Framework Desktop vs GMKtec EVO-X2, 64GB for local AI
The Framework Desktop, 64GB and the GMKtec EVO-X2, 64GB are the same machine inside: Radeon 8060S, 40 CU, 64 GB of memory at 256 GB/s. Both hold 34 of the 50 current models here. The Framework Desktop, 64GB costs $241 less. On Qwen3.8 27B, the strongest model both hold, they run at much the same speed: 10 and 10 tok/s, both estimated from memory bandwidth. The Framework Desktop, 64GB pays for itself sooner, in 140 years against 168 years at 500k tokens a day.
| Strix Halo Framework Desktop, 64GB | Strix Halo GMKtec EVO-X2, 64GB | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1,959 | $2,200 |
| Memory | 64 GB | 64 GB |
| Usable by the GPU | 48 GB | 48 GB |
| Memory bandwidth | 256 GB/s | 256 GB/s |
| Power under load | 133 W | 150 W |
| Models that fit | 34 | 34 |
| Best model it runs | Qwen3.8 27B | Qwen3.8 27B |
| Speed on that model | 10 tok/s estimated | 10 tok/s estimated |
| Pay-back on that model | Pays back in 140 years | Pays back in 168 years |
Run the numbers on the Strix Halo Framework Desktop, 64GB · or the Strix Halo GMKtec EVO-X2, 64GB
The same machine inside
Both have the same Radeon 8060S, 40 CU, the same 64 GB of memory and the same 256 GB/s to read it at, and both leave 48 GB of that memory to the GPU. What a machine holds is decided by that last figure, so they hold the same 34 current models, and not only at 32k of context: across all 50 models the calculator counts, at every context from 4k to 256k, there is no model one holds and the other does not. They run those models at the same speed too: decoding reads the weights out of memory, and both read them at 256 GB/s.
So the whole question on this page is the $241 between them. The GMKtec EVO-X2, 64GB costs that much more than the Framework Desktop, 64GB for the same models at the same speed, and every difference in pay-back on this page comes from that and from the 17 W between them. The GMKtec EVO-X2, 64GB draws 150 W under load against 133 W, and this page prices the electricity into both. What else separates them is not something this site measures: it prices what a machine holds, how fast it runs it and what it draws, and everything from the case to the ports to the warranty is yours to weigh against the $241.
How much use it takes to pay back
Everything above is at 500k tokens a day. Pay-back moves with how much you actually run, so here are both machines on Qwen3.8 27B, the strongest model both hold, at the five levels of use the calculator names. The Strix Halo Framework Desktop, 64GB pays back sooner at every level of use, so this is not a choice that turns on how hard you work it.
| A day's use | Strix Halo Framework Desktop, 64GB | Strix Halo GMKtec EVO-X2, 64GB |
|---|---|---|
| 50ka few chats a day | 1,400 years | 1,678 years |
| 200klight assistant use | 350 years | 420 years |
| 1Ma moderate coding-assistant day | 70 years | 84 years |
| 4Mheavy coding with an agent | 17 years | 21 years |
| 20Magents running most of the day | 4.9 yearsits ceiling | 5.9 yearsits ceiling |
On Qwen3.8 27B neither machine can generate 20M tokens a day: the Strix Halo Framework Desktop, 64GB manages at most 14.3M and the Strix Halo GMKtec EVO-X2, 64GB at most 14.3M. Both figures on that row are for the most each can do.
Run the Strix Halo Framework Desktop, 64GB at 20M tokens a day · or the Strix Halo GMKtec EVO-X2, 64GB
The Framework Desktop, 64GB is also head to head with a graphics card: GeForce RTX 5090, 32GB. With the same machine at another memory size: 128GB. With the same box and the smaller chip: 32GB.
The GMKtec EVO-X2, 64GB is also head to head with another computer: Mac mini M5 Pro, 48GB. With the same machine at another memory size: 128GB.
The assumptions behind both columns
Both columns use the same usage: 500k tokens a day at 15:1 input to output, 32k of context, $0.17 per kWh, and today's API prices held flat. Speeds marked estimated are worked out from memory bandwidth rather than measured, and pay-back scales with them. Change any of it in the calculator.
More head to head: everything the Strix Halo Framework Desktop, 64GB runs · everything the Strix Halo GMKtec EVO-X2, 64GB runs · every other match-up · the quickest pay-back at each level of use · every model against the frontier