A local laptop of the past few years without a discrete GPU can run, at practical speeds depending on task, a gemma/llama model if it's (ime) under 4GB.

For practical RAG processes of narrow scope and an even minimal amount of scaffolding a very usable speed for automating tasks, especially as the last-mile/edge device portion of a more complex process with better models in use upstream. Classification tasks, reasonay intelligent decisions between traditional workflow processes, other use cases-- a of them extremely valuable in enterprise, being built and deployed right now.