Brent Patterson

I maintain this recommendation for students as they start their design studies at my university. It is a frequent inquiry so I’m making it available here. It’s become abundantly clear that students with a high-end computer are more committed to their degree, are more willing to tinker with their practice, and have a more robust and valuable portfolio upon graduation. It may seem like a big investment, but it has consistently proved to be worth it.

Buffalo State Graphic Design / Digital Media Arts Computer Recommendation
(updated Fall 2025)

The Graphic Design and Digital Media Arts programs recommend students purchase a Dell Precision mobile workstation or a 16″ MacBook Pro M4 Pro or M4 Max or a close equivalent to these machines. Other machines will likely suffice but these are the most tested. Gaming laptops are a popular choice with our students, but be warned their battery life is short and sometimes their build quality is questionable. It is assumed students will want a laptop as it is very practical to be able to work where ever they happen to be. Many students have chosen to have an average-powered laptop to work on projects while away from home and a more powerful desktop computer in their apartment or dorm for more intensive 3D work. Many students don’t have the economic privilege to have two computers. Nevertheless, I’ve made additional recommendations for desktop workstations, alternative operating systems, and tablet computers below.

Dell Laptops    
https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/workstations-isv-certified/sr/workstations/precision-laptops

Apple Laptops   
https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro/16-inch

Students should avoid ultra-compact laptops like the 14″ MacBook or MacBook Air as the screens are too small and their processing power tends to be insufficient for professional design work. Generally speaking, the suggested Windows computers are much faster than Apple computers when doing 3D animation (this disparity is narrowing each year), but about the same speed when doing general graphic design work such as when using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. Apple computers were the traditional preference for general design studios, but there is no longer any technical benefit to using an Apple computer instead of a Windows computer (even though there are strong opinions about this issue). The software runs the same on both platforms and their files are inter-compatible. Some factors to consider may be that Apple laptops are lighter, their batteries last longer (until they don’t after a year or so), they tend to have the best displays, and Apple has the most environmentally friendly manufacturing practices (at least that’s what they say). You can upgrade some components on most Windows laptops and as such get more life out of them. You cannot upgrade most Apple laptops, but they tend to resell at a higher price. 

The decision to choose an Apple or Windows computer comes down to personal preference and budget, unless one is particularly interested in 3D animation and design. In that case, a Windows computer with a strong GPU (graphics processor unit) is currently the superior choice as the designer will be able to produce more work, iterate their ideas more thoroughly, learn the craft faster, and have a more valuable portfolio. Apple is actively trying to catch up to this disparity but you must buy the most premium Macbook to achieve this and spend at least ~$5000.

When analyzing specs for Windows machines you want to look for:

• Intel i7 or i9 processor
• a 15″ or larger screen
• at least 512GB of SSD storage – preferably 1TB or larger
• at least 16GB of RAM
• a 4GB or larger discrete GPU* – preferably Nvidia RTX 3000 series or higher – the discrete GPU means a second GPU in addition to the Intel integrated GPU in the CPU.

When looking at Apple computers:

• Apple M3 Pro Chip or faster
• a 16″ screen
• 18GB of unified memory
• 512GB of SSD storage – preferably 1TB

If you want a computer that will work effectively for a design student for four years, be prepared to spend between $2.5k and $4k. Both Apple and Dell offer education discounts.

https://www.apple.com/us-edu/store

https://www.dell.com/en-us/lp/education-pricing

It is highly recommended to purchase these manufacturers’ extended warranties.

Tablet Computers
Many students ask about if they should get an iPad. Having access to an iPad with the app ProCreate is very helpful to many students. Android tablets offer many options (often quite cheaper options) with apps such as Infinite Painter that many students will likely find useful. If you want a good digital tablet for Graphic Design, be prepared to spend about $1000. A digital tablet is not required for our program.

The Linux Option
Personally, my favorite operating system is Linux (specifically the Linux distribution by System76 called Pop_OS!) as it has both the ease of use and well-designed interface of an Apple computer, but the customizability and versatility of a Windows computer. It is my experience that Linux tends to be noticeably faster for 3D software than both Windows and Apple. The only issue with Linux is that Adobe does not make a Linux version of their software. So if you want to run Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, etc., you’ll need an Apple or a Windows machine. There are plenty of free and open source alternatives to Adobe software. For example, instead of Photoshop, I use GIMP or Krita. Instead of Illustrator, I use Inkscape. Instead of After Effects, Animate, Premier Pro, I use Blender. If you were to be so brave as to choose a Linux laptop, I recommend System76’s Adder WS. When choosing a Linux system, use the same hardware specifications as Windows computers.

Desktop Workstations
As I stated before, some students are lucky enough to have a second, more powerful desktop workstation at home. There’s a lot of choices to be made here and for the most part, they follow the same spec requirements of Windows computers I made above. You’ll find desktop machines with the same specs as a laptop to be significantly faster as they are not hindered by power and heat restrictions that slow a laptop computer. Again, gaming desktops make good 3D render machines, but their reliability can sometimes be dodgy as they use lower quality RAM, SSDs, and cooling fans. I have had ok experience with purchasing Newegg‘s prebuilt machines, but the RAM and SSD will need replaced after a year or two of heavy use – and the fans or water cooling systems will fail similarly. The LED mood lights of gaming desktops are fun, but completely unnecessary. One of my prebuilt systems has been working dutifully for the past five years and is still quite powerful despite its age.

My experience with Dell workstations is that they just work reliably with little to no maintenance for many years. Apple workstations are obnoxiously expensive (the iMac is ok, but no more powerful than the Macbooks). If you want to build your own system (the cheapest approach), use Logical Increments to purchase your components and build your own rig. They have great instructions on how to do so. Or, go over to system76 and look at their monstrously powerful (and expensive) Thelio machines.