As an avid animator and laptop enthusiast, I understand the importance of finding the best laptop for Adobe Animate. The right laptop can make all the difference in creating smooth animations and an enjoyable workflow. In this guide, I will share my expertise on the key factors to consider when searching for the perfect laptop to run Adobe Animate efficiently.
When working with Adobe Animate, performance is crucial to avoid lag, stuttering, and slow rendering times. To find the best laptop for Adobe Animate, I have meticulously reviewed an extensive spreadsheet of recent laptop releases, comparing specs and reviews from both professional and user-generated sources. I've narrowed down the top laptops based on the specific requirements of Adobe Animate users, such as powerful processors, dedicated graphics cards, and ample RAM. Additionally, I have considered the importance of color-accurate displays for precise color grading and high-quality output.
As an animator, I know firsthand that a laptop's portability and build quality can significantly impact the user experience. This buying guide will not only help you find the best laptop for Adobe Animate but also ensure that you invest in a device that suits your needs as a creative professional. So, whether you're a freelancer on the go or a full-time animator working from a studio, you'll find the ideal laptop to create stunning animations and bring your ideas to life.
Processor Power
The state of the market.
For the last few years, Intel has dominated the computer CPU industry and was almost never challenged. All that has changed in 2018 with the AMD (formerly ATI) Radeon graphics unit: AMD grabbed 20% of the CPU market; their latest 6th generation of processors released in 2018 were successful enough to challenge Intel's dominance. So how did that happen? There were two reasons: First, AMD Ryzen processors offered strong value and performance – and they offer hybrid performance/efficiency cores as opposed to Intel's big.LITTLE cores. Second, Intel was looking toward the future of mobile computing with their newest chips. While Intel managed to achieve higher levels of power efficiency, AMD is able to deliver more performance for a comparable or even lower price.
Also, starting with Intel's 10th generation CPUs, we've seen support for multiple CPU cores in Animate; on top of that, since Animate 2017, Adobe has been taking advantage of multi-core CPUs using hyper-threading technology. This means that if your CPU supports Hyper-Threading, Animate will take advantage of it, making it perform significantly better than the same CPU without Hyper-Threading.
Meanwhile, Apple surprised us all with the release of their own mobile-oriented ARM-based system-on-chips (M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max, and M2) in 2017 with the launch of their first batch of MacBooks with Touch Bar. The A11 bionic chip brought a significant boost to single-core performance and battery life, although many experts have commented on the performance trade-offs. That being said, I have been an Apple guy for a very long time and I'm quite comfortable with them so I couldn't ignore the Apple brand nor the community behind it.
How Animate uses the CPU and how that affects my recommendations.
The actual number of logical processing cores (for example – 2 or 4) is a red herring when it comes to comparing computers – what matters is the physical hardware (single or dual cores). The biggest difference you will see between them is if you need to run other apps simultaneously while you animate (especially taxing on the CPU) – multiple core computers will be able to run many apps at once without any performance penalty; in contrast, on single core computers all the work will be done by one core so you'll experience a slowdown. Another big difference is if you're going to use the computer while it animates (for example, while scrubbing), especially in which you're using high resolution media: single core computers might skip frames or stutter. Note that most modern laptops allow users to configure the number of cores and amount of RAM on the computer: If you need an ultrabook laptop then expect to be trading off some performance for a better battery life (or vice versa).
Multiple cores and their importance in Animate (and other creative apps).
Most modern animation projects consist of elements created with a variety of third party software applications – we create vector graphics, build shapes from vectors and photos, model 3D objects and animate them using MotionBuilder or After Effects. We also use a lot of different plugins in Animate to help us with animation: making it quicker or easier to add details, deal with multiple layers/objects or use dynamics/particles.
Multiple cores are key when it comes to Animate performance, for this reason Adobe recommends that their customers have at least a 4-core laptop for maximum performance. The 4-cores we can see in Animate are those from a few different sources: the processor itself and any attached CPU cores from Intel or AMD; RAM (for example: 4-cores from RAM, 1-core from CPU); any Hyper-Threading cores; and any discrete or dedicated GPU cores (for example: 4-cores from GPU, 1-core from CPU).
It is possible for your RAM to be treated as a single core if Hyper-Threading is enabled – if your CPU has Hyper-Threading, you can set the max number of cores. That being said, even if your RAM is one core, the other 3-cores should be able to handle Animate without any problems. Hyper-Threading can also be especially beneficial if you're using Premiere Pro while doing heavy number-crunching on images with After Effects: instead of running two applications simultaneously (one as a background process), Hyper-Threading allows you to offload some of the image processing to the GPU to utilize the extra power while keeping CPU handling on par.
How I rank processors based on their performance in benchmarks.
