build quality and stunning 17-inch screen, this is a brilliant creative workstation for people who need a lot of power. For people doing 2D animations for the web, however, it may be overkill. Read our Razer Blade 17 review for more information.

The best dual screen laptop for animation

The Asus Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED packs powerful components with a Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and could easily handle animation projects in our tests. The 14-core processor and 32GB of RAM also means this is an absolute beast when it comes to multitasking, which can seriously speed up your animation workflow. 

However, the most eye-catching feature of the Asus Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED is its dual-screen setup – the upgraded 2024 model houses two two 14in 2880x1800 120Hz OLED screens, as opposed to a smaller one over the keyboard as with the last model. That second screen gives you space to put apps and tools, so your main screen isn't interrupted. Because you can draw on the second screen with a stylus.

The battery life is much improved with this iteration – we got over 12 hours of use with one screen on. The second screen sucks up battery faster but it's not unreasonable so as long as you're near a plug point at some point in the day.

Read more in our Asus Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED (2024) review.

How to choose the best laptop for animation

Choosing the best laptop for animation for you will depend upon what type of animation, how you work and your budget. We've tested the laptops above for use with animation software, but some are more geared to professionals while others provide more portability or better value. All have the minimum requirements of a modern processor and at least 8GB of RAM (most can be configured higher than that, and would recommend going for 16GB if your budget allows it).

With the increasing popularity of GPU render engines like Redshift and Octane, you should also think about whether you will be using your GPU or CPU to render animations. For CPU rendering, you want to look for a high clock speed so the machine can animate in real time and handle the complex calculations needed to render animations.

For more complex 3D animations, you’re probably better off using your GPU, and so we’d suggest looking at laptops with a dedicated graphics card - especially if you’re going to be attempting final-quality rendering. While these will inevitably be more expensive, the drastic impact it will have on the speed of your workflow is well worth the investment.

How we tested the best laptops for animation

We have tested all the laptops in this guide hands on. We run a series of benchmark tests on each device to measure power and performance, including:

• Cinebench R23/2024 - this assesses the performance of a computer's CPU and GPU using real-world 3D rendering tasks

• Geekbench 5/6 - this tests the CPU's processing power, both by using a single core for a single task at a time as well as all the CPU's core to see its ability to multitask

• PCMark 10 - this test assesses a computer’s ability to run all everyday tasks from web browsing to digital content creation, testing app launch speeds, running drawing and animation software, performing 3D rendering, and it also tests its battery life

As well as technical benchmarking, we evaluate machines in real-world situations, using animation software such as Adobe Animate and AutoDesk Maya and also pushing them to the limit with multiple applications running to see how they perform in demanding conditions. We evaluate power, speed, display, design and build as well as value. For more details, see our article on How we test.

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