{
  "as_of": "2026-10",
  "note": "Static lookup. Use /api/v1/pick/<gpu>.json or filter catalog.json. Query strings are not evaluated on this host.",
  "ram": {
    "param": "bigmodels",
    "default": "0",
    "headline": "Recommend 96 GB (2x48 DDR5) for most builds. With two R9700s it runs Qwen 3.8 Flash Q4 at full 256K context (estimate: about 67 GB needed). Two DIMMs, so it stays at AMD’s official 2-DIMM speed.",
    "dimm_speed_note": "AMD’s official Ryzen 9000 memory speed is DDR5-5600 with 2 DIMMs and DDR5-3600 with 4 DIMMs (product pages). Running 4 DIMMs at 6000 is an overclock. Four DIMMs usually run at a lower DDR5 speed than two. That is a bandwidth trade, not a capacity trade.",
    "replace_note": "You cannot top up a 2-DIMM kit later. Memory makers say do not mix kits, and 192 GB / 256 GB only exist as matched 4x48 or 4x64 sets — moving up means replacing the kit you bought.",
    "official_speed_note": "AMD’s official Ryzen 9000 memory speed is DDR5-5600 with 2 DIMMs and DDR5-3600 with 4 DIMMs (product pages). Running 4 DIMMs at 6000 is an overclock.",
    "note": "Query strings are not evaluated on this host. 96 GB (2x48) is the pick for most builds. bigmodels=0 on one card also shows 32 GB as the 35B-only option; bigmodels=1, two GPUs, or RAM offload show the 128 / 192 / 256 GB \"more RAM\" steps. Dated list prices carry their date — no live or invented prices.",
    "recommended": {
      "kit_gb": 96,
      "dimms": "2x48 DDR5",
      "product_id": "ddr5-96",
      "src": "builder-ram-96",
      "go": "/go/newegg/ddr5-96/?src=builder-ram-96",
      "name": "G.SKILL Flare X5 96 GB (2x48) DDR5-5600 CL40",
      "part": "F5-5600J4040D48GX2-FX5",
      "dated_price": {
        "usd": 1479.99,
        "label": "$1,479.99",
        "as_of": "2026-10-30",
        "as_of_label": "Oct 30, 2026",
        "source": "Newegg listing sold by Newegg (list price on the search page, not a cart check)"
      },
      "qvl_boards": [
        "ASRock X870E Taichi",
        "Gigabyte B850 AI TOP",
        "GIGABYTE X870E AORUS MASTER X3D"
      ],
      "untested_site_boards": [
        "ASRock X870 Taichi Creator",
        "ASUS ProArt X870E-CREATOR WIFI",
        "ASUS ProArt B850-CREATOR WIFI NEO"
      ],
      "when": "most builds; two R9700s run Qwen 3.8 Flash Q4 at 256K (estimate ~67 GB needed)"
    },
    "fastest_tested": {
      "name": "G.SKILL Trident Z5 Neo RGB 96 GB (2x48) DDR5-6000 CL28",
      "part": "F5-6000J2836F48GX2-TZ5NR",
      "product_id": "ddr5-96-fast",
      "src": "builder-ram-96-fast",
      "go": "/go/newegg/ddr5-96-fast/?src=builder-ram-96-fast",
      "dated_price": {
        "usd": 2399.99,
        "label": "$2,399.99",
        "as_of": "2026-10-30",
        "as_of_label": "Oct 30, 2026",
        "source": "Newegg listing sold by Newegg for the white -TZ5NRW (list price on the search page, not a cart check)"
      },
      "qvl_extra_board": "MSI MEG X870E GODLIKE",
      "note": "Fastest tested: G.SKILL Trident Z5 Neo RGB F5-6000J2836F48GX2-TZ5NR (Newegg sold the white -TZ5NRW). On G.SKILL’s list for the same three boards plus MSI MEG X870E GODLIKE. About $920 more for at most ~7% more theoretical bandwidth (89.6 → 96.0 GB/s)."
