So...I'm reading these and they both seem to be coming from the same place. It's the place where fundamentally I believe
@lexluthermiester and I differ, and it's not something with an absolute answer. It's something where you have to define exactly what you are willing to deal with.
To that point, Lex has a point. 24 GB can run models, 10 GB can run models. Isn't it hypocrisy that I draw the line at 32? Absolutely. The only reason I draw it there though is that most cards last 3-5 years before replacement. That's 2-4 generations. I hate to say it, but what I'm imagining from the 12070 or whatever equivalent exists is to absolutely stomp all over what the 9080 could offer. More accurately, I want the 12060 to be better than the 9080. That's each generation moving up one rung on the performance ladder, IE 9070=10060=11050. With that logic, the cards of today should have enough memory such that they have no current limits, because the 1060 versus the 5060 shows when similarly positioned cards were choked at 3GB instead of 8GB. My mental math places that demand somewhere in the 16-24 GB necessary range given pricing...which is just below the 32GB threshold (that many common LLM/AI models require).
Is it hypocrisy to love capitalism, and to hate a company trying to sell things for the most profit? Yeah. That's why we live in a society based on capitalism, with strong protections. Remember, pure capitalism got us the Concrete Jungle, and pure protectionism earned us the Mafia. What I want is a product that serves the gaming market to serve the gaming market. What I know is that preventing you from doing something is the only way that you can assume people won't do it...and the irony of this being the reason that you get warnings about stopping a moving chainsaw blade with hands or genitals. Again, it's stupid to say out loud, but it is absolutely where we are.
I recognize you want dual usages...but my problem is that dual usages will always lead to more demand, which will always lead to higher prices. What we need now is not another +$1000 card that will be $1400 on the streets, but a less capable $800 card that has the narrower market for people gaming...and I believe the lowest barrier to entry for this is to minimize memory availability below the 32 GB threshold. You are welcome to disagree, but don't pretend it's for some magical reason. It's not because an engineer said so, it's not because of a market shift. It's definitely not because the used card market has changed...with no evidence. Be clear it's because you want that power. Be loud about that, because it's a valid discussion. Leave the rest of these arguments behind, because you're definitely not qualifying for them.
