Key Features Every Content Creator Should Consider in a Laptop

Janice_Lin

Content creation surged during the pandemic; over the years, it has quickly transitioned from a hobby to a legitimate career path. From podcasters, Youtubers, or even about-to-be actors on TikTok, content creators have realized that one digital device isn’t enough for social media creation. The filtered, edited, filmed, and recorded content creates a mass amount of data and would most likely need more than one digital device to refine the content. Aside from talent and determination, content creators also need an efficient, well-performing, and powerful laptop.

What is a creator laptop? 

A creator laptop is designed for professional content creation tasks, like design, editing, and media development. Content creators create so much data and content that smartphones sometimes aren’t enough. Desktop computers sometimes have the upper hand in processing power, but laptops can be more agile and portable. We’ll highlight the critical factors in choosing a creator laptop and what to look for in a computer for content creation.

• The processor, or CPU. The processor is the core of every single laptop, not just a creation laptop. Processors are also known as the CPU, or the central processing unit. They are responsible for the performance of a laptop, making it faster, more efficient, and able to run more sophisticated applications in the background while multitasking. The amount of power and performance you’d need in a laptop also depends on the kind of work you’d be undertaking. There are two primary manufacturers of CPU: Intel and AMD. Each manufacturer has their own variety and generations of CPUs. Just like regularly updating your computer, purchasing the latest generation of processors in a new laptop is good practice. Other specs for a processor include core count, thread count, clock speed, and architecture. Core count refers to the number of processing units, or cores, that a computer's central processing unit (CPU) has. In general, the more cores a CPU has, the more tasks it can perform simultaneously, and the faster it can complete those tasks. Clock speed defines the number of cycles the CPU executes every second. Each element creates better performance and delivery for users. 
• GPU, or graphics. GPU, or the graphics processing unit, determines the laptop’s animations, videos, and images. They are the pixels on your screen that show any form of movement. For content creators, choosing the best laptop for editing videos, images, and audio is essential. Gaming laptops focus primarily on GPU, so this key feature is particularly important for gamers. There are two main types of GPU. Integrated GPUs are housed inside the laptop, therefore sharing memory with the CPU. The other kind, a discrete GPU, is a stand-alone card that generally functions at higher levels than an intergrated GPU. There are a couple of key features you should pay attention to when looking at GPUs. The frame rate and resolution of the laptop can determine how your screen or the external display looks. The display refresh rate, another element to look out for, is the number of times per second that the image refreshes on the screen, determining the smoothness of motion on your screen. For example, a 144Hz display will refresh the screen 144 times per second.
• RAM, or random access memory. The best laptop for creators also zero in on a computer’s short-term memory. RAM is different from your computer’s storage amount. When you perform creative tasks on your laptop, your laptop stores that data in RAM when you switch in-between applications or while you surf the internet. RAM temporarily stores data for quick retrieval by your CPU. Having enough RAM allows your laptop to run more programs simultaneously and smoothly, and enables you to switch between bigger applications, all the while running programs on the backend as well. Options for RAM are a bit more familiar: you can choose between 4-8GB, 16GB, or 32GB. The more powerful your programs are, the higher number you should opt for. RAM is upgradeable in the future, depending on the build and which laptop you carry.
• Storage. Not to be confused with RAM, your laptop’s storage is the amount of data you can save on it, whether it’s videos, photos, documents, files, or applications. Storage can be in a solid-state drive (SSD), or a traditional hard disk drive (HDD). SDDs usually outperform HDDs because of how fast they can access data stored in different parts of the drive. SSDs use flash memory to electronically read or write data without moving any parts, while HDDs use mechanical platters spun around by a motor. SDDs cost more per gigabyte than a traditional hard disk drive because of high manufacturing costs, but they also have a longer lifespan and a quicker response time during normal use. Content creators would need exponential storage space for extra videos, images, and audio files.
• Connection slots. You might’ve noticed some laptops have fewer ports on the side or an abundance of different ports. This feature is also one of the many laptop things to consider for content creators. The more ports a laptop has, the more functional it is for immediate use. There are a few ports to keep in mind. HDMI and DisplayPort allows you to connect your display to another screen or external monitors. USB ports allow you to connect your mouse, headsets, external hard drives, and several other digital devices that you may use. An audio jack port is also common for laptops, a 3.5mm jack is compatible with most headsets or earphones. An SD card slot is something that content creators might also have to store data and memory. The SD port allows you to transfer data in a fast and secure way, and is convenient if you have several images, videos, or audio files you need to transfer right away.
• Display. Content creators might focus a whole lot on display screens because of the very nature of what the work entails. It plays a significant factor in the experience of creating or taking in content. OLED, short for organic light-emitting diodes, creates an image through your screen that’s rich and sharp, with high contrast ratio, deeper black levels, and a faster pixel response time compared to regular LED screens. The resolution of the screen is also quite standard, but if you’re using more powerful applications and running bigger programs in the background, you might want to opt for a higher resolution screen. The importance of a good quality display also helps soothe your eyes in the long run. With so much screen time, it’s imperative to look for key features in your display that work with you, and not against you.
• Reliability and build. A laptop’s reliability and build depends on a number of elements like lifespan, performance, and battery life. Everything adds up to how well the laptop performs for your purpose. One very important factor to consider is also how your laptop cools itself. Some of the most powerful laptops in the world have carefully designed cooling systems within them to balance their temperatures. The fundamentals of the cooling system are essentially the same: vents, fans, cooling pipes, and heatsinks. While comparing different cooling systems and reliability between different laptops can be hard, it’s worth reading reviews and prioritizing what your intent on purchasing a laptop is. 

Laptop made for creators 

Designed specifically for content creators, Acer’s ConceptD laptops offer unique blends of key features we’ve just touched on. Depending on what form of content creation you’re focusing on at the moment, you can start with the ConceptD3 Laptop. It not only offers 256 GB of SSD but also possesses an Intel® Core™ i5 processor with a 14-inch full HD resolution screen. To see more design focused electronics check out the ConceptD page on Acer’s website.

Content creation isn’t just for the big social media platforms. Creators also go on Twitch, Discord, or other gaming platforms to generate an alternate source of income. It’s become a huge part of the entertainment industry in recent years, and it’s no wonder content creators are seeking more professional, designated laptops for themselves.