19/03/2026 4:11 pm
Topic starter
Notifications
Clear all
0
im finally upgrading my ancient dell because it literally sounds like a jet engine whenever i open illustrator so its time for something real. im looking at the macbook pro 14 with the m3 pro chip because everyone says apple is the gold standard for design but that asus zenbook pro 14 duo with the dual screens looks so cool for tool palettes. i have about 2500 bucks saved up from my last few commissions and i need to buy something by monday before my new contract starts. i mainly do heavy vector work and some painting in photoshop. do i go with the reliable mac or is that second screen on the asus actually a game changer for illustration stuff? or maybe just get a spec'd out surface laptop? idk im torn...
3 Answers
11
19/03/2026 4:25 pm
^ This. Also, i spent a decade trying to find the perfect dual-screen setup and always went back to a single solid panel. In my experience, the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i Gen 8 16 inch Intel i9 32GB RAM RTX 4070 is a much better windows alternative with a killer mini-LED screen. Quick tip: prioritize 64GB RAM for heavy vector work... it keeps your workflow smooth when layers start piling up.
10
19/03/2026 4:11 pm
Honestly, i really wanted to love that dual screen asus but unfortunately it was a massive letdown for me. The battery life is just tragic and the software for the second screen glitches out constantly when you're deep in illustrator. Ngl, it felt more like a gimmick than a tool after a month. I had high hopes for the surface too, but the performance just wasn't as good as expected for heavy photoshop files. Since you have a contract starting monday, just go with the reliable pick:
- Apple MacBook Pro 14 M3 Pro 12-core CPU 18-core GPU 18GB RAM 1TB SSD It is boring but it wont crash when you are hitting deadlines. The color accuracy on the mac is miles ahead of the ASUS Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED Intel Core i9-13900H 32GB RAM 1TB SSD anyway. Just play it safe.
2
19/03/2026 5:15 pm
Following this thread
