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Hardware recommendations for Premiere Pro and After Effects

This page is a companion document to the system requirements for Premiere Pro and After Effects. It provides additional information on system components and considerations for optimal performance.

For information on After Effects and Multi-Frame Rendering, see Configuring your system below.

 Want a summary of the key information? Click here to download PDF.

Choosing your platform

Premiere Pro and After Effects run equally well on Windows and Apple computers. There will always be differences between different setups since there are many variables in video and motion graphics workflows. However, these can be managed successfully with a sound system, a basic understanding of video formats, and the editing workflow. 

Note:

Premiere Pro and After Effects have native support for Apple silicon systems.

Advantages of macOS

Well-integrated hardware and software with existing configurations to choose from. Generally, for the video, you need a system with at least 16 GB of memory, SSD storage, an Apple silicon system processor, or a fast Intel processor with an AMD graphics card. 

Advantages of Windows

Choice, upgradeability, and often cost savings. You can configure the system to your needs and budget or choose configurations tested with Premiere Pro from Dell, Lenovo, HP, and video workstation specialist companies like Puget Systems.

Windows can be easier to upgrade, meaning a longer lifespan for the system.

Laptop or desktop?

Video editing is demanding and requires powerful processing and fast storage. You can configure these requirements in both desktop and mobile systems. Desktops usually offer more “bang for the buck,” include more configuration options, and are often easier to upgrade.

Laptops have the apparent advantage of portability and can be connected to external displays and augmented with external storage and eGPUs. Laptops may be more expensive relative to the power they offer.

Apple desktops

Current Mac Pros, iMac Pros, M1 iMacs, and Mac Minis with at least 16GB of memory and SSD storage will support video editing workflows.

Apple laptops

MacBook Pro laptops with at least 16GB of memory and SSD storage will support standard video editing, including HD and 4K media.

Windows desktops

Build or choose configurations with a fast multicore CPU, AMD or NVIDIA graphics cards, fast SSD storage, and 32GB or more memory.

Windows laptops

Depending on the model, Windows laptops offer many options for configuring a video editing workstation that meets your needs.

Note:

You can also choose from desktop configurations tested with Premiere Pro from Dell, Lenovo, HP, and video workstation specialist companies like Puget Systems.

How much storage is needed?

Video files are big, so you'll need lots of space. In addition to fast onboard storage, we recommend using at least one fast external storage device as part of your editing workflow (SSD or NVMe with a Thunderbolt or USB 3.1 connection). We recommend an additional large-capacity storage device for archiving completed video projects. 

File size and bit depth

File size

The two most common resolutions for video content today are HD and 4K. Measured in screen pixels (width x height), HD is typically 1920 x 1080and 4K footage is four times larger at 3840 x 2160. 

HD 4k
HD files are smaller, which means they take up less hard drive space, are easier to edit, and are faster to export. Most content on YouTube is still in HD resolution. 
4K files take up more storage space and require more computing power for playback and export. The advantage of 4K is that you've more detail in your images and more room to crop without losing quality.

Bit depth

Bit-depth refers to the amount of color information contained in a file. 

8-bit video files 10-bit video files
8-bit files are more widely used and are less demanding for video editing.  
10-bit files require more computing power for playback. You may not notice the difference with the naked eye, but 10-bit files give you much more color detail to work with for more advanced color grading. 

Configuring your system

 The four key variables in building a video workstation are the processor (CPU), memory, graphics (GPU), and storage. A well-equipped high-end system can run Premiere Pro and After Effects well. Understanding how each application uses system resources will help you to build the best system for your needs.

Processors

After Effects and Premiere Pro benefit from 3.2 GHz or higher CPU clock speeds.

With the transition to Multi-Frame Rendering, After Effects can use multi-core CPUs. Starting with After Effects 22.0, users should view immediate performance improvements for previews and exports. After Effects with Multi-Frame Rendering is up to 4x faster on high-end systems. We strongly recommend Core i7 or Core i9 Intel processors or AMD equivalents.

