All those in the field of video editing, graphics designing, and other related areas would be aware of ‘Adobe After Effects.’ It is an industry-level tool used for professional editing and composing of videos, motion graphic designing, and video animation.
If you are one such professional looking forward to After Effects’ professional use, you should know some of the features required for it in a laptop. These are some impressive specs that you will need to run After Effects on your laptop without any hassle smoothly.
List Of 12 Best Laptops For After Effects
1. Microsoft Surface Book 2
- Microsoft Surface Book 2 Features a 8th generation Intel Quad Core i7 Processor, 512 GB of storage, 16 GB RAM, and up to 17 hours of video playback
- Enhanced Graphics performance with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 discrete GPU w/6GB GDDR5 Graphics Memory
- The fastest Surface Book yet, with 4x more power
- Vibrant PixelSense Display: now available with a new 15 touchscreen. Weight : Starting at 4.2 pounds including keyboard
- Four versatile modes of use and new USB-C port
2. DELL XPS 15
- The virtually border less display maximizes screen space by accommodating a 15.6 Inches Display inside a laptop closer to the size of a 14 inches, thanks to a bezel measuring just 5.7 millimeters
- Beautiful from any angle: The anti reflective screen combined with superior 400 nit brightness frees you to enjoy your entertainment outdoors. Plus, the IPS panel provides a wider viewing angle, so you can share your screen without missing a thing
- With the UltraSharp 4K Ultra HD display (3840 x 2160), you can see each detail of every pixel without needing to zoom in. You can edit images with pinpoint accuracy without worrying about blurriness or jagged lines
3. MacBook Pro
- Brilliant Retina Display with True Tone technology
- Touch Bar and Touch ID
- Radeon Pro 560x Graphics with 4GB of video Memory
- Ultrafast SSD
- Intel UHD Graphics 630
- Four Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports
- Up to 10 hours of battery life
- 802.11ac Wi-Fi
- Force Touch trackpad
- macOS, inspired by pros but designed for everyone, with dark mode, stacks, easier screenshots, new built-in apps, and more
4. LENOVO FLEX 5 (2-IN-1)
- STUNNING FHD DISPLAY: Laptop has a Full HD (15.6) IPS touchscreen display, so you’ll be able to watch movies and browse the web in vivid detail from nearly every angle;No numeric keyboard
- FINGERPRINT READER: Log in to your Flex 5 laptop instantly and securely with our fingerprint reader, and with the support of Windows Hello, you can make secure purchases at participating retailers with one touch of your finger.
- POWERFUL PROCESSOR: Equipped with the latest 8th Gen Intel processor and a 256GB PCIe SSD, this 2 in 1 laptop has lightning fast boot-ups and transfer times, plus plenty of memory for more apps and large files without the slow down.
- TOUCHSCREEN LAPTOP: Turn thoughts into action with the new Windows Ink features that let you write, type, and touch directly on your laptop; pair with the Lenovo Active Pen (available separately) which emulates a natural pen-on-paper writing experience.
- LONG-LASTING BATTERY: This 15-inch laptop has an epic 10 hour battery life to fuel a day full of creativity without worrying about finding a charging station.
