The archive
Field Reports
Every test, with the verdict attached. Filter by what you want to do, or search for the model, tool or problem you have in mind.
Can You Run an LLM on 8 GB of RAM? What Actually Works
Yes, a language model runs on 8 GB of RAM with no GPU — but only if you respect the memory math. Here is what fits, what crawls, and the exact setup I use.
The Best Small LLMs for 8 GB RAM, Tested on a CPU-Only Laptop
Qwen3, Llama 3.2, Gemma 3, Phi-4-mini and SmolLM2 compared at 8 GB: real speeds, real memory use, and which one to pick for chat, writing or code.
GGUF Quantization Explained: Q4, Q5, Q8 and What Fits in 8 GB
What quantization actually does to a language model, the difference between Q4_K_M, Q5_K_M and Q8_0, and how to pick the right one for 8 GB of RAM.
Ollama vs llama.cpp on an 8 GB Laptop: Which Is Actually Faster?
I ran the same Qwen3 and Llama models through Ollama and llama.cpp on a CPU-only laptop. The speed gap is smaller than the convenience gap — here is when to use each.
A Local Coding Assistant on an 8 GB Laptop: What's Usable, What's Not
I wired up Continue and Ollama as a private coding assistant on an 8 GB CPU-only laptop. Inline autocomplete failed; code explanation and review worked. Here is the setup.
Free Cloud GPU in 2026: Colab vs Kaggle vs Hugging Face — Real Limits
What the free tiers actually give you: GPU hours, RAM, session limits, storage and the catches. Plus the workflow I use to offload image generation and training from an 8 GB laptop.
Python on an 8 GB Laptop: A Setup That Stays Fast
Skip Anaconda, skip the giant IDE bundle. A lean Python 3.12 setup for an 8 GB Windows laptop, with virtual environments, VS Code settings and the first script.
VS Code on 8 GB RAM: 6 Extensions, a 4-Second Startup
I cut VS Code from 18 extensions to 6 and measured the difference: startup went from 9.2 s to 4.0 s and memory dropped by 180 MB. Here is what to remove and what to keep.
Whisper on a CPU: Transcribing 10 Minutes of Audio on 8 GB RAM
A practical whisper.cpp setup for a GPU-less laptop: model choice, 16 kHz audio conversion, realistic processing times and accuracy notes from real recordings.
Why Your 8 GB Laptop Freezes (and 9 Fixes That Actually Work)
The freezes are usually memory pressure, not a broken CPU. Nine fixes I measured on an 8 GB Windows 11 laptop, ranked by effect, with the ones to avoid.
8 GB vs 16 GB for Local AI: Is the Upgrade Worth It?
A $40 RAM upgrade changed more than any software tweak on this laptop. Here is what 16 GB actually unlocks for local AI, what it does not, and how to check if you can upgrade.
The Cheapest Way to Run Local AI: Your Laptop vs a Used Mini PC vs the Cloud
A cost-per-capability comparison of four options: keep the 8 GB laptop, add RAM, buy a used mini PC, or pay for cloud. With real prices and a recommendation for each situation.
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Not sure where to begin?
Read the 8 GB survival guide first.
It explains the memory math, the quantization trade-offs and the honest limits — the context every other report assumes.
Can you run an LLM on 8 GB? →