Best Laptops for Blender in 2022

When I first started to take an interest in games development, I thought that it would be all about shiny 3D models, blazing computer graphics, and immense visual effects. At some point, I realized that there was more to game development than that.

For example, not many people think about the 3D modeling software they’re going to use. It might sound trivial, but using a proper tool makes your work way easier. And this applies to games development as well. Blender is one of the tools you might use for creating textures, models, or animations. And since it’s free and open-source – you’ve got no excuse not to try it out! Just make sure you have a decent laptop capable of running Blender first!

I’ve put together a short overview of the laptop requirements for Blender – depending on your budget and what do you want to get out of it. Whether you’re planning on modelling monsters or animations for your intro video – rest assured that I’ll have the best options covered in this article. All you need to do is read through my findings!

Requirements for a Blender laptop

Major Choosing a memory

Minimum (8 GB)

I’m not sure if 8 GB is enough for Blender. That’s the old standard, but that was when it was the only 3D software that mattered. You can still use 8 GB, but there are more powerful options out there.

Recommended (16 GB)

That said, 16 GB will do just fine for most people. But I think it’s more sensible to go with 32 GB if you can afford it. That way you’ll have plenty of RAM for multitasking and running different software in the background. I have two laptops with 16 GB of RAM and they’re both due for an upgrade soon.

Best (32 GB)

The sweet spot seems to be 32 GB of RAM, which makes up 39% of all laptops on the market right now. It has just enough room for running professional applications, while also being future-proof for running multiple demanding programs simultaneously in 2021 or later years to come. If you’re going over $2000 – then there’s a 99% chance that you’ll end up with a laptop with 32 GB of RAM already installed.

Major Graphics card

Minimum graphics (under $1000)

I know, it sounds bonkers – getting a laptop under $1k for Blender. If you cut enough corners – you can get a cheap notebook for Blender. That could be done by either going for integrated Intel/AMD graphics (far from ideal) or an entry-level dedicated GPU such as GTX 1650. You might see much slower rendering. But that’s fine for small assemblies. I’m not recommending a cheap laptop for Blender, but it’s an option for a very tight budget.

Recommended consumer graphics ($1000 – $2000)

If you can’t go over $2000 – just go for a consumer-grade card. End of discussion. This includes most students, part-time freelancers, and hobbyists. Non-workstation cards are mainly acceptable for general assemblies with basic parts. One of the biggest reasons you’d want a powerful GPU is for rendering. If you’re looking to spend less than $2000, I recommend these cards:

• GTX 1660 Ti, this is now the best choice if you don’t want to spend more than $2k; however I recommend going with RTX instead if possible;
• RTX 2070 is also very good if you can’t afford RTX 3080 or RTX 4000/5000 or don’t mind spending another $1k or so

Major The best processor for playing Blender in 2021

Requirements

Blender heavily relies on a CPU’s multi-core performance. What this means is that you want to find a laptop with a good multi-core performance. Luckily, most laptops have CPUs that will be sufficient for Blender use. That said, there are some CPUs which are more desirable than others. For example, AMD Ryzen 7 has up to 8 cores, so it will perform better in parallelized tasks than Intel Core i5-8265U which only has 4 cores.

Recommendations

If you’re on a budget and looking for the best cheap laptop for Blender, Intel i3-10110U should suffice. However, if you’re willing to spend just a little more on your laptop, then I would recommend AMD Ryzen 7 4700U. It’s one of the most popular processors for professional laptops because it’s inexpensive but still performs well enough to run Blender smoothly. Lastly, if you have an unlimited budget and want the best laptop for Blender – Ryzen 7 5800H is your go-to option.

Optional requirements for a Blender laptop

Optional Storage for Blender

What kind of SSD is right for you?

There are many types of SSDs. These include MLC, SLC, eMLC, and NVMe. MLC is the cheapest but has the shortest lifespan. SLC is more expensive but offers more longevity. eMLC is in between MLC and SLC. And NVMe is the fastest option but also the most expensive.

Size matters

It’s important to get the right size SSD for your needs. If you’re just using Blender on a low-powered laptop for a few hours a day, then a small 256 GB drive will be fine for you. But if you’re a professional who needs a lot of space, then I recommend going with a 1 TB or 2 TB drive. For professionals, I also recommend going with an NVMe drive because it’s much faster than an HDD or SATA SSD and can be easily upgraded later on if you need more space.

5 Best Laptops for Blender