    },
    "small": {
      "kit_gb": 32,
      "dimms": "2x16 DDR5",
      "product_id": "ddr5-32",
      "src": "builder-ram-32",
      "go": "/go/newegg/ddr5-32/?src=builder-ram-32",
      "name": "G.SKILL Flare X5 32 GB (2x16) DDR5-6000 CL30",
      "part": "F5-6000J3038F16GX2-FX5",
      "when": "one card, 35B only, never Qwen 3.8 Flash"
    },
    "more_ram": [
      {
        "kit_gb": 128,
        "name": "Kingston FURY Beast 128 GB (2x64) DDR5-5600",
        "part": "KF556C36BBEK2-128",
        "product_id": "ddr5-128",
        "src": "builder-ram-128",
        "go": "/go/newegg/ddr5-128/?src=builder-ram-128"
      },
      {
        "kit_gb": 192,
        "name": "G.SKILL Flare X5 192 GB (4x48) DDR5-6000 CL28",
        "part": "F5-6000J2836G48GX4-FX5",
        "product_id": "ddr5-192",
        "src": "builder-ram-192",
        "go": "/go/newegg/ddr5-192/?src=builder-ram-192"
      },
      {
        "kit_gb": 256,
        "name": "G.SKILL Trident Z5 Neo 256 GB (4x64) DDR5-6000",
        "part": "F5-6000J3644D64GX4-TZ5NR",
        "product_id": "ddr5-256",
        "src": "builder-ram-256",
        "go": "/go/newegg/ddr5-256/?src=builder-ram-256"
      }
    ],
    "more_ram_worth_it": {
      "title": "Is more RAM worth it?",
      "lede": "For most people, no. 96 GB (2x48 DDR5) is the right size for most builds: with two R9700s it runs Qwen 3.8 Flash Q4 at full 256K context (estimate: about 67 GB needed). Spending more on RAM lets you load a larger, smarter model, but more of that model has to sit in system RAM instead of on the graphics cards, so it answers a lot slower. It is usually not worth it unless you really want the maximum intelligence you can run at home and are okay with it being slow.",
      "why_slow": "Why it gets slower: every token reads the model weights. The R9700’s own memory is 640 GB/s (AMD spec). Dual-channel DDR5 on a Ryzen 9000 desktop reads at roughly 55–64 GB/s, so weights that live in system RAM are read about 10x or more slower (spec-sheet estimate, not a benchmark). The bigger the file, the more of it lands in system RAM.",
      "speed": "Measured on our rig: Qwen3.6-35B-A3B UD-Q5_K_XL on one R9700, fully in VRAM (llama.cpp, 4K) decodes about 102 tok/s (102.39). Qwen 3.8 Flash UD-Q6_K_XL on two R9700s with experts in DDR5-5200 (Strata, 8K) decodes about 33 tok/s (32.8) — roughly a third of the speed for a bigger, smarter model. We have not measured GLM-5.3-Flash; expect it to be slower still.",
      "estimate_note": "RAM needs are estimates for two R9700s at 262144 context with f16 KV (file size from Hugging Face, expert split from the GGUF headers, 10 GB for the OS). Not measured host RAM. The calculator adds 16 GB headroom, so it can round one size higher.",
      "only_35b_note": "Only ever running the 35B on one card? 32 GB (2x16) is enough for that, because the model stays in VRAM. Skip it if you might want Qwen 3.8 Flash later — a 2x16 kit cannot be topped up.",
      "tiers": [
        {
          "kit_gb": 96,
          "model": "Qwen 3.8 Flash UD-Q4_K_XL",
          "need": "~67 GB (estimate)"
        },
        {
          "kit_gb": 128,
          "model": "Qwen 3.8 Flash UD-Q5_K_XL / UD-Q6_K_XL",
          "need": "~111–121 GB (estimate)"
        },
        {
          "kit_gb": 192,
          "model": "GLM-5.3-Flash UD-Q4_K_XL",