- Max Memory: 16 GB
5. Acer Aspire E 15 Laptop
6. ACER CONCEPTD 7
- 9th Generation Intel Core i7-9750H 6-Core Processor (Up to 4. 5GHz) with Windows 10 Home 64 Bit
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 with 6 GB of dedicated GDDR6 VRAM | RTX Studio Laptop
- 15. 6 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160) Widescreen LED-backlit IPS Display | Pantone Validated | Delta E <2 | 400nit Brightness | 100% Adobe RGB Color Gamut
- 16GB DDR4 2666MHz Memory | 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD
- Amber Colored Backlit Keyboard | LAN: Killer Ethernet E3000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN (Up to 2. 5 Gbps) | Wireless: Killer DoubleShot Pro Wireless-AC 1550 802. 11ac
7. Yoga 720
- 7th Generation Intel Core i7-7700HQ Quad-Core Processor 2.8 GHz (max boost speed up to 3.8GHz) 6MB Cache, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 graphics 2GB Dedicated Video memorry
- 15.6-inch 4K IPS 10-point multitouch screen, Ultra HD 3840 x 2160 resolution Widescreen LED, Convertible 360° flip-and-fold design, Stylus Capable Screen, Windows Ink Capable, Stylus not included
- 16 GB DDR4 SDRAM 2133 MHz, 512GB Solid State Drive, Backlit keyboard, Fingerprint Reader, Thunderbolt port for connecting advanced monitors and external drives, NO Optical Drive
- Ultra-fast 802.11 A/C WiFi, Bluetooth 4.1, 1USB Type-C port, 1 SuperSpeed 10Gbs USB 3.1 port, 2X high speed USB 3.0, 1x Combo audio jack, JBL Stereo Speakers with Dolby Audio, HD webcam with two microphones
- Windows 10 home 64 bit, Weighs4.41lbs, measures 0.8 thin, Battery life up to 8 hours, Color: Silver
8. ACER NITRO 5
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics - backed by 4GB GDDR5 dedicated video memory for a fast, advanced GPU to fuel your games.
- 15.6 Full HD screen - 1920 x 1080 resolution, IPS technology, LED backlight.
- 8th Gen Intel Core i5-8300 mobile processor - Smart quad-core, eight-way processing, Intel Turbo Boost technology; 16GB DDR4 2400 MHz memory; 256GB PCIe solid-state drive (SSD); 1TB hard drive for extra storage.
- HDMI output expands your viewing options; Built-in HD webcam with stereo microphone; Microphone-in/headphone-out combo jack. Connect to a Wireless-AC router for speed nearly 3x faster than Wireless-N. The Gigabit Ethernet LAN port also plugs into wired networks.
- Weighs 5.95 lbs. and is 1.1 thin overall; Thin and light design with DVD/CD drive omitted for improved portability; Four-cell lithium-ion battery for 5.5 hours battery life; Windows 10 Home operating system.
9. Razer Blade Pro
10. Acer Nitro 5 Spin
11. Alienware M15
- Display: 15.6 FHD (1920 x 1080) 60Hz Anti-Glare IPS, 300-nits 72% color gamut, Narrow-Border Display
- Processor: 8th Generation Intel Core i7-8750H (6-Core, 9MB Cache, up to 4.1GHz w/ Turbo Boost)
- Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q design
- Memory and Storage: 16GB RAM, 2x8GB, DDR4, 2666MHz and 128GB PCIe M.2 SSD + 1TB (+8GB SSHD) Hybrid Drive
- Operating System: Windows 10 Home Advance
12. ASUS VivoBook F510UA
- Powerful 8th Generation Intel Core i5 8250U 1.6GHz (Turbo up to 3.4GHz) processor
- 14.2 Inches Wide, 0.8 Inches Thin and portable footprint with 0.3 Inches Nano edge bezel for a stunning 80% screen to body ratio
- 15.6 inches Anti glare full HD display with ASUS splendid software enhancement
- 8GB DDR4 RAM and 1TB HDD
- Ergonomic chiclet keyboard with fingerprint sensor, Windows 10 Home
- Comprehensive connections including USB 3.1 Type C (Gen1), USB 3.0, USB 2.0, and HDMI; Lightning fast 802.11AC Wi Fi keeps you connected through any congestion or interference
Best Laptops For After Effects Buyer’s Guide
It is a complete guide that will give you a detailed insight into what to look for in a laptop when buying After Effects.
Processor and RAM
After Effects require the best quality of processor and RAM, don’t compromise on it. It is recommended that you seek nothing below the 8th generation Intel Core i5 processor and 8GB RAM, although more is always appreciated.
