Laptops come in many different screen sizes and choosing the right one can help you get your work done without struggling to see everything on the screen. Knowing which one is best suited for the type of work that you need to do can get tricky at times if you don’t know what you’re looking for, which is where we come in.

Choosing a great 17-inch laptop shouldn’t be a life or death struggle and to help we wanted to share our choices for the best 17-inch laptops for graphic designers & artists. Before we get to our list though, we should start with some questions you should consider before buying such a large laptop.

 

How to Buy A Large-Screen Laptop

Not everyone needs a laptop with such a large screen but if you’re someone who needs the whole picture to do your work, a small laptop isn’t going to get the job done. You’re looking for a laptop that can replace a desktop PC and still gives you a great view of your workspace and the ones that do this best comes with a 17-inch screen that while easy on your eyes as a 17-inch display is easily able to display in full HD or 1080p resolution and can also provide better resolutions including 4K.

What is the Difference Between 15-inch and a 17-inch Laptop

Screen size is always a consideration while looking for a laptop. It has a role in the performance of laptops. If you are a person who needs to carry your laptop from one place to another, a laptop with a 15-inch screen will be more beneficial. The 17- inch screen needs more space to be placed. 

Even though a 17-inch laptop needs more space, it provides a wide view of the screen. The large screen is more efficient in watching movies, streaming, and gaming tasks than a 15-inch. It also helps in graphical works. It also has better cooling systems. 

Is Bigger Better Though?

For every positive, there is, of course, a negative. With a 17-inch laptop, you’re not likely to find an option that is going to be light and slim. These tend to be pretty bulky and you’ll likely need a laptop bag that’s made specifically for the extra size and weight that these comes with.

The average weight of these laptops is around seven pounds so portability may be limited. If you’re flying, these laptops are more than likely to end up as checked baggage. The battery life of these laptops are the kind you can’t have off the AC adapter for more than a few hours at maximum. This is because the components inside use a lot of power to operate and can easily drain the battery.

Best 17-inch Laptops for Graphic Designers

1. Dell XPS 17 9700 —  Best overall 17″ laptop (Editor’s Choice)
2. LG Gram 17 — Best value 17″ laptop
3. MacBook Pro — Best apple large screen laptop
4. Acer Predator Helios 500 — Desktop computer similar to a laptop
5. Alienware Area-51m — Best graphic design and gaming laptop for professionals
6. Alienware 17 R5 — Affordable Alienware laptop
7. Razer Blade Pro 17 — Great workstation
8. HP Omen 17 — Monster gaming budget laptop for creatives
9. Asus ROG Zephyrus S GX701 — Thin and lightweight laptop
10. Asus TUF Gaming FX705DT — Budget 17″ laptop
11. HP ZBook 17 G5 — Best 17-inch workstation
12. Lenovo ThinkPad P73 — Best 17-inch laptop for freelancers
13. GIGABYTE AERO 17 HDR XD — Best portable laptop
14. MSI GE75 Raider — Graphics power in a premium chassis
15. Dell Precision 7730 — Ultimate workstation

Also see our full list of the best laptops for graphic designers.

You may also need a monitor to hook up to, so be sure to check out the best monitors for graphic designers and the best 5k & 8k monitors.

 

How to Choose the Best 17-inch Laptop

Processor

The maximized performance of the laptop is directly dependent on the power of the processor. Professionals always seek a laptop with a strong processor for multitasking. A strong processor is useful in running multiple software, applications, and other tasks like graphic designing. Core i9 is an example of one of the best processors. 

Graphics 

GPU is a graphic processing unit that is responsible for showing videos, pictures, or games on the display of the laptop. It is one of the important factors for gaming, 3D graphic rendering, video editing, animation, etc. Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 2080 Super is one of the best examples of Graphics that support multi-tasks and improve performance. 

Storage 

Professionals like graphic designers often chose laptops with 16 GB to 32 GB RAM. It will provide better performance and help in multitaskings. Dell XPS 17 is one example of a laptop with 32GB RAM. 

