Best Laptops for After Effects
After Effects is a post-production film making tool for creating visual effects and motion graphics.
Laptop Requirements for After Effects
The system requirements are light; nearly any new laptop will work for running AE.
Most media laptops meet the RAM requirement of 16gb.
Windows System Requirements
Minimum:
- Processor: Intel® 6th Generation or newer CPU, or AMD Ryzen™ 1000 Series or newer CPU Advanced Vector Extensions 2 (AVX2) support required Windows on Arm: Qualcomm Snapdragon X series processor
- Operating System: Windows 11 v24H2 Windows on Arm: Windows 11 v24H2 (OS Build 26100.2033)
- Memory (RAM): 16 GB of RAM
- Graphics Processing Unit: Windows with NVIDIA GPU: GPU must be of the Maxwell generation or newer and have at least 4GB of GPU memory Windows with Intel or AMD GPU: Discrete GPU with at least 4GB GPU memory and support for OpenCL Windows on Arm: Qualcomm Adreno GPU driver 31.0.121.1 or later Note Learn about requirement specifics for Advanced 3D renderer. Starting with release 25.6, OpenCL 2.0 is required. Support for OpenCL 1.2 and earlier versions has been discontinued.
- Storage space: 8 GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (will not install on removable flash storage) Additional high-speed drive for media
Recommended:
- Processor: Intel® 11th Gen or newer CPU with Quick Sync – or AMD Ryzen™ 3000 Series / Threadripper 3000 series or newer CPU Windows on Arm: Qualcomm Snapdragon X series processor
- Operating System: Windows 11 v24H2 or later
- Memory (RAM): 16 GB of RAM for HD media 32 GB or more for 4K and higher
- Graphics Processing Unit: 8 GB of GPU Memory
- Storage space: Fast internal SSD for app installation and cache Additional high-speed drive(s) for media
Best Windows Laptops for AE
These laptops meet the recommended system requirements and let you use the software to its full extent without stutter.
13″
ASUS ROG Flow Z13
Runs 80% of new games on recommended 8060S GPU2026 model64 GB RAMThin2-in-1 laptop
16″
ASUS ROG Strix G16
Runs 80% of new games on recommended RTX 5060 GPU2026 model16 GB RAMi7 CPU
16″
ASUS FA608R7 16″
Runs 50% of new games on recommended RTX 5050 GPU2026 model16 GB RAMThinAMD CPU
18″
Gigabyte GAMING A18 3VHK3USC64SH
GAMING A18 3VHK3USC64SH
Runs 80% of new games on recommended RTX 5060 GPU2025 model32 GB RAMAMD CPUIPS screen
16″
Gigabyte GAMING A16 CWHI3US864SH
GAMING A16 CWHI3US864SH
Runs 80% of new games on recommended RTX 5070 GPU2025 model32 GB RAMi7 CPU
Gigabyte GAMING A16 CWHI3US894SH
GAMING A16 CWHI3US894SH
Runs 80% of new games on recommended RTX 5070 GPU2025 model16 GB RAMi7 CPU
16″
Razer Blade 16
RZ09-05817EN3-R3U1
Runs 90% of new games on recommended RTX 5070 Ti GPU2026 model32 GB RAMThinHigh resolution
16″
Razer Blade 16
RZ09-05819EN4-R3U1
Runs 90% of new games on recommended RTX 5090 GPU2026 model32 GB RAMThinHigh resolution
16″
Razer Blade 16
RZ09-05819EN9-R3U1
Runs 90% of new games on recommended RTX 5090 GPU2026 model64 GB RAMThinHigh resolution
15″
MSI Katana 15 HX
Katana15B14016
Runs 80% of new games on recommended RTX 5070 GPU2025 model32 GB RAMi9 CPUHigh resolution
15″
MSI Katana 15 HX
KAT15HXB14810
Runs 80% of new games on recommended RTX 5060 GPU2025 model16 GB RAMi7 CPUHigh resolution
16″
MSI Vector 16 HX AI
B0G1XTTBCN
Runs 90% of new games on recommended RTX 5080 GPU2026 model32 GB RAMIPS screenHigh resolution
Budget Windows Laptops for AE
These cheaper options meet the minimum system requirements stated by the developer. You may experience slowness in some parts of the software.
13″
Microsoft Surface Pro 13″
EP2-73249
2026 model16 GB RAM2-in-1 laptopTouchscreenLightweight
16″
Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 16″
83TE
Popular2026 modelTrusted brand16 GB RAMThin2-in-1 laptop
16″
Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 16″
83TE
2026 modelTrusted brand16 GB RAMThin2-in-1 laptopTouchscreen
16″
Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 16″
83JT
2026 modelTrusted brand16 GB RAMThin2-in-1 laptopTouchscreen
15″
Dell Inspiron 15″
2026 modelTrusted brand16 GB RAMTouchscreenAMD CPU
13″
Microsoft Surface Pro 2-in-1 /Tablet 13″
ZIA-00018
2025 model16 GB RAM2-in-1 laptopTouchscreen
Updated on October 31, 2026.
These recommendations are based on technical details and requirements. We can't guarantee that the app will run on every laptop.
Updated November 2, 2026