Best hardware for always-on AI agents
AgentRig Score (per group): 45% memory per dollar + 25% total memory + 30% "can it run your agents" (memory headroom up to 32GB, plus published tok/s up to 60), using the memory and price of the listed configuration. Rows without a confirmed price show "price pending" and are not ranked. tok/s = published llama.cpp generation speed, Llama 3.1 8B Q4_K_M, linked to the source.
Complete systems
| # | Hardware | Listed config | Memory | Price | Price status | tok/s | Agent fit | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GMKtec EVO-X2 (Ryzen AI Max+ 395) | EVO-X2 (main listing price; config not confirmed) | 64 GB | $2,199.99 | unverified | — | 60 | 72 |
| 2 | Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB) | Pi 5 8GB board only | 8 GB | $175 | verified | — | 15 | 53 |
| 3 | Mac Studio M5 Max (36GB) | M5 Max 18-core CPU/32-core GPU, 36GB/512GB | 36 GB | $2,499 | unverified | — | 60 | 46 |
| 4 | Mac mini M5 Pro (24GB) | M5 Pro 15-core CPU/16-core GPU, 24GB/512GB | 24 GB | $1,699 | verified | — | 45 | 37 |
| 5 | NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano Super Dev Kit | Orin Nano Super Dev Kit 8GB | 8 GB | $299.95 | verified | — | 15 | 34 |
| 6 | Mac mini M6 (16GB) | M6 16GB/256GB | 16 GB | $899 | verified | — | 30 | 33 |
| — | Beelink SER9 (Ryzen AI 9 HX 370) | SER9 HX 370 32GB/1TB | 32 GB | Price pending | pending | — | 60 | price pending |
| — | Framework Desktop (Ryzen AI Max+ 395, 128GB) | Ryzen AI Max+ 395 128GB | 128 GB | Price pending | pending | — | 60 | price pending |
| — | Mac mini M4 (16GB) | M4 16GB (discontinued) | 16 GB | Price pending | pending | — | 30 | price pending |
| — | Mac mini M4 (24GB) | M4 24GB (discontinued) | 24 GB | Price pending | pending | 11.5* | 45 | price pending |
| — | Mac Studio M5 Ultra (96GB) | M5 Ultra 30-core CPU, 96GB/1TB | 96 GB | Price pending | pending | — | 60 | price pending |
| — | Minisforum MS-A2 | MS-A2 Ryzen 9 9955HX barebone | — | Price pending | pending | — | 0 | price pending |
| — | NVIDIA DGX Spark | DGX Spark 128GB | 128 GB | Price pending | pending | 43.1 | 89 | price pending |
GPUs (card only, add a host PC)
| # | Hardware | Listed config | VRAM | Price | Price status | tok/s | Agent fit | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Used RTX 3090 (card only) | RTX 3090 24GB card only, used sold median | 24 GB | $1,515 | verified | 120.7 | 85 | 74 |
| 2 | RTX 5060 Ti 16GB (card only) | RTX 5060 Ti 16GB card only, used sold median | 16 GB | $673 | verified | — | 30 | 66 |
| 3 | RTX 5090 (card only) | RTX 5090 32GB card only, used sold | 32 GB | $5,551 | verified | 204.2 | 100 | 66 |
| 4 | RTX 4090 (card only) | RTX 4090 24GB card only, used sold median | 24 GB | $3,016 | verified | 127.7 | 85 | 59 |
| — | Intel Arc B580 (card only) | Arc B580 12GB card only | 12 GB | Price pending | pending | 33.7 | 45 | price pending |
Cloud baseline (not ranked)
| # | Hardware | Listed config | Memory | Price | Price status | tok/s | Agent fit | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Hetzner CAX21 (cloud baseline) | CAX21 4 vCPU/8GB | 8 GB | Price pending | pending | — | 15 | price pending |
* Different model (see hardware page). GPU card prices are used-market sold medians. Budget a host PC on top of those.