Conversation models that run on 24 GB

455 models with published weights that fit in 24 GB — a 24 GB card, or a Mac with 24. Counted at four-bit quantisation, weights only, leaving the machine about a third of its memory and a gigabyte for context: room for roughly 24 billion parameters. A mixture of experts is counted in full, because it is held in full even though only a few experts compute. 455 in all, a hundred to a page; this is page 1 of 5.

A 24 GB graphics card or a Mac configured with 24. This is the first size where the well-regarded mid-weight models — the twenty-something billion parameter class — run comfortably, and where a local model starts to be a real alternative to an API for daily work rather than a demonstration.

Models that answer in prose across whatever subject you put to them. This is the largest category and the least differentiated: most of them are competent at most things, so the choice usually comes down to price, context length and how the maker behaves about availability. Look at what a model costs per million tokens in and out — the output rate is often four or five times the input rate, and it is the one that decides your bill.

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Conversation models Models that run on 24 GB