Build a PC / AI & local models

$2,500 PC for local AI models, part by part

An Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF with the Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB, and the 6 parts around them that fit it: $2,868 all in.

Language and image models on your own card. Every part here was checked against every other for fit, and picked for video memory first, then card speed, then system memory. A price marked Amazon US is ScoutPrices' reading of the listing its button opens, dated; the rest are typical prices. Not a checkout total: no operating system, shipping, tax, screen, keyboard or mouse.

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF has headroom to spare. The Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB sets the frame rate at 1440p, so a faster card is the upgrade that shows.

Change the budget or the job

Fit for the job

Sweet spot

$2,868 of $2,500

The ASRock B860 Challenger WiFi White goes onto the NZXT H7 Flow (2024) White's tray: ATX, B860, nine standoffs.

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF drops into the LGA1851 socket, lever down: 20 cores, up to 5.5 GHz.

The Thermalright Frozen Notte 360's block sits on the chip and its 360 mm radiator bolts to the roof; rated 300 W against 250 W.

Two sticks of Crucial Pro 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5-6000 CL40 White click into the second and fourth slots: 64 GB at 6000 MT/s.

The Lexar NM790 2TB screws into the first M.2 slot under the card.

The Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB slides into the x16 slot and latches: 240 mm in a case that takes 410 mm, 16 GB of memory.

The be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 750W goes into the basement, 750 W for a build that draws about 550 W flat out.

Side panel on, three case fans spinning. Fit for the job: 66 of 100.

Build order

Eight steps, the way a builder works through the case. $2,498 all in.

ASRock B860 Challenger WiFi White on the tray
Core Ultra 7 265KF in the socket
Thermalright Frozen Notte 360 on top
2 sticks of memory
Lexar NM790 2TB on the board
RX 9060 XT 16GB in the x16 slot
750 W supply in the basement
Panel on, power on

Illustration built from this build's parts: the case's card and cooler clearances, the board's size, the card's length, the cooler, the memory sticks, the supply. Shapes are generic, not the products' own.

PartScore for the jobPrice

ProcessorIntel Core Ultra 7 265KF

Highest AI & local models score the budget allows next to this card: 20 cores, boosts to 5.5 GHz.

2 swaps that still fit