          "need": "~147 GB (estimate)"
        },
        {
          "kit_gb": 256,
          "model": "GLM-5.3-Flash UD-Q5_K_XL / UD-Q6_K_XL",
          "need": "~184–232 GB (estimate)"
        }
      ],
      "measured": [
        {
          "run_id": "local-desktop-20261012-2311-35b-udq5kxl-1gpu-4k-llamacpp-f16",
          "tok_s": 102.39,
          "label": "Qwen3.6-35B-A3B UD-Q5_K_XL on one R9700, fully in VRAM (llama.cpp, 4K)"
        },
        {
          "run_id": "local-desktop-flash-q6-strata-8k",
          "tok_s": 32.8,
          "label": "Qwen 3.8 Flash UD-Q6_K_XL on two R9700s with experts in DDR5-5200 (Strata, 8K)"
        }
      ]
    },
    "kits": [
      {
        "id": "32",
        "name": "G.SKILL Flare X5 32 GB (2x16) DDR5-6000 CL30",
        "kit_gb": 32,
        "part": "F5-6000J3038F16GX2-FX5",
        "product_id": "ddr5-32",
        "src": "builder-ram-32",
        "go": "/go/newegg/ddr5-32/?src=builder-ram-32",
        "citation": {
          "title": "G.SKILL F5-6000J3038F16GX2-FX5 specification",
          "url": "https://www.gskill.com/specification/165/396/1673491242/F5-6000J3038F16GX2-FX5-Specification",
          "section": "32GB (16GBx2); Tested Latency 30-38-38-96; Tested Voltage 1.35V; AMD EXPO; Do not mix memory kits",
          "as_of": "2026-10-29"
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "96",
        "name": "G.SKILL Flare X5 96 GB (2x48) DDR5-5600 CL40",
        "kit_gb": 96,
        "part": "F5-5600J4040D48GX2-FX5",
        "product_id": "ddr5-96",
        "src": "builder-ram-96",
        "go": "/go/newegg/ddr5-96/?src=builder-ram-96",
        "citation": {
          "title": "G.SKILL F5-5600J4040D48GX2-FX5 specification",
          "url": "https://www.gskill.com/specification/165/396/1683011081/F5-5600J4040D48GX2-FX5-Specification",
          "section": "96GB (48GBx2); Dual Channel Kit; AMD EXPO + Intel XMP; SPD Speed (Default) 5600 MT/s; Tested Latency 40-40-40-89; Do not mix memory kits",
          "as_of": "2026-10-30"
        },
        "dated_price": {
          "label": "$1,479.99",
          "as_of": "2026-10-30",
          "as_of_label": "Oct 30, 2026",
          "source": "Newegg listing sold by Newegg (list price on the search page, not a cart check)"
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "128",
        "name": "Kingston FURY Beast 128 GB (2x64) DDR5-5600",
        "kit_gb": 128,
        "part": "KF556C36BBEK2-128",
        "product_id": "ddr5-128",
        "src": "builder-ram-128",
        "go": "/go/newegg/ddr5-128/?src=builder-ram-128",
        "citation": {
          "title": "Kingston KF556C36BBEK2-128",
          "url": "https://www.kingston.com/en/memory/search?partid=KF556C36BBEK2-128",
          "section": "128GB (2x64GB) DDR5 5600MT/s CL36 FURY Beast Black EXPO",
          "as_of": "2026-10-29"
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "192",
        "name": "G.SKILL Flare X5 192 GB (4x48) DDR5-6000 CL28",
        "kit_gb": 192,
        "part": "F5-6000J2836G48GX4-FX5",
        "product_id": "ddr5-192",
        "src": "builder-ram-192",
        "go": "/go/newegg/ddr5-192/?src=builder-ram-192",
        "citation": {
          "title": "G.SKILL F5-6000J2836G48GX4-FX5 specification",
          "url": "https://www.gskill.com/specification/165/396/1750729823/F5-6000J2836G48GX4-FX5-Specification",
