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MagyarThe Best Notebooks for Photo and Video Editing
One of the most common usage scenarios for notebooks is the storing, viewing, sorting and editing of pictures as well as videos. A laptop for this purpose should have a very high-quality display to represent your collections as accurately as possible and obviously provide the necessary performance to ensure a productive workflow. For this reason, we only list those laptops with the highest score in our test criteria display and application performance (weighted score) here. You can also use the following top lists for further research:
The Best Laptops for Photo and Video Editing
Position | Weighted Rating | Total Rating | Date | Image | Model | Screen | Weight | Resolution | Surface | Contrast | DeltaE Color | AdobeRGB (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 96 % | 88 % | 05/2021 New! |  | Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR YD Intel Core i9-11980HK NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU 32 GB Memory, 512 GB SSD | 17.30" | 2.8 kg | 3840x2160 | matte | 1479:1 | 1.23 | 99 % |
| 2 | 94 % | 91 % | 12/2020 |  | Apple MacBook Pro 13 Late 2020 M1 Entry (8 / 256 GB) Apple M1 Apple M1 8-Core GPU 8 GB Memory, 256 GB SSD | 13.30" | 1.4 kg | 2560x1600 | glossy | 1759:1 | 1.3 | 88.3 % |
| 3 | 94 % | 88 % | 06/2021 New! |  | Lenovo Legion 7 16ACHg6 AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU 32 GB Memory, 1024 GB SSD | 16.00" | 2.5 kg | 2560x1600 | matte | 1287:1 | 1.45 | 73 % |
| 4 | 93 % | 91 % | 03/2021 |  | HP ZBook Studio G7 Intel Core i9-10885H NVIDIA Quadro RTX 3000 Max-Q 32 GB Memory, 1024 GB SSD | 15.60" | 2 kg | 3840x2160 | matte | 2066:1 | 1.4 | 77.3 % |
| 5 | 93 % | 83 % | 07/2020 |  | MSI Creator 17 A10SGS Intel Core i7-10875H NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super Max-Q 32 GB Memory, 2048 GB NVMe | 17.30" | 2.4 kg | 3840x2160 | matte | 1465:1 | 4.21 | 84 % |
| 6 | 93 % | 85 % | 01/2021 |  | Schenker XMG Neo 17 (Early 2021, RTX 3070, 5800H) AMD Ryzen 7 5800H NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU 16 GB Memory, 500 GB SSD | 17.30" | 2.5 kg | 2560x1440 | matte | 1108:1 | 2.55 | 72 % |
| 7 | 93 % | 87 % | 02/2021 |  | Lenovo ThinkPad T15p-20TN0006GE Intel Core i7-10750H NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile 16 GB Memory, 512 GB SSD | 15.60" | 2.2 kg | 3840x2160 | matte | 1859:1 | 1.2 | 85.3 % |
| 8 | 92 % | 91 % | 12/2020 |  | Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry Apple M1 Apple M1 7-Core GPU 8 GB Memory, 256 GB SSD | 13.30" | 1.3 kg | 2560x1600 | glossy | 1069:1 | 1.12 | |
| 9 | 92 % | 87 % | 10/2020 |  | MSI GT76 Titan DT 10SGS Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super Mobile 64 GB Memory, 2048 GB SSD | 17.30" | 4.2 kg | 3840x2160 | matte | 1049:1 | 3.4 | 84.6 % |
| 10 | 92 % | 85 % | 10/2020 |  | MSI Creator 15 Intel Core i7-10875H NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q 16 GB Memory, 2048 GB SSD | 15.60" | 1.9 kg | 3840x2160 | matte | 1326:1 | 2.39 | 75 % |
The table above contains an overview over the best notebooks reviewed by Notebookcheck over the course of the past 12 months as well as still relevant and available older products. In cases of identical score the more recent device is listed first. All prices in above table and price comparisons are updated daily and can thus differ.
Link: all devices in this class reviewed
Editor's Comments
In October of 2020 we attempted a major criterion update for this list. From now on, the ranking is based primarily on the average rating in the display and application performance categories. You can display the individual ratings used for this average ranking by hovering your mouse pointer over the weighted rating cell.
1st – Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR
Equipped with an Intel Core i9-11980HK and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Gigabyte’s Aero 17 HDR YD offers a great system and gaming performance. Its good 4K HDR display renders this unit particularly interesting for creators, especially since it runs comparatively quietly apart from gaming.
