Sample preview

2026 Local LLM Build Guide — sample

Free preview of the under-USD-1000 band. The other bands are the paid guide.

Global prices (USD), EUR available. USD figures are an estimate: catalog EUR incl. VAT × FX_EUR_USD (default 1.1195, the ECB reference on 2026-10-14 (https://data-api.ecb.europa.eu/service/data/EXR/D.USD.EUR.SP00.A)). Dated 2026-10-14. sourceUrl is null.

Under USD 1000, using that conversion on indicative catalog prices:

- GeForce RTX 3060 12GB: EUR 280 indicative (€280), about USD 313. 12 GB vram. sourceUrl null. Card only. 12 GB covers 7B–8B and is tight for 14B Q4.

- GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16GB: EUR 460 indicative (€460), about USD 515. 16 GB vram. sourceUrl null. Card only. A lot of VRAM for the power draw, but a narrow bus: 288 GB/s.

- Mac mini M4 16GB: EUR 549 indicative (€549), about USD 615. 16 GB unified. sourceUrl null. Quiet and cheap for 8B Q4. Not for 32B or 70B.

- GeForce RTX 3090 24GB: EUR 720 indicative (€720), about USD 806. 24 GB vram. sourceUrl null. Used card only. 24 GB and a wide bus. One card is not enough for 70B Q4.

- Mac mini M6 16GB: EUR 799 indicative (€799), about USD 894. 16 GB unified. sourceUrl null. Current entry mini. Fine for 8B, too tight for 32B.

- Budget PC with RTX 3060 12GB: EUR 890 indicative (€890), about USD 996. 12 GB vram. sourceUrl null. Entry point for 8B and, just barely, 14B Q4. The card is mostly second-hand.

Open the calculator: /?budget=1000

Download this sample as a PDF. The USD 500 and USD 3000 bands are not in the sample. Product page.