Homelab & AI

AI Workload GPU Price Tracker

Consumer RTX, Workstation RTX A-Series & Datacenter Tesla / A100 / Instinct

For running local LLMs, Stable Diffusion, or any other AI workload, VRAM, not raw gaming benchmarks, is usually the number that decides what you can load. This tracks current $/GB VRAM pricing across the GPUs homelabbers actually buy for AI: consumer RTX 3090/4090 cards, workstation RTX A-series cards, and used datacenter compute cards like the Tesla P40/V100, NVIDIA L4/A100, and AMD Instinct MI50.

As of Oct 31, 2026: 87 working listings (for-parts and as-is excluded). Best value $21/GB VRAM, median $79/GB VRAM. Price history logged since Oct 11, 2026 (1,440 listing-days). Live from eBay listings. How this data is collected.

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Why VRAM Is the Number That Matters

A GPU's shader count and memory bandwidth affect how fast a model runs, but VRAM decides whether the model fits at all. If a model doesn't fit in VRAM, it either won't load or has to spill over to much slower system RAM or disk offloading. That makes $/GB VRAM, not just raw price, the useful number to compare across wildly different card types.

This is also why older datacenter cards like the Tesla P40 stay popular in homelab AI circles years after their gaming-era equivalents would be considered obsolete: 24GB of VRAM still fits plenty of useful quantized models, and depreciated enterprise surplus pricing means that VRAM is often the cheapest on the used market of any card type here.

Quantization (running a model at reduced numeric precision, like 4-bit instead of 16-bit) is the other lever. It roughly quarters the VRAM a given model needs at some cost to output quality, which is why a 24GB card can run models that would need 80GB+ at full precision.

The Three GPU Classes on This Page

Consumer (RTX 3090 / 4090)

Usually the best raw price per GB of VRAM, since they're mass-produced gaming cards. No ECC memory, and warranty/duty-cycle expectations assume gaming use, not 24/7 compute.

Prosumer (RTX A-Series)

ECC memory, blower-style coolers built for dense multi-GPU chassis, and higher VRAM configurations than their consumer counterparts, at a real price premium.

Datacenter (Tesla / A100 / Instinct)

Purpose-built for sustained compute, often the cheapest $/GB VRAM on older generations as enterprise fleets retire them. Expect passive cooling that needs a server chassis or an aftermarket fan, plus a 250W+ draw worth running through my power cost calculator if it'll run 24/7.

All Classes Consumer Prosumer Datacenter

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Brand

Condition

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88 GPUs found · prices checked as of Oct 31, 2026

