Don’t Buy the Wrong Computer for After Effects! Specs Explained…
Thinking of buying a new computer for Adobe After Effects?
In this video I break down exactly what to look for when shopping for a computer that can handle After Effects in 2026. I discuss laptop or desktops, Windows or Apple, graphics cards, storage, RAM etc…
I briefly explain how After Effects works, which gives us some clues as to what hardware to prioritise (spoiler: it’s RAM), I then try to answer some frequent questions:
- RAM vs CPU cores – which matters more for After Effects
- GPU choices – does Nvidia still beat AMD?
- Laptops vs desktops – is upgradeability more important than RAM?
- My free scoring spreadsheet you can use to compare potential computers
Whether you’re a motion designer, 3D artist, editor, or student, I hope this guide will help you buy smart and get the most performance out of your budget.
Can’t see this video? Click here! If you are in Safari, hover over “Safari” in your menu, click “settings for creativecow.net” and toggle the “Auto-Play” to “Allow All Auto-Play”.
Download the spreadsheet here (Pay What You Want, including free):
Warren Heaton’s Mac advice post
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