Minimum Requirements For After Effects -

| | If Below Minimum | |---|---| | RAM (<8 GB) | "Low memory" errors. Preview turns green/black. Crashes when trying to render. | | HDD instead of SSD | 5-minute launch times. Every click freezes for 10 seconds. Impossible to work. | | Old GPU (<2GB VRAM) | Roto Brush refuses to track. 3D layers render as wireframes. No hardware acceleration. | | Slow CPU (<2.5GHz) | Previews take 30 seconds per frame. Real-time playback is impossible. | | Windows 7 / macOS 12 | Installer refuses to run. No workaround. |

If you plan to work with 4K or high-resolution content, you'll need a more powerful computer. Here are some additional requirements: minimum requirements for after effects

As of May 2026, here are the essential requirements for After Effects. Core System Requirements (2024–2026 Versions) | | If Below Minimum | |---|---| |

For motion graphics, high clock speeds (GHz) are more important than having dozens of cores. However, the newer Multi-Frame Rendering (MFR) feature allows After Effects to use multiple cores to speed up exports significantly. | | HDD instead of SSD | 5-minute launch times