Illustrator System Requirements » <Certified>

If Illustrator were a human body, the Central Processing Unit (CPU) would be the heart. Unlike raster programs such as Photoshop, which rely heavily on GPU acceleration for pixel manipulation, Illustrator remains predominantly a CPU-bound application. Complex vector operations—calculating the intersection of two bezier curves, applying a roughen effect to a hundred anchor points, or simulating a 3D revolve—are all handled by the processor. Adobe recommends at least an Intel Core i5 or an Apple M1 chip, but professional experience dictates that an Intel i7/i9 or an M2 Pro/Max chip is the true baseline for lag-free performance. A slower CPU manifests as the infamous “spinning beach ball of death” or the eternally loading cursor, transforming a five-minute task into an exercise in frustration.