Phi-4 Requirements
Phi-4 needs about 11.8GB at Q4; the cheapest PC that runs it comfortably is Minisforum UM890 Pro at $1,015.
Updated
What Phi-4 asks of a PC
Phi-4 has 14B parameters, all of them active, so its memory need scales directly with that count and the quantization you pick.
At 8K context Phi-4 takes 11.8GB at Q4, 15.3GB at Q6 and 19.1GB at Q8. Stepping from Q4 to Q8 costs 7.3GB.
Phi-4 accepts up to 16,000 tokens of context, and a long context adds memory: at 128K and Q4 it takes 41.8GB.
Phi-4 was released in 2024-12.
46 tracked PCs with a verified price run Phi-4 comfortably and 4 run it with limits. The cheapest comfortable option by type is laptop: HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 at $1,719.99; mini PC: Minisforum UM890 Pro at $1,015; desktop: Framework Desktop (Ryzen AI Max 385) at $1,269; workstation: Lenovo ThinkStation P3 Ultra (RTX PRO 4500) at $2,029.99.
Memory requirements for Phi-4
| Quantization | 8K context | 32K context | 128K context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q4 | 11.8GB | 17.8GB | 41.8GB |
| Q5 | 13.5GB | 19.5GB | 43.5GB |
| Q6 | 15.3GB | 21.3GB | 45.3GB |
| Q8 | 19.1GB | 25.1GB | 49.1GB |
- Parameters
- 14B
- Context window
- 16,000
- Source
- Model card
Best PC for Phi-4
Lenovo ThinkStation PGX: the highest AIPC Score among the PCs that run it comfortably, at $5,859.
Cheapest PCs that run Phi-4 comfortably
| # | System | Type | AI Memory | GPU/NPU | AI Score | Price | Verified | View |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Minisforum UM890 Pro | Mini PC | 16GB | Radeon 780M | 17.3 | $1,015 | View Deal on Amazon → | |
| 2 |  Minisforum MS-01 Workstation | Mini PC | 16GB | Intel Iris Xe | 18.4 | $1,039 | View Deal on Amazon → | |
| 3 |  Beelink SER8 | Mini PC | 16GB | Radeon 780M | 17.5 | $1,099 | View Deal on Amazon → | |
| 4 |  Minisforum AI X1 Pro-370 | Mini PC | 16GB | Radeon 890M | 20 | $1,247 | View Deal on Amazon → | |
| 5 |  Framework Desktop (Ryzen AI Max 385) | Desktop | 24GB | Radeon 8050S | 26.3 | Price awaiting re-verification | Check Price at Framework → |
Cheapest PCs that run Phi-4 with limitations
| # | System | Type | AI Memory | GPU/NPU | AI Score | Price | Verified | View |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Apple Mac mini (M6) | Mini PC | 12GB | Apple M6 GPU | 16.1 | $779 | View Deal on Amazon → | |
| 2 |  Apple MacBook Air 15 (M5) | Laptop | 12GB | Apple M5 10-core GPU | 14.6 | $1,299 | View Deal on Amazon → | |
| 3 |  ASUS Zenbook S16 | Laptop | 12GB | AMD Radeon Graphics | 13.9 | $1,699.99 | View Deal on Amazon → |