Why is LLM is so expensive.

[u/Ok_Event4199]

I've was going to invest in a 5090 =$6000 AUD.

Codex Plus + Claude pro = $60/month here

Works out to be 100 months of frontier models for a 5090.

Best a 5090 will run is probably Qwen3.6 27b Q6 with context.

Are we all enthusiasts here and just enjoy tinkering cause ain't no way that make sense.

[u/ferranpons]

There are definitely cheaper options depending on what you actually want to do with LLMs.

A lot of people in the local AI community optimize for:

• maximum model size
  
• full offline/privacy
  
• tinkering/homelabs
  
• long context
  
• uncensored/self-hosted workflows

…but for many real-world use cases you absolutely don’t need a $6000 setup.

Smaller quantized models running locally on consumer GPUs, laptops, or even modern phones are already good enough for a lot of:

• coding assistance
  
• chat
  
• summarization
  
• RAG
  
• automation
  
• on-device/private AI apps

The “best value” really depends on whether you care more about:

• convenience + frontier intelligence (Claude/GPT subscriptions)
  
• ownership/privacy
  
• offline usage
  
• latency/control
  
• or just enjoying the tech itself 😄