DeepSeek Coder can be run on budget-friendly setups, but the performance and capabilities will vary significantly based on the model size and hardware specifications. Hereâs a detailed breakdown:
Hardware Requirements
1. Basic Requirements:
- For smaller models, such as the 1.5B and 7B parameter versions, systems with 8GB to 16GB of RAM are sufficient. A GPU like the NVIDIA RTX 3060 or higher is recommended for optimal performance[5][4].
2. Mid-Range Options:
- The 14B model requires about 32GB of RAM, while the 33B model needs at least 64GB of RAM[4][5]. A GPU like the NVIDIA RTX 4080 is suitable for these models.
3. High-End Requirements:
- For larger models, such as the 671B, a multi-GPU setup is necessary, typically involving 16 NVIDIA A100 GPUs, which can be prohibitively expensive (totaling around $100,000 to $120,000) [2][5].
4. Budget-Friendly Alternatives:
- Users on a budget can consider running quantized versions of larger models, which can be executed on consumer-grade GPUs like the RTX 4090. This allows for satisfactory performance without requiring extensive high-end hardware setups[2][4].
Conclusion
While high-end hardware is essential for running the largest models effectively, smaller models can be run on more modest setups with adequate RAM and a decent GPU. Therefore, if you are looking to use DeepSeek Coder without investing in high-end hardware, focusing on smaller or quantized models is a viable path that balances performance with cost.
Citations:
[1] https://stackoverflow.com/questions/78697403/system-requirements-for-the-deepseek-coder-v2-instruct/78825493
[2] https://www.reddit.com/r/selfhosted/comments/1ibl5wr/how_much_money_would_i_need_to_run_r1_deepseek/
[3] https://www.hardware-corner.net/llm-database/Deepseek/
[4] https://www.timesnownews.com/technology-science/deepseek-r1-ai-without-cloud-costs-how-to-install-and-run-on-your-pc-article-117602023
[5] https://apxml.com/posts/gpu-requirements-deepseek-r1
[6] https://huggingface.co/deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-R1/discussions/19
[7] https://www.reddit.com/r/LocalLLM/comments/1i6j3ih/how_to_install_deepseek_what_models_and/
[8] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42865575