Building the perfect PC for Generative AI

If you’re looking to use AI-powered image, video, sound or text generators such as Stable Diffusion, you’re going to need a PC that can deliver speed and performance. The primary focus should be on the graphics card as this is where most of the work is done in generative AI applications. Your choice of graphics card will help to determine the other components you are going to need, as you will need a CPU which can support your GPU and enough RAM to optimise your graphics cards performance.

Key hardware considerations for Generative AI

Processor (CPU)

For generative AI and running generative models, the CPU is not the most important component, however, it will become more important if you’re also going to use your system for data science, large language modelling or manipulating large data sets. If this is the case, you may want to consider our Threadripper or Xeon workstations.  

Best CPUs for Generative AI

When it comes to Generative AI, almost any 4 core, 8 thread CPU will be sufficient to run the necessary software, but depending on the graphics card you opt for, you may want to go for something a little more powerful. Any modern AMD or Intel CPU should work well for your requirements, but in particular we recommend:

Intel Core i5-14600K

With a boost clock speed of 5.3 GHz, the i5-14600K is a fast processor that supports PCIe 5.0, making for faster communication with your GPU which is extremely important for generative AI tasks. The 14600K can also support multi-GPU setups if you need to run more powerful accelerated AI training and inference.

AMD Ryzen 7 7700X

The Ryzen 7 7700X also offers fast clock speeds (up to 5.4GHz) as well as support for PCIe 5.0 and support for DDR5 memory. It also offers a great balance of single-threaded and multi-threaded performance.

AMD Ryzen 7 9700X

Graphics card (GPU)

When it comes to generative AI applications, your graphics card is the most important component to consider to get the best out of your system. We recommend a graphics card with at least 16GB of VRAM to ensure quick data processing and reduced latency. You should also consider memory bandwidth (Interface width and clock speeds) which will help with managing and processing large datasets.

It is worth noting that NVIDIA’s CUDA cores are better supported than AMD or Intel graphics cards currently, especially if you’re using the native Stable Diffusion and not an optimised community fork.

Memory (RAM)

RAM is not a huge consideration for generative AI, with it being possible to run Stable Diffusion on just 8GB RAM, however we would recommend a minimum of at least 16GB. For optimal performance and stability, you would ideally have double the amount of RAM as you do VRAM.

RECOMMENDED STABLE DIFFUSION PCS

Trustpilot
Professional Lumion Workstation

PC Designed for Architectural Visualization

SKU: 5060959090397

£3,381.00 (inc VAT)

  • Jonsbo U5 Black Case
  • Intel Core i7-14700KF 3.4/5.6GHz 20 Core, 28 Thread CPU
  • ASUS ProArt Z790-CREATOR WIFI Motherboard
  • NVidia GeForce RTX 5080 16GB GDDR7 GPU
  • 64GB Corsair Vengeance DDR5 5200MHz CL40 (2x32GB)
  • 1TB Samsung 990 EVO M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD (5000MB/R, 4200MB/W)
  • 4TB NVMe M.2 SSD (3500MB/R, 2800MB/W)
  • Corsair H100x RGB Elite Liquid CPU Cooler
  • Contour 850W Modular ATX 87+ Power Supply GPX850S
  • Built in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
  • Built in 5.1 Sound Card
  • Microsoft Windows® 11 Professional
  • 4 x Be Quiet! PureWings 2 PWM – Black 120mm Case Fans
Trustpilot
Tungsten X Ryzen Gamer Creator PC with RTX 5090 Graphics

SKU: 5060506947730

£5,091.00 (inc VAT)

  • Be Quiet! Silent Base 601 Black
  • AMD Ryzen 9 9950X 4.3GHz 16 Core CPU – 5.7GHz Turbo
  • Gigabyte X870E AORUS ELITE WIFI7 ATX Motherboard
  • NVidia GeForce RTX 5090 32GB GDDR7 GPU
  • 128GB Kingston Fury Beast 5200/4800MHz (4x32GB) Black
  • 1TB WD BLACK SN850X NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD (7300MB/R, 6300MB/W)
  • 16TB Seagate 3.5″ Ironwolf Pro HDD, 2 Years Rescue+DataRecovery on registration
  • Corsair iCUE H115i ELITE CAPELLIX XT 280mm Black RGB Liquid Cooler
  • MSI MPG A1000G 1000w 80 Plus Gold ATX 3.1 Modular PSU
  • Built in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
  • Built in 5.1 Sound Card
  • Microsoft Windows® 11 Professional
Trustpilot
Power Desktop Tower UE5 Architecture Visualisation

SKU: 5060506947082

£1,943.00 (inc VAT)

  • Be Quiet! Pure Base 600 Silver Case
  • AMD Ryzen 7 7700 3.8GHz 8 Core CPU – 5.3GHz Turbo
  • Gigabyte B650 Gaming X AX Motherboard
  • NVidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16GB GPU
  • 32GB Corsair Vengeance DDR5 5200MHz CL40 (2x16GB)
  • 1TB WD BLACK SN770 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD (5150MB/R, 4900MB/W)
  • 4TB Seagate BarraCuda 3.5″ Hard Drive
  • Be Quiet Pure Rock 2 Low Noise CPU Cooler
  • Contour 850W Modular ATX 87+ Power Supply GPX850S
  • Built in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
  • Built in 5.1 Sound Card
  • Microsoft Windows® 11 Professional
Trustpilot
Performance Plus Video Editing Computer

SKU: 5060506948355

£2,684.00 (inc VAT)

  • Be Quiet! Shadow Base 800 Case
  • Intel Core i7-14700K 3.4/5.6GHz 20 Core, 28 Thread CPU
  • Gigabyte Z790 GAMING X AX DDR5 Motherboard
  • NVidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16GB GPU
  • 64GB Corsair Vengeance DDR5 6000MHz CL30 (2x32GB)
  • 1TB WD BLACK SN770 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD (5150MB/R, 4900MB/W)
  • 2TB WD BLACK SN770 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD (5150MB/R, 4850MB/W)
  • 8TB Seagate 3.5″ Ironwolf Pro HDD, 2 Years Rescue+DataRecovery on registration
  • Corsair iCUE H115i RGB ELITE 280mm Black Liquid Cooler
  • Contour 850W Modular ATX 87+ Power Supply GPX850S
  • Built in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
  • Built in 5.1 Sound Card
  • Microsoft Windows® 11 Home