Top 5 Windows Desktops to buy for Running AI Locally in 2026

The desktop RTX 5070 Ti has 16GB of graphics memory, the same amount as the RTX 5080, for less money. That holds 4-bit versions of models up to about 14 billion parameters with plenty of room for long chats, and some 20 to 24 billion parameter models with a shorter context. Because it is NVIDIA, Ollama, LM Studio and ComfyUI all use CUDA (NVIDIA’s AI software layer), so most guides work without extra setup.

What to consider

• 16GB is the ceiling. A model bigger than that spills into system memory and runs several times slower.
• 1TB fills up quickly once you keep a few large models around, so plan on a second drive.

Good to know: this is model 90YJ00A9US. Lenovo fits two 16GB memory sticks and leaves two of the four slots free, so adding memory later is easy. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D has no NPU (a small chip for light AI tasks).

This mini PC, about 2 liters in size, has no separate graphics card. Its built-in graphics share one 128GB pool of memory, and GEEKOM and AMD both say Windows can give up to 96GB of it to the graphics. That loads models far too large for any single consumer graphics card, such as 70 billion parameter models at 4-bit. In its own testing, AMD reports Meta’s Llama 4 Scout (109 billion parameters) running on this chip at up to 15 tokens per second, roughly 10 words a second.

What to consider

• Big models load, but large “dense” models answer slowly. It trades speed for capacity, and any 16GB RTX card is faster on a model that fits in 16GB.
• There is no CUDA. Ollama and LM Studio run on its graphics through Vulkan, so some NVIDIA-only tools and guides will not apply.

Good to know: it is sold by GEEKOM’s own store and shipped by Amazon, and GEEKOM lists a 3-year limited warranty. Memory cannot be upgraded, which is why we link the 128GB model. Its 50 TOPS NPU (a small chip for light AI tasks) clears Windows’ 40 TOPS bar, so it is the only pick here that gets Windows’ on-device AI features such as Recall.

AMD’s Radeon AI PRO R9700 is a workstation card with 32GB of graphics memory, twice the 16GB on the RTX 5080. It fits 4-bit models up to about 30 to 40 billion parameters entirely in graphics memory, and it is much faster than shared memory on any model that fits. 70 billion parameter models still need the 128GB GEEKOM.

What to consider

• It is AMD, so there is no CUDA. On Windows, Ollama and LM Studio use Vulkan, and ComfyUI uses AMD’s ROCm (AMD’s answer to CUDA). Expect a little more setup than on NVIDIA.
• Andromeda Insights is a small US system builder. It sells and ships this PC itself rather than Amazon, and returns may carry a shipping fee.

Good to know: this is model M4MW-R9700-9600-1T-32G-850-BLK, with Windows 11 Home. Andromeda also sells a Ryzen 9 9950X version with 64GB of system memory for more. The only other 32GB graphics card is the RTX 5090, and RTX 5090 towers cost far more.

The RTX 5080 has the same 16GB as the RTX 5070 Ti, so it runs the same models. Pick it for the faster graphics chip, which helps most in ComfyUI, where image and video jobs finish sooner. It comes with a liquid cooler and an 850W power supply.

What to consider

• It does not fit bigger models than the Legion Tower 5. If model size matters more than speed, the R9700 tower gives you twice the graphics memory.
• Skytech’s listing says the graphics card brand may vary, and the RGB fans are a lot of light on an office desk.

Good to know: 1TB fills up quickly once you keep a few large models around, so plan on a second drive.

The cheapest way we found to get 16GB of NVIDIA graphics memory in a prebuilt desktop sold by Amazon. The 16GB version of the RTX 5060 Ti loads the same models as the RTX 5070 Ti and RTX 5080, just with slower replies. It also ships with 32GB of system memory, which is rare at this price.

What to consider

• The RTX 5060 Ti is the slowest 16GB chip here, so long answers and image jobs take noticeably longer.
• Skytech’s listing says the graphics card brand may vary, and the case is pink.

Good to know: make sure the listing says RTX 5060 Ti 16GB. The 8GB version of the same chip sells for less and fits much smaller models.