How much RAM do I need?

32GB minimum. 64GB if working with datasets larger than 10GB in pandas. Consider 128GB for large NLP or image datasets.

Do I need a workstation or can I use cloud?

For experimentation and small-to-medium datasets, a local workstation is faster to iterate on. For large-scale training, cloud GPUs are more cost-effective than buying hardware.

Best Setup for Data Scientists 2026