GPU	Brand	Class	Condition	VRAM	Price	$/GB VRAM	Deal
NVIDIA Tesla P40 24GB GDDR5 PCIe 3.0 x16 GPU Accelerator AI Deep Learning Card Tesla P40 · eBay	NVIDIA	Datacenter	Used	24 GB	$258.00	$10.75/GB	More detail View Deal
Nvidia Tesla P40 24GB GPU GDDR5 PCI-E 3.0 x16 Accelerator Graphics Card Tesla P40 · eBay	NVIDIA	Datacenter	Used	24 GB	$273.00	$11.38/GB	More detail View Deal
NVIDIA Tesla P40 24GB DDR5 GPU Accelerator Card Dual PCI-E 3.0 x16 FOR SERVERS Tesla P40 · eBay	NVIDIA	Datacenter	Used	24 GB	$274.00	$11.42/GB	More detail View Deal
Nvidia Tesla P40 24GB GPU Card GDDR5 PCI-E KM3C2 Graphics Card - Tesla P40 · eBay	NVIDIA	Datacenter	Used	24 GB	$274.00	$11.42/GB	More detail View Deal
Nvidia Tesla P40 24GB DDR5 GPU Accelerator Card Dual PCI-E 3.0 x16 For Servers Tesla P40 · eBay	NVIDIA	Datacenter	Used	24 GB	$275.00	$11.46/GB	More detail View Deal
Nvidia Tesla P40 24GB GPU Card GDDR5 PCI-E KM3C2 Graphics Card - Tesla P40 · eBay	NVIDIA	Datacenter	Used	24 GB	$275.00	$11.46/GB	More detail View Deal
NVIDIA Tesla P40 24GB GDDR5 GPU Accelerator PCIe 3.0 x16 for Servers Tesla P40 · eBay	NVIDIA	Datacenter	New	24 GB	$275.00	$11.46/GB	More detail View Deal
Nvidia Tesla P40 24GB GPU GDDR5 PCI-E 3.0 x16 Accelerator Graphics Card Tesla P40 · eBay	NVIDIA	Datacenter	Used	24 GB	$275.00	$11.46/GB	More detail View Deal
NVIDIA Tesla P40 24GB GDDR5 PCI-E 3.0 x16 GPU Accelerator Card. Tesla P40 · eBay	NVIDIA	Datacenter	Used	24 GB	$275.00	$11.46/GB	More detail View Deal
Genuine original NVIDIA Tesla P40 24GB DDR5 Accelerator Card PCI-E FOR SERVERS Tesla P40 · eBay	NVIDIA	Datacenter	Used	24 GB	$279.00	$11.63/GB	More detail View Deal
Open Box AMD Radeon Instinct MI50 32GB HBM2 Computing GPU Instinct MI50 · eBay	AMD	Datacenter	Used	32 GB	$635.17	$19.85/GB	More detail View Deal
AMD Radeon Instinct MI50 32GB HBM2 GPU AI Deep Learning Compute Accelerator Instinct MI50 · eBay	AMD	Datacenter	Used	32 GB	$640.00	$20.00/GB	More detail View Deal
AMD Radeon Instinct Mi50 Accelerator 32GB HBM2 Machine Learning, HPC, AI, GPU Instinct MI50 · eBay	AMD	Datacenter	Used	32 GB	$647.38	$20.23/GB	More detail View Deal
AMD Radeon Instinct MI50 32GB HBM2 GPU Compute Card AI Deep Learning Server Instinct MI50 · eBay	AMD	Datacenter	Used	32 GB	$680.00	$21.25/GB	More detail View Deal
AMD Radeon Instinct Mi50 Accelerator 32GB HBM2 Machine Learning, HPC, AI, GPU Instinct MI50 · eBay	AMD	Datacenter	Used	32 GB	$688.00	$21.50/GB	More detail View Deal
AMD Radeon Instinct Mi50 Accelerator 32GB HBM2 Machine Learning, HPC, AI, GPU Instinct MI50 · eBay	AMD	Datacenter	Used	32 GB	$697.25	$21.79/GB	More detail View Deal
AMD Radeon Instinct Mi50 Accelerator 32GB HBM2 Machine Learning, HPC, AI, GPU Instinct MI50 · eBay	AMD	Datacenter	Used	32 GB	$699.00	$21.84/GB	More detail View Deal
Amd Radeon Instinct Mi50 32Gb Gpu Server Workstation Graphics Card Ai Deep- Instinct MI50 · eBay	AMD	Datacenter	Used	32 GB	$700.00	$21.88/GB	More detail View Deal
NEW Radeon Instinct Mi50 Machine Learning HPC AI Accelerator 32GB HBM2GPU Instinct MI50 · eBay	AMD	Datacenter	Used	32 GB	$720.00	$22.50/GB	More detail View Deal
Radeon Instinct Mi50 32GB Machine Learning HPC AI Accelerator HBM2 GPU Instinct MI50 · eBay	AMD	Datacenter	Used	32 GB	$720.00	$22.50/GB	More detail View Deal
Amd Radeon Instinct Mi50 32Gb Gpu Server Workstation Graphics Card Ai Deep Instinct MI50 · eBay	AMD	Datacenter	Used	32 GB	$729.00	$22.78/GB	More detail View Deal
NEW Radeon Instinct Mi50 Machine Learning HPC AI Accelerator 32GB HBM2GPU Instinct MI50 · eBay	AMD	Datacenter	Used	32 GB	$744.00	$23.25/GB	More detail View Deal
