Best local LLMs for the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H NAS (16 GB)

Each list assumes the context that task needs, so a model that fits for chat may rank lower for long documents.

General chat at 8K context

  1. 58Good quality (B) · 58 of 100: how capable the model is at Q5_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 85/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Ling 3.0 Tiny (8B-A1.3B) Q5_K_M · 42.2 tok/s · Runs great
  2. 66Good quality (B) · 66 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 82/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Mellum2.1 Thinking (12B-A2.5B) Q4_K_M · 28.2 tok/s · Runs well
  3. 66Good quality (B) · 66 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 82/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Nemotron 3.5 Bolt E4B Q4_K_M · 17.3 tok/s · Runs well
  4. 51Fair quality (C) · 51 of 100: how capable the model is at Q2_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 82/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. LFM2.5 24B-A2B Q2_K · 44.9 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)
  5. 67Good quality (B) · 67 of 100: how capable the model is at Q3_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 81/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. K2 Horizon 7B Q3_K_M · 11.2 tok/s · Runs well

Coding at 32K context

  1. 66Good quality (B) · 66 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 87/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Mellum2.1 Thinking (12B-A2.5B) Q4_K_M · 28.2 tok/s · Runs well
  2. 58Good quality (B) · 58 of 100: how capable the model is at Q3_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 85/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Maple Preview (20B-A1B) Q3_K_M · 55.4 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)
  3. 64Good quality (B) · 64 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 84/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Nanbeige4.2 3B Q4_K_M · 18.7 tok/s · Runs well
  4. 51Fair quality (C) · 51 of 100: how capable the model is at Q2_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 82/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. LFM2.5 24B-A2B Q2_K · 44.9 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)
  5. 67Good quality (B) · 67 of 100: how capable the model is at Q3_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 82/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. K2 Horizon 7B Q3_K_M · 11.2 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)

Reasoning at 32K context

  1. 66Good quality (B) · 66 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 87/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Mellum2.1 Thinking (12B-A2.5B) Q4_K_M · 28.2 tok/s · Runs well
  2. 58Good quality (B) · 58 of 100: how capable the model is at Q3_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 85/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Maple Preview (20B-A1B) Q3_K_M · 55.4 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)
  3. 64Good quality (B) · 64 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 84/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Nanbeige4.2 3B Q4_K_M · 18.7 tok/s · Runs well
  4. 51Fair quality (C) · 51 of 100: how capable the model is at Q2_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 82/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. LFM2.5 24B-A2B Q2_K · 44.9 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)
  5. 67Good quality (B) · 67 of 100: how capable the model is at Q3_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 82/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. K2 Horizon 7B Q3_K_M · 11.2 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)

Documents (RAG) at 32K context

  1. 66Good quality (B) · 66 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 83/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Nemotron 3.5 Bolt E4B Q4_K_M · 17.3 tok/s · Runs well
  2. 66Good quality (B) · 66 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 82/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Mellum2.1 Thinking (12B-A2.5B) Q4_K_M · 28.2 tok/s · Runs well
  3. 64Good quality (B) · 64 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 82/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Gemma 4 E4B Q4_K_M · 17.3 tok/s · Runs well
  4. 65Good quality (B) · 65 of 100: how capable the model is at Q3_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 82/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. SenseNova Loop 9B Preview Q3_K_M · 10.4 tok/s · Runs well
  5. 58Good quality (B) · 58 of 100: how capable the model is at Q5_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 81/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Ling 3.0 Tiny (8B-A1.3B) Q5_K_M · 42.2 tok/s · Runs great

Agents & tools at 64K context

  1. 66Good quality (B) · 66 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 87/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Mellum2.1 Thinking (12B-A2.5B) Q4_K_M · 28.2 tok/s · Runs well
  2. 66Good quality (B) · 66 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 84/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Nemotron 3.5 Bolt E4B Q4_K_M · 17.3 tok/s · Runs well
  3. 65Good quality (B) · 65 of 100: how capable the model is at Q3_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 82/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. MiMo V2.6 Distill Qwen 9B Q3_K_M · 10.7 tok/s · Runs well
  4. 65Good quality (B) · 65 of 100: how capable the model is at Q3_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 82/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. SenseNova Loop 9B Preview Q3_K_M · 10.4 tok/s · Runs well
  5. 49Fair quality (C) · 49 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 81/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. LFM2.5 8B-A1B Q4_K_M · 44.2 tok/s · Runs great

Reverse engineering at 32K context

  1. 66Good quality (B) · 66 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 82/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Mellum2.1 Thinking (12B-A2.5B) Q4_K_M · 28.2 tok/s · Runs well
  2. 58Good quality (B) · 58 of 100: how capable the model is at Q5_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 81/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Ling 3.0 Tiny (8B-A1.3B) Q5_K_M · 42.2 tok/s · Runs great
  3. 58Good quality (B) · 58 of 100: how capable the model is at Q3_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 80/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Maple Preview (20B-A1B) Q3_K_M · 55.4 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)
  4. 64Good quality (B) · 64 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 79/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Nanbeige4.2 3B Q4_K_M · 18.7 tok/s · Runs well
  5. 66Good quality (B) · 66 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 78/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Nemotron 3.5 Bolt E4B Q4_K_M · 17.3 tok/s · Runs well

Estimates come from published hardware specs and our open formulas, not from running the model on your machine. Real speed varies with runtime, drivers and settings. Numbers marked “Measured” come from a linked benchmark.

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