40 articles · newest first
A 24 GB card runs Qwen3.8 27B at Q4 or Q5, and 32 GB runs Q6 with room to spare. 16 GB works too, at a 3-bit quant with a squeezed cache. Here is the math, what Reddit owners report, and what to check when it codes badly.
Aliteq Team · · 12 min
The CPU does the actual work while you vibe code. The tiny fetch-decode-execute loop it runs, how it differs from a GPU, and why it's where speed and cost come from.
Aliteq Team · · 4 min
RAM is the desk your computer works on: fast, and wiped the moment the power's off. Why a busy app runs out, how it differs from storage, and how it relates to a GPU's VRAM. Tap to see it fill.
Aliteq Team · · 4 min
The fastest desktop chip ran ferociously hot — and sat at the sharp end of Raptor Lake's instability-and-degradation crisis. What actually went wrong, why owners offloaded it, and the lesson on halo chips.
Aliteq Team · · 8 min
Get excited about the breakthrough, stay skeptical about the timeline. A running shortlist of future tech that actually matters — batteries, EV design, local-AI hardware — with the hype filtered out.
Aliteq Team · · 7 min
Every year a headline promises a 2,000 km EV from a revolutionary battery. The real breakthrough — solid-state doubling energy density — is genuine; the number is mostly hype. The honest state of battery tech in 2026.
Aliteq Team · · 8 min
For local AI the decider is VRAM — and that's exactly where laptops are capped. Why a desktop (or a unified-memory mini-PC) usually wins, when a gaming laptop is still right, and how to choose.
Aliteq Team · · 8 min
That impossibly low, red, wheel-hugging anime bike was fiction for 30 years. Smartech Motor's Rapid K-1988 got closest to making it real — and it only works because it's electric. What's real, what's still concept.
Aliteq Team · · 7 min
AMD Ryzen power, NVIDIA RTX graphics and a fast 300Hz screen at a saner price than the halo laptops. What the ROG Strix G15 is, how its configs differ, who it's for, and how to pick the right one.
Aliteq Team · · 8 min
Biostar's Valkyrie boards were a real swing at the enthusiast crown — heavy VRMs, 10-layer PCBs, a bold gold-and-pink look. What they were, the specs that mattered, and whether an LGA1200 board makes sense now.
Aliteq Team · · 8 min
The cheap used pick versus the newer 16GB card. We ran today's models through our VRAM calculator on both, at 8K and 32K context, and priced an hour on each in the cloud so you can try before you buy.
Aliteq Team · · 7 min
Two cheap 16GB cards give you 32GB of VRAM — enough for 30B+ models — for around the price of a single high-end GPU. Here's whether that dual-5060-Ti path actually makes sense.
Aliteq Team · · 10 min
Both cards have 16GB, so both run the same local models. The 5070 Ti runs them roughly twice as fast. Here is when that speed is worth the money, with prices checked in October 2026.
Aliteq Team · · 8 min
16GB of VRAM now runs gpt-oss-20b, Gemma 4 12B at Q8_0 and even Gemma 4 26B-A4B at a 4-bit quant. Here's the full list with fits at 8K and 32K context and speed estimates.
Aliteq Team · · 8 min
Building a local-AI rig and unsure how big a PSU to buy? Here's the simple wattage math for single and dual GPUs — plus why power-limiting lets you get away with a smaller supply.
Aliteq Team · · 10 min
Because AI inference is memory-bandwidth-bound, the last chunk of your GPU's power budget buys almost no extra tokens. Cap the wattage and you run cooler, quieter, and cheaper for basically free.
Aliteq Team · · 10 min
eGPUs get a bad rap from gaming benchmarks — but local AI is a totally different workload, and an external GPU can hit ~92% of native speed. Here's whether one's worth it for your laptop.
Aliteq Team · · 10 min
Nvidia still owns local AI because of CUDA. But AMD's ROCm has quietly grown up — and in 2026 it's a genuine option, with caveats. Here's the honest state of Radeon vs GeForce for running LLMs.
Aliteq Team · · 10 min
Everyone asks about VRAM — but your system RAM matters too, especially without a big GPU. Here's how much RAM you actually need for local AI, from 16GB to 128GB, and what each tier runs.
Aliteq Team · · 10 min
The Tesla P40 is the cheapest way to get 24GB of VRAM, period. But it's a headless server card with no fan, and it's slow. Here's whether the bargain is worth the hassle.
