What hardware does your PC need to run a local AI model?

Less than you might think, but a 16GB PC will only take you so far.

By Luke James Nov. 9, 2026 8:45 am EST RSplaneta/Shutterstock Add Engadget on Google: Google Discover

Download Ollama or LM Studio, pick a model, and within a matter of minutes, you can be up and running with a local chatbot. There's no subscription fee, it works without an Internet connection, and none of your data leaves your PC. But there's a catch: What you can run, and how quickly it responds, depends entirely on how powerful your machine is.