AMD Radeon Instinct MI50 32GB HBM2 PCIe x16 GPU Instinct MI50 · eBay	AMD	Datacenter	Used	32 GB	$749.99	$23.44/GB	More detail View Deal
Modified 24GB DDR5 Gigabyte NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 READ DESCRIPTION RTX 4090 · eBay	NVIDIA	Consumer	Used	24 GB	$599.00	$24.96/GB	More detail View Deal
Broken Asus RTX 3090 TUF Gaming 24GB GDDR6X Graphics Card TUF-RTX3090-024G-2I3S RTX 3090 · eBay	NVIDIA	Consumer	Used	24 GB	$749.99	$31.25/GB	More detail View Deal
ZOTAC GAMING GeForce RTX 3090 24GB \| HAS CORE AND VRAM \| NO POWER RTX 3090 · eBay	NVIDIA	Consumer	Used	24 GB	$800.00	$33.33/GB	More detail View Deal
PNY GeForce RTX 3090 24GB XLR8 Uprising RGB GPU - B41, Failed Memory RTX 3090 · eBay	NVIDIA	Consumer	Used	24 GB	$949.97	$39.58/GB	More detail View Deal
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 24GB Founders Edition GPU - B41, Failed Memory RTX 3090 · eBay	NVIDIA	Consumer	Used	24 GB	$949.97	$39.58/GB	More detail View Deal
MSI GeForce RTX 3090 VENTUS 3X 24G OC 24GB GDDR6X Graphics Card RTX 3090 · eBay	NVIDIA	Consumer	Used	24 GB	$1,199.00	$49.96/GB	More detail View Deal
Nvidia Tesla A100 40GB PCIE HBM2e GPU Accelerator Graphics Card ***Failed A100 · eBay	NVIDIA	Datacenter	Used	40 GB	$1,999.00	$49.98/GB	More detail View Deal
GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3090 GAMING OC 24GB GDDR6X Graphics Card READ DESCRIPTION RTX 3090 · eBay	NVIDIA	Consumer	Used	24 GB	$1,284.25	$53.51/GB	More detail View Deal
DELL Alienware GeForce RTX 3090 24GB RAM - Graphics Card - Display Port Issue RTX 3090 · eBay	NVIDIA	Consumer	Used	24 GB	$1,459.99	$60.83/GB	More detail View Deal
NVIDIA 699-2G506-0200-310-V A100 40GB SXM4 HBM2 GPU A100 · eBay	NVIDIA	Datacenter	Used	40 GB	$2,499.00	$62.48/GB	More detail View Deal
NVIDIA 699-2G506-0200-300-V A100 40GB SXM4 HBM2 GPU A100 · eBay	NVIDIA	Datacenter	Used	40 GB	$2,499.00	$62.48/GB	More detail View Deal
DELL Alienware GeForce RTX 3090 24GB RAM - Graphics Card - HDMI Port Issue RTX 3090 · eBay	NVIDIA	Consumer	Used	24 GB	$1,499.99	$62.50/GB	More detail View Deal
Has 2 EK-Quantum vector EVGA GeForce RTX 3090 XC3 Ultra Gaming 24GB GDDR6 RTX 3090 · eBay	NVIDIA	Consumer	Used	24 GB	$1,500.00	$62.50/GB	More detail View Deal
MSI NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio 24GB GDDR6X Graphics Card RTX 3090 · eBay	NVIDIA	Consumer	Used	24 GB	$1,500.00	$62.50/GB	More detail View Deal
EVGA GeForce RTX 3090 FTW3 ULTRA 24GB GDDR6X Graphics Card RTX 3090 · eBay	NVIDIA	Consumer	Used	24 GB	$1,550.00	$64.58/GB	More detail View Deal
ZOTAC Trinity GeForce RTX 3090 24GB RAM - GPU - Very Good w/ Missing Fan Logos RTX 3090 · eBay	NVIDIA	Consumer	Refurbished	24 GB	$1,569.99	$65.42/GB	More detail View Deal
EVGA GeForce RTX 3090 FTW3 Ultra 24GB GDDR6X Graphics Card- Dust/Corrosion RTX 3090 · eBay	NVIDIA	Consumer	Used	24 GB	$1,599.00	$66.63/GB	More detail View Deal
HP GeForce RTX 3090 24GB GDDR6X Graphics Card - Runs Hot RTX 3090 · eBay	NVIDIA	Consumer	Used	24 GB	$1,599.00	$66.63/GB	More detail View Deal
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition 24GB GDDR6 Graphics Card- Runs Hot RTX 3090 · eBay	NVIDIA	Consumer	Used	24 GB	$1,599.00	$66.63/GB	More detail View Deal
New A100 NVLink 4-GPU Backplane SXM4 For NVIDIA A100 40GB SXM4 Module A100 · eBay	NVIDIA	Datacenter	New	40 GB	$2,686.00	$67.15/GB	More detail View Deal
Nvidia A100 GPU SXM4 40GB Module For AI, HPC, Servers - TESTED Working Pull A100 · eBay	NVIDIA	Datacenter	Used	40 GB	$2,800.00	$70.00/GB	More detail View Deal