Screen Resolution

It is always necessary to have a high screen resolution, but most industry models have a low resolution which affects the view. It is always good to have a laptop with a display of 1920 x 1080 or higher resolution, especially for graphic designers. This is because it enhances the view while editing or working seamlessly.

 

What is the Best 17″ Laptop for Graphic Design?

Dell XPS 17 9700 is the best 17″ laptop for graphic design. Check out the table to see a comparison of the other best 17″ laptops for graphic design and choose what fits best for your needs.

Protect your gear from electronic power surges with best surge protector –  check out our list of the best surge protectors.

 

Top 17″ Laptops for Graphic Design

1. Dell XPS 17 9700 (Editor’s Choice)

Best overall 17″ laptop

CPU: Core i9-11900H | Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 | RAM: 32GB | Screen: 17 inch | Storage: 1TB SSD

Dell XPS 17 is a serious upgrade from XPS 15 and is a great portable laptop with a brilliantly designed edge-to-edge display. It offers excellent power on the gaming and multitasking front, with amazing audio and a comfy-to-use keyboard.

The Core i9-11900H processor and RTX 2060 graphics card give this beast wings. With fingerprint reader and Iris webcam, it has adequate security to keep your work secure. All in all, it is a perfect pick for graphic designers, 3D editors, creatives, gamers, providing a seamless and super-fast experience, thanks to 32GB RAM.

Pros	Cons
➕ Sleek aluminum body	➖ Pricey
➕ Four Thunderbolt 3 ports and SD card reader available	➖ Lacks USB-A ports
➕ Great audio quality	➖ Not an impressive webcam

 

Latest Price on Amazon:

 

2. LG Gram 17

The best overall 17-inch laptop

CPU: 8th-generation Intel Core i7 Processor (i7-8565u) | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620 | RAM: 16GB | Screen: 17 inch WQXGA (2560 x 1600) IPS display | Storage: 1TB NVMe SSD

The name of LG’s laptop should be a dead giveaway as to the manufacturer’s focus when it comes to its overall design of the Gram. Designed to be a thin and lightweight laptop but still provide an amazing 17-inch display, the Gram succeeds with a laptop that weighs under three pounds and a little over an inch thick.

Inside its thin design, LG makes sure that you get your money’s worth with an 8th-generation Intel Core processor and an Intel UHD Graphics 620 card, giving you enough performance to handle many of the things you do daily. The combination of thin design and powerful components makes this one of the best overall laptops available now.

Pros	Cons
➕ Surprisingly light for 17 inch laptop	➖ High price
➕ Great battery life	➖ Reflective screen
➕ Big screen

 

Latest Price on Amazon:

 

3. MacBook Pro

Apple’s best large screen laptop

CPU: 9th-generation Intel Core i7 – i9 | Graphics: AMD Radeon Pro 5300M – Radeon Pro 5500M | RAM: 16GB – 64GB | Screen: 16-inch Retina display with True Tone | Storage: 512GB – 8TB SSD

While technically not 17 inches, the 16-inch MacBook Pro from Apple is their closet offering and it is still one of their best laptops although it may not be the newest (see 13″ Macbook Pro).

Even at a size of 16 inches, the MacBook Pro comes with a thin, light, and sleek design that contradicts its size. That extra size gives you extra real estate to create incredible designs on a stunning display that is just the beginning of the latest and greatest components that Apple has to offer inside.

For content creators, designers, or any other creative professional, the MacBook Pro is easily the best MacBook out there as it also has a set of amazing speakers and a great keyboard to go along with it.

Pros	Cons
➕ It is fast	➖ Expensive
➕ It has a great screen	➖ The display is not 4K
➕ Touchbar is a plus	➖ A little heavier
➕ Improved keyboard and speakers

 

Latest Price on Amazon:

 

4. Acer Predator Helios 500

A desktop computer masquerading as a laptop

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 2700 | Graphics: AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 | RAM: 16GB | Screen: 17.3″ Full HD (1920 x 1080) LED-backlit IPS display supporting Radeon FreeSync | Storage: 256GB

The Helios 500 from Acer is a bit of mystery. From the outset, it looks like almost any other high-end gaming laptop with its overall design but the inside components make it seem like its a high-powered desktop.

