09-15-2026, 07:27 PM
This keeps coming up in conversation so I figured I'd start a thread.
One thing I keep noticing is that people underestimate token cost until they actually try to run this stuff for more than one afternoon.
Maybe obvious to some of you, but it clicked for me this week.
My use case is pretty ordinary: local chat, some document work, and occasional batch jobs.
I expected the biggest difference to come from the model, but the stack around it mattered at least as much.
One thing I keep noticing is that people underestimate token cost until they actually try to run this stuff for more than one afternoon.
Maybe obvious to some of you, but it clicked for me this week.
My use case is pretty ordinary: local chat, some document work, and occasional batch jobs.
I expected the biggest difference to come from the model, but the stack around it mattered at least as much.
serving stack tinkerer