Hardware compatibility
Totsum runs a large language model on your machine. That is the heart of its privacy design, and it is demanding. Please check this page honestly before downloading, because a machine below the requirement will disappoint you.
The requirement
Section titled “The requirement”| Machine type | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Mac (Apple Silicon) | An M4 Pro chip or better (M4 Pro, M5 Pro, or any Max or Ultra chip from the M3 generation up), with 18 GB of unified memory or more |
| Windows PC with a dedicated GPU (NVIDIA, AMD or Intel Arc) | Roughly 12 GB of VRAM |
| Intel Macs, PCs without a dedicated GPU | Not supported (the in-app check matches this) |
| Other Apple Silicon Macs with 18 GB or more; PCs with shared memory and no separate graphics card | Below the requirement, or untested: the app starts, nothing has measured how it performs. See Untested machines |
Most current computers do not meet this requirement, even recent and otherwise excellent ones. A typical laptop with 16 GB of system RAM and integrated graphics is not compatible, because system RAM is not GPU memory.
System requirements (provisional during the beta)
Section titled “System requirements (provisional during the beta)”The GPU line above is the one that most machines fail on. The rest is stated on the safe side, and these specifications may change during the beta tests, because finding out where the real limits are is part of what the beta is for.
| Windows | Mac | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating system | Windows 11 (64-bit) | macOS 15 (Sequoia) or later, Apple Silicon |
| Processor / GPU | A dedicated GPU (NVIDIA, AMD or Intel Arc) with roughly 12 GB of VRAM | An M4 Pro chip or better (an M3 Max or M3 Ultra also qualifies) |
| Memory | 32 GB of system RAM | 18 GB of unified memory or more (24 GB recommended) |
| Free disk space | 20 GB: the application, the AI model (~7 GB) and working space for your files | 20 GB, same breakdown |
| Not supported | PCs without a dedicated GPU; Windows 10 and earlier; Linux | Intel Macs; macOS 14 and earlier |
Example machines that should be compatible
Section titled “Example machines that should be compatible”The machines below meet the requirement on their maker’s specification sheet. Totsum has not been tested on each of them, so “should” is the right word: they should be compatible, and the free trial is what confirms it on yours.
- Macs: a Mac with an M4 Pro, M5 Pro, or any Max or Ultra chip from the M3 generation up, configured with 18 GB, 24 GB or more of unified memory, should be compatible. A MacBook Pro or a Mac Studio from those generations is an example. MacBook Air models and base M-chips are below the requirement. So are the M3 Pro and the M1 and M2 Pro, Max and Ultra chips: they start the application, but see Untested machines.
- NVIDIA GPUs: the RTX 3060 (12 GB), RTX 4070 / 4070 Ti (12 GB), RTX 3090 / 4080 / 4090, and RTX 5070 (12 GB) and up should be compatible, as should comparable workstation cards such as the RTX A2000 12 GB and up.
- AMD GPUs: the Radeon RX 6800 / 6800 XT (16 GB), RX 7800 XT (16 GB) and RX 7900 XT / XTX (20 / 24 GB) should be compatible, as should comparable cards with 12 GB of VRAM or more.
- Intel GPUs: the Arc A770 (16 GB) should be compatible, as should comparable cards with 12 GB of VRAM or more.
Untested machines
Section titled “Untested machines”The requirement above is the line we stand behind. It follows the speed at which the chip reads memory, about 270 GB/s and up, because that is what decides how long an answer takes; the chip names are the way to check it in About This Mac. Three kinds of machine sit outside it and still start the application, because the check the app runs at start-up looks at memory, not at the name of the chip. On all three, nothing has measured how the app performs, so the free trial is the only reliable answer, and we would rather say “untested” than “no”.
- Macs with an M3 Pro, or an M1 or M2 Pro chip, with 18 GB of memory or more. They read memory at 150 to 200 GB/s, so expect answers to take noticeably longer than on an M4 Pro.
- Macs with an M1 or M2 Max or Ultra chip, with 18 GB of memory or more. On paper they read memory as fast as an M4 Pro or faster, but their graphics part is older and nothing has measured it.
- A base M5 or M6 Mac with 24 GB or 32 GB. They read memory at a little over half the speed of an M4 Pro. The 16 GB configurations are below the memory floor.
- Windows PCs with shared memory and no separate graphics card, such as those built on the AMD Ryzen AI Max chips. The app reads the graphics memory the driver reports, which on these machines depends on how much of the shared memory you assign to graphics in the settings, and it drives the chip through Vulkan.
Drivers
Section titled “Drivers”On Windows, Totsum drives NVIDIA cards through CUDA, and AMD and Intel cards through Vulkan. Two cards with the same memory can differ in speed because of that path. And a card can meet the memory requirement and still not run, if the driver installed on the machine is too old for what the app needs, or if the maker no longer supports the card. The start-up check does not see everything; the trial does. Keep the graphics driver current before you judge.
How to check your machine
Section titled “How to check your machine”Open the Apple menu and choose About This Mac. Look at Chip, which needs to show an M4 Pro, an M5 Pro, or a Max or Ultra chip from the M3 generation up, and at Memory, which needs to show 18 GB or more.
Windows
Section titled “Windows”Open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc), go to the Performance tab and select your
GPU. Look at Dedicated GPU memory, which needs to show roughly 12 GB.
Alternatively, run dxdiag and check the Display tab.
Why so demanding?
Section titled “Why so demanding?”Cloud AI tools run their models in data centers. Totsum instead processes your data on your own machine. The trade-off is that your hardware does the work. The model needs its ~7 GB plus working memory to answer with useful speed and accuracy. The blog post What computer do you need to run an AI on your own data files? explains why memory decides, with the memory speed of each Mac chip.
Borderline machines
Section titled “Borderline machines”The free trial exists precisely so that you can verify performance on your own hardware before paying. It gives you unlimited questions on the sample datasets and 10 on your own files, with no account and no time limit, on a free trial key sent by email. If your machine is close to the line, try before you buy.
Machine not compatible today?
Section titled “Machine not compatible today?”We’re actively working on lowering the requirement. Use the compatibility checker on the download page: it tells you where your machine stands. During the beta, that page takes applications for the beta. After the beta, it offers a place to leave your email if your machine does not qualify: we send one confirmation e-mail, clicking its link adds your address, and after that you receive exactly one notification, when your machine qualifies.