Hardware for running AI on your own devices

Which laptop can run private AI for your business? We test it.

We run 6 everyday business jobs on each laptop with AI that stays on the machine. Each laptop gets a plain verdict on every job and one score out of 100. Your documents never leave your computer.

Not sure what your laptop can run? Try the finder. Estimates are labelled.

Private assistantOn this laptop

Summarise this contract and list the key dates.

Summary
  • Two parties agree a 12-month service, paid monthly.
  • It starts on 1 March. Either side can end it with 30 days' notice.
  • A fee applies if a payment is more than 14 days late.
Your file stays on this laptop.
An illustration with made-up example documents. It is not a test result.

Real jobs, not lab numbers

Every laptop runs the same 6 everyday business jobs: contract summary, customer replies, marketing pack, invoice extraction, sales data questions, handbook q&a. A verdict for each job tells you what it is like to use.

Private by design

The AI runs on the laptop itself. Our tests use made-up documents, and the setups we build keep your files on your own machine.

Open method and data

The test rules are written down and locked before we test. Every score is free to download. Read the method or get the data.

What Hardwarerig covers today

Hardwarerig is about running AI on your own computer, so your files stay with you. Here is what you can use on the site now.

  • Laptop scorecards and the finder. A plain verdict on every job and one score for each laptop we have tested, and labelled estimates for laptops we have not.
  • Use-case requirements. The system requirements that makers publish for everyday apps, such as video editing, gaming and AI images, and which laptops meet them.
  • Cloud GPU prices. Public hourly rates from named providers, each dated and sourced, and a calculator to compare renting with owning.
  • Private AI setup. Braynex Services Ltd sets up local AI on your own laptop. Setup is priced for each client. Contact us for a quote.
  • Guides and news. Plain-English help with local AI, and short posts when we publish a new result.

How private AI works on your laptop

The model is installed on the machine, so your file goes in and the answer comes out without leaving it. We choose the laptop, set it up and test it on real jobs.

  1. Your fileA contract, an email, an invoice or a spreadsheet.
  2. AI on your laptopAn open model reads it on the machine. No account and no upload.
  3. Your answerA summary, a draft or a checklist, ready for you to review.
Everything above stays on your laptop.Cloud: not used
How a private setup works. An illustration.
Terminal
$ ollama run qwen3:8b "Summarise this contract and list the dates" < contract.txtTwo parties agree a 12-month service, paid monthly.It starts on 1 March. Either side can end it with 30 days' notice.A fee applies if a payment is more than 14 days late.$ 
A model running in a terminal window on a laptop, using Ollama. An illustration with a made-up file; not a test result.

Under the hood

The picture on the left shows an open model running through Ollama, a free tool that runs AI models on your own computer. You do not need to use a terminal: we set up an app on the laptop and show you how to use it.

See how setup works

The latest laptop we tested

Each scorecard shows a verdict for every job, a score out of 100 and the laptop's specifications. We publish one only after a full test.

What do you need it to do?

Pick the job. We show how laptops do at it.

What can your laptop run?

The finder works from the specifications that makers publish and from benchmark results that others have published, so it covers laptops we have not tested ourselves. Pick a laptop, a chip or a graphics card and see which open AI models fit in its memory and roughly how fast they write.

359laptops listed
166chips and graphics cards
16open models

Every result is labelled Estimated from specs or Measured, and laptop pages show Reported by others benchmarks where they exist. Speeds are ranges. Measured means we ran the test ourselves.

Open the finder

Local AI or cloud GPU?

Renting a cloud GPU needs no hardware purchase and adds up by the hour. Your own machine costs more up front and less after. Enter your own numbers and see where the two cross.

Cloud rates come from the public price pages of Crusoe, DigitalOcean, Hyperstack, Lambda, RunPod, Thunder Compute, Vast.ai, Verda: 151 GPU and provider listings, each dated and sourced. The latest were read on 2026-10-28.

Open the calculator

How we test

  1. Same jobs for every laptop

    6 everyday business jobs, with the same prompts and the same documents each time.

  2. Run on the laptop itself

    The AI model runs on the machine being tested, with the settings locked in advance, so the result is what you would get.

  3. A plain verdict

    Each job gets a verdict and each laptop one score out of 100. We publish a scorecard only after a full test and never publish estimates as scores.

Read the full method

Want it done for you?

We can install private AI on your laptop and show you how to use it. Every job is quoted for the client.

Private AI starter

  • Local AI installed and tested
  • Recommended models for your laptop
  • 3 starter workflows
  • Handover call

Private AI for your team

  • Everything in Starter
  • Several machines
  • Custom workflow for one recurring job
  • Support period

Industry review tool

  • Checklist built from your own documents
  • Runs fully on your machine
  • Pre-set-up laptop option

This one is still being built, one industry at a time. See the industries.

Contact us for a quote

Your documents stay on your laptop.

Local AI keeps your files on your own machine, so they are never sent to a cloud service.

See how setup works

Built for firms with sensitive files

We are starting with one industry at a time. Join the list for yours.

  • Restoration contractors Exploring
  • Accountants and bookkeepers Waitlist
  • Small law firms Waitlist
  • Surveyors and property inspectors Waitlist
  • Letting agents and property managers Waitlist

About the industry tools

New results, as they are tested.

New laptop scores and finder updates, by email.

Get the updates