EVGA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti FTW3 24GB GDDR6X Gaming Graphics Card 24G-P5-4985-KR RTX 3090 Ti · eBay	NVIDIA	Consumer	Used	24 GB	$1,700.00	$70.83/GB	More detail View Deal
NVIDIA A100 SXM4 40GB GPU, 40GB, SXM4 No Box A100 · eBay	NVIDIA	Datacenter	Used	40 GB	$2,849.99	$71.25/GB	More detail View Deal
NVIDIA A100 40GB SXM4 HBM2 SXM4 PCIe 4.0 x16 GPU Accelerator AI Computing A100 · eBay	NVIDIA	Datacenter	Used	40 GB	$2,893.00	$72.33/GB	More detail View Deal
GIGABYTE Gaming OC GeForce RTX 3090 Ti 24GB /Graphics Card - Non-Functional RTX 3090 Ti · eBay	NVIDIA	Consumer	Used	24 GB	$1,759.99	$73.33/GB	More detail View Deal
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti 24GB GDDR6X Founders Edition RTX 3090 Ti · eBay	NVIDIA	Consumer	Used	24 GB	$1,799.99	$75.00/GB	More detail View Deal
OEM NVIDIA RTX 3090 Ti 24GB OEM Ai Deep Learning GPU Graphics Card RTX 3090 Ti · eBay	NVIDIA	Consumer	New	24 GB	$1,847.00	$76.96/GB	More detail View Deal
NVIDIA NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti 24 GB GDDR6X 900-1G136-2505-000 RTX 3090 Ti · eBay	NVIDIA	Consumer	Refurbished	24 GB	$1,899.00	$79.13/GB	More detail View Deal
MSI Suprim X GeForce RTX 3090 Ti 24GB RAM - GPU - Excellent w/ Smoke Odor RTX 3090 Ti · eBay	NVIDIA	Consumer	Refurbished	24 GB	$1,899.99	$79.17/GB	More detail View Deal
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti Founders Edition 24GB GDDR6X RGB CUDA RTX 3090 Ti · eBay	NVIDIA	Consumer	Used	24 GB	$1,900.00	$79.17/GB	More detail View Deal
NVIDIA A100 SXM4 40GB GPU, 40GB, SXM4 No Box A100 · eBay	NVIDIA	Datacenter	Used	40 GB	$3,200.00	$80.00/GB	More detail View Deal
MSI NVIDA GeForce RTX 3090Ti GAMING X TRIO Graphics Card GPU 24G GDDR6X RTX 3090 Ti · eBay	NVIDIA	Consumer	Used	24 GB	$1,998.00	$83.25/GB	More detail View Deal
MSI Suprim X GeForce RTX 3090 Ti 24GB RAM - Graphics Card - Excellent Condition RTX 3090 Ti · eBay	NVIDIA	Consumer	Refurbished	24 GB	$1,999.99	$83.33/GB	More detail View Deal
New A100 NVLink 4-GPU Backplane SXM4 For NVIDIA A100 40GB SXM4 Module A100 · eBay	NVIDIA	Datacenter	New	40 GB	$3,357.50	$83.94/GB	More detail View Deal
MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 4090 24GB GDDR6X PCI Express 4.0 Video Card RTX 4090 GAMI RTX 4090 · eBay	NVIDIA	Consumer	New	24 GB	$2,073.49	$86.40/GB	More detail View Deal
MSI Suprim GeForce RTX 4090 24GB GDDR6X PCI Express 4.0 Video Card RTX 4090 SUPR RTX 4090 · eBay	NVIDIA	Consumer	New	24 GB	$2,093.99	$87.25/GB	More detail View Deal
MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 4090 24GB GDDR6X PCI Express 4.0 x16 ATX Graphics Card RT RTX 4090 · eBay	NVIDIA	Consumer	New	24 GB	$2,093.99	$87.25/GB	More detail View Deal
nVidia RTX A5000 Video Card, 24Gb, GDDR6, 4Display Port, Power/Performance RTX A5000 · eBay	NVIDIA	Prosumer	Used	24 GB	$2,120.40	$88.35/GB	More detail View Deal
NVIDIA A100 40GB VRAM A100 · eBay	NVIDIA	Datacenter	Used	40 GB	$3,650.00	$91.25/GB	More detail View Deal
PNY Quadro RTX A6000 48GB RAM - Graphics Card - Good w/ Chipped Corner RTX A6000 · eBay	NVIDIA	Prosumer	Used	48 GB	$4,459.99	$92.92/GB	More detail View Deal
NVIDIA Quadro RTX A6000 48GB RAM - Graphics Card - Very Good Condition RTX A6000 · eBay	NVIDIA	Prosumer	Refurbished	48 GB	$4,469.99	$93.12/GB	More detail View Deal
PNY Quadro RTX A6000 48GB RAM - Graphics Card - Good Condition RTX A6000 · eBay	NVIDIA	Prosumer	Refurbished	48 GB	$4,479.99	$93.33/GB	More detail View Deal
