Best GPU for Local AI Coding

Written by Jakub Rusinowski · Last updated July 21, 2026

Ranked for coding and software engineering: Writing, refactoring and debugging code in an editor or terminal, with the model reading real project files.

Best overall: Intel Arc B580

12 GB VRAM at 456 GB/s. It runs 56 of the models that qualify for this workload; the strongest is Qwen 3 14B at an estimated 33 tokens/sec.

The picks

GPUVRAMMSRPModels that fitBest model it runsEst. speed
Best overallIntel Arc B58012 GB$24956Qwen 3 14B~33 tok/s
Best valueIntel Arc B58012 GB$24956Qwen 3 14B~33 tok/s
Budget pickIntel Arc B57010 GB$21955Qwen3-Coder 8B~47.2 tok/s
Most memoryNVIDIA DGX Spark128 GB$4,69991Devstral-2 123B~7.9 tok/s

Full ranking for coding and software engineering

GPUScoreVRAMMSRPModels fitEst. speedTok/s per wattCost per model
Intel Arc B58072.512 GB$24956~330.17$4
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 509070.232 GB$1,99978~57.80.1$26
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT69.920 GB$89968~28.60.09$13
AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT69.116 GB$49963~43.90.17$8
AMD Radeon RX 907068.816 GB$54963~44.90.2$9
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 507068.412 GB$54956~46.90.19$10
AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT68.116 GB$59963~49.70.23$10
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX66.524 GB$99978~32.90.09$13
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 409065.924 GB$1,59978~34.50.08$21
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti65.616 GB$74963~60.50.2$12
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super65.316 GB$79963~46.90.16$13
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 407064.612 GB$59956~36.20.18$11

How these numbers are calculated

FAQ

What is the best GPU for coding and software engineering?

The Intel Arc B580 — 12 GB of VRAM runs 56 qualifying models, the strongest being Qwen 3.

What is the cheapest GPU that works for coding and software engineering?

The Intel Arc B570 at $219, which runs 55 qualifying models.

How much VRAM do I need for coding and software engineering?

8 GB is the entry point at which a model for this workload will run at all. More memory buys a stronger model, not just a faster one.

What These GPUs Run

GPU Reviews

Best GPU for Other Workloads

Next Steps

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