If you're a creator of any kind, you're probably using Adobe Creative Cloud. Love Adobe or not, programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, and Premiere Pro have become industry standards for photography, digital art, 3D rendering, and video production. More recently, Generative Fill AI edits have been added to many Adobe programs, making them even easier to use, but you'll get even more use out of helpful AI tools if you're using the right device. Our number one pick is Samsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra, but there are several other devices that are best for different use cases.
The thing is, given the diverse nature of Creative Cloud, you might need a specific kind of PC or device to fit the needs of the program you're using. For instance, the latest NPU (neural processing unit) laptops and computers are far more equipped to handle AI tasks than previous devices have been. Additionally, if you're like me, you might jump between multiple devices depending on what Adobe program you're working in at the time. For instance, when drawing in Photoshop I'm on a tablet, but when editing photos in Lightroom, I prefer to work on my laptop. Meanwhile, using a 2-in-1 allows me to work comfortably within either program on one device.
Regardless of what your needs may be, these are the best PCs for Adobe Creative Cloud that will run most of the programs it offers smoothly and without issue.
The quick list
Here is a quick run down of the best PCs for Adobe Creative Cloud. If you want to learn more about any of them simply click the "Read more below" link to get taken to a detailed explainer.
Our Samsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra review shows it's made for creators, video editors, and anyone who needs power. It features dual Thunderbolt 4, an Intel Core Ultra 9, 32GB of RAM with 1TB SSD, and RTX 4070 L. This all works together to make it one elegant but potent Windows 11 PC.
This ASUS ProArt P16 offers a truly excellent AI PC experience with its AI-boosted CPU, a gorgeous display, great battery life, and robust performance to handle all your Adobe needs. It's a bit pricey, but that's what it takes to get the most powerful hardware that you can take on the go.
Read more below
The XPS 8960 brings a minimalist case design with up to Intel's powerful 14th Gen i9 processor and up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 graphics in a small package. With a nice assortment of front-facing ports, this is an ideal desktop for photo and video editors or creatives who need a powerful PC.
Microsoft's flagship tablet runs Windows 11, offers amazing performance, provides two USB-C ports, and is also a Copilot+ PC (AI PC). When used with the Surface Pen, its pressure sensitivity works beautifully within Adobe programs like Illustrator and Photoshop. Connect it to a compatible keyboard, and it will be convenient for more laptop-focused tasks, too.
ASUS knocks it out of the park with the outstanding ProArt PX13. It offers excellent performance, fantastic hardware, and a satisfying chassis design to use in any setting. Plus, it comes with the ASUS Pen 2.0, and being able to switch from tablet mode to laptop mode makes it more versatile for your Adobe Creative Cloud needs.
This gorgeous 14-inch OLED laptop features 2.8K resolution with up to 120Hz and 0.2ms response time. It offers a powerful NVIDIA RTX 3050 L GPU that, combined with the Intel Core i9-13900H CPU, can handle more intensive Adobe programs like Substance 3D or Character Animator.
Best PCs for Adobe Creative Cloud
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With the quick overview out of the way, I'll now dive into more detailed reasons for why these PCs work so well with Adobe Creative Cloud. I'll also address any issues you might want to be aware of when using any of them.
Rebecca is a section editor who covers laptops, mini PCs, gaming handhelds, and video games, but she also spends a lot of time covering Adobe programs and using them in her free time. Whenever she tests laptops or PC towers for Windows Central, she always checks to see how well Adobe Creative Cloud works on these devices.
Best overall PC for Adobe Creative Cloud
My recommended Samsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra configuration:
As we said in our Samsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra review, you can have pretty much everything you could ever want from a PC, in this powerful laptop. It's similar to the highly-praised Dell XPS 16 (as seen in my Dell XPS 16 review), but doesn't cost as much.
It features the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H AI CPU paired with the NVIDIA RTX 4070 L dedicated graphics card, which delivers all the power you'll need for working in Adobe programs. You might not be buying one of these as a gaming rig, but it can absolutely tear up the latest titles.
The Galaxy Book4 Ultra also boasts a large 16-inch OLED display, with both 2.8K (2880x1800) resolution and a 16:10 aspect ratio, allowing it to show off your projects to their best advantage. For video editing in Premiere Pro, the resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and excellent color range are also very helpful. But as with many graphically powerful devices, it doesn't have the best battery life, so you'll want to stick near an outlet when using it.
- RELATED: Check out our NPU guide and our AI PC guide for more info
Best AI laptop for Adobe Creative Cloud
My recommended ASUS ProArt P16 configuration
- NOTE: Our own Zachary Boddy is currently reviewing this laptop and we will add the review to this page soon.
