Systems with 16 or more cores can see rendering speeds 3x to 4x faster than older versions.
If you are building or buying a PC specifically for After Effects with Multi-Frame Rendering enabled, follow this priority list: Systems with 16 or more cores can see
The amount of VRAM is critical because After Effects' newer is heavily GPU-accelerated. If you run out of VRAM, MFR performance can degrade as the system struggles to allocate memory for concurrent frames. One CPU core renders one frame
One CPU core renders one frame. GPU handles a few blurs and blends. You could almost get away with integrated graphics. MFR (Now): Eight, twelve, or sixteen CPU cores each grab a frame simultaneously. The GPU must hold all those textures, effects buffers, and previews in VRAM simultaneously. MFR (Now): Eight, twelve, or sixteen CPU cores
Do not buy a 24-core Threadripper if you are pairing it with an 8GB GPU. MFR is a symbiotic relationship:
are top choices for absolute best performance in 2026, particularly for GPU-heavy plugins and the Advanced 3D engine.
Adobe publishes minimum requirements, but these are often too low for a smooth MFR workflow.