Nobody knows what a used GPU cluster is worth • Hacker News Board

Re: Nobody knows what a used GPU cluster is worth

#191

Post by Kirby64 » Thu, Jul 23, 2026, 4:53 AM UTC

datadrivenangel wrote: post #25

jermaustin1 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's why they said "depending on country" In North America we are on 120V, making a standard 15A outlet only 1500W max, and something like 1200W sustained. To use higher wattage appliances, we have to upgrade our outlets to 20A (2000/1600W) or up our voltage to 240V, but that carries a different set of plugs and outlets as well.

Usually the home service is 200+ amps these days which is 24 KW total across all circuits, though you're right that most individual circuits are only 10-15 amp.

48kW across all circuits. The 200 amp rating is at 240V for US electrics.

You’re limited to 24kW per leg if you ran everything only on 120V, but any really large server is going to be running off 240V anyways.

Re: Nobody knows what a used GPU cluster is worth

#192

Post by fsuts » Thu, Jul 23, 2026, 4:56 AM UTC

hamandcheese wrote: post #65

rickypp wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I worked at an org that had a substantial on-prem GPU datacenter. We transitioned to with a substantial negotiated discount rate, with part of the contract being we would sell them all of our hardware and not purchase any more.

> and not purchase any more. why would anyone sign such a contract?

Because the discount would be sufficiently large.

Re: Nobody knows what a used GPU cluster is worth

#193

Post by onlyrealcuzzo » Thu, Jul 23, 2026, 4:58 AM UTC

bigbuppo wrote: post #148

christina97 wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would they be shot? Unlike the consumer cards that are basically factory overclocked to look good on benchmarks, the datacenter GPUs are designed to run at full tilt 24/7 and survive for years.

According to the article these cards have a 9% annual failure rate.

A 9% (static) failure rate, implies an average lifespan of 11 years...

Re: Nobody knows what a used GPU cluster is worth

#194

Post by HWR_14 » Thu, Jul 23, 2026, 4:59 AM UTC

everforward wrote: post #135

jtolmar wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think there's a market for a home AI server that can run an LLM or video gen model behind a web frontend. Not literally a raspberry pi strapped to an H100, but something with lopsided enough specs that people joke it is. And precisely because it's such a huge headache to do yourself, I think a small company could make a nice business wrapping up used datacenter cards in that sort of server.

I'm doubtful they can, based on current inference prices. An H100 draws about 50W while idling, which is ~$8/month at average US electricity prices. They also draw ~400W while active. The electricity prices are relevant because if you paid $0 for your H100 and didn't use it a single time, you could buy millions of tokens in inference just on the electricity it draws while idling. If you can't keep that thing saturate…

I'd imagine that you can have the power to the board shut off when not in use.

But I never assumed it was to be cost competitive at current token rates. I assumed it was for the same reasons people might use open source hardware. Freedom to tinker, etc.

Re: Nobody knows what a used GPU cluster is worth

#195

Post by fsuts » Thu, Jul 23, 2026, 5:00 AM UTC

InsideOutSanta wrote: post #94

anomaly_ wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Literally what? Do you understand what is being proposed?

Yes. "You choose to sign the contract" is not a reasonable argument, for two reasons: 1. There is one supplier, so you have no choice. 2. Even if you had a choice to sign the contract, this still means that it's not the same as a trade-in, because trade-ins are always voluntary, but once you have signed the contract, a right of first refusal is not. In general, the "you chose to sign the contract" argument is a poor…

B2b contracts have less protection in law than consumer contracts

As businesses are expected to be more informed and equal in the negotiations

Re: Nobody knows what a used GPU cluster is worth

#196

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Jul 23, 2026, 5:07 AM UTC

fancyfredbot wrote: post #132

pianopatrick wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are fabs going to ramp up capacity? Wouldn't it make more business sense for them to just not ramp up capacity and enjoy the higher prices?

Yes they are going to ramp up capacity. It would only make business sense to do nothing if all your competitors were also doing nothing, which would probably require some level of illegal collision. If everyone ramps up then in the best case everyone has the same sized slice of a bigger pie. So in theory it makes business sense. But the more realistic possibility is that you end up with oversupply, crash the market a…

[deleted]

Re: Nobody knows what a used GPU cluster is worth

#197

Post by oersted » Thu, Jul 23, 2026, 5:33 AM UTC

hinkley wrote: post #44

fancyfredbot wrote: post #28

The relatively slow depreciation of GPU value is an artifact of supply constraints. If you run fp4 inference and could choose freely between Hopper and a Rubin, the performance per watt would make the Hopper unattractive even if you paid zero for the hardware and only for the power. You can't get the Rubin, or even the Blackwell, so you will pay for the H100 but this won't last if fabs ramp up capacity.

I wonder what shovels were worth after the Gold Rush faltered. Blacksmiths probably had all the scrap iron they could ever care for.

Railway tycoons were the real beneficiaries, and the Gold Rush led to broader organic economic development in the West, so railways remained relevant.

Not sure what that means for the metaphor, but there you go.

Re: Nobody knows what a used GPU cluster is worth

#198

Post by camkego » Thu, Jul 23, 2026, 5:37 AM UTC

onlyrealcuzzo wrote: post #193

bigbuppo wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

According to the article these cards have a 9% annual failure rate.

A 9% (static) failure rate, implies an average lifespan of 11 years...

With a median lifespan of 7.35 years, although I doubt that 9% per year remains constant as the number of years increases.

Re: Nobody knows what a used GPU cluster is worth

#199

Post by oersted » Thu, Jul 23, 2026, 5:47 AM UTC

narrator wrote: post #48

One data point: 512GB Mac Studios are selling on ebay for double what they were selling for new at the beginning of the year.

I don't understand why, that is not HBM nor a real GPU. Fine the model might fit in RAM, kinda. And it a bit like a server that you can keep on all the time, which must feel nice if you only ever had a MacBook.

But it can still not run truly capable coding agents at reasonable speeds right?

That doesn't make sense for the cost of quite a nice new car. If you want to spend that much, build yourself a proper workstation at least. Clearly a computer with the form-factor of an Apple TV is not going to be ideal for getting the highest performance for your buck.

Is it just wannabe vibentrepreneurs with too much spare money hyping each other up?

Re: Nobody knows what a used GPU cluster is worth

#200

Post by vasco » Thu, Jul 23, 2026, 6:01 AM UTC

Shorel wrote: post #78

hamandcheese wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> and not purchase any more. why would anyone sign such a contract?

The usual very short term corporate thinking that maximizes quarter profits while bankrupting the company in the long term. IMO a very shortsighted decision, if not downright stupid.

What is short sighted is parroting this over and over. It's not insightful, interesting or adding anything else to the discussion than "mean people are bad".