For a 13B model, depending on what quantization you choose, you’re going to need a system with at least 16GB RAM, and even my AMD Ryzen 7 5800X at full throttle feels a bit sluggish on 7B Llama - a Raspberry Pi or similar would be painful.
In your shoes, not being in the position to spend much right now, I’d try a few different 7B models at 4 and 5 bit quantizations on the Mac, which is going to be better than just about any other 8GB RAM system, and look into using cloud for larger stuff (remember to fully deallocate the VM when done for the day!)
Here is the best explanation I’ve found so far, covering various trade-offs and scenarios: https://www.hardware-corner.net/guides/computer-to-run-llama...
In your shoes, not being in the position to spend much right now, I’d try a few different 7B models at 4 and 5 bit quantizations on the Mac, which is going to be better than just about any other 8GB RAM system, and look into using cloud for larger stuff (remember to fully deallocate the VM when done for the day!)