Best Laptops For 3d Design

Welcome to the Thomas guide to the best gaming laptops for 3D modeling 2021. Thomas has been connecting North American industrial buyers and suppliers for more than 120 years. When you purchase products through our independent recommendations, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Access to 3D modeling and rendering software used to be limited to people who worked in fields like engineering, construction, design, and architecture. But thanks to advances in technology and more access to heavy software like CAD or modeling software, 3D modeling has become something that anyone can enjoy.

All you need is a laptop with a powerful CPU and a high-quality graphics card to get you started on a 3D modeling and rendering journey.

Best Laptops for 3D Modeling — A good laptop is the basis for 3D modeling

Image credit: Shutterstock/LightField+Studios

While desktop PCs traditionally offered more power, as the workforce gets more digital and more people opt to work remotely, it makes sense to want an option other than desktop computers. Finding a suitable laptop for your day-to-day life is one thing; finding something with impressive specs enough to be a rendering laptop is another.

Why Gaming Laptops are Great for 3D Modeling and Rendering

There are plenty of powerful laptops on the market that offer equal or better performance levels at an affordable price. For 3D modeling or rendering, you need a premium laptop that offers long battery life, a powerful CPU, and an equally powerful graphics card. Thankfully, many gaming laptops on the market meet these qualifications.

Even a light gaming laptop could have a powerful GPU, full HD resolution, and options for solid-state-drive storage, as well as other features like an RGB backlit keyboard, HD webcam, gbuilt-in stereo speakers, and large laptop screen. Most gaming laptops have a high amount of random-access memory (RAM), have a mechanical keyboard, and an intelligent cooling system allowing multiple programs to run at the same time.

3D Modeling Laptop—Buying Guide

There are a few factors to take into consideration when looking for an appropriate laptop for 3D modeling purposes and we cover the basics below.

RAM and Processor

For the best laptop experience, decide how much RAM you want, then focus on your processor speed. The Intel Core processor, more commonly known as the CPU, is just as important as how much RAM you have.

Intel Core

Most devices have an Intel Core operating system, except a few new Apple products which feature their M1 processor. A good Intel Core to consider is the Intel Core i7 10750h; this processor is ideal for a rendering laptop as it supports a steady thermal cooling layout.

Graphics

Lastly, you want to focus on graphic processing cards or GPUs. These dedicated graphics cards with impressive specs will ensure screen resolution and higher ability. Within the gaming laptop industry, many laptops have taken one name to become standard, Nvidia. The Nvidia GeForce GTX and Nivideo GeForce RTX are the most recent GPUs created for graphics-intensive tasks.

The difference between these two Nvidia GPUs is that the Nvidia GeForce GTX uses Turing architecture while the Nvidia GeForce RTX has a Tensor core. Tensor cores provide a range of precision in graphic turbo clocking speeds and matrix multiplication. Turing architecture maxes out GPU rendering while you play games and maintain high base clocking speed.

Thomas' Top Picks for the Best Laptops for 3D Design 2021

Whether a student, a freelancer, or a full-time professional, having a good laptop for 3D modeling will make all the difference to your projects.

Best Gaming Laptop for Graphics Intensive Tasks: Acer Predator Helios 300 | Buy Now

Best Rendering Laptop: Asus Zenbook Pro Duo | Buy Now

Best Laptop for 3D Modeling and Rendering: Razer Blade Pro 17 | Buy Now

Best Battery Life: Apple Macbook Air | Buy Now

Best Powerful Processor: Lenovo ThinkPad P52S | Buy Now

Best Lightweight Gaming Laptop: HP Intel Celeron | Buy Now

Best Dedicated Graphics Card at a Bargain: Acer Nitro 5 | Buy Now

Best Bargain Laptop: Lenovo Thinkpad E15 | Buy Now

Best Powerful Laptop at a Value: MSI GF65 | Buy Now

Best Cheap Laptop: Dell Inspiron | Buy Now

Keep scrolling down to see our top picks for the best laptop for 3D modeling, according to thousands of happy buyers and reviewers.