Aliteq Team · · 10 min
Both have 16GB of VRAM, so for local AI they run the same models, and the 5080's bandwidth lead is only about 7%. Here's what 16GB holds today on our VRAM numbers, how to test a card by the hour, and a better idea than either.
Aliteq Team · · 7 min
Copilot+ 'AI PCs' have a dedicated NPU chip — but here's the catch nobody advertises: it can't run local chatbots. A cheap old GPU runs them 10x faster. Here's the truth.
Aliteq Team · · 10 min
Windows is the easy path and works great for most people. Linux gives power users an edge, especially with AMD. Here's which OS to run local AI on, and why it matters less than you think.
Aliteq Team · · 10 min
If your local model feels sluggish, it's usually one of a few fixable things. Here's how to speed up local LLM inference, from the one change that matters most to the fine-tuning.
Aliteq Team · · 10 min
On Apple Silicon, unified memory sets how big a model you can run, but macOS only lets the GPU use part of it. Here's which Mac to buy for today's models, from a 32GB Mac mini to a 128GB Mac Studio.
Aliteq Team · · 8 min
A local coding model gives you a private, offline, unlimited Copilot, but the good coding models are big and your codebase eats context. Here's what each VRAM tier runs at 8K and 32K context, and how to test a card for an hour before you buy.
Aliteq Team · · 8 min
You don't need a $1,500 card to run AI at home. A used RTX 3060 12GB does it for around $220, and there are even cheaper 24GB tricks. Here's the cheapest way to get real VRAM.
Aliteq Team · · 10 min
For years, 'wired for competitive' was gospel. In 2026 it's outdated: 2.4GHz wireless is as fast as wired, and the pros use it. Here's when wired still makes sense.
Aliteq Team · · 11 min
A great USB mic gets you 90% of the way for a fraction of an XLR setup's cost and hassle. Here's the honest streaming-mic guide, from plug-and-play to studio-grade.
Aliteq Team · · 11 min
Hall-effect keyboards with rapid trigger took over competitive gaming. The Wooting boards dominate the pro scene. Here's what the tech does, and whether it's worth it for you.
Aliteq Team · · 11 min
Component prices are the highest in years, so the old budget numbers are wrong. Here's what each gaming-PC tier actually costs in 2026 — and the resolution each one really targets.
Aliteq Team · · 11 min
Gen5 SSDs hit 12,000 MB/s and cost a fortune. In games, they load less than a second faster than a Gen4 drive. Here's the SSD you should actually buy for gaming in 2026.
Aliteq Team · · 11 min
For a decade, building saved you hundreds. In 2026, with component prices sky-high, prebuilts caught up. Here's the honest math on prebuilt vs building your own gaming PC.
Aliteq Team · · 11 min
16GB still meets the recommended spec of most 2026 games we checked on Steam. A few big ones ask for 32GB, and 32GB kits now cost 1.7 to 2.1 times what a 16GB kit does on Corsair's own store. What the games ask for, what RAM costs today, and when to pay for 32GB.
Aliteq Team · · 9 min
The Ryzen 7 9800X3D is still the gaming CPU to buy in November 2026. It's about 35% faster in games than Intel's Core Ultra 9 285K and 20% faster than the newer Core Ultra 7 270K Plus. When the 9850X3D is worth it, when Intel is the smarter buy, and when the CPU barely matters.
Aliteq Team · · 8 min
The RTX 5090 is the fastest card money can buy. It's also terrible value for pure gaming. Here's the 4K GPU you should actually buy in 2026, and why the $999 card beats the $1,999 one for most people.
Aliteq Team · · 11 min
Two 16GB cards, similar money, same 1440p target. One leans on DLSS 4, the other on raw value. Here's which mid-range GPU to actually buy in 2026.
Aliteq Team · · 11 min
8GB used to be plenty. In 2026 it's the bare minimum — and whether it's enough for YOU comes down to the resolution you play at. Here's the straight 8GB vs 12GB vs 16GB answer.
Aliteq Team · · 11 min
Memory shortages pushed the $299 RTX 5060 and RX 9060 XT 8GB to $449 and $459. On Nov 3, 2026 the one current-gen card still under $300 was Intel's Arc B570 at $289. What it plays, what the B580 adds for $40 more, and when to wait.
Aliteq Team · · 8 min
The RX 9070 XT was 24% faster than the RTX 5070 at 1440p across 52 games in TechSpot's September test, has 16GB of VRAM to 12GB, and cost less in the US in October ($870 vs $900). Buy the RTX 5070 only for path tracing or if it's clearly cheaper where you shop.
Aliteq Team · · 7 min