The Aero 17 HDR YD is a powerful RTX-3080-based laptop for gamers and creators with a great 4K HDR display.
Thunderbolt 4 with support for modern peripherals is supported as expected, and one particularly good characteristic of this display is that it does not use PWM for brightness regulation.
Granted, the device is anything but cheap and not all SKUs are currently available either. One of the few available SKUs sells for $2,500 on Amazon.
Top 10 Laptops
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2nd - Apple MacBook Pro 13 2020 M1
Apple migrated its smaller MacBook Pro 13 2020 M1 with its own in-house M1 SoC as well. The 13M1 offers more performance and a longer battery life than its Intel-powered predecessors while satying cooler and quieter at the same time.
However, you might want to also consider the cheaper MacBook Air M1. It may not offer the same level of peak performance due to its passive cooling and it may come with a slightly dimmer display, a slightly shorter battery life, and no Touch Bar, but it can be several hundred dollars cheaper as well. And it remains a great tool for video and photo editing.
That said we expect this argument to falter once Apple equips its MacBook Pro 13 with a more powerful M1X processor.
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3rd – Lenovo Legion 7 16ACH
The Lenovo Legion 7 may only be yet another gaming notebook but it has its perks. For example, its rather uncommon 16-inch display offering more screen real estate than traditional 15.6-inch notebooks in a package that is noticeably smaller and lighter than a hefty 17.3-inch device. It also comes with 3 years of on-site warranty in select countries, a display running at up to 165 Hz, and decent battery life as long as you do not require too much graphics oomph. Downsides include a lack of Thunderbolt connectivity as well as the non-existent card reader.
A relatively subtly designed gaming notebook with plenty of power and great display.
The device is currently not yet available in North America.
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4th – HP ZBook Studio G7
The HP ZBook Studio G7 is a portable workstation equipped with Nividia’s Raytracing-capable RTX-series GPUs. It features a high-quality premium case and is optionally also available with a non-Quadro-class GPU for additional consumer features.
The optional 4K display is very well calibrated but fails to cover AdobeRGB in its entirety. WWAN support is also suspiciously missing.
On the flip side, its benefits include good input devices and four great speakers. The lightweight workstation left a very positive impression overall, and the ZBook Studio G7 is a great choice for users in need of a powerful workstation with plenty of graphics oomph.
Prices start at around $2,000, and the device is available through the usual retail channels, such as for example Amazon.
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5th – MSI Creator 17 A10SGS
According to gaming specialist MSI the future of displays is Mini LED. This new panel technology allows OEMs to control individual areas of the display independently of one another, thereby allowing for a combination of high display brightness and high contrast ratio (local dimming) and creating the basis for true HDR playback. The MSI Creator 17 is the first notebook with a Mini LED display, and it performed exceptionally well in our tests (93 %). That said its HDR capabilities were not taken into consideration yet, something you need to keep in mind should this be of interest to you.
Other benefits of MSI’s Creator include plentiful connectivity including Thunderbolt 3, excellent system performance (10875H 8-core CPU, RTX 2080 Super Max-Q GPU, up to 64 GB of RAM, and 2x M.2 slots for NVMe SSDs), a clean business-like design, and last but not least a comparatively small footprint for a 17-inch notebook. Priced at around $4,000 the Creator 17 is definitely aimed at professional users.
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6th – Schenker XMG Neo 17
Nvidia’s latest GPU generation has to be taken with a grain of salt as numerous possible TDP configurations can result in very different performance levels despite a seeming identical product name. Fortunately, the Schenker XMG Neo 17 features a 140 W TDP configuration (including Dynamic Boost) for plenty of performance, and its RTX 3070 is faster than some RTX 3080 laptops.
But, as always with great power and performance come great noise emissions in 3D. The device also lacks a Thunderbolt port further impeding connectivity. In return, the display is great to look at and offers low response times and a good representation of colors. While it does not offer full 4K resolution it still runs at an acceptable 1440p.
We did not like the webcam. If you intend to use this device regularly for video calls you may want to consider a dedicated external webcam.
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7th – Lenovo ThinkPad T15p
If you are in the market for a great 4K LCD the Lenovo ThinkPad T15p might be just the right choice for you. It offers a high level of brightness for outdoor use, accurate colors, and an almost complete sRGB color space coverage. It also offers plenty of performance for mobile photo and video editing, mobile internet connectivity, and a robust and sturdy case.
