Guide
Best local LLM rig under $500 / $1000 / $3000
“Best” on this page means “still inside the converted cap in the catalog,” not a bake-off. Complete PCs and bare cards are listed separately.
The conversion
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 500
The euro cap at this rate is about EUR 447. That is the catalog’s indicative price, not a receipt.
No complete machine in the catalog converts under this cap.
Bare cards under the same cap, not a whole PC: GeForce RTX 3060 12GB.
Under USD 1000
The euro cap at this rate is about EUR 893. That is the catalog’s indicative price, not a receipt.
- Mac mini M4 16GB: EUR 549 indicative, about USD 615. 16 GB unified. Quiet and cheap for 8B Q4. Not for 32B or 70B.
- Mac mini M6 16GB: EUR 799 indicative, about USD 894. 16 GB unified. Current entry mini. Fine for 8B, too tight for 32B.
- Budget PC with RTX 3060 12GB: EUR 890 indicative, about USD 996. 12 GB vram. Entry point for 8B and, just barely, 14B Q4. The card is mostly second-hand.
Bare cards under the same cap, not a whole PC: GeForce RTX 3060 12GB, GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16GB, GeForce RTX 3090 24GB.
Under USD 3000
The euro cap at this rate is about EUR 2680. That is the catalog’s indicative price, not a receipt.
- Mac mini M4 16GB: EUR 549 indicative, about USD 615. 16 GB unified. Quiet and cheap for 8B Q4. Not for 32B or 70B.
- Mac mini M6 16GB: EUR 799 indicative, about USD 894. 16 GB unified. Current entry mini. Fine for 8B, too tight for 32B.
- Budget PC with RTX 3060 12GB: EUR 890 indicative, about USD 996. 12 GB vram. Entry point for 8B and, just barely, 14B Q4. The card is mostly second-hand.
- Mac mini M6 32GB: EUR 1249 indicative, about USD 1398. 32 GB unified. 32B Q4 fits, 70B does not. Apple lists 170 GB/s for the higher memory configuration.
- Used PC with RTX 3090 24GB: EUR 1280 indicative, about USD 1433. 24 GB vram. Best single card here for 32B Q4. 70B Q4 does not fully fit.
- Mid-range PC with RTX 4060 Ti 16GB: EUR 1490 indicative, about USD 1668. 16 GB vram. 16 GB is comfortable for 14B. Bandwidth is lower than a 3060, so 8B is not automatically faster.
- PC with Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24GB: EUR 1790 indicative, about USD 2004. 24 GB vram. Same memory as a 3090/4090. The estimate uses lower utilization because the software stack is less smooth.
- Mac mini M4 Pro 64GB: EUR 1890 indicative, about USD 2116. 64 GB unified. Enough memory for 70B Q4, but bandwidth is modest. It fits; it is not fast.
- Mac Studio M4 Max 36GB: EUR 1890 indicative, about USD 2116. 36 GB unified. Previous Studio generation. 36 GB is a solid 32B machine, not 70B Q4.
- Dual RTX 3090, 48 GB: EUR 1980 indicative, about USD 2217. 48 GB vram. The classic 70B Q4 rig. Two cards, more hassle, enough memory.
- Mac Studio M5 Max 36GB: EUR 2590 indicative, about USD 2900. 36 GB unified. Current Studio entry. Strong for 32B, not enough memory for 70B Q4.
Bare cards under the same cap, not a whole PC: GeForce RTX 3060 12GB, GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16GB, GeForce RTX 3090 24GB, Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24GB, GeForce RTX 4090 24GB.
Open a budget in the calculator (euros, not the converted dollars): EUR 1000, the EUR 1000 landing, buy vs rent.
RTX 3060 12GB
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