It comes down to how much time you plan to spend rendering stuff with After Effects and Blender. If you’re rendering enough that it starts eating into time you need to do work for other classes then you probably need the more powerful CPU. But first ask in the Blender and AE subs if the extra cores even make a difference with those programs.
Storage the least important. You can always use external.
CPU, memory, and GPU are all non-upgradable now. So, max out all three to the extreme of your budget. Then, seriously consider going over budget.
For AfterEffects the extra cores are not important as it doesn’t do multi threading well, but you do want the extra RAM.. 16 is the min; I suggest 32 for an entry level machine. AfterEffect also wants a large disk cashe, so you be giving up about 150 gigs to that.
For Blender GPUs make a big difference, which means thinking about PCs. The M1 Max MacBook is pretty fast, but a RTX 3060, which is mid-range for 3D, will be faster.
It comes down to how much time you plan to spend rendering stuff with After Effects and Blender. If you’re rendering enough that it starts eating into time you need to do work for other classes then you probably need the more powerful CPU. But first ask in the Blender and AE subs if the extra cores even make a difference with those programs.
Storage the least important. You can always use external. CPU, memory, and GPU are all non-upgradable now. So, max out all three to the extreme of your budget. Then, seriously consider going over budget.
For AfterEffects the extra cores are not important as it doesn’t do multi threading well, but you do want the extra RAM.. 16 is the min; I suggest 32 for an entry level machine. AfterEffect also wants a large disk cashe, so you be giving up about 150 gigs to that. For Blender GPUs make a big difference, which means thinking about PCs. The M1 Max MacBook is pretty fast, but a RTX 3060, which is mid-range for 3D, will be faster.