Other benefits include the full-sized SD card reader and its overall decent connectivity. As expected of a ThinkPad its input devices are extremely good.
On the flip side we find poor battery life of less than an hour at full load, high case temperatures, and loud fans.
The ThinkPad T15p is anything but affordable, and there are plenty of devices with longer battery life and lower case temperatures in its price class.
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8th – Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1
To nobody’s surprise the Apple MacBook Air 2020 is selling like hot cakes. After all, the Apple M1 turned out to be a great success. It is Apple’s first self-developed ARM-based microprocessor, and it is not only capable of keeping up with current Intel and AMD processors but even outperforms them in some situations. And it does all that without active cooling. And to add insult to injury it is just the beginning, and the entry-level version of Apple’s CPU.
True, there are some teething issues with emulating older macOS software but in return you get access to a large catalog of iOS applications. We are expecting these issues to subside over the next few months as developers adapt to the new platform and architecture.
Otherwise, the device is practically identical to the well-known Intel-based Apple MacBook Air 2020, which means it still lacks a touchscreen. Storage space is somewhat limited, and prices for optional upgrades are as steep as ever. We would have also wished for a better webcam and Wi-Fi modem. Nevertheless, the MacBook Air 2020 with Apple’s own processor is incredibly impressive.
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9th – MSI GT76 Titan DT 10SGS
What do you get if you combine brute performance with a very good display? The MSI GT76 Titan. Originally a gaming laptop the GT76 offers a combination of an Intel 10-core CPU with Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 2080 Super, up to 64 GB of RAM, and a total of 4 storage slots (3x M.2, 1x 2.5-inch) which should suffice even for the most demanding applications.
In our review, the GT76 demonstrated its raw brute levels of performance while remaining comparatively cool and quiet as long as you don’t run it at peak capabilities non-stop. Unsurprisingly for a gaming laptop its 120 Hz 4K display’s main strength were response times. In addition, it also offered a high level of brightness, a good contrast ratio, and wide color gamuts. Downsides include its weight of almost 9 lbs, which basically gags all claims of portability, as well as its poor battery life. At prices of between $4,000 and $5,000 it is certainly one of the most expensive options out there.
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10th – MSI Creator 15 A10S
MSI uses the Creator moniker for a wide variety of notebooks that are aimed primarily at creative users and content creators. The MSI Creator 15 combines a high-resolution 4K 15-inch display with Intel’s 10th gen 8-core processors and high-end Nvidia GPUs. The system supports up to 32 GB of RAM and two M.2 SSDs.
In our review, the Creator 15 scored particularly well in the display category (bright, high contrast ratio, wide color gamut), its overall performance level, and its good-looking high-quality case. The price for all this? Between $2,500 and $3,500 depending on SKU.
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Best Notebooks for Digital Content Editing in Comparison
Test Results
| Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR YD | Apple MacBook Pro 13 Late 2020 M1 Entry (8 / 256 GB) | Lenovo Legion 7 16ACHg6 | HP ZBook Studio G7 | MSI Creator 17 A10SGS | Schenker XMG Neo 17 (Early 2021, RTX 3070, 5800H) | Lenovo ThinkPad T15p-20TN0006GE | Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry | MSI GT76 Titan DT 10SGS | MSI Creator 15 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | ||||||||||
| Display P3 Coverage | 86.86 | 70.26 | 98.21 | 81.96 | 70.46 | 86.8 | 98.56 | 82.5 | 85.41 | |
| sRGB Coverage | 99.99 | 99.37 | 99.92 | 97.49 | 99.47 | 99.25 | 99.97 | 97.97 | 99.68 | |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 99.63 | 72.65 | 86.51 | 83.98 | 71.85 | 98.51 | 85.91 | 96.59 | 84.91 | |
| Response Times | ||||||||||
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 52 (25.2, 26.8) | 48 (18.8, 29.2) | 14 (6.8, 7.2) | 56.4 (27.6, 28.8) | 16.8 (8.4, 8.4) | 41.6 (19.6, 22) | 31 (14, 17) | 23.2 (12.4, 10.8) | 62 (32, 30) | |
| Response Time Black / White * | 26 (10, 16) | 25.2 (8.4, 16.8) | 6.4 (2, 4.4) | 37.6 (19.6, 18) | 8.8 (1.2, 7.6) | 10 (4, 6) | 21.2 (8.4, 12.8) | 26.1 (14.9, 11.2) | 11.6 (6.4, 5.2) | 44 (26, 18) |
| PWM Frequency | 122000 (49) | 26600 (83) | 118000 (49, 155) | 25000 (20) | ||||||
| Screen | ||||||||||
| Brightness middle | 488 | 510 | 489 | 723 | 996 | 410 | 595 | 417 | 419.5 | 464 |
| Brightness | 467 | 491 | 469 | 707 | 952 | 381 | 594 | 395 | 413 | 446 |
| Brightness Distribution | 86 | 94 | 92 | 92 | 93 | 88 | 94 | 91 | 93 | 85 |
| Black Level * | 0.33 | 0.29 | 0.38 | 0.35 | 0.68 | 0.37 | 0.32 | 0.39 | 0.4 | 0.35 |
| Contrast | 1479 | 1759 | 1287 | 2066 | 1465 | 1108 | 1859 | 1069 | 1049 | 1326 |
| Colorchecker DeltaE2000 * | 1.23 | 1.3 | 1.45 | 1.4 | 4.21 | 2.55 | 1.2 | 1.12 | 3.4 | 2.39 |
| Colorchecker DeltaE2000 max. * | 2.94 | 3 | 2.16 | 2.9 | 6.79 | 4.33 | 2.5 | 2.71 | 7.4 | 6 |
| Colorchecker DeltaE2000 calibrated * | 0.77 | 1.16 | 0.5 | 2.03 | 1.28 | 1 | 0.77 | 3.28 | ||
| Greyscale DeltaE2000 * | 1.5 | 2 | 1.6 | 2 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 2 | 3.97 |
| Gamma | 2.169 101% | 2.23 99% | 2.197 100% | 2.14 103% | 2.207 100% | 2.275 97% | 2.1 105% | 2207 0% | 2.14 103% | 2.23 99% |
| CCT | 6614 98% | 6933 94% | 6377 102% | 6484 100% | 7491 87% | 6637 98% | 6492 100% | 6870 95% | 6858 95% | 6817 95% |
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 99 | 88.3 | 73 | 77.3 | 84 | 72 | 85.3 | 84.6 | 75 | |
| Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 99 | 100 | 94 | 99.9 | 97 | 95 | 99.2 | 97.9 | 100 | |
| Noise | ||||||||||
| off / environment * | 25 | 29.2 | 26 | 24.4 | 30 | 24 | 29.3 | 26.4 | 25.2 | |
| Idle Minimum * | 30 | 29.2 | 26 | 24.4 | 32 | 29 | 29.3 | 27.5 | 30.4 | |
| Idle Average * | 32 | 29.2 | 30 | 24.4 | 33 | 32 | 29.3 | 27.5 | 30.4 | |
| Idle Maximum * | 41 | 29.2 | 35 | 27.9 | 40 | 38 | 30.6 | 29.8 | 30.7 | |
| Load Average * | 43 | 32.1 | 40 | 38.8 | 47 | 49 | 42.7 | 30.9 | 45.5 | |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 51 | 46 | 46.3 | 46 | 53 | 42.7 | 60.7 | 48.3 | ||
| Load Maximum * | 59 | 41.9 | 50 | 46.3 | 48 | 55 | 42.7 | 66.6 | 49.1 | |
| Heat | ||||||||||
| Maximum Upper Side * | 44 | 41 | 51 | 45.7 | 52 | 47 | 53.8 | 44 | 36.4 | 49 |
| Maximum Bottom * | 56 | 40.4 | 52 | 50.6 | 59 | 51 | 56.6 | 44 | 43 | 46.9 |
| Idle Upper Side * | 32 | 23.6 | 37 | 24.8 | 34 | 32 | 24.7 | 27 | 28 | 33.2 |
| Idle Bottom * | 35 | 23.6 | 38 | 26.1 | 33 | 37 | 24.2 | 27 | 33.4 | 33.6 |
| Battery Runtime | ||||||||||
| Reader / Idle | 494 | 434 | 281 | 274 | ||||||
| WiFi v1.3 | 334 | 1223 | 410 | 468 | 266 | 208 | 436 | 960 | 146 | 235 |
| Load | 70 | 93 | 96 | 67 | 44 | 64 | 107 | |||
| H.264 | 1152 | 406 | 647 | 461 |
* ... smaller is better
