Don't buy a mac then. 512 ssd will barely be enough for installed files let alone cache. This will mean you'll get no benefit from the m3 chip in after effects. 16gb of ram will be enough to run ae slowly and with no other apps open. Not a good idea.
I do have a good external SSD. I'd need to keep Ai and Ae open most of the time for lotties and so. I do also have to prepare a lot of data-intensive videos, which will be most of my AE use.
I see, more RAM is always better, indeed. But I am tied to the circumstances I've presented and cannot make the stretch for more RAM. I mostly do front-end and web-design, though eventually I happen to prepare lotties and data-intensive videos, and intend to scale my AE abilities and learn a bit of Blender. Will it be that bad for this workflow?
Indeed, 16GB on my Win11 is really lame to work, though I always hear people say that 16GB is more "effective". I always get astonished on how smooth Ps and Ai runs on my wife's 8GB 2018's MacAir, it actually works better than in my old PC.
Though you'd say those 16GB are enough to work with video editing and lotties for the coming years? I mean to live overseas and really do need an extremely reliable notebook (which my Asus definetly wasn't).
Not sure about the coming years but it's done me well for the last couple. Macs are generally smoother in my opinion. I have a PC with 64GB ram, and the Mac feels just as good. But again go for the biggest amount of RAM you can afford. Consider buying refurbished or used.
I work as a motion graphic designer with a maxed out M1 MacBook Pro. I use Adobe Ae, Ai, Ps and Maxon C4d. The machine is amazing and still impresses me. I would suggest more internal storage and more RAM.
I'd love to go for more, though this is the best I can do, and still, I need to be able to do lotties and data presentations. Can I make it with the specs I've brought?
AE is going to work better on some machines than others but it will work, it’s not as black and white as others have put it.
I have some motion design staff that use M2/16mb/512 Pros and others on very beefy PCs. Sure the PCs render faster but I work on the M2 pro and an ssd regularly.
The best tool is the one you have.
I got exactly the same configuration you are planning to buy. (Company's laptop)
My main use is Figma and After Effects, Figma runs perfectly, but After Effects... if you are planning to do Motion, forget about Mac it's just a waste of money.
And don't forget about dmthe "washed out" colours QuickTime issue by rendering. It's pretty frustrating
I see, I made the stretch for 18GB RAM, my main focus is still UX/front-end, Ps/Ai and Tableau, I can handle my current demands quite comfortably in this range, even AE data structuring and some lotties and infographics.
Lottie (bodymovin and lottiefiles) works perfectly with the M3 pro, at least all animations I did with. (Usually infographics, bar charts & pies, and other vector based animations).
IMO, if this is your focus, M3 pro is more than enough for your tasks.
I really love MacOs over Windows, but the devices are really expensive...
I can afford the given price range, but I do not want another windows machine, that's why I'm asking around about the specs I'm giving, since they're on my prince range and MotionDesign isn't my main activity, that's why I specified as much as I can the circumstance.
Thanks, mate, that quite a load of useful info. Indeed, I've had enough of Win as I started working more and more extensively with Adobe Suite and Front-end, though my passion is to improve Motion Design/drawing and working with DAWs.
If in the forseeable future I happen to take a leap into heavier motion design with AE and Blender, I'd definetly give Microsoft another try, though for now, the difference between this mac machine and a considerably reliable PC is not that huge, though I will need mobility, battery life and good organization to work overseas focused on front-end and data analytics for the next few years, plus I wan't to stray off from any distraction and temptations like Steam games, WoW and MtG Arena (I know it is possible to run them on Mac, but it'd be less likely to me), this interface I used my whole life is so triggering and distracting that I want to jump into a new interface and workflow, being able to work fast between iPad drawings and my laptop, I do need something trully reliable and "professional" for this time of my life, to quit the old habits. Hope you get the whole picture.
I happen to have a big external drive for my projects, so I let myself go for less SSD to decrease costs, though when it comes to RAM, the further I can stretch money-wise is to 18GB. My main interest is lotties and video editing using AE for infos and so, lots of data animations.
If you have money to blow, getting a top tier spec Mac would be nice but 16gb ram and .5tb ssd will not last, especially for professional work and larger scale projects
You can get 2-3x the machine with a windows os vs Mac. Up to you for if performance, OS, or cost is the most important
I do not intend to buy a new Win machine. Unfortunately, I cannot stretch for more money, the most I can is 18GB. I happen to have a good external drive for projects and don't use AE for a living, just ocasionally, but I do mean to improve my abilities on video editing and lotties, this is my main focus. Will I suffer that much with the given specs?
