How Much VRAM Do You *Actually* Need for Local LLMs?

TL;DR: VRAM matters more than GPU power. Most people overestimate what they need—and underestimate what actually runs well. The confusing part about local LLMs If you’ve tried running models locally (Ollama, llama.cpp, LM Studio, etc.), you’ve probably asked: “Can my GPU run this model?” “Why does it technically load but run painfully slow?” “Do I need 24GB VRAM for everything?” The answers online are inconsistent. So instead of relying on benchmarks, I started tracking what actually works in re