What PC do you need to make AI videos locally? A plain guide to VRAM
Most people asking whether their computer can make AI videos already own the answer. In Steam's August 2026 hardware survey, roughly seven in ten gaming PCs reported 8 GB of graphics memory or more, and the three most common cards were the RTX 3060, the RTX 4060 Laptop GPU and the RTX 5070. Any of those can narrate, caption and render a faceless video without sending anything to a cloud service or paying per minute of output. The number that decides it is VRAM, the memory on the graphics card, and it matters more than the card's age or its gaming benchmarks.
What each stage of a video actually asks of your hardware
A script-to-video pipeline is several different jobs, and they lean on very different parts of the machine. Knowing which is which tells you where an older PC will feel slow.
| Stage | What it uses | How demanding |
|---|---|---|
| Narration (text to speech, voice cloning) | Graphics card if present, otherwise processor | Moderate; runs on most 8 GB cards with room to spare |
| Caption timing (word alignment) | Graphics card if present, otherwise processor | Light |
| Picture generation | Graphics card memory | Heavy; this is the stage that sets the VRAM requirement |
| Export (encoding the final file) | The card's hardware encoder (NVENC on NVIDIA) | Light on a card with an encoder, slow on processor alone |
How much VRAM is enough
Picture generation holds a large model in graphics memory for the whole time it works, and when that model does not fit, it either fails or spills into system memory and slows to a crawl. Everything else in the pipeline fits comfortably around it. That is why 8 GB is the line worth remembering: at 8 GB and above, an NVIDIA card can run every stage locally, including painting the pictures. Cards with 12 or 16 GB give more headroom for larger image models and let you keep other programs open while a render runs.
| Video memory | Share of Steam PCs (Aug 2026) | What that means for local video |
|---|---|---|
| 24 GB | 5.41% | Every stage local, with room for the largest image models |
| 16 GB | 26.92% | Every stage local, with headroom |
| 12 GB | 12.99% | Every stage local |
| 8 GB | 25.74% | Every stage local; the practical minimum for picture generation |
| 6 GB | 5.30% | Local narration and captions; pictures from the cloud or your own files |
| 4 GB or less | 11.32% (4, 2 and 1 GB combined) | Treat it like a processor-only machine |
Source: Steam Hardware and Software Survey, August 2026 (VRAM section). The rows shown add up to 71% at 8 GB or more; smaller buckets the survey lists separately are left out.
If you do not have a graphics card
A laptop with integrated graphics can still produce a finished video. Narration and caption timing run on the processor, pictures come from a cloud generator, web images or your own files, and the export is encoded in software. It is slower by a wide margin: Thothium's processor path works out to about two minutes of processing per minute of finished video. For a weekly long-form upload that is an overnight job and perfectly usable. For several Shorts a day it becomes the bottleneck, and that is the point where a used 8 GB card pays for itself faster than any subscription.
What to buy if you are upgrading for this
Buy for video memory first and speed second. A mid-range NVIDIA card with 12 GB will outlast a faster card with 8 GB for this kind of work, because image models keep getting larger while the stages around them stay small. System memory matters less than people expect; 16 GB is fine and 32 GB is comfortable, which matches what most survey machines already have. Storage speed helps with previews on a long timeline, and any recent SSD is enough. Skip anything marketed as an "AI PC" on the strength of a laptop neural processor alone, since the video models that matter here run on the graphics card.
The reason to care about any of this is cost. A cloud tool meters every render, and the credit model charges again for every retake. A graphics card you already own is the one piece of video infrastructure with no monthly bill, which is the whole argument in our local-versus-cloud breakdown.
Where Thothium fits
Thothium is built around the machine you already have. Windows is the only hard requirement. An NVIDIA card with 8 GB or more gets the fast path, with local picture painting, the richer voices, voice cloning and hardware export. Without one, everything still works on the processor, with pictures coming from the cloud. The alpha signup asks for your specs so keys go to machines that will run it well, and the Thothium Discord is the place to ask about a specific card before you spend money on one. It is in free alpha, and the form below gets you a key.
Frequently asked questions
How much VRAM do I need to make AI videos on my own PC?
For a narrated video with generated pictures, 8 GB of graphics memory on an NVIDIA card is the practical line where every stage can run locally at a comfortable speed. Narration and caption timing need much less; image generation is the stage that decides the number. With less than 8 GB, the usual arrangement is local narration plus pictures from the cloud or your own files.
Can I make AI videos without a graphics card?
Yes, with patience. A processor can run narration and caption timing, it just runs them slowly: in Thothium the CPU path works out to roughly two minutes of processing per minute of finished video, with pictures fetched from the cloud instead of painted locally. It is a workable way to start on a laptop and a poor way to run a daily channel.
Does it have to be NVIDIA?
For most local AI video tools today, NVIDIA is the fast path, because the models and the hardware video encoder are built around CUDA and NVENC. AMD and Intel cards are improving, but support varies tool by tool, so check the specific software before buying hardware for it.
Is a gaming laptop good enough?
Often, yes. The RTX 4060 Laptop GPU is the second most common card in Steam's August 2026 hardware survey and carries 8 GB of video memory. Laptop cards run slower than their desktop namesakes under sustained load, so expect longer renders, and keep the machine plugged in while it works.
Last updated September 18, 2026. Hardware shares are from Valve's Steam Hardware and Software Survey for August 2026, which samples Steam users and so leans toward gaming PCs. Thothium's requirements are the ones published in its own FAQ; other local tools set their own, so check each one before buying hardware for it.