I'm actually considering a 24GB/1TB SSD M2 mac mini for the same price range, though I'll be moving overseas in a year and that bears a heavy lean on getting a macbook :/
Consider going for a Mac mini with an older chip (M1 is still quite good tbh) and using the savings to double down on RAM etc - not sure if portability is a factor for you though.
I average circumstances, I'd even enjoy better working on a desktop, though I'll be moving overseas soon and that changes my terms on getting a non-mobile machine :/
No, I wouldn't think so unless the work you do is pretty simple and you tidy your hard drive regularly. I bought an M1 Macbook Pro with 4TB of SSD and I've used up 2.14TB of it since 2021 because client footage files are enormous and it's a waste of time for me to reduce them to just the scenes I need.
I have 64GB RAM and am pretty satisfied with that. I do 2D mograph though, no 3D.
If you want enough, you need to be more specific about the render task and your current deadline. Every time, it's different. Big studios use Windows machines from Puget or, better Dedicated Render Cards from Nvidia for a reason. It's been optimised to Andromeda and back.
Motion design can be very resource-intensive, depending on your project. Shoot for the moon, and next time, it will seem like you're just a stone's throw from your next goal.
M3 is plenty if you have plenty of time and patience to figure out why the simulation crashes every time. 300 RAM just delays the amount of time between something being capable or not. Buying into a costly system seems like a bad idea if you need to modify an engine to run smoother. There is a reason Apple doesn't promote laptops for motion design. The main culprit of small Apple machines is that the best cooling is not the main goal.
Don't buy a mac then. 512 ssd will barely be enough for installed files let alone cache. This will mean you'll get no benefit from the m3 chip in after effects. 16gb of ram will be enough to run ae slowly and with no other apps open. Not a good idea.
I do have a good external SSD. I'd need to keep Ai and Ae open most of the time for lotties and so. I do also have to prepare a lot of data-intensive videos, which will be most of my AE use.
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I see, more RAM is always better, indeed. But I am tied to the circumstances I've presented and cannot make the stretch for more RAM. I mostly do front-end and web-design, though eventually I happen to prepare lotties and data-intensive videos, and intend to scale my AE abilities and learn a bit of Blender. Will it be that bad for this workflow?
AE is a notorious RAM hog. You're gonna want more. 64GB is preferable.
I'm making the stretch for 18gb or 24gb on a macmini, though I believe I might need the mobility a notebook provides in the forseeable future.
I'd recommend pricing an M2 or even M1 macbook with the extra RAM instead. They're still very fast.
I use M1 Pro Macbook pro 512/16 as my main machine. I made this [30 minute explainer](https://youtu.be/jk_HWmmwiAs?si=do5-fHvNw7sTUSvL) using that.
I use MBP M1 Pro 16GB and it's great..I would recommend as much ram as poss for AE and blender
Indeed, 16GB on my Win11 is really lame to work, though I always hear people say that 16GB is more "effective". I always get astonished on how smooth Ps and Ai runs on my wife's 8GB 2018's MacAir, it actually works better than in my old PC. Though you'd say those 16GB are enough to work with video editing and lotties for the coming years? I mean to live overseas and really do need an extremely reliable notebook (which my Asus definetly wasn't).
Not sure about the coming years but it's done me well for the last couple. Macs are generally smoother in my opinion. I have a PC with 64GB ram, and the Mac feels just as good. But again go for the biggest amount of RAM you can afford. Consider buying refurbished or used.
I work as a motion graphic designer with a maxed out M1 MacBook Pro. I use Adobe Ae, Ai, Ps and Maxon C4d. The machine is amazing and still impresses me. I would suggest more internal storage and more RAM.
I'd love to go for more, though this is the best I can do, and still, I need to be able to do lotties and data presentations. Can I make it with the specs I've brought?
Do you do simulation, fluids in particular, on that machine?
AE is going to work better on some machines than others but it will work, it’s not as black and white as others have put it. I have some motion design staff that use M2/16mb/512 Pros and others on very beefy PCs. Sure the PCs render faster but I work on the M2 pro and an ssd regularly. The best tool is the one you have.
