Methodology
We separate source quality from useful decision support.
Local AI advice changes quickly. This policy keeps recommendations honest: official facts stay separate from community notes, estimates are labeled, and buyer guidance never pretends to be more certain than the evidence behind it.
Evidence legend
Labels in use: Official facts · Community reports · Estimated fit · Cross-checked read · Needs testing.
Evidence labels appear where a page makes a source-backed claim or presents a fit journey. Other pages use visible source links and limitation notes when a single evidence label would overstate certainty.
Field-level provenance
When a page presents a calculation or compatibility estimate, it should identify the important inputs and assumptions. Competitor tools can be useful UX references, but scraped rows are not treated as facts without an independent source trail.
Vendor spec
Published hardware, model, or platform documentation from the owner.
VRAM, unified memory, memory bandwidth, supported OS, official model context.
Author-tested
A result measured directly by a named author with visible setup notes.
A local run with hardware, quantization, prompt shape, and date recorded.
Third-party benchmark
A measured result from an external benchmark or lab with enough method detail to inspect.
Tokens/sec, latency, image generation time, or power data with hardware listed.
Community-reported
Useful practical reports from forums, issue threads, or shared sheets.
Thermals, driver issues, real-user fit, or recurring failure patterns.
Retail-price note
A dated price or availability observation, not a permanent value.
US street pricing, refurbished price, or regional availability note.
Calculated estimate
A formula output where assumptions and formula version must be visible.
VRAM fit, KV cache budget, performance band, PSU estimate, or cost projection.
Editorial rule-of-thumb
A practical recommendation derived from several signals, with caveats.
Buy 64GB unified memory if your target workflow repeatedly exceeds 32GB.
Unknown
The field is intentionally not trusted yet.
A competitor claim or scraped value that lacks a usable source trail.
Source tiers
| Tier | Label | Use | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Official source | Specs, install support, model cards, release notes, and vendor documentation. | Apple specs, NVIDIA specs, Hugging Face model cards, vendor support notes. |
| Tier 2 | Methodology-backed benchmark or lab | Performance context and repeatable constraints when methodology is visible. | LocalScore, reproducible benchmark repos, transparent technical studies. |
| Tier 3 | Community note | Practical fit, thermals, buyer confidence, edge cases, and recurring user questions. | r/LocalLLaMA, r/MiniPCs, curated community benchmark sheets. |
| Tier 4 | Cross-checked read | Editorial guidance that combines sources and explains caveats. | Comparison pages, starter guides, hardware/model fit notes. |