PNY Quadro RTX A6000 48GB RAM - Graphics Card - Very Good Condition RTX A6000 · eBay	NVIDIA	Prosumer	Refurbished	48 GB	$4,489.99	$93.54/GB	More detail View Deal
PNY Quadro RTX A6000 48GB RAM - Graphics Card - Excellent Condition RTX A6000 · eBay	NVIDIA	Prosumer	Refurbished	48 GB	$4,499.99	$93.75/GB	More detail View Deal
NVIDIA Quadro RTX A6000 48GB RAM - Graphics Card - Very Good Condition RTX A6000 · eBay	NVIDIA	Prosumer	Refurbished	48 GB	$4,499.99	$93.75/GB	More detail View Deal
PNY NVIDIA RTX A5000 24GB GDDR6 Graphics Card, TESTED RTX A5000 · eBay	NVIDIA	Prosumer	Used	24 GB	$2,250.00	$93.75/GB	More detail View Deal
NVIDIA Quadro RTX A6000 48GB RAM - Graphics Card - Excellent Condition RTX A6000 · eBay	NVIDIA	Prosumer	Refurbished	48 GB	$4,519.99	$94.17/GB	More detail View Deal
NVIDIA RTX A5000 24GB Workstation GPU RTX A5000 · eBay	NVIDIA	Prosumer	Used	24 GB	$2,320.00	$96.67/GB	More detail View Deal
MINT PNY NVIDIA RTX A5000 24GB GDDR6 ECC Workstation GPU, DCGM Tested, Receipt RTX A5000 · eBay	NVIDIA	Prosumer	Used	24 GB	$2,349.00	$97.88/GB	More detail View Deal
NVIDIA RTX A5000 24GB GDDR6 VCNRTXA5000-PB Graphics Card RTX A5000 · eBay	NVIDIA	Prosumer	Used	24 GB	$2,379.99	$99.17/GB	More detail View Deal
HP NVIDIA RTX A5000 24GB GDDR6 ECC PCIe 4.0 GPU Graphics Card RTX A5000 · eBay	NVIDIA	Prosumer	Used	24 GB	$2,399.99	$100.00/GB	More detail View Deal
PNY RTX A5000 24GB GDDR6 Graphics Card PG132 RTX A5000 · eBay	NVIDIA	Prosumer	Used	24 GB	$2,399.99	$100.00/GB	More detail View Deal
NVIDIA RTX A6000 VCNRTXA6000 48Gb GDDR6 PCIe Graphics Card RTX A6000 · eBay	NVIDIA	Prosumer	Used	48 GB	$4,899.00	$102.06/GB	More detail View Deal
PNY Quadro RTX A5000 24GB RAM - Graphics Card - Excellent Condition RTX A5000 · eBay	NVIDIA	Prosumer	Refurbished	24 GB	$2,469.99	$102.92/GB	More detail View Deal
GIGABYTE Windforce V2 GeForce RTX 4090 24GB /Graphics Card - Non- Functional RTX 4090 · eBay	NVIDIA	Consumer	Used	24 GB	$2,479.99	$103.33/GB	More detail View Deal
PNY NVIDIA Quadro RTX A6000 48GB GDDR6 Graphics Card RTX A6000 · eBay	NVIDIA	Prosumer	Used	48 GB	$4,979.99	$103.75/GB	More detail View Deal
NVIDIA RTX A6000 48GB GDDR6 384-bit GPU Graphics Card RTX A6000 · eBay	NVIDIA	Prosumer	Used	48 GB	$4,999.00	$104.15/GB	More detail View Deal
NVIDIA Quadro RTX A5000 24GB RAM - Graphics Card - Excellent Condition RTX A5000 · eBay	NVIDIA	Prosumer	Refurbished	24 GB	$2,499.99	$104.17/GB	More detail View Deal
Dell NVIDIA RTX A6000 48GB GDDR6 PCIe 4.0 Workstation Graphics Card GPU CHTG8 RTX A6000 · eBay	NVIDIA	Prosumer	Used	48 GB	$4,999.99	$104.17/GB	More detail View Deal
HP NVIDIA RTX A6000 48GB GDDR6 Workstation Graphics Card N23440-001 M12949-002 RTX A6000 · eBay	NVIDIA	Prosumer	Used	48 GB	$4,999.99	$104.17/GB	More detail View Deal
NVIDIA RTX A6000 48GB GDDR6 PCIe 4.0 x16 Advanced Processing Graphics Card RTX A6000 · eBay	NVIDIA	Prosumer	Used	48 GB	$5,194.99	$108.23/GB	More detail View Deal
NVIDIA RTX A6000 48GB GDDR6 PCIe 4.0 x16 Professional Workstation Graphics Card RTX A6000 · eBay	NVIDIA	Prosumer	Used	48 GB	$5,195.99	$108.25/GB	More detail View Deal
PNY NVIDIA RTX A5000 24GB GDDR6 Graphics Card - Excellent RTX A5000 · eBay	NVIDIA	Prosumer	Refurbished	24 GB	$2,599.00	$108.29/GB	More detail View Deal
PNY Quadro RTX A5000 24GB RAM - Graphics Card - Excellent Condition RTX A5000 · eBay	NVIDIA	Prosumer	Refurbished	24 GB	$2,599.99	$108.33/GB	More detail View Deal
NVIDIA A100 40GB HBM2 PCIe 4.0 Data Center GPU 900-21001-0000-000 A100 · eBay	NVIDIA	Datacenter	Used	40 GB	$4,450.00	$111.25/GB	More detail View Deal