          "section": "192GB (48GBx4); Tested Latency 28-36-36-96; Tested Voltage 1.40V; AMD EXPO; Do not mix memory kits",
          "as_of": "2026-10-29"
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "256",
        "name": "G.SKILL Trident Z5 Neo 256 GB (4x64) DDR5-6000",
        "kit_gb": 256,
        "part": "F5-6000J3644D64GX4-TZ5NR",
        "product_id": "ddr5-256",
        "src": "builder-ram-256",
        "go": "/go/newegg/ddr5-256/?src=builder-ram-256",
        "citation": {
          "title": "G.SKILL F5-6000J3644D64GX4-TZ5NR",
          "url": "https://www.gskill.com/product/165/390/1750238051/F5-6000J3644D64GX4-TZ5NR",
          "section": "256GB (4x64GB); CL36-44-44-96 1.25V AMD EXPO; Requires motherboard BIOS update, dated 2025 or newer with 64GB module support",
          "as_of": "2026-10-29"
        }
      }
    ]
  },
  "cpu": {
    "param": "cpuwork",
    "default": "0",
    "fabric_note": "One Ryzen 9000 chiplet’s memory read is about 64 GB/s at the default fabric clock, below DDR5-6000’s 96 GB/s theoretical. Those are spec-sheet caps, not measurements on our cards.",
    "pcie": "Every Ryzen 9000 desktop chip lists PCIe 5.0 with 28 total / 24 usable lanes and 256 GB max (AMD product pages), so x8/x8 works on a board whose maker manual documents that split.",
    "apu_warning": "Never use a Ryzen 8000G APU for dual GPU. The 8700G and 8600G have PCIe 4.0 with 8 graphics lanes — the second CPU x16 slot goes dead. The 8500G and 8300G have 4 graphics lanes, so even one card runs at x4.",
    "note": "No live or invented prices. Fabric GB/s figures are theoretical spec numbers, not measurements. Share param bigmodels=1 selects the offload chip; cpuwork=1 selects the 9950X on that path.",
    "in_vram": {
      "id": "9600x",
      "title": "AMD Ryzen 5 9600X",
      "product_id": "ryzen-5-9600x",
      "src": "builder-cpu-9600x",
      "go": "/go/newegg/ryzen-5-9600x/?src=builder-cpu-9600x",
      "when": "bigmodels=0 and the file fits in VRAM"
    },
    "offload": {
      "id": "9900x",
      "title": "AMD Ryzen 9 9900X",
      "product_id": "ryzen-9-9900x",
      "src": "builder-cpu-9900x",
      "go": "/go/newegg/ryzen-9-9900x/?src=builder-cpu-9900x",
      "when": "bigmodels=1 or the setup already needs RAM offload"
    },
    "cpu_jobs": {
      "id": "9950x",
      "title": "AMD Ryzen 9 9950X",
      "product_id": "ryzen-9-9950x",
      "src": "builder-cpu-9950x",
      "go": "/go/newegg/ryzen-9-9950x/?src=builder-cpu-9950x",
      "when": "offload path and cpuwork=1"
    },
    "traps": [
      {
        "name": "Ryzen 7 8700G / Ryzen 5 8600G",
        "why": "PCIe 4.0 with 8 graphics lanes. The second CPU x16 slot is disabled, so there is no x8/x8 dual GPU.",
        "src": [
          "https://www.amd.com/content/dam/amd/en/documents/partner-hub/ryzen/amd-ryzen-8000g-quick-reference-guide-competitive.pdf",
          "https://www.supermicro.com/en/support/faqs/faq.php?faq=42600"
        ]
      },
      {
        "name": "Ryzen 5 8500G / Ryzen 3 8300G",
        "why": "PCIe 4.0 with 4 graphics lanes. Even one R9700 runs at x4.",
        "src": [
          "https://www.amd.com/content/dam/amd/en/documents/partner-hub/ryzen/amd-ryzen-8000g-quick-reference-guide-competitive.pdf",
          "https://www.techpowerup.com/317997/amds-phoenix-1-and-phoenix-2-apus-differ-in-pcie-lane-count-affects-nvme-drive-performance-and-gpu-pcie-lane-count"
