HARDWARE GUIDE
Best GPU for Local LLMs in 2026
Capacity by quantization, conditional GPU picks, the used-card decision and a transparent buy-versus-rent cost framework.
Find the hardware your model needs →LOCAL INFERENCE
Run AI on your own hardware
Choose a model first. Then match its memory needs, runtime and workload to the hardware you can justify.
Reviewed 2026-10-10 · Independent research
VRAM calculator — planned
The interactive calculator is not available yet. The guide already uses shared memory arithmetic; its estimates exclude model-specific KV cache and runtime allocations.
Use the model-size planning table →