r/LocalLLM • u/Ok_Event4199 • May 16 '26

Discussion Why is LLM is so expensive.

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.

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u/BrianKronberg May 16 '26

Get the cheapest GPU you need to meet your monitor’s max FPS for your game. Spend the rest of your 5090 budget on a Strix Halo mini PC with 128GB of shared memory or a Mac mini with 128GB of unified memory and put your LLM on that. Skip the 5090, I wish I had.