Local LLM Hardware: Essential 2026 Guide to Best GPUs
Local LLM hardware in 2026 is a memory game, not a compute game. This guide maps VRAM requirements for 7B to 120B-class models, real August 2026 GPU street prices, and the Apple Silicon and unified-memory machines that now beat discrete cards on value. It closes with the Ollama, llama.cpp, LM Studio and Jan tool stack and a budget playbook.