After Effects is more dependent on the CPU than the GPU when it comes to calculating the effects that you are applying; thus, it means that your program will perform better on higher base frequency.
For windows, a sound processor laptop for After Effects will be the one that has a multi-core Intel processor with 64-bit support. The same rules apply for MAC OS.
Storage
It is highly likely that you will require bulk storage space as you will fill up your laptop with various videos and designs on professional grounds. Thus, it is also recommended that you use a solid-state drive rather than a traditional hard disk drive.
Although you may find it a little expensive, it will accelerate your laptop’s performance because it boots faster. As you will pile your work on your laptop, you will need faster booting and quick recovery. Thus, SSD will limit the wastage of time.
Graphics Card
Although a graphics card is not a key element in a laptop for After Effects, it plays vital roles in 3D tasks and some other effects. Thus, you should at least look for a dedicated graphics card. If you are low on budget, then the entry-level Nvidia GeForce MX150 GPU is the cheapest possibility for After Effects.
Although this chip is better than an integrated GPU still it would not suffice for big projects. Thus, our recommendation would be to spend a little more than that and get something more powerful, like GTX 1060.
Other features
As you will be working on visual effects, you will need to take care of some additional features while balancing your budget. A good display and high refresh rate also count for an After Effects laptop. 144 Hz of the refresh rate is ideally the best.
If you are open on a budget, you can also look for complete view angle displays with brilliant brightness; this will help you use the laptop outdoors. The connectivity options cannot be ignored as you will have to make a connection with external devices for file transfers. Thus, make sure you have a Thunderbolt 3.0 port.
What laptops are suitable for After Effects?
If you are willing to go overboard with the price, then Surface Book is the best option. People who are already Mac users will feel it to be a perfect environment for working. The 15-inch screen with dedicated graphics and long battery life in Surface Book is a good option.
Is i5 good for After Effects?
Yes, i5 will do a great job to run your After Effects smoothly. However, it is the clock speed that matters the most in it as it makes a significant difference in rendering your program. As mentioned above, you should not opt for anything lesser than the 8th generation Intel Core i5 processor.
Is 8GB RAM enough for After Effects?
A minimum of 8GB RAM will do After Effects’ job, but you should not take any risk while buying a new laptop because Adobe recommends 16GB RAM. There are chances that you may encounter an error message while running the program on After Effects with 8GB RAM. Thus, if you are tight in budget, you can rely on 8GB RAM; otherwise, try to get your hands on 16GB RAM.
Why does After Effects use so much RAM?
You will witness that After Effects uses up a lot of RAM, and that is because it temporarily stores some rendered frames and source images in RAM. Thus, this is to ensure that previewing and editing can be done faster. It does not cache those frames, which take little time to render.
Why is my After Effects so slow?
The main reason behind the slow processing of After Effects is low memory and storage space. If you are running After Effects on a laptop that lacks RAM, you may often encounter it. There are some applications with which After Effects is sharing a memory pool. However, if you run applications other than those without allowing them adequate memory, performance is greatly hindered as the operating system swaps RAM to hard disk.
How do I speed up my Adobe After Effects?
There are various methods that you can try to speed up your Adobe After Effects. The first and foremost technique is to upgrade your RAM and increase storage. You can also try switching from a hard drive to a solid-state drive because the latter is faster. If you are still adamant about using HDD, you should use two of them to boost the performance.
Does After Effects work on MacBook Air?
After Effects is made for professionals, whereas MacBook Air is not something designed for professionals. MacBook Pro is also not a very good option for After Effects because it lacks dedicated graphics and does not have long-lasting battery life. If you still want to use Mac, you can go for Final Cut Pro X, a particular app made by Apple for smoother performance on Mac.
Conclusion
Buying a laptop is not as easy as it sounds because you need to suspect the features and then choose the best one carefully. If you blindly get your hands on any laptop, you may waste your money on something unreliable. Thus, it is essential to study your requirements and the options available in the market and then select one laptop precisely.
