Additional information

About After Effects & Hardware Requirements

Adobe After Effects is the industry leader for motion graphics, visual effects, and compositing. The software is resource-intensive, and while Adobe publishes minimum system requirements, those requirements only cover the basics to open the application. For professionals working in 4K, 8K, or advanced 3D workflows, a custom workstation for After Effects is essential.

Performance depends on four key hardware areas:

• CPU for Multi-Frame Rendering (MFR) and timeline responsiveness
• GPU for effects, previews, and the Advanced 3D Renderer
• RAM for complex compositions and cached previews
• NVMe storage for scratch disks and project files

CPU for After Effects

The CPU is the most critical component for After Effects performance. Multi-Frame Rendering allows multiple frames to render simultaneously, scaling with available cores.

• Intel Core Ultra 9 285K — Ideal for motion graphics and timeline-heavy workflows. Excellent single-core speed ensures responsive editing.
• AMD Threadripper 9970X — Best for studios handling large compositions, 3D pipelines, or running multiple Adobe apps together. High core count and extreme memory support make it the ultimate After Effects CPU.

GPU for After Effects

After Effects is CPU-focused, but the GPU is vital for GPU-accelerated effects, previews, and the Advanced 3D Renderer.

• NVIDIA RTX 5080 16GB — Balanced choice with enough VRAM for most professionals.
• NVIDIA RTX 5090 32GB — Heavy-duty GPU with maximum VRAM, enabling more simultaneous render threads and handling large 3D/VFX projects.

VRAM matters: Multi-Frame Rendering increases VRAM usage since multiple frames render at once. More VRAM allows more parallel render threads and faster performance.

RAM for After Effects

RAM capacity directly impacts how many layers, cached previews, and applications you can run at once.

• Recommended: 96GB DDR5-5600 — smooth performance for professional projects.
• High-end workflows: 256GB DDR5-5600 ECC — required for 4K/8K compositing, VFX studios, and multi-app pipelines.

Storage for After Effects

Fast storage prevents bottlenecks when caching, previewing, or rendering.

• OS/Apps: NVMe SSD for fast startup and responsiveness
• Disk Cache/Scratch: Dedicated NVMe SSD (essential for HPPP)
• Projects/Archive: SSD, HDD, or high-speed NAS depending on workflow

External drives are fine for backup, but active projects should always run on fast internal NVMe storage.

Why a Custom After Effects Workstation Matters

Adobe’s official requirements are designed to let the software run, but not to power professional workflows. A custom After Effects workstation ensures:

• Faster renders with Multi-Frame Rendering across modern CPUs
• Smooth playback of high-resolution and multi-layer compositions
• Reliable GPU acceleration for the Advanced 3D Renderer and effects
• Large memory pools to support multiple Creative Cloud apps simultaneously
• Dedicated NVMe scratch drives that prevent stutter and dropped frames
• Stability and scalability for future Adobe updates and AI-driven features

For professionals, time is money. The right workstation doesn’t just meet the minimum—it unlocks speed, stability, and efficiency that standard systems can’t match.

For Adobe’s official requirements, see Adobe After Effects System Requirements .