Price history: cheapest $/GB VRAM over time

The lowest $/GB VRAM found each day this tracker has logged live listings — useful for seeing whether now is a cheap or expensive time to buy, not just what's cheapest today.

Loading price history…

Price history by model

Typical prices, the lowest we've seen and a daily chart for each model, built from every listing this tracker has logged.

RTX 3090 RTX 3090 Ti RTX 4090 RTX A5000 RTX A6000 Tesla P40 L4 A100 Instinct MI50

Frequently Asked Questions

How much VRAM do I need to run a local LLM?

As a rough rule of thumb, a model at full FP16 precision needs about 2GB of VRAM per billion parameters, while a 4-bit quantized version needs roughly 0.5-0.7GB per billion parameters. That puts a quantized 7-8B model at 8-12GB, a 13B model at around 16GB, a 30-34B model at 24GB, and a 70B model at 48GB or more. Larger frontier-scale models generally require 80GB+ or splitting the model across multiple GPUs. If you're sizing a card specifically to run a self-hosted AI agent like OpenClaw, see how I sized mine on a Proxmox homelab.

Do Tesla and other datacenter GPUs need extra cooling to use outside a server?

In most cases, yes. Cards like the Tesla P40, P100, and V100 (PCIe versions) are passively cooled and rely on the high static-pressure airflow inside a server chassis to stay cool. Running one in a desktop case or open-air rig typically requires an aftermarket blower fan or 3D-printed shroud, or it will overheat and throttle.

Is a used mining GPU safe to buy for AI compute?

For the most part, yes. Mining is a steady, moderate 24/7 load that's arguably gentler on a card than the thermal cycling of gaming, and the VRAM chips that matter most for AI work see minimal wear either way. Watch listings for mentions of reflowed or reballed memory, and buy from sellers with a return policy so you can verify the card before the window closes.

What's the difference between consumer, prosumer, and datacenter GPUs for AI?

Consumer cards (RTX 3090/4090) offer the best raw price per GB of VRAM but are built for gaming, without ECC memory or long-duty-cycle warranty terms. Prosumer/workstation cards (RTX A-series) add ECC memory, blower coolers suited to dense multi-GPU builds, and higher VRAM configurations at a price premium. Datacenter cards (Tesla, A100, L4, Instinct) are purpose-built for sustained compute and often have the lowest $/GB VRAM on older generations, but need server-style airflow and sometimes different power connectors.

Can I combine multiple GPUs to run a bigger model?

Yes. Tools like llama.cpp, vLLM, and Ollama support splitting a model's layers across multiple GPUs' VRAM. Most post-30-series consumer cards no longer support NVLink, so multi-GPU setups communicate over PCIe instead, which is slower than NVLink but works fine for inference. Prosumer and datacenter cards more often retain NVLink or NVSwitch support for tighter multi-GPU scaling.

Disclaimer: This is a personal tracking tool I built for my own use, not a professional pricing or comparison service. Listings, prices, and outbound links are pulled from third-party sources and can be stale, inaccurate, or broken. I'm not responsible for their accuracy or where a link leads. Always verify details directly with the retailer or source before you rely on them.