关键要点
- Best overall value (2026): RTX 4070 Ti ($600, handles 7–13B models).
- Best unlimited budget: RTX 5090 or RTX 4090 ($1800–2000, any single-GPU model).
- Best balanced: RTX 4080 ($1200, handles any model with Q5 quantization).
- Best for 70B models: 2× RTX 4090 ($3600) or RTX 6000 Ada ($5000).
- As of April 2026, NVIDIA dominates. AMD and Intel trail significantly.
GPU Tiers by Price and Performance
| Tier | GPU | VRAM | Speed (7B) | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Budget | RTX 4070 Ti | 12 GB | 80 tok/sec | $600–700 |
| Mid-budget | RTX 5070 | 12 GB | 85 tok/sec | $550 |
| Mid | RTX 4080 | 16 GB | 120 tok/sec | $1200 |
| Premium | RTX 4090 | 24 GB | 150 tok/sec | $1800 |
| Premium | RTX 5090 | 32 GB | 160 tok/sec | $1999 |
Budget Tier ($400–700)
RTX 4070 Ti (recommended): $600, 12 GB VRAM, 80 tok/sec. Best value for personal use.
RTX 5070 (new, early 2026): $550, 12 GB. Slight speed improvement over 4070 Ti.
RTX 4070 (older): $400, 12 GB. Slightly slower, not recommended for new builds.
Mid Tier ($800–1500)
RTX 4080 ($1200): 16 GB VRAM, 120 tok/sec. Good for any 7–13B model.
RTX 5080 (new, early 2026): $1199, 16 GB. ~15% faster than 4080.
RTX 4080 Super: Essentially 4080, same price.
High End ($1600+)
RTX 4090 ($1800): 24 GB VRAM, 150 tok/sec. Fastest consumer GPU. Can run any model on single GPU.
RTX 5090 ($1999): 32 GB VRAM, 160 tok/sec. Latest flagship. Marginal speed gain over 4090.
RTX 6000 Ada ($5000): Server GPU, 48 GB. For production deployments.
AMD and Intel GPUs: Status in April 2026
AMD (ROCm): Improving but still behind NVIDIA. RX 7900 XTX is competitive with RTX 4080 in price, but ROCm driver support is shakier. Not recommended unless you prefer AMD ecosystem.
Intel Arc A770: Too slow for practical LLM use. Not recommended.
Recommendation: Stay with NVIDIA for stability and ecosystem maturity.
Historical Comparison: How GPU Power Has Grown
Context: How fast GPU performance has advanced:
| GPU | VRAM | Speed (7B) | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| RTX 2080 (2019) | 8 GB | 10 tok/sec | $700 |
| RTX 3090 (2020) | 24 GB | 25 tok/sec | $1500 |
| RTX 4070 (2022) | 12 GB | 60 tok/sec | $600 |
| RTX 4090 (2022) | 24 GB | 150 tok/sec | $1800 |
| RTX 5090 (2026) | 32 GB | 160 tok/sec | $2000 |
Common GPU Selection Mistakes
- Buying RTX 3090 in 2026. Old and slower. Not worth it at any price. Only buy current generation (40/50 series).
- Assuming higher VRAM = faster. VRAM size does not affect speed. RTX 4080 (16GB) is faster than RTX 3090 (24GB).
- Thinking you need RTX 6000 for personal use. Massive overkill. RTX 4090 handles any personal model easily.
- Buying for future-proofing beyond 2 years. GPU tech evolves fast. Buy for today's needs, upgrade in 2 years.
Sources
- NVIDIA GPU Specifications — nvidia.com/en-us/geforce
- TechPowerUp GPU Database — techpowerup.com/gpu-specs
- LLM Performance Benchmarks — github.com/vllm-project/vllm/tree/main/benchmarks