{
  "kind": "guide",
  "html": "https://insidethemachine.ai/learn/mac-or-pc",
  "md": "https://insidethemachine.ai/learn/mac-or-pc.md",
  "title": "Mac or PC for local AI? A plain-words guide",
  "url": "https://insidethemachine.ai/learn/mac-or-pc",
  "fields": {
    "Markdown": "https://insidethemachine.ai/learn/mac-or-pc.md",
    "Read": "4 minutes",
    "Data": "Prices and speeds: machines.json, checked 2026-10-15. Model sizes: models.json, 2026-10-26."
  },
  "intro": [
    "There is no one winner. Memory decides which AI models fit. Then speed decides how it feels."
  ],
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "1. Four kinds of computer can run AI.",
      "level": 2,
      "text": [
        "The site sorts every computer into one of these four.",
        "1. **Mac**: One box. Memory is shared by the chip and the graphics.",
        "2. **PC with a graphics card**: The model runs in the card's own memory. Prices are for the card alone.",
        "3. **Mini PC or AI box**: A small PC with lots of shared memory, built for AI.",
        "4. **Small board**: Tiny, cheap and low power. Slow for chat.",
        "\"Shared memory\" means one pool of memory for the main chip and the graphics. The AI can use most of it. A graphics card has its own memory, called VRAM (video memory). On a PC with a card, the model runs in the VRAM."
      ],
      "items": [],
      "tables": []
    },
    {
      "heading": "2. Rule 1: the model must fit in memory.",
      "level": 2,
      "text": [
        "Too big, and it is very slow or does not start.",
        "Example: the open model gpt-oss-120b needs about 74.2 GB of memory. Its little brother gpt-oss-20b needs about 15.4 GB. Here is which computer fits the big one.",
        "Does gpt-oss-120b (needs about 74.2 GB) fit? One example per kind.",
        "So the GeForce RTX 5090 is a very fast card, but its 32 GB is too small for the big model. The Mac Studio (M5 Max) with 128 GB holds it."
      ],
      "items": [
        "On a Mac, we count about 75% of the memory as usable for AI. The rest is for the system and your apps. (This is the macOS default.)",
        "On a PC with a graphics card, the card's VRAM counts, not the computer's memory. We count all of it but 1 GB.",
        "A mini PC or AI box shares its memory like a Mac. We use the share its maker gives the graphics.",
        "A small board is cheap and uses little power, but it is slow for chat."
      ],
      "tables": [
        {
          "columns": [
            "Computer",
            "Kind",
            "Memory",
            "Usable for AI",
            "Fits gpt-oss-120b?",
            "Price"
          ],
          "rows": [
            {
              "Computer": "Mac Studio (M5 Max)",
              "Kind": "Mac",
              "Memory": "128 GB",
              "Usable for AI": "96 GB",
              "Fits gpt-oss-120b?": "Yes",
              "Price": "$5,099 (worked out from list prices, macworld.com, 2026-10-15)"
            },
            {
              "Computer": "GeForce RTX 5090",
              "Kind": "PC with a graphics card",
              "Memory": "32 GB",
              "Usable for AI": "31 GB",
              "Fits gpt-oss-120b?": "No",
              "Price": "$5,700 (lowest new price in stock, rtx.live, 2026-10-15), card only"
            },
            {
              "Computer": "Framework Desktop (Ryzen AI Max+ 395)",
              "Kind": "Mini PC or AI box",
              "Memory": "128 GB",
              "Usable for AI": "96 GB",
              "Fits gpt-oss-120b?": "Yes",
              "Price": "$3,449 (list price, computingforgeeks.com, 2026-10-15), DIY kit, out of stock"
            },
            {
              "Computer": "Raspberry Pi 5 (16GB), CPU only",
              "Kind": "Small board",
              "Memory": "16 GB",
              "Usable for AI": "12 GB",
              "Fits gpt-oss-120b?": "No",
              "Price": "$305 (list price, computingforgeeks.com, 2026-10-12), board only"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "heading": "3. Rule 2: then speed decides how it feels.",
      "level": 2,
      "text": [
        "Speed is counted in tokens per second (tok/s). A token is a piece of a word.",
        "What sets speed is memory bandwidth: how fast the computer can read the model. A graphics card reads its VRAM very fast. Published tests:",
        "Bandwidth in our data: Mac Studio (M5 Max) 614 GB/s, GeForce RTX 5090 1792 GB/s, Framework Desktop (Ryzen AI Max+ 395) 256 GB/s, Raspberry Pi 5 (16GB), CPU only 17 GB/s. Tests use different engines and settings, so compare them loosely. What a token is: [What is a token?](https://insidethemachine.ai/learn/tokens)"
      ],
      "items": [
        "Mac Studio (M5 Max): **78.2 tok/s** on gpt-oss-120b (oMLX v0.3.9; test machine: M5 Max 40c, 128GB). Source: [omlx.ai](https://omlx.ai/benchmarks/dgadv0k9), 2026-10-15.",
        "GeForce RTX 5090: **318.4 tok/s** on gpt-oss-20b (llama.cpp; test machine: RTX 5090 + Ryzen 7 9850X3D (chat-short workload)). Source: [llm-speed.com](https://llm-speed.com/m/gpt-oss-20b), 2026-10-15.",
        "Framework Desktop (Ryzen AI Max+ 395): **54 tok/s** on gpt-oss-120b (llama.cpp Vulkan; test machine: Framework Desktop 128GB (llama-bench pp512/tg128)). Source: [llamaperf.com](https://llamaperf.com/model/gpt-oss), 2026-10-15.",
        "Raspberry Pi 5 (16GB), CPU only: **5.6 tok/s** on llama3.2 3B (Ollama; test machine: Pi 5 8GB CPU (Jeff Geerling)). Source: [computingforgeeks.com](https://computingforgeeks.com/edge-llm-jetson-orin-vs-ai-hat-2-vs-hailo-10h/), 2026-10-12."
      ],
      "tables": []
    },
    {
      "heading": "4. So which one?",
      "level": 2,
      "text": [
        "Start from what you want to run, not from the brand.",
        "1. **You have a computer already**: Use it first. [Scan my machine](https://insidethemachine.ai/my) reads your memory, chip and graphics card with one read-only command and lists what fits.",
        "2. **You want big models**: Look for lots of memory: a Mac or a mini PC with shared memory. The [Machines](https://insidethemachine.ai/machines) page lists each one with its price and source.",
        "3. **You want speed on small models**: A PC with a strong graphics card is very fast, as long as the model fits in its VRAM. Card prices are for the card alone: you also need a PC.",
        "4. **Windows or Mac steps**: Our recipes are tested on a Mac first. The Windows steps are there, but we have not tested them yet."
      ],
      "items": [],
      "tables": []
    },
    {
      "heading": "Next",
      "level": 2,
      "text": [
        "More guides: https://insidethemachine.ai/learn.md"
      ],
      "items": [
        "[Compare machines](https://insidethemachine.ai/machines) (markdown: https://insidethemachine.ai/machines.md)",
        "[Scan my machine](https://insidethemachine.ai/my) (markdown: https://insidethemachine.ai/my.md)",
        "[What is a token?](https://insidethemachine.ai/learn/tokens) (markdown: https://insidethemachine.ai/learn/tokens.md)"
      ],
      "tables": []
    }
  ]
}