Looking for Windows users with 2–8 GB GPUs to test a low-VRAM local LLM runtime
## StreamAI Preliminary Compatibility Matrix — First External 2 GB VRAM Inference Success
Quick update on the StreamAI controlled beta: we now have our first successful **external inference test on a 2 GB discrete GPU**.
A beta tester, **Logos-Adri** , tested StreamAI 0.3.9.12 on an **NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 with 2 GB VRAM**. The engine initialized successfully and completed local Qwen2.5 1.5B inference.
### Preliminary compatibility results
GPU | VRAM | System RAM | Profile | Status | Observed Performance
---|---|---|---|---|---
AMD Radeon RX 570 | 4 GB | 32 GB | Fast | **Qualified** | ~1.11 tok/s
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 | 2 GB | Pending tester confirmation | Ultra-Low-VRAM Fast | **Experimental PASS** | ~0.99 tok/s
Intel Iris Xe | 2 GB reported | ~16 GB | Earlier test profile | **Unqualified / needs retest** | —
Intel UHD 770 | 2 GB reported | ~16 GB | Earlier test profile | **Unqualified / needs retest** | —
**Important:** “Unqualified” does not mean incompatible. It means that configuration does not yet have enough evidence to be classified as qualified.
Similarly, I’m deliberately calling the GTX 1050 result **Experimental PASS** , not Qualified, until the structured qualification suite is completed.
### Why the GTX 1050 result is interesting
This is a direct before/after test on the **same 2 GB machine**.
**StreamAI 0.3.9.11**
* Clean-machine provisioning: **PASS**
* Automatic model download: **PASS**
* Model/cache preparation: **PASS**
* Engine initialization: **FAIL — insufficient GPU memory**
* Inference: **not reached**
The failure occurred while attempting an approximately **445 MiB GPU allocation**.
Rather than classifying the GTX 1050 as incompatible, I used that failure to create a separate experimental low-VRAM execution profile in StreamAI 0.3.9.12.
**StreamAI 0.3.9.12**
* GTX 1050 detected: **PASS**
* VRAM detected: **2.0 GB**
* DirectML: **Ready**
* Low-VRAM profile selected: **PASS**
* Engine initialization: **PASS**
* Local inference: **PASS**
Two external generations produced approximately:
**0.9852 tok/s — TTFT 1.9166 s**
**0.9926 tok/s — TTFT 1.6131 s**
The tester successfully generated complete responses locally, including the standard test prompt:
`Explain how a black hole forms.`
### 4 GB regression test
Before sending 0.3.9.12 externally, I also tested it on the existing **Radeon RX 570 4 GB qualification machine**.
StreamAI retained its existing qualified Fast configuration and completed inference at:
**1.1087 tok/s — TTFT 1.0677 s**
So the new experimental 2 GB path did not require replacing or weakening the existing qualified 4 GB path.
### What happens next
The GTX 1050 tester is now running StreamAI’s structured qualification suite.
I’m looking for more than a successful screenshot before calling the profile qualified. The qualification results will give us standardized evidence for repeated generation, context handling, determinism/lifecycle behavior, and the machine/runtime configuration.
If those tests pass, the matrix will be updated from:
**GTX 1050 2 GB — Experimental PASS**
to:
**GTX 1050 2 GB — Qualified**
If something fails, I’ll publish that result too.
### Publishing failures
Several people here suggested publishing unsuccessful configurations as well as successful ones. I agree.
Going forward, the compatibility matrix will distinguish:
**Qualified** — completed the defined qualification suite
**Experimental PASS** — actual inference completed; qualification pending
**Unqualified / needs retest** — insufficient evidence or qualification wasn’t completed
**Failed** — a specific tested configuration failed, with the failure stage recorded
This distinction matters because a failed configuration doesn’t necessarily mean the hardware itself is incapable of running StreamAI. The GTX 1050 is a good example: the earlier configuration failed, while a subsequent memory-bounded profile successfully reached inference on the same hardware.
Future matrix entries will include as much verified information as practical: GPU, VRAM, system RAM, StreamAI version/profile, context, TTFT, sustained tokens/sec and failure stage.
There is **no automatic telemetry collection** for these beta tests. Qualification results remain local and testers choose whether to return them.
### More testers welcome
I’m still looking for Windows users interested in testing StreamAI on low-VRAM hardware, especially:
* NVIDIA 2–4 GB GPUs
* AMD 2–8 GB GPUs
* Intel Arc / Iris Xe / UHD graphics
* laptop GPUs
* integrated graphics
* older or unusual DirectML-capable hardware
Windows 10/11 and a DirectML-capable GPU are the primary requirements. **16 GB+ system RAM is preferred** , although lower-memory systems are also useful for establishing the actual operating boundaries.
The objective is not simply to collect successful runs. I want to establish, with reproducible real-hardware testing, **how far local LLM inference can be pushed when GPU memory is the primary constraint**.
A big thank-you to **Logos-Adri** for testing both builds. The original GTX 1050 failure provided the information that led directly to the experimental 2 GB profile and this successful inference result.
I’ll update the matrix again when the structured GTX 1050 qualification results are available.