Premiere Pro: For Premiere Pro, eight cores are sufficient. Depending on the task, Premiere Pro runs at 93-98% efficiency with eight cores.

  • At least a Core i7 or Core i9 Intel processor, AMD equivalent, or an Apple silicon system processor. Intel Core i7 and Core i9 (the latest mobile Xeon processors) offer Quick Sync technology, accelerating the decoding or playback of H.264 and HEVC. 
  • Some desktop Intel Xeon processors don't offer QuickSync. These may be better suited for high-end workflows with cinema camera formats (e.g., RED, Sony Venice, ARRI) and broadcast formats (e.g., XDCam HD). 

After Effects: For After Effects 22.0 and later, an 8 or 12-core CPU is a good starting point. For demanding workflows, 32-cores take full advantage of Multi-Frame Rendering.

The amount of memory also impacts how After Effects can use the available CPU cores.

  • AMD Ryzen 7 (8 core) or Ryzen 9 (12 or 16 core) deliver outstanding performance and support 64GB of RAM and higher.
  • For very high-end performance AMD Threadripper (24 or 32 core) or Intel Xeon (24 or 32 core), which support 256GB of RAM and higher
  • For After Effects users also running Premiere Pro, consider Intel Core i7 or Core i9 with Quick Sync hardware acceleration for H.264 and HEVC formats. Use with at least 32GB of memory.

Memory

Premiere Pro: Windows systems or Intel-based Mac video editing workstations should have 32GB of memory or more. For Apple silicon systems, we recommend 16GB of shared memory (currently the maximum available).

After Effects 22.0 or higher: We recommend starting with 64GB of RAM. As a rule of thumb for Multi-Frame Rendering, include 4GB of RAM for each CPU core, add 20GB, and round up to the nearest standard RAM configuration.

Graphics

Premiere Pro and After Effects are engineered to take advantage of the GPU.

Premiere Pro: We recommend a GPU with at least 4GB of memory (VRAM). Multiple GPUs, including eGPUs, will speed up export and rendering in Premiere Pro.

After Effects 22.0 or later: We recommend a GPU with at least 8GB of VRAM. 

Apple silicon systems use shared memory for graphics processing. We recommend Apple silicon systems with at least 16GB of Unified Memory for video editing.

Storage

Fast storage is mission-critical for video production, using fast SSD or NVMe storage. Without a fast RAID array, spinning disks don't offer sufficient speed for HD and UHD video.

  • SSD or NVMe flash memory drives 
  • For local storage, an optimal setup uses three drives: 
    • System Drive for OS and apps
    • Drive for the Media Cache - accelerator files, including peak files (.pek) and conformed audio (.cfa). Premiere can make thousands of calls to these files every second). 
    • Media Drive for video assets and other project media

You can use fast external drives for media and Media Cache. You can store Media Cache and Media on the same drive if only two drives are available.

Shared storage: With a fast connection of 10Gps or higher, Premiere Pro and After Effects work well with Network Attached Storage (NAS) systems, including mixed environments with macOS and Windows. With shared storage, the Media Cache should always be stored locally for individual users. 

Upgrading your system

Adding memory is the easiest and, usually, most impactful place to start if you want to upgrade your system to improve performance for both Premiere Pro and After Effects.

Upgrade Premiere Pro system in this order of priority:

  1. Add more RAM – up to 128GB if the motherboard supports it (especially for long-form content) 
  2. A faster GPU – or additional GPUs for faster export and rendering with Premiere Pro
  3. For storage: Faster (or additional) SSD or NVMe drives
  4. CPU with a faster clock speed

Upgrade your system for After Effects 22.0 or later in this order of priority:

  1. A CPU with 32 cores will maximize the advantages of Multi-Frame Rendering.
  2. Add more RAM – 128GB or more, depending on the use case.
  3. Add faster SSD or NVMe drives or faster connection for shared storage.
  4. Faster GPU with more than 8GB of VRAM.

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