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I regret building this $3000 Pi AI cluster

(www.jeffgeerling.com)
468 points speckx | 1 comments | 19 Sep 25 14:28 UTC | HN request time: 0.376s | source
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lumost ◴[19 Sep 25 14:49 UTC] No.45302284[source]▶
I don’t really get why anyone would be buying ai compute unless A) to your goal is to rent out the compute B) no vendor can rent you enough compute when you need it C) you have an exotic funding arrangement that makes compute capex cheap and opex expensive.

Unless you can keep your compute at 70% average utilization for 5 years - you will never save money purchasing your hardware compared to renting it.

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1. causal ◴[19 Sep 25 15:18 UTC] No.45302606[source]▶
1) Data proximity (if you have a lot of data, egress fees add up)

2) Hardware optimization (the exact GPU you want may not always be available for some providers)

3) Not subject to price changes

4) Not subject to sudden Terms of Use changes

5) Know exactly who is responsible if something isn't working.

6) Sense of pride and accomplishment + Heating in the winter