Rig Finder index / 14B / Coding assistant / Utah
Best rig to run a 14B model for coding assistant in Utah
For a 14B model at this workload, the Mini-PC pays off fastest — break-even ~6 months, keeping $4,067 over 3 years versus Claude Sonnet 4.6.
Same workload, same cloud, same electricity — we swap only the hardware and rank by real break-even. Rigs that can't run a 14B model are shown, never recommended. Compared against Claude Sonnet 4.6 ($3/M in, $15/M out); change the cloud in the lab.
Every build, ranked
| Rig | Build | 14B tok/s | Local/mo | Break-even | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mini-PCbest payoff | $750 | 11estimated | $22.02 | ~6 mo | OWN |
| RTX 3090 (used) | $1,200 | 50estimated | $38.85 | ~9 mo | OWN |
| RTX 4090 | $2,300 | 75estimated | $70.01 | ~18 mo | OWN |
| 2× RTX 3090 | $2,250 | 55estimated | $71.82 | ~18 mo | OWN |
| Mac M-series | $3,000 | 40estimated | $84.44 | ~22 mo | HYBRID |
| RTX 5090 | $3,500 | 110estimated | $105 | ~28 mo | HYBRID |
Assumes coding assistant use: ~15M tokens/month, 3h/day active, 5h/day idle, at Utah electricity ($0.115/kWh). Speeds are our estimates; community-measured tok/s live on the interactive Rig Finder and the benchmarks board. Every formula is on the methodology page.
Run this with your exact numbers →