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "psu": {
    "note": "No live or invented prices. R9700 300 W TBP and 750 W minimum PSU are from the AMD product page. Two cards plus a 9950X can reach about 1,100 W. Named units replace the old 1000W-class search line on /budget.",
    "r9700": {
      "title": "AMD Radeon AI PRO R9700 product page",
      "url": "https://www.amd.com/en/products/graphics/workstations/radeon-ai-pro/ai-9000-series/amd-radeon-ai-pro-r9700.html",
      "section": "Total Board Power (TBP) 300W; Minimum PSU Recommendation 750W; External Power Connectors 12V-2x6",
      "as_of": "2026-10-29"
    },
    "cable_note": "The R9700 takes a 12V-2x6 connector (AMD product page). Buy one native 12V-2x6 cable per card. Many 1000 W units ship only one.",
    "one_gpu": {
      "gpus_sized_for": 1,
      "src": "builder-psu-850",
      "picks": [
        {
          "id": "rm850x",
          "name": "Corsair RM850x (2024, ATX 3.1)",
          "watts": 850,
          "product_id": "corsair-rm850x",
          "src": "builder-psu-850",
          "go": "/go/newegg/corsair-rm850x/?src=builder-psu-850"
        }
      ],
      "when": "one GPU and expandgpu=0"
    },
    "two_gpu": {
      "gpus_sized_for": 2,
      "src": "builder-psu-1200",
      "picks": [
        {
          "id": "tt-gt-1200",
          "name": "Thermaltake Toughpower GT 1200W",
          "watts": 1200,
          "product_id": "thermaltake-toughpower-gt-1200",
          "src": "builder-psu-1200",
          "go": "/go/newegg/thermaltake-toughpower-gt-1200/?src=builder-psu-1200"
        },
        {
          "id": "bequiet-sp12-1200",
          "name": "be quiet! Straight Power 12 1200W",
          "watts": 1200,
          "product_id": "bequiet-straight-power-12-1200",
          "src": "builder-psu-1200",
          "go": "/go/newegg/bequiet-straight-power-12-1200/?src=builder-psu-1200"
        },
        {
          "id": "tt-tf3-1300",
          "name": "Thermaltake Toughpower TF3 1300W",
          "watts": 1300,
          "product_id": "thermaltake-tf3-1300",
          "src": "builder-psu-1300",
          "go": "/go/newegg/thermaltake-tf3-1300/?src=builder-psu-1300"
        },
        {
          "id": "hx1500i",
          "name": "Corsair HX1500i (2025)",
          "watts": 1500,
          "product_id": "corsair-hx1500i",
          "src": "builder-psu-1500",
          "go": "/go/newegg/corsair-hx1500i/?src=builder-psu-1500"
        }
      ],
      "when": "two GPUs, or expandgpu=1"
    },
    "later": {
      "gpus_sized_for": 2,
      "when": "one GPU and expandgpu=1 — same 1200 W+ list as two GPUs"
    }
  },
  "storage": {
    "param": "coldload",
    "default": "0",
    "size_src": "Hugging Face tree API, summed shard bytes (unsloth repos), checked 2026-10-24 and 2026-10-28",
    "mmap_note": "llama.cpp’s default mmap load is usually page-fault/CPU bound, not drive-bound. Direct I/O loads at disk speed.",
    "load_note": "A third-party mmap test loaded a 40.5 GB Q4_K_M file in 15.2 s on a Gen4 990 PRO versus 13.8 s on a Gen5 T705 (about 9%).",
    "rule": "Run models from NVMe, never from a hard drive. On dual-GPU boards use an M.2 slot that does not share GPU lanes.",