An AMD Ryzen 7 processor and AMD Radeon RX Vega graphics card power this laptop through anything you can put it through. While the storage it comes with is a little lower than other options on our list, the laptop has enough connectivity options to use external storage or you can add another hard drive for which Acer provides the tools to do so.

Overall, the performance of this laptop offers a great experience at an affordable price.

Pros	Cons
➕ Bright FHD pane	➖ Battery life is not good
➕ Low GPU temperature even at exceptionally high frequencies	➖ Material and rigid for the price range
➕ 144 Hz G-Sync panel	➖ Pricey

 

Latest Price on Amazon:

 

5. Alienware Area-51m

The best graphic design & gaming machine for creative professionals

CPU: Intel Core i7-9700 – i9-9900K | Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 – RTX 2080 | RAM: 16GB – 64GB | Screen: 17.3-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,080) 60Hz Anti-Glare IPS – 144Hz IPS Nvidia G-Sync | Storage: 1TB SSHD – 2TB RAID0 SSDs + 1TB SSHD

Alienware is known for being a great manufacturer of laptops for gamers and this includes their 17-inch model which is one of the best options on the market in our opinion. With a great build and wonderful design, the components inside make it not only a great gaming laptop but also a great option for any creative professional.

Packed with an Intel Core i9 processor along with a GeForce RTX 2080 plus 64GB of RAM offer more than enough power for any graphic design, photo or video editing work. As with any Alienware product, you can upgrade the GPU or CPU to make the laptop future-proof for years and years of work.

Pros	Cons
➕ Great design	➖ Lacks MicroSD Card Slot
➕ Excellent performance and graphics	➖ Expensive
➕ Speedy SSDs

 

Latest Price on Amazon:

 

6. Alienware 17 R5

An Alienware laptop with an affordable price

CPU: Intel Core i7 i7-8750H | Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 with 6GDDR5 VRAM | Screen: 17.3″ IPS FHD (1920 x 1080) display; Energy-efficient LED backlight | Storage: 1 TB SSD

While it’s not the newest Alienware option on the market, the Alienware 17 R5 still holds a great place among its competition. While it can be a little bit more difficult to find, if you can find one, you’ll find an 8th-generation i7 processor, Nvidia GTX graphics card along with 8GB of RAM plus a 17-inch IPS display and a terabyte of solid-state drive storage.

All this hardware would normally cost a lot of money but you can find this great laptop for significantly less than it cost when it was first released. If you’re a fan of Alienware but not a fan of their price, this may be a good option for you.

Pros	Cons
➕ Great graphics performance	➖ Hefty
➕ High refresh rate	➖ Battery life is not great
➕ Great audio

 

Latest Price on Amazon:

 

7. Razer Blade Pro 17

A great workstation inside a gaming laptop wrapper

CPU: 9th Gen Intel Core i7 6-Core Processor | Graphics: NVIDIA RTX 2080 Max-Q | Screen: 17.3″ FHD 240Hz matte display | Storage: 512GB NVMe SSD – 1TB NVMe SSD

Many people look at gaming laptops and think that they could never be used for anything other than that. This is the case with the Blade Pro 17 from Razer, a great laptop that is much more than a gaming laptop. The Blade has enough power inside to deliver an amazing performance of a workstation making it one of the best 17-inch laptops on our list.

While the price may keep many people from choosing it, those that do will find a great laptop that will provide a great experience for many years.