Photographers and videographers not only need a reliable graphics card but also need to see their projects with accurate coloring and crisp resolution. In that case, the gorgeous 4K display on the ProArt P16 just makes sense. It also has a gorgeous AMOLED display for showing off creative projects to best effect.
The latest model now comes with AMD's Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor, combined with an NVIDIA RTX 4060 L or 4070 L GPU with either 32GB or 64GB of RAM. Meanwhile, it has the choice of either a 1TB or 2TB SSD storage to keep up with your creative files. Altogether, this produces a laptop that can handle some serious design and editing work while incorporating local AI effects and nueral filters.
The ASUS ProArt P16 also offers fantastic speakers and a really nice touchpad and keyboard, making it a joy to use, whether you're editing your work or simply chilling to your favorite music.
Best desktop for Adobe Creative Cloud
My recommended Dell XPS Tower 8960 configuration:
As you can read from our own Zachary Boddy's Dell XPS Tower 8960 review, it's easy to recommend this tower thanks to a ton of configuration options that suit various budgets. Not to mention, it offers a lot of ports for connecting any accessories or devices you might want to use. On the front are USB-C, USB-A, and 3.5mm audio ports that are easy to reach for common accessories alongside an SD card slot. You even get an optical drive and a heap of ports on the rear to connect pretty much everything you could want.
The entry model is worth avoiding if you're going to be getting into intensive work such as Premiere Pro editing. While it has dedicated graphics, you're not saving much, and the performance will be lacking. The sweet spot is the mid-tier Intel Core i7-13700 model paired with the NVIDIA RTX 3070.
But you can really beef up the hardware inside, too, and you can also opt for a 13th Gen Intel Core i9-13900 CPU, 64GB of DDR4 RAM, up to 4TB of storage, and a beefy NVIDIA RTX 4090 with 24GB of GDDR6X if you so wish. This tower looks like it belongs in an office, but it's capable of scorching performance, and even if you do opt to get one of the lower-tier configurations, it's a simple task to upgrade the internals down the road. You'll just want to make sure to get a decent monitor to match the tower's abilities. If you really care about visuals looking good, I suggest going for one of the best gaming monitors.
Best tablet for Adobe Creative Cloud
My recommended Surface Pro 11 configuration:
As our own Daniel Rubino said in his Surface Pro 11 review, this tablet sports a glorious 13-inch 2880x1920 3:2 display with either an OLED or LCD panel, which reaches up to 120Hz option, Qualcomm Snapdragon X processors, up to 32GB RAM, and a 1TB SSD. It is a Copilot+ PC and one of the best AI laptops on the market today.
You really can't go wrong with this tablet for keeping up with raster or vector drawing programs, as well as photo editing and other Creative Cloud-based work. You'll want to make sure to purchase a Surface Pro 11 stylus if you do plan on drawing on the tablet, though. It's also great for web browsing on the sofa as a tablet, video editing, and productivity work if you buy the optional keyboard.
The Surface Pro 11 uses the same flagship form factor that was first popularized by Microsoft back in 2012. It features a kickstand around the back, and if you purchase the separate keyboard accessory, it basically turns the Surface Pro into a 2-in-1 convertible laptop. That way, you can use it more effectively across different Adobe programs.
It also has two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports, and the design has also been updated for the latest generation, with slimmer bezels and a larger display. The Surface Pro 11 epitomizes the idea of a powerful laptop inside a tablet's body.
Best 2-in-1 for Adobe Creative Cloud
My recommended ASUS ProArt PX13 configuration:
We really love this 2-in-1 laptop, as you can read from my ASUS ProArt PX13 review. We think it's one of the best 2-in-1 laptops to release in recent years.
For one thing, it has a gorgeous 13.3-inch OLED display that really makes colors pop and allows true black to come through on the screen. That way, you can see accurate hues and contrast when working on your Adobe Creative Cloud projects. It even comes with a pen so you can draw right on that amazing panel, which offers 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity for great stroke accuracy.
When needed, just wrap the keyboard back around, and you can use the ProArt PX13 as a normal laptop as well. There's even a built-in dial in the touchpad for easily interacting with programs and accessing tools. However, its placement is far more suited to right-handed users.
As far as configurations go, this laptop only has an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, but it offers solid AI-boosted performance you can rely on. As far as graphics go, you can choose between either an RTX 4050 L or an RTX 4060 L, which are both rather powerful and can handle more intensive tasks within graphic design, illustration, photo manipulation, video editing, and digital drawing. The ASUS ProArt PX13 really is a fantastic choice for people who need to swap between using a tablet and a laptop for their creative projects.