In the end, a computer's performance boils down to its single/multi-core CPU score and RAM (using PassMark scores for CPUs and geekbench for RAM). After years of development
Graphics Cards
The laptop graphics card market has been dominated by Nvidia for many years, with the latest RTX 30 series cards offering a lot of performance in a power-limited form factor. Unfortunately, the RTX 40 series cards are not yet available on laptops. Furthermore, Nvidia has discontinued the Max-Q label for its RTX graphics cards, so laptop manufacturers (OEMs) now determine the exact GPU wattage which can lead to large variations in performance in laptops with the same GPU chipset.
If you're looking for a MacBook, the choice is easy – get a MacBook Pro and you'll be good to go. However, if you're considering a Windows laptop, you should consider the GPU, but it isn't always necessary. Adobe Animate is not as demanding as other applications such as Premiere Pro or Blender, and thus can be used without dedicated graphics. Therefore, you should focus on getting a more powerful processor instead. You can use industry-standard benchmarking tool 3DMark to compare different GPUs, though keep in mind that Adobe Animate relies heavily on the CPU.
However, if you do decide to opt for a dedicated GPU, the following table will give you a good idea of which GPUs are best suited for animation and their expected laptop prices/performance ratio:
| Graphics Card | Approx. Laptop Price Range |
|---|---|
| GeForce GTX 1650 | $600 – $800 |
| GeForce RTX 3050 | $900 – $1300 |
| GeForce RTX 2060 | $1400+ |
If you need to connect an external display, make sure your laptop has at least one HDMI port; DisplayPort is preferable if you need 4K 60Hz or 5K 60Hz display connectivity. Lastly, keep in mind that a dedicated GPU might be necessary if you are doing any type of VR or AR work with Adobe Animate.
Laptop FAQs
Which laptop is best for Adobe Animate?
It depends on your budget, but it's generally recommended to get at least an Intel Core i5 or Ryzen 5 processor, 8 GB of RAM, and a GeForce GTX 1650 or higher graphics card. Laptops like the HP Victus 15 I ($600), HP Victus 15t ($870), Lenovo Legion 5 Pro (RECOMMENDATIONS_ALL,350), Acer Predator Triton 500 ($2,500), or Lenovo ThinkPad P16 ($3,650) can all handle Adobe Animate.
How much RAM do I need for Adobe Animate on laptop?
8 GB of RAM is a minimum requirement to run Adobe Animate smoothly on a laptop. 16 GB is the recommended RAM size.
What specs are necessary for Adobe Animate on laptop?
At the minimum, you will need an Intel Core i3 or AMD Ryzen 3 processor, 8 GB of RAM, and a GeForce GTX 1650 graphics card. However, for better performance, we recommend an Intel Core i5 or Ryzen 5 processor, 16 GB of RAM, and a GeForce RTX 2060 graphics card.
How to choose a laptop for Adobe Animate?
You should focus on the processor, RAM size, and graphics card when looking for a laptop for Adobe Animate. An Intel Core i5 or Ryzen 5 processor with 8 GB of RAM and a GeForce GTX 1650 or higher graphics card should do the job.
What laptops are suitable for Adobe Animate?
Laptops that have the right specs for Adobe Animate include the HP Victus 15 I ($600), HP Victus 15t ($870), Lenovo Legion 5 Pro (RECOMMENDATIONS_ALL,350), Acer Predator Triton 500 ($2,500), and Lenovo ThinkPad P16 ($3,650).
Do I need Core i7 for Adobe Animate?
No, you do not need an Intel Core i7 processor to run Adobe Animate. An Intel Core i5 or Ryzen 5 processor should be sufficient.
Is Ryzen 5 good for Adobe Animate?
Yes, a Ryzen 5 processor is a good choice for Adobe Animate. It's on par with an Intel Core i5 processor in terms of performance.
What processor is required for Adobe Animate?
At the minimum, you need an Intel Core i3 or AMD Ryzen 3 processor. However, for better performance, an Intel Core i5 or Ryzen 5 processor is recommended.
Is 500 GB SSD enough for working with Adobe Animate?
It depends on the size of your projects and the amount of content you're working with. 500 GB should be sufficient for most people, but if you need more storage space you can always upgrade to a larger SSD.
Can you run Adobe Animate on a laptop?
Yes, Adobe Animate can be run on a laptop, provided it has the right specs. At the minimum, you need an Intel Core i3 or AMD Ryzen 3 processor, 8 GB of RAM, and a GeForce GTX 1650 graphics card. For optimal performance, an Intel Core i5 or Ryzen 5 processor, 16 GB of RAM, and a GeForce RTX 2060 graphics card are recommended.