Pros	Cons
➕ Slim, premium design	➖ Tend to run warm
➕ Solid gaming performance	➖ Noisy fans
➕ Fast 300 Hz refresh rate	➖ No Optimus or G-Sync
➕ Great speakers

 

Latest Price on Amazon:

 

8. HP Omen 17

A monster gaming laptop affordable enough for creatives

CPU: 9th Generation Intel Core i7-9750h Processor | Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 | Screen: 17.3-Inch diagonal FHD IPS WLED-backlit edge-to-edge display (1920 x 1080) with 144Hz refresh rate) | Storage: 512 GB SSD

The HP Omen 17 is an incredible machine, even if the design may not be for everyone. Designed to be a powerful gaming laptop, the Omen is packed full of great components including a 9th-generation Intel Core processor along with an Nvidia GeForce RTX which provides you with a ton of power and performance for all of your design work.

All of this is wrapped up in an affordable package. While many may just see a gaming machine, those who see beneath its exterior will find a high-quality laptop that is perfect for just about anyone.

Pros	Cons
➕ Strong CPU performance	➖ Plastic chassis
➕ Bright display (144-Hz)	➖ Bad battery life
➕ Decent keyboard

 

Latest Price on Amazon:

 

9. Asus ROG Zephyrus S GX701

A big-screen laptop with a thin and light design

CPU: Intel Core i7 | Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 – RTX 2080 Max-Q | RAM: 8GB – 24GB | Screen: 17.3-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,080) 144Hz panel with G-Sync | Storage: 512GB – 2TB SSD

The problem with 17-inch laptops is that their size can be equally matched by their bulkiness and weight. This isn’t the case with the GX701 from Asus.

The highly portable design doesn’t skimp on the items on the inside of its slim case. Starting with an Intel Core i7 processor and backed up by a GeForce RTX and 8GB of RAM, the layout of the GX701 provides you with more than enough performance for any photo or video editing work that you may need to do.

Although the battery life isn’t the best and its price can set you back a bit, the overall package of the GX701 is more than worth it.

Pros	Cons
➕ Great gaming performance	➖ Poor battery life
➕ G-Sync display	➖ Lacks LAN port
➕ Well designed, compact and light

 

Latest Price on Amazon:

 

10. Asus TUF Gaming FX705DT

The best affordable 17-inch laptop

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3550H | Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 | RAM: 8GB | Screen: 17.3-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,080) IPS-level NanoEdge | Storage: 512GB SSD

When you look at 17-inch laptops across the board, one major thing becomes common. They aren’t cheap. Usually, when a big laptop is cheap, it means that the components on the inside are lacking. This isn’t the case with the FX705DT from Asus.

Packed with an AMD Ryzen 5 3550H processor along with a GTX 1650 graphics card from GeForce, the FX705DT has the power to run just about any program and make it look great at the same time.

With a 512GB SSD and backlit keyboard helps you save all of your work and keep working late into the night. All of this is bundled together in an attractive casing makes this a great affordable option.

Pros	Cons
➕ Large, bright display	➖ Poor audio quality
➕ Backlit keyboard	➖ Lacks SD Card slot

 

Latest Price on Amazon:

 

11. HP ZBook 17 G5

The best 17-inch workstation

CPU: 8th-generation Intel Core i9 i9-8950HK | Graphics: Intel® UHD Graphics 630 | RAM: 32GB | Screen: 17.3″ diagonal FHD LED UWVA Anti-Glare Ambient Light Sensor (1920×1080) | Storage: 256 GB PCIe NVMe TLC SSD – 2 TB PCIe NVMe TLC SSD

Loaded with an 8th-generation Intel Core i9 processor, the ZBook from HP is loaded with the power you need for any extreme performance that you may want to put it through. This is backed up by an Intel UHD Graphics 630 card that is a heavyweight option for your graphic design needs.

To top it all off, the 17.3-inch FullHD display comes with an Anti-glare ambient light sensor and is rounded out by a solid-state drive available in a wide range of capacities from 256GB to 2TB to save all of your important work. While the price might be outside of the budget for some, the incredibly powerful PC from HP is more than capable of taking on any project you throw at it and coming through stunningly.

