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Install Ollama Local LLM Windows

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alex edited this page May 6, 2026 · 9 revisions

Local LLM - Windows Setup (Ollama)

Running a local LLM keeps all data private and offline. There are no subscription fees. Hardware and electricity costs apply.

It requires Ollama and a capable GPU.

Minimum Hardware

To run Elite Dangerous and the LLM on the same machine, a minimum of an NVIDIA RTX 3060 with 12 GB VRAM is required. Performance headroom is limited at this specification.

Tip: Elite Intel can be pointed at an Ollama instance running on a separate PC on your network. If a second machine with a capable GPU is available, the game PC carries no inference load in this configuration.

Recommended Model

Model VRAM Required Notes
tulu3:8b Q4_K_M ~5 GB ✅ Recommended. Reliable for commands and queries.
qwen3 8B ~8 GB Experimental. Expect occasional missed commands and hallucinations.

Note: For the fastest local inference, consider LM Studio with matrixportalx/tulu-3.1-8b-supernova. In testing, it is noticeably faster than Ollama on the same hardware with the same model.

Step 1 - Install Ollama

  • Go to https://ollama.com/download
  • Download and run OllamaSetup.exe. No admin rights required.
  • Ollama installs and runs in the system tray. It auto-starts on login.

Step 2 - Pull a Model

Open Command Prompt or PowerShell and run:

ollama pull tulu3:8b

Or experimental alternatives:

ollama pull qwen3:8b

Step 3 - (Optional) Tune the Configuration

Ollama works without tuning. The following configuration improves VRAM management when running alongside Elite Dangerous.

On Windows, Ollama reads configuration from user environment variables.

  1. Right-click the Ollama tray icon and select Quit.
  2. Open Settings and search for "environment variables".
  3. Click "Edit environment variables for your account".
  4. Add each variable below using New:
Variable Value Notes
OLLAMA_MAX_VRAM 14000000000 14 GB cap. Adjust based on your GPU and game requirements.
OLLAMA_NUM_PARALLEL 3 Covers Elite Intel's async call patterns without over-allocating.
OLLAMA_MAX_LOADED_MODELS 1 One model in VRAM at a time.
OLLAMA_FLASH_ATTENTION 1 Faster inference.
OLLAMA_KEEP_ALIVE -1 Keeps model loaded permanently.
  1. Click OK. Relaunch Ollama from the Start Menu.

What these settings do

OLLAMA_MAX_VRAM: Hard cap on VRAM Ollama can use, in bytes. Leaves the remainder for Elite Dangerous. Adjust based on your GPU and game requirements.

OLLAMA_NUM_PARALLEL: Number of requests Ollama handles simultaneously. Elite Intel makes async calls, so setting this too low causes failures. 3 covers the typical command and query overlap without over-allocating.

OLLAMA_MAX_LOADED_MODELS: Keeps only one model in VRAM at a time.

OLLAMA_FLASH_ATTENTION: Enables Flash Attention, which reduces memory bandwidth usage during inference. Generally faster, especially for repeated requests.

OLLAMA_KEEP_ALIVE=-1: Keeps the model loaded in VRAM indefinitely. Without this, Ollama may unload the model after a period of inactivity, incurring a reload penalty on the next request.

Step 4 - Configure Elite Intel

Open the Settings tab in Elite Intel:

  • Leave the LLM Key field blank (local Ollama does not require one).
  • LLM Address defaults to http://localhost:11434/api/chat. If Ollama is on another machine, replace localhost with that machine's IP.
  • LLM Model: set to tulu3:8b.
  • Command LLM: set to tulu3:8b.
  • Query LLM: set to tulu3:8b.
  • Click Stop then Start on the AI tab to apply changes.

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