Starling LM 7B Alpha on Intel Core i5-12400 NAS (32 GB)

Can the Intel Core i5-12400 NAS (32 GB) run Starling LM 7B Alpha?

Yes, it runs well

Runs well. At Q2_K it needs about 6.7 GB of 26.2 GB usable, with an estimated speed of 11.9 tok/s.

Best quant: Q2_K
Generation speed: 11.9 tok/s
Prompt processing: 37.3 tok/s
First token (1K prompt): 27.5 s
Largest safe context: 8K

Best app to run it on the Intel Core i5-12400 NAS (32 GB)

On Linux

Ollama

Command line + local API · runs on llama.cpp (ggml), MLX (Apple silicon, preview)

One command with Ollama’s own build of this model.
Serves an OpenAI-compatible API that other apps and coding tools can use.

ollama run starling-lm:7b-alpha-q2_K

llama.cpp Usually the first to support new model architectures.
KoboldCpp

How we choose: the files published for this model, which apps run in a container on a NAS without a graphics card (models run on its processor), and whether the model fits fully in the memory models can use. Details.

Download Starling LM 7B Alpha

Recommended for the Intel Core i5-12400 NAS (32 GB): Q2_K. Every other quantization has its own download link in the table below.

Quickest · Ollama

One command downloads a ready-to-run version and starts a chat.

Get Ollama at ollama.com/download (opens in a new tab) · model page (opens in a new tab)

ollama run starling-lm:7b-alpha-q2_K

Quantized files · GGUF

Works in LM Studio, llama.cpp, Jan and Ollama. No sign-in needed.

Download the Q2_K file (opens in a new tab)

huggingface.co/QuantFactory/Starling-LM-7B-alpha-GGUF (opens in a new tab)

ollama run hf.co/QuantFactory/Starling-LM-7B-alpha-GGUF:Q2_K

Original weights · Hugging Face

Full-precision files from Berkeley, for fine-tuning, vLLM, Transformers.

huggingface.co/berkeley-nest/Starling-LM-7B-alpha (opens in a new tab)

No sign-in needed.

Links checked 2 days ago against Hugging Face, Ollama and GitHub.

How it’s rated

Quality 22Basic quality (D) · 22 of 100: how capable the model is at Q2_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 49/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking.: How capable the model itself is at Q2_K, from its editorial quality tier scaled by the quantization or precision. It’s the same on any hardware that runs this variant. Scale: A+ 85+ · A 70+ · B 55+ · C 40+ · D under 40.
Runs Runs well: How well it runs on the Intel Core i5-12400 NAS (32 GB): speed, capped by how well it fits in memory. Runs great: 30+ tokens/s (or near the image, video or decision speed target) · Runs well: 10+ tokens/s · Slow: 3+ tokens/s · Very slow: under 3 · Won’t run: doesn’t fit even with offload. A tight fit or RAM offload caps it at Runs well; heavy offload caps it at Slow.

Match score

To order lists, each result also gets a match score out of 100 from four parts. It favors the most capable model that still runs well.

Model qualityEditorial quality tier of the model, scaled by the quantization or precision used.	10.1 / 45
Memory fitFull marks when the model fits in the share of the NAS’s memory that models can use (the rest stays with the NAS system and its storage services); fewer when it goes past that limit.	25.0 / 25
SpeedGeneration speed against a 40 tokens/s target for LLMs, or render time against a target for image and video.	8.2 / 15
Memory useRewards using the memory you have, so a bigger, better variant beats a tiny one that leaves most memory idle.	5.9 / 15
Match score	49.1 / 100

The match score orders results; it is not shown as a grade. Quality and Runs are the two ratings in the tables.

Every quantization on the Intel Core i5-12400 NAS (32 GB)

Quant	Memory needed	Available	Speed	Runs	Quality	Download
`Q2_K`	6.7 GB	26.2 GB	11.9 tok/s	Runs well	22Basic quality (D) · 22 of 100: how capable the model is at Q2_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 49/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking.	GGUF (opens in a new tab)
`Q3_K_M`	7.3 GB	26.2 GB	9.4 tok/s	Slow	26Basic quality (D) · 26 of 100: how capable the model is at Q3_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 50/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking.	GGUF (opens in a new tab)
`Q4_K_M`	8.2 GB	26.2 GB	7.2 tok/s	Slow	30Basic quality (D) · 30 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 52/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking.	GGUF (opens in a new tab)
`Q5_K_M`	8.9 GB	26.2 GB	6.0 tok/s	Slow	31Basic quality (D) · 31 of 100: how capable the model is at Q5_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 52/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking.	GGUF (opens in a new tab)
`Q6_K`	9.7 GB	26.2 GB	5.0 tok/s	Slow	31Basic quality (D) · 31 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 53/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking.	GGUF (opens in a new tab)
`Q8_0`	11.4 GB	26.2 GB	3.7 tok/s	Slow	32Basic quality (D) · 32 of 100: how capable the model is at Q8_0, whatever it runs on. Match score 54/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking.	GGUF (opens in a new tab)
`F16`	18.3 GB	26.2 GB	1.7 tok/s	Very slow	32Basic quality (D) · 32 of 100: how capable the model is at F16, whatever it runs on. Match score 57/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking.	Original weights (opens in a new tab)

Memory figures assume 8K of context. Longer conversations or documents grow the KV cache.

Other hardware that runs it

32Basic quality (D) · 32 of 100: how capable the model is at Q8_0, whatever it runs on. Match score 69/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER Q8_0 · 43.5 tok/s · Runs great
32Basic quality (D) · 32 of 100: how capable the model is at F16, whatever it runs on. Match score 69/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 F16 · 40.1 tok/s · Runs great
31Basic quality (D) · 31 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 69/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Intel Arc B580 Q6_K · 41.0 tok/s · Runs great
31Basic quality (D) · 31 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 69/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12GB Q6_K · 42.4 tok/s · Runs great
32Basic quality (D) · 32 of 100: how capable the model is at Q8_0, whatever it runs on. Match score 69/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT Q8_0 · 47.6 tok/s · Runs great
32Basic quality (D) · 32 of 100: how capable the model is at Q8_0, whatever it runs on. Match score 69/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER Q8_0 · 58.0 tok/s · Runs great

Quick answers

How much memory does Starling LM 7B Alpha need on the Intel Core i5-12400 NAS 32GB?

At Q2_K it needs about 6.7 GB. The Intel Core i5-12400 NAS 32GB has 26.2 GB usable.

How fast is Starling LM 7B Alpha on the Intel Core i5-12400 NAS 32GB?

About 11.9 tok/s at Q2_K, an estimate from the hardware’s memory bandwidth and the size of the model.

Which quantization of Starling LM 7B Alpha should I use on the Intel Core i5-12400 NAS 32GB?

Q2_K. Of the versions that fit, it is the one that runs best; when two run equally well, the check prefers the higher-rated one.

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.