1. Best Laptop for Graphics Intensive Modeling—Acer Predator Helios 300

The Acer Predator Helios 300 gaming laptop gives users a customizable and unique experience. Whether you use it to play games with friends, live stream, or 3D modeling, it deserves a spot on this best laptops list.

Its RGB backlit keyboard highlights hotkey combinations like WASD but also has a Turbo and PredatorSense key. The PredatorSense key allows you to customize and control your lighting, fan speed, overclocking, and more.

Specifications

CPU: Intel Core i7 9750H

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti

RAM: 16 GB

Hard Drive: 512 GB SSD Storage

Battery Life: 6 Hours

BUY NOW: $1,399 (Was $1,499), Amazon

2. Best Rendering Laptop—Asus ZenBook Pro Duo

This dual-screened laptop is one of the best laptops for modeling, music production, graphic design, photo-editing, and gaming. For 3D modeling, the ScreenPad Plus offers more storage space on-screen for checking and organizing your scripts without sacrificing your workflow.

With a backlit keyboard and a number pad, this Windows 10 device has Alexa built-in and has multiple port options such as standard USB Type C and USB Type A ports and HDMI. With only 5 hours of battery life, it would be smart to travel with your power cord as a battery backup to avoid your laptop dying before you can save your progress.

Specifications

CPU: Intel Core i7 10750H

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060

RAM: 16 GB

Hard Drive: 1 TB SSD Storage

Battery Life: 5 Hours

BUY NOW: $2,069.99 (Was $2,299.99), Amazon

3. Best for 3D Modeling and Rendering—Razer Blade Pro 17

The Razer Blade Pro 17 gaming laptop is one of the top laptops for 3D modeling. With options to expand your storage capacity as your portfolio grows, this laptop offers peak performance with a Quad-Intel Core processor and Nvidia graphics card.

This device provides the ability to cater your screen to your specific task with a display and resolution range from 300Hz full HD resolution to 4K UHD touch display. Ideal for replacing a more traditional desktop computer, this laptop has 512 SSD that can upgrade to 2TB.

Specifications

CPU: Intel i7 10875H

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080

RAM: 16 GB

Hard Drive: 512 SSD Storage

Battery Life: 7 hours

BUY NOW: $2,299.99 (Was $3,199.99), Amazon

4. Best Laptop Battery Life—Apple Macbook Air

Even the best laptops can have a short battery life, so if having a long-lasting battery life is what's most important to you, this 13-inch Macbook Air Laptop lasts up to 18 hours on one charge. Available in rose gold or space gray, with a 256 GB RAM option, this device allows you to synchronize your apps and data across Apple products.

With a retina display, this HD screen is optimized for long hours in front of a screen without straining or injuring the eyes. The only laptop on this list without an Intel Core, Apple has created their own M1 Chip, an octa-core processor designed specifically for Apple devices.

Specifications

CPU: Apple M1 Chip

GPU: Up to Apple 8-core GPU

RAM: 8 GB

Hard Drive: Up to 2TB SSD Storage

Battery Life: 18 hours

BUY NOW: $1,199.99, Amazon

5. Best Powerful Processor—Lenovo ThinkPad P52s

The Lenovo P52 mobile workstation has a powerful processor that makes running CAD software, like Solidworks, Revir, and Microstation, swift and easy. With a 32GB RAM option, this laptop weighs less than five pounds and is ideal for the designer or architect who wants to use CAD software while on the go.

Additional features include a built-in webcam and multiple ports including Thunderbolt or USB-C, an Ethernet port, USB 3.1 Gen 1, and HDMI.

Specifications

CPU: Intel Core i7 8550U

GPU: Nvidia Quad Pro P5000

RAM: 16 GB

Hard Drive: 512 SSD Storage

Battery Life: Up to 10 Hours

BUY NOW: $1,850.99 Amazon

6. Best Lightweight Laptop—HP Intel Celeron

Ideal for the design or architecture student, this Intel Celeron Laptop comes as a bundle with a customized laptop travel bag with a USB charging port, as well as a year of Office 365 Personal.