Pros	Cons
➕ Great performance	➖ Hefty
➕ Solid sound	➖ Expensive
➕ Great 4K display

 

Latest Price on Amazon:

 

12. Lenovo ThinkPad P73

The best 17-inch laptop for freelancers

CPU: Intel Core i7 – Intel Xeon | Graphics: Up to Nvidia Quadro RTX 5000 | RAM: Up to 128GB | Screen: 17.3-inch Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) IPS – 17.3-inch 4K IPS | Storage: 256GB – 1TB SSD

While many of the options on our list have the specs and components that are great if you do any kind of video or photo editing or even graphic design, we haven’t put a spotlight on any options if you do any kind of freelance writing work. Well, with the ThinkPad P73 from Lenovo, you may have just found your next laptop.

With an available Intel Xeon processor and graphics card options up to an Nvidia Quadro RTX card, the performance that the P73 offers is more than enough to get all of your articles and blog posts done. While the laptop does come with a good amount of storage between 256GB and 1TB, there are also plenty of connectivity options to plug in any external storage should you need it.

Pros	Cons
➕ Great design	➖ CPU and GPU runs hot under load
➕ Has good touchpad keyboard	➖ Lacks Quick charging facility
➕ Great HD display with a great contrast ratio

 

Latest Price on Amazon:

 

13. GIGABYTE AERO 17 HDR XD

Best portable laptop

The Gigabyte Aero 17 is one of the most powerful and portable laptops for creatives, gamers, and designers. With an exceptional build quality and striking display plus design, it is an affordable pick with a bright 4K display.

The all-new RTX 3070/80 and 10th-gen Intel Core i7/i9 combination gives this powerful workstation enough fuel to get any job done smoothly.

On top of that, the battery life is way better than the competition, making it a perfect fit to get work done on the go. However, if you are considering this laptop solely for gaming, you will definitely find better ones on the list.

Pros	Cons
➕ Fast	➖ Expensive
➕ 4k display with great color accuracy	➖ Poor audio

 

Latest Price on Amazon:

 

14. MSI GE75 Raider

Premium and powerful laptop with great graphics

MSI GE75 Raider is an above-average gaming laptop that performs exceedingly well, especially considering its price tag. A well-considered combination of 10th generation Intel CPU and RTX 2060 GPU spells speed and reliability. Plus, you get a large and colorful display with a 144Hz refresh rate, making it an ideal pick for creatives and gamers. The dragon-inspired design and RGB keyboard make this beauty even cooler. 

On this laptop, you can run all the high-end software and games with ease. Keep in mind that you might have to run the MSI’s Cooler Boost technology at maximum cooling power to avoid any heating issues.

Pros	Cons
➕ Powerful gaming performance	➖ Run hot while performing CPU heavy tasks
➕ Powerful speaker	➖ Battery life is not good
➕ Large screen

 

Latest Price on Amazon:

 

15. Dell Precision 7730

The ultimate workstation

Dell Precision 7730 is literally a professional workstation and the design speaks for itself. The powerful performance justifies the high price tag, and the vibrant 4K display is one of the most colorful panels that one will ever witness.

There are ports on the rear, left, and right with a comfortable keyboard to give you a premium feel. The laptop is powered with a monstrous Nvidia Quadro P5200 GPU and a fast CPU to run high-end games without any lag.

The battery life is below average, but considering the performance it offers, this is a good option.

Pros	Cons
➕ Sharp 4K display	➖ Poor battery life
➕ Great performance	➖ Runs hot while performing processor heavy tasks
➕ Durable design	➖ Top configuration models are expensive

 

Latest Price on Amazon:

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

Best 17-inch Laptop for Creatives

Buying a 17-inch laptop can be a great option if you’re looking for the biggest screen available. A screen this size can provide all the room you need to make every project you work on its very best. We hope that our list of the best 17-inch laptops for graphic designers & artists has helped convince you that one of these laptops is right for your needs.

Is there a 17-inch laptop that’s not on our list that you think blows the rest out of the water? Let us know in the comments below!!

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