40 articles · newest first
12GB is the entry floor for local AI — enough to run genuinely useful models, but with a real ceiling. Here's exactly what 12GB gets you, and when you'll want more.
Ravi Malhotra · Aug 5 · 10 min
The cheap used pick versus the newer 16GB card. More VRAM and speed, or the lowest price? Here's the honest budget-GPU showdown for local AI.
Ravi Malhotra · Aug 5 · 10 min
12GB of VRAM runs more than you'd think — from snappy 7B models to a DeepSeek R1 distill. Here's exactly which local models the RTX 3060 12GB can run, and how fast.
Ravi Malhotra · Aug 5 · 10 min
Years on, the RTX 3060 12GB is still the cheapest sensible entry to local AI — 12GB of VRAM for around $200-250 used. Here's honestly how good it still is, and the one price catch.
Ravi Malhotra · Aug 5 · 10 min
The o1-mini-beating 32B distill wants ~20GB of VRAM, so 24GB is the target. Here are the best GPUs to run DeepSeek R1, from the value king to the fastest.
Ravi Malhotra · Aug 5 · 10 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.
Ravi Malhotra · Aug 5 · 10 min
They run the same models — but one costs nearly twice as much. For local AI, where VRAM matters more than raw speed, the cheaper card makes a surprisingly strong case.
Ravi Malhotra · Aug 5 · 10 min
16GB of VRAM opens up a lot — from snappy 7B models to gpt-oss-20b. Here's exactly which local models the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB can run, and how fast, with real benchmark numbers.
Ravi Malhotra · Aug 5 · 10 min
At $549 it's the cheapest new way to get 16GB of VRAM — and for local AI, VRAM is what matters. Here's honestly how good the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB is, and where its limits are.
Ravi Malhotra · Aug 5 · 10 min
Qwen3-Coder's best variants want 24GB of VRAM, and its huge context wants headroom. Here are the best GPUs to run it, from the value king to the fastest option.
Ravi Malhotra · Aug 5 · 10 min
gpt-oss-20b fits on a 16GB card, but the model's huge context can quietly overflow it. Here are the best GPUs to run it, from the cheapest 16GB option to the 24GB value king.
Ravi Malhotra · Aug 4 · 10 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.
Ravi Malhotra · Aug 4 · 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.
Ravi Malhotra · Aug 4 · 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.
Ravi Malhotra · Aug 4 · 10 min
GDDR7 modules and TSMC wafer costs just pushed every RTX 50 card higher this week — but the ugliest number isn't the one everyone's quoting.
Ravi Malhotra · Aug 4 · 6 min
AMD's Strix Halo mini PCs put up to 128GB of unified memory in a box the size of a book — and that lets them run models no single consumer graphics card can hold. Here's the pick, and the catch.
Ravi Malhotra · Aug 4 · 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.
Ravi Malhotra · Aug 4 · 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.
Ravi Malhotra · Aug 4 · 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.
Ravi Malhotra · Aug 3 · 10 min
Both have 16GB of VRAM, so for local AI they run the same models. The 5080 is faster, but for AI that matters far less than you'd think. Here's the honest call — and a better idea.
Ravi Malhotra · Aug 3 · 10 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.
Ravi Malhotra · Aug 3 · 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.
Ravi Malhotra · Aug 3 · 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.
Ravi Malhotra · Aug 3 · 10 min
Apple Silicon's unified memory makes Macs quietly great for local AI: the RAM number is how big a model you can run. Here's which Mac to buy for AI, from the Mini to the Studio.
Ravi Malhotra · Aug 3 · 10 min
A second GPU doubles your VRAM, which unlocks 70B models — but it's not free performance, and most people don't need it. Here's when a dual-GPU local-AI rig is actually worth it.
Ravi Malhotra · Aug 1 · 10 min
A local coding model gives you a private, offline, unlimited Copilot — but the good coding models are big. Here's the GPU you need to run them well, at every budget.
Ravi Malhotra · Aug 1 · 10 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.
Ravi Malhotra · Aug 1 · 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.
Ravi Malhotra · Jul 31 · 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.
Ravi Malhotra · Jul 31 · 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.
Ravi Malhotra · Jul 31 · 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.
Ravi Malhotra · Jul 31 · 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.
Ravi Malhotra · Jul 31 · 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.
Ravi Malhotra · Jul 31 · 11 min
16GB used to be plenty. In 2026 it stutters. Here's the honest RAM answer — the capacity to buy, the speed that matters, and why 64GB is a waste for gaming.
Ravi Malhotra · Jul 31 · 11 min
AMD's Ryzen 7 9800X3D is 35% faster than Intel's flagship in games, for less money. Here's the honest best-gaming-CPU answer for 2026, and when you should ignore it.
Ravi Malhotra · Jul 31 · 11 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.
Ravi Malhotra · Jul 31 · 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.
Ravi Malhotra · Jul 31 · 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.
Ravi Malhotra · Jul 31 · 11 min
Intel's $250 Arc B580 undercuts everyone at the entry level, and the 16GB mid-range from AMD and Nvidia finally makes sense. Here's the best value graphics card at every budget tier in 2026.
Ravi Malhotra · Jul 31 · 11 min
RTX 5070 or RX 9070 XT? One wins on features, the other on raw frames and VRAM. Here's the honest 1440p gaming GPU answer for 2026, based on what you actually play.
Ravi Malhotra · Jul 31 · 12 min