    "note": "No live or invented prices. Specs from maker datasheets. File sizes from the Hugging Face tree API. Share param bigmodels=1 (or a fourth Flash-class family) selects 4 TB. coldload=1 selects the Gen5 9100 PRO.",
    "three_family": {
      "need_gib": 1587.1,
      "tb": 2,
      "gen": 4,
      "product_id": "mz-v9p2t0bw",
      "src": "builder-ssd-990pro-2tb",
      "go": "/go/newegg/mz-v9p2t0bw/?src=builder-ssd-990pro-2tb",
      "name": "Samsung 990 PRO 2TB",
      "part": "MZ-V9P2T0BW",
      "when": "bigmodels=0 — 2 TB holds every Q4–Q6 of the three families"
    },
    "four_tb": {
      "need_gib": 1819.3,
      "tb": 4,
      "gen": 4,
      "product_id": "mz-v9p4t0bw",
      "src": "builder-ssd-990pro-4tb",
      "go": "/go/newegg/mz-v9p4t0bw/?src=builder-ssd-990pro-4tb",
      "name": "Samsung 990 PRO 4TB",
      "part": "MZ-V9P4T0BW",
      "when": "bigmodels=1 or a fourth Flash-class family"
    },
    "gen5": {
      "need_gib": 1819.3,
      "tb": 4,
      "gen": 5,
      "product_id": "mz-vap4t0b",
      "src": "builder-ssd-9100pro-4tb",
      "go": "/go/newegg/mz-vap4t0b/?src=builder-ssd-9100pro-4tb",
      "name": "Samsung 9100 PRO 4TB",
      "part": "MZ-VAP4T0B",
      "when": "coldload=1 — fastest cold loads only"
    },
    "drives": [
      {
        "id": "990pro-2tb",
        "name": "Samsung 990 PRO 2TB",
        "part": "MZ-V9P2T0BW",
        "gen": 4,
        "tb": 2,
        "seq_read_mbs": 7450,
        "tbw": 1200,
        "dram": "2 GB LPDDR4",
        "product_id": "mz-v9p2t0bw",
        "src": "builder-ssd-990pro-2tb",
        "go": "/go/newegg/mz-v9p2t0bw/?src=builder-ssd-990pro-2tb",
        "citation": {
          "title": "Samsung 990 PRO NVMe SSD datasheet Rev. 2.0",
          "url": "https://download.semiconductor.samsung.com/resources/data-sheet/samsung_nvme_ssd_990_pro_datasheet_rev.2.0.pdf",
          "section": "2 TB: Sequential Read 7,450 MB/s; TBW 1,200 TB; 2 GB LPDDR4; TLC",
          "as_of": "2026-10-28"
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "990pro-4tb",
        "name": "Samsung 990 PRO 4TB",
        "part": "MZ-V9P4T0BW",
        "gen": 4,
        "tb": 4,
        "seq_read_mbs": 7450,
        "tbw": 2400,
        "dram": "4 GB LPDDR4",
        "product_id": "mz-v9p4t0bw",
        "src": "builder-ssd-990pro-4tb",
        "go": "/go/newegg/mz-v9p4t0bw/?src=builder-ssd-990pro-4tb",
        "citation": {
          "title": "Samsung 990 PRO NVMe SSD datasheet Rev. 2.0",
          "url": "https://download.semiconductor.samsung.com/resources/data-sheet/samsung_nvme_ssd_990_pro_datasheet_rev.2.0.pdf",
          "section": "4 TB: Sequential Read 7,450 MB/s; TBW 2,400 TB; 4 GB LPDDR4; TLC",
          "as_of": "2026-10-28"
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "sn850x-4tb",
        "name": "WD_BLACK SN850X 4TB",
        "part": "WDS400T2X0E",
        "gen": 4,
        "tb": 4,
        "seq_read_mbs": 7300,
        "tbw": 2400,
        "dram": "yes",
        "product_id": "wds400t2x0e",
        "src": "builder-ssd-sn850x-4tb",
        "go": "/go/newegg/wds400t2x0e/?src=builder-ssd-sn850x-4tb",
        "citation": {
          "title": "WD_BLACK SN850X NVMe SSD datasheet",
          "url": "https://documents.sandisk.com/content/dam/asset-library/en_us/assets/public/sandisk/product/internal-drives/wd-black-ssd/data-sheet-wd-black-sn850x-nvme-ssd.pdf",