Available in white, rose gold, pink, blues, and blacks, this laptop weighs only three pounds, is light enough to keep in your backpack as you walk around campus all day, and is small enough to fit on a tight school desk. However, with only 4 GB of RAM available, students may want to utilize more storage space via external drives or cloud storage.

Specifications

CPU: Intel Core Celeron N4020

GPU: Intel UHD Graphics 600

RAM: 4GB

Hard Drive: 64 GB SSD Storage

Battery Life: Up to 10 Hours

BUY NOW: $359.99, Amazon

7. Best Dedicated Graphics Card at a Bargain—Acer Nitro 7

The Acer Nitro 7 is one of the best laptops on this list at under $1,400 and you can double your available RAM via additional SO-DIMM cards for up to 32 GB of memory. You can also upgrade your storage beyond the 512 SSD with an included HDD storage kit.

Reviewers praise NitroSense, the pre-programmed intelligent cooling system program, and one wrote, "It automatically senses when the computer is overloading and increases the fan speed for you."

Specifications

CPU: Intel Core i7 9750h

GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650

RAM: 16 GB

Hard Drive: 512 GB SSD Storage

Battery Life: 7 Hours

BUY NOW: $1,399, Amazon

8. Best Bargain Laptop—Lenovo ThinkPad E15

Used by many buyers as a light gaming laptop, a small business suite, and a general use device, the Lenovo ThinkPad is great as an all-around personal laptop that still has enough power to run meatier programs for 3D modeling and rendering.

While it doesn't have a backlit keyboard, this laptop comes in multiple RAM and SSD storage options, from 16 GB/512 GB to 32 GB/1TB.

Specifications

CPU: Intel Core i5 10210U

GPU: Intel UHD Graphics

RAM: 16 GB

Hard Drive: 512 GB SSD Storage

Battery Life: 11 Hours

BUY NOW: $1,129.69, Amazon

9. Best Powerful Laptop at a Bargain—MSU GF65

Rated a 4.6 out of 5 stars from global reviewers, and on par with a desktop computer's power, the MSU GF65 gaming laptop is a long-lasting, high-powered laptop for running games, multiple software programs, and internet browsing.

At 4.10 pounds, this lightweight laptop can be put inside a briefcase, book bag, or purse for easy traveling without any strain or backache.

Specifications

CPU: Intel Core i7 9750H

GPU:‎ NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060

RAM: 16 GB

Hard Drive: 512 GB SSD Storage

Battery Life: 7 Hours

BUY NOW: $1,259.99, Amazon

10. Best Cheap Laptop—Dell Inspiron

For less than $350, the Dell Inspiron has the most affordable price tag if you want to buy a good laptop without giving it too much thought or stretching the budget. Although its Celeron core ranks significantly lower than the Intel Core i7 10750h, this is a suitable laptop to test the waters of stronger machines.

While it doesn't feature a high-tech touch screen, reviewers have successfully used it for work, school, regular web browsing as well as light graphic design and 3D work, or photo-editing.

Specifications

CPU: Intel Core Celeron

GPU: Intel UHD Graphics

RAM: 4GB

Hard Drive: 128 GN SSD Storage

Battery Life: 8 Hours

BUY NOW: $337.90, Amazon

The Best Laptop for 3D Modeling and Rendering—Summary

When it comes to deciding on the best laptops for 3D designing, we've seen that even gaming laptops have the Intel Core ability to run powerful modeling software and produce high-quality graphics.

Overall, the Razer Blade Pro 17 ($2,299.99, Amazon) wins best laptops for 3D rendering because of HD display, better performance, and powerful GPU. However, with a longer battery life of 18 hours per charge, making it ideal for traveling, and working on the go, along with its sleek design, and powerful processor, the Apple MacBook Air ($1,199.99, Amazon) is a great runner-up for best laptop for 3D modeling.

We hope our review of the best laptops for 3D Modeling has been helpful. For more suppliers of related products, including computer systems, reverse engineering, and freeform surface modeling consult our additional guides, or visit the Thomas Supplier Discovery Platform.

*Prices listed in this article were as shown on Amazon.com as of October 2021