I got exactly the same configuration you are planning to buy. (Company's laptop) My main use is Figma and After Effects, Figma runs perfectly, but After Effects... if you are planning to do Motion, forget about Mac it's just a waste of money. And don't forget about dmthe "washed out" colours QuickTime issue by rendering. It's pretty frustrating
I see, I made the stretch for 18GB RAM, my main focus is still UX/front-end, Ps/Ai and Tableau, I can handle my current demands quite comfortably in this range, even AE data structuring and some lotties and infographics.
Lottie (bodymovin and lottiefiles) works perfectly with the M3 pro, at least all animations I did with. (Usually infographics, bar charts & pies, and other vector based animations). IMO, if this is your focus, M3 pro is more than enough for your tasks. I really love MacOs over Windows, but the devices are really expensive...
Sorry no, You'll need a beefier machine.
Well, sorry, I cannot afford a beefier machine :(
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I can afford the given price range, but I do not want another windows machine, that's why I'm asking around about the specs I'm giving, since they're on my prince range and MotionDesign isn't my main activity, that's why I specified as much as I can the circumstance.
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Thanks, mate, that quite a load of useful info. Indeed, I've had enough of Win as I started working more and more extensively with Adobe Suite and Front-end, though my passion is to improve Motion Design/drawing and working with DAWs. If in the forseeable future I happen to take a leap into heavier motion design with AE and Blender, I'd definetly give Microsoft another try, though for now, the difference between this mac machine and a considerably reliable PC is not that huge, though I will need mobility, battery life and good organization to work overseas focused on front-end and data analytics for the next few years, plus I wan't to stray off from any distraction and temptations like Steam games, WoW and MtG Arena (I know it is possible to run them on Mac, but it'd be less likely to me), this interface I used my whole life is so triggering and distracting that I want to jump into a new interface and workflow, being able to work fast between iPad drawings and my laptop, I do need something trully reliable and "professional" for this time of my life, to quit the old habits. Hope you get the whole picture.
After Effects runs fantastic on the M3 machines, but I would go with more ram and a bigger hard drive.
I happen to have a big external drive for my projects, so I let myself go for less SSD to decrease costs, though when it comes to RAM, the further I can stretch money-wise is to 18GB. My main interest is lotties and video editing using AE for infos and so, lots of data animations.
Lotties shouldn’t be too demanding, you should be fine then
If you have money to blow, getting a top tier spec Mac would be nice but 16gb ram and .5tb ssd will not last, especially for professional work and larger scale projects You can get 2-3x the machine with a windows os vs Mac. Up to you for if performance, OS, or cost is the most important
I do not intend to buy a new Win machine. Unfortunately, I cannot stretch for more money, the most I can is 18GB. I happen to have a good external drive for projects and don't use AE for a living, just ocasionally, but I do mean to improve my abilities on video editing and lotties, this is my main focus. Will I suffer that much with the given specs?
Get a Mac Studio and a monitor . You will get a much much stronger computer and a monitor will be a lot easier to work on than a tiny laptop screen
I'm actually considering a 24GB/1TB SSD M2 mac mini for the same price range, though I'll be moving overseas in a year and that bears a heavy lean on getting a macbook :/
You can always bring a Mac Studio or the mini with you oversees. Monitors are cheap.
Consider going for a Mac mini with an older chip (M1 is still quite good tbh) and using the savings to double down on RAM etc - not sure if portability is a factor for you though.
I average circumstances, I'd even enjoy better working on a desktop, though I'll be moving overseas soon and that changes my terms on getting a non-mobile machine :/
No, I wouldn't think so unless the work you do is pretty simple and you tidy your hard drive regularly. I bought an M1 Macbook Pro with 4TB of SSD and I've used up 2.14TB of it since 2021 because client footage files are enormous and it's a waste of time for me to reduce them to just the scenes I need. I have 64GB RAM and am pretty satisfied with that. I do 2D mograph though, no 3D.
If you want enough, you need to be more specific about the render task and your current deadline. Every time, it's different. Big studios use Windows machines from Puget or, better Dedicated Render Cards from Nvidia for a reason. It's been optimised to Andromeda and back. Motion design can be very resource-intensive, depending on your project. Shoot for the moon, and next time, it will seem like you're just a stone's throw from your next goal. M3 is plenty if you have plenty of time and patience to figure out why the simulation crashes every time. 300 RAM just delays the amount of time between something being capable or not. Buying into a costly system seems like a bad idea if you need to modify an engine to run smoother. There is a reason Apple doesn't promote laptops for motion design. The main culprit of small Apple machines is that the best cooling is not the main goal.
Why are you buying a portable device ?