After Effects Minimum Requirements //free\\ May 2026

More RAM. If you can only buy one thing, buy RAM. Then set your disk cache to a fast SSD.

4GB VRAM (NVIDIA RTX 3050 / AMD Radeon 6600) The Pro: 8GB+ VRAM (NVIDIA RTX 4070+) after effects minimum requirements

We’ve all been there.

Now go make that glitter dystopia without the crash. More RAM

You will not get real-time playback. You will get a slideshow. 4GB VRAM (NVIDIA RTX 3050 / AMD Radeon

16GB. The Sweet Spot: 32GB. The "Time is Money" Pro: 64GB+. The Processor Paradox (Single Core vs. The World) Most software loves many cores. Premiere Pro will happily use 16 cores to export video. After Effects? It’s a diva.

Laptop CPUs "throttle" (slow down) when they get hot. After Effects makes them hot in about 90 seconds. A laptop with "i9" specs will perform worse than a desktop with "i5" specs after 10 minutes of rendering because the laptop runs out of thermal headroom.