Best OLED laptop for Adobe Creative Cloud
My recommended ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED configuration:
As explained in my colleague Zachary Boddy's ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED review, this laptop's 14-inch HDR-supporting OLED looks absolutely amazing. While not the most powerful GPU on this list, it also comes with a respectable RTX 3050 L, which is plenty powerful enough to keep up with Adobe software.
It also features an Intel Core i9-13900H CPU, 32GB of blazing-fast DDR6 memory, and 1TB of SSD storage to hold all of the creative files you need it to. The Zenbook 14X OLED also offers 2.8K resolution (2880x1800) and can reach up to 120Hz refresh rate with a super speedy 0.2ms response time to keep up with rendering and photo editing tasks. It doesn't support VRR (variable refresh rate), though, which makes it less ideal for gaming.
While running graphically demanding tasks, it handles workflows like a champ, but the fans can get decently loud at times. Still, if you want a powerful laptop with a beautiful OLED display, then the Zenbook 14X OLED is a great choice for you.
How we test laptops, PCs, and tablets
Whenever we get a device for review, we run it through several tests and compare it against established benchmarks to determine how well it performs. These include testing the performance of the CPU and GPU, checking the read and write speeds of the SSD, determining how long a battery can last for, and much more.
We also take a personal look at laptops, PCs, and tablets to see what the experience of using them in daily life is like. This way, we can evaluate not only a device's technical accomplishments but our own anecdotal situations with it as well. I also personally love to test the performance of laptops, tablets, and PCs by running games on them or working within Adobe programs to see how well they can keep up with the tasks given to them.
- Best AI PCs
- Best SSDs
- Best internal hard drives
- Best 4K monitors
- Best PC gaming headsets
- Best Thunderbolt docks
Adobe Creative Cloud runs well on a wide range of Windows 10 and Windows 11 PCs, but if you're specifically looking for a device that can handle these creative programs, then you're obviously going to want something that can run smoothly and display your projects accurately. Generally, that means looking towards the higher end of the market, where the more powerful hardware lies.
If you're shopping for the best choice possible, the superb Samsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra is a beast of a machine for all purposes. It has high-end hardware inside and a high-end design on the outside. What's more, it's truly a pleasure to spend the day in front of. Likewise, if you're looking for a capable AI laptop to take with you, the ASUS ProArt P16 is a fine choice to make, and it's handy on the go for anyone at work or in school.
Creative Cloud casts a wide net, and all of these machines will be a fine companion. Generally, you're looking to get as much horsepower as your budget allows, especially if you're diving into apps like Premiere Pro, because in those cases, the more grunt you have, the better your time will be.
If you find yourself using AI tasks while using Adobe Creative Cloud programs, then you will be better served by using one of the latest laptops or desktops that feature an NPU (Neural Processing Unit). NPUs allow computers to work faster and more efficiently by taking some of the load off of GPUs and CPUs, which results in faster AI task completion. We've reviewed several NPU devices and will continue to do so as the year goes on. As such, we will update this page with the latest and greatest options as we discover them.
Creative Cloud PC FAQ
What is the best PC for Adobe Creative Cloud?
After testing various laptops and desktops, we've found that the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra is the best PC for Adobe Creative Cloud due to its great screen and solid performance. If you specifically want an AI laptop, the best option is the ASUS ProArt P16.
Are AI PCs better for Adobe Creative Cloud?
That really depends on the kind of creative work you want to do. AI PCs can be a great choice for streamlining certain Creative Cloud work, but they aren't always the best option if you don't intend to use these AI filters and tools.
AI PCs are devices that feature processors with AI-boosting NPUs (neural processing units). An NPU takes part of the load off of the CPU and GPU so they can work more effectively, which can equate to faster and smoother performance overall. This can be helpful when running local AI-related creative tasks like applying neural effects. However, not every program is designed to work effectively with an NPU.
Another great thing about NPUs is that they allow for practical local AI image generation. When using the right programs, you can give prompts and have the system generate AI images locally, rather than relying on a distant server to do the job for you. This provides better control and privacy over projects.
How much RAM is needed for Adobe Creative Cloud?
You'll want to have a minimum of 16GB RAM on your computer in order to run Adobe Creative Cloud apps effectively. That said, if you plan on working with more programs or doing more demanding work like 3D rendering and video editing, then 32GB RAM is best.
Is Windows or Mac better for Adobe Creative Cloud?
At this point, choosing to use Windows over Mac (or vice versa) with Creative Cloud is really just a matter of preference. Both kinds of devices can provide a smooth, powerful, and convenient user experience when running creative workflows.
Something to consider when choosing between Windows and Mac is your work or school environment. If you regularly share your creative work with others, then it might be a good idea to have a computer that runs the same OS as your colleagues. It will make sharing and saving files far smoother.
