Welcome to Lesson 3 of the How to Own Your AI System course from BrainDrive.ai.
Before we install your AI system, you’re probably wondering: Will this work on MY computer?
If you have a modern Windows, Linux, or Mac computer the answer is very likely yes.
But how powerful the models are that you can run locally on your computer is going to depend on the power of your computer.
Here’s why.
Remember from Lesson 2 - your AI system has five components.
- The interface
- The storage
- The hosting
- The Connections
- The AI Models
The first four (interface, storage, hosting, connections) will run on almost any modern computer.
But the fifth component - the AI models - that’s where your computer specs can be a big deal.
I say “can be” because the power of your computer really only comes into play if you want to run models locally on your computer.
Let me explain why.
Understanding AI Models and Hardware
AI models have been trained on enormous amounts of data, and all that knowledge has to live somewhere.
When you run a model locally on your computer, you’re loading billions of parameters into your computer’s memory. The bigger the model, the more capable it is - but also the more memory it needs.
Think of it like this:
- A small model is like a smart high school student
- A medium model is like a college graduate
- A large model is like a team of experts
The more capable you want your AI to be, the more resources it needs.
But if your computer isn’t powerful enough to run models locally, you still have another option.
Option 1: Run models on your computer (local)
- Your data stays completely private
- No internet needed after installation
- Requires sufficient RAM and storage
- Free to use as much as you want
Option 2: Use models via API (cloud)
- Works on any computer
- Access to the most powerful models
- Pay per use
- Your prompts and data go to the API provider
And the good news is that this is not an either or proposition.
With AI systems like BrainDrive you can use small, local models that will run on most computers when you want complete privacy.
When you want state of the art performance you can leverage more powerful models via API connections in your BrainDrive.
And as you’ll see in the coming lessons, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to do it.
What Your Computer Needs
For BrainDrive itself (always needed):
- Modern Windows, Mac, or Linux
- 8GB RAM minimum
- 10GB storage
- Internet connection (only to install, then you can disconnect)
This runs on almost any computer from the last 5 years. If you don’t know how to check your computer simply google “your computer name” + “how to check RAM and Storage” for instructions on where to look.
For running local AI models:
If you want to run models locally on your computer:
For small models (like a smart assistant):
- 16GB RAM
- 5-10GB storage per model
- Any modern computer
For medium models (like ChatGPT 3.5):
- 32GB RAM
- 10-20GB storage per model
- Decent computer from last 3 years
For large models (like ChatGPT 4):
- 64GB+ RAM
- 20GB+ storage per model
- Powerful computer or server
A dedicated graphics card (GPU) makes everything faster, but it’s not required.
And there’s more good news.
Most AI models that run locally on your computer are free to download and try. If it’s too slow to run on your computer, just delete it and try another model.
We’ll show you how to do all this in more in the coming lessons.
But first let’s introduce you to your BrainDrive, the user-owned AI system.
That’s what the next lesson is all about.
I’ll see you there.