About the lab
One old laptop. A lot of questions.
LowPC Lab exists because most local-AI advice is written on hardware that most people do not own. This site answers a narrower question: what can you actually do with 8 GB of RAM and no GPU?
How we test
Everything is measured on the same machine, and the machine is nothing special:
| Laptop | A 2018 14-inch ultrabook |
|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i5-8250U — 4 cores / 8 threads, 15 W |
| RAM | 8 GB DDR4-2400, single channel |
| GPU | Intel UHD Graphics 620 (no CUDA, no usable local acceleration) |
| Storage | 256 GB SATA SSD |
| OS | Windows 11 Home 24H2 |
Each test follows the same protocol: reboot, close background apps, plug in AC power, load the model, wait for memory to stabilise, then run the same prompts five times. We report the middle of the range, not the best run. The full protocol is on the benchmark page.
What “tested” means: the software was installed and run on this machine. It does not mean it will behave identically on yours. CPU generation, RAM channels, SSD speed and thermal design change the result — sometimes by a factor of two.
Editorial rules
- No verdict without a test. If we have not run it, we link to someone who has, or we say nothing.
- Slow is reported as slow. A model that takes 95 seconds to answer is not described as “snappy.”
- No sponsored verdicts. Affiliate links are marked and never determine a ranking. See the disclosure.
- Dates are real. Each report shows when it was published and last updated. Software moves; stale advice is labelled.
- Corrections are public. If a number was wrong, the update date changes and the correction is noted in the article.
Who writes this
LowPC Lab is written and maintained by a small independent desk that develops software on low-end hardware and got tired of guides that begin with “assuming you have 32 GB.” The lab is self-funded through affiliate links and, eventually, advertising. There is no hardware vendor, cloud provider or AI company funding the site.
If you want to know what a test looked like, ask. We keep the notes.
What this site is not
It is not a news site, a review mill or a place to read press releases rewritten by a machine. It is a lab notebook with an index. The goal is to save you an evening of installing things that turn out to be unusable — and to stop you buying hardware that does not change the outcome.
Contact
Corrections, questions and test requests: contact page or hello@lowpclab.com.