Maximizing RAM
Adobe Animate is a multi-threaded application, so you'll need plenty of RAM to keep your workstation from stuttering. We'd recommend at least 16 GB of RAM if you're working with complex scenes or multiple projects open at once. However, RAM speed isn't a priority here – if you're on a budget, get DDR4-2666 instead of DDR5 because the difference is negligible for most projects.
If you're looking for an upgrade, check if your laptop has free SODIMM slots. If it does, you can buy some more memory modules and install them yourself (assuming your laptop has an upgradable BIOS).
To sum it up, here are our recommended RAM configurations depending on your budget:
| Price Range | Recommended RAM |
|---|---|
| Budget | 8 GB |
| Mid-range | 16 GB |
| High-end | 32 GB or more |
5 Best Laptops for Adobe Animate
1.HP Victus 15 I
HP Victus 15 I offers budget gaming and productivity performance with compromises.- Strong entry-level gaming
- Solid productivity performance
- Inexpensive for a gaming laptop
- Display and webcam could be better
- Too much preinstalled software
Summary
HP Victus 15 I delivers a good budget gaming and productivity performance but has trade-offs. The display and webcam could be improved, and it comes with excessive preinstalled software.
Alternatives
MSI GF63 Thin
- Affordable price
- Powerful Intel Core i5 CPU
- Limited gaming performance
- Dull screen
$7002.Lenovo Legion 5 Pro 16
Adobe Animate laptop- Exceptional processor (Ryzen 9 6900HX)
- Excellent graphics card (RTX 3070 Ti)
- Terrific display (16)
- Excellent memory amount (64GB)
- Weighty (5.48 lbs)
- No IPS Panel (inferior color reproduction)
Alternatives
HP Omen 16
- Terrific processor (Ryzen 7 6800H)
- Up to scratch graphics card (RTX 3060)
- Mediocre memory amount (16GB)
- Bulky (5.98 lbs)
3.ASUS TUF F15 FX507ZM-ES74
ASUS TUF F15 FX507ZM-ES74 provides high-performance in a tough and bulky chassis for Adobe Animate users.- Faster than most other GeForce RTX 3060 laptops
- 300 Hz IPS panel w full sRGB coverage
- 2x SODIMM, 2x M.2 PCIe4 x4
- MUX switch
Summary
ASUS TUF F15 FX507ZM-ES74 offers excellent performance with a high TGP GeForce RTX 3060 and a 12th gen Alder Lake-H CPU. It has a 300 Hz IPS panel with full sRGB coverage, two SODIMMs and two M.2 PCIe4 x4, and a MUX switch. However, it has a bulky and flexible chassis, no per-key RGB lighting, shorter WLAN runtimes, larger power brick, and a spongy clickpad.
Reviews
Alternatives
Acer Nitro 5
- Responsive 165 Hz QHD panel
- High system performance
- CPU underutilizes its potential
- No memory card reader
4.Lenovo Legion 5 Pro
Lenovo Legion 5 Pro is a powerful gaming laptop with great performance and solid build quality, but lacks in design and storage capacity.- Excellent gaming performance
- Bright and colorful display
- Plenty of connections
- Easy replaceable modules
- Drab design for a gaming laptop
- Limited storage capacity
- Bulky chassis and hefty power brick
- Noisy fans on some power profiles
Summary
The Lenovo Legion 5 Pro packs a powerful punch with its AMD Ryzen 7 and GeForce RTX 3070, making it a top performer for gaming and other intensive tasks. It has a bright display, many connections, and easy replaceable modules, but lacks in storage capacity and has a bulky design.
Reviews
Alternatives
ASUS ROG Strix Scar
- Powerful performance with Core i9-12900H and RTX 3070 Ti
- Fast Wi-Fi 6E
- High heat and noise emissions under load
- Poor battery life
5.ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo
Dual-screen setup with top-notch performance comes at a steep price with the ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo.- Impressively thin design with dual displays and top-notch performance
- Refined two-screen layout suitable for graphic-intensive applications
- Blistering gaming performance
- Expensive, especially as configured
- Awkward keyboard and touchpad layout
- Poor battery life
Summary
The ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo is an impressive and thin laptop with dual-screens, powerful RTX 3080 Ti GPU and Ryzen 9 CPU, making it perfect for graphic-intensive applications like Adobe Animate. However, its high price, awkward keyboard and touchpad layout, and poor battery life might make it unappealing for most users.
Reviews
Alternatives
$3,470HP Omen 17
- QHD display with 165 Hz
- Advanced Optimus
- High noise level
- Clattery case
Table of the Best Laptops for Adobe Animate
| Laptop | Price (approx) |
| HP Victus 15 I | $600 |
| Lenovo Legion 5 Pro 16 | $700 |
| ASUS TUF F15 FX507ZM-ES74 | $1,300 |
| Lenovo Legion 5 Pro | $1,600 |
| ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo | $3,170 |