          "section": "4 TB: Sequential Read 7,300 MB/s; TBW 2,400 TB; DRAM; TLC",
          "as_of": "2026-10-28"
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "sn850x-8tb",
        "name": "WD_BLACK SN850X 8TB",
        "part": "WDS800T2X0E",
        "gen": 4,
        "tb": 8,
        "seq_read_mbs": 7200,
        "tbw": 4800,
        "dram": "yes",
        "product_id": "wds800t2x0e",
        "src": "builder-ssd-sn850x-8tb",
        "go": "/go/newegg/wds800t2x0e/?src=builder-ssd-sn850x-8tb",
        "citation": {
          "title": "WD_BLACK SN850X NVMe SSD datasheet",
          "url": "https://documents.sandisk.com/content/dam/asset-library/en_us/assets/public/sandisk/product/internal-drives/wd-black-ssd/data-sheet-wd-black-sn850x-nvme-ssd.pdf",
          "section": "8 TB: Sequential Read 7,200 MB/s; TBW 4,800 TB; DRAM; TLC",
          "as_of": "2026-10-28"
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "9100pro-4tb",
        "name": "Samsung 9100 PRO 4TB",
        "part": "MZ-VAP4T0B",
        "gen": 5,
        "tb": 4,
        "seq_read_mbs": 14800,
        "tbw": 2400,
        "dram": "4 GB LPDDR4X",
        "product_id": "mz-vap4t0b",
        "src": "builder-ssd-9100pro-4tb",
        "go": "/go/newegg/mz-vap4t0b/?src=builder-ssd-9100pro-4tb",
        "citation": {
          "title": "Samsung 9100 PRO NVMe SSD datasheet Rev. 2.0",
          "url": "https://download.semiconductor.samsung.com/resources/data-sheet/Samsung_NVMe_SSD_9100_PRO_Datasheet_Rev.2.0.pdf",
          "section": "4 TB: Sequential Read 14,800 MB/s; TBW 2,400 TB; 4 GB LPDDR4X; TLC",
          "as_of": "2026-10-28"
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "9100pro-8tb",
        "name": "Samsung 9100 PRO 8TB",
        "part": "MZ-VAP8T0B",
        "gen": 5,
        "tb": 8,
        "seq_read_mbs": 14800,
        "tbw": 4800,
        "dram": "8 GB LPDDR4X",
        "product_id": "mz-vap8t0b",
        "src": "builder-ssd-9100pro-8tb",
        "go": "/go/newegg/mz-vap8t0b/?src=builder-ssd-9100pro-8tb",
        "citation": {
          "title": "Samsung 9100 PRO NVMe SSD datasheet Rev. 2.0",
          "url": "https://download.semiconductor.samsung.com/resources/data-sheet/Samsung_NVMe_SSD_9100_PRO_Datasheet_Rev.2.0.pdf",
          "section": "8 TB: Sequential Read 14,800 MB/s; TBW 4,800 TB; 8 GB LPDDR4X; TLC",
          "as_of": "2026-10-28"
        }
      }
    ],
    "evidence": [
      {
        "claim": "llama.cpp default mmap loading is CPU/page-fault bound; direct I/O loads at sequential disk speed. GPT-OSS-120B on DGX Spark: mmap ~110 s first load, direct I/O ~10.5 s.",
        "url": "https://github.com/ggml-org/llama.cpp/pull/18012",
        "title": "llama.cpp PR #18012"
      },
      {
        "claim": "User report: ~2.4 GB/s buffered load from NVMe RAID0 rated >7 GB/s; one core at 100%.",
        "url": "https://github.com/ggml-org/llama.cpp/discussions/12223",
        "title": "llama.cpp discussion #12223"
      },
      {
        "claim": "A third-party mmap test loaded a 40.5 GB Q4_K_M file in 15.2 s on a Gen4 990 PRO versus 13.8 s on a Gen5 T705 (about 9%).",
        "url": "https://craftrigs.com/guides/nvme-speed-llm-load-times-benchmarks/",
        "title": "CraftRigs NVMe LLM load-time benchmarks (third-party, single source)"
      }
    ]
  },
  "case": {
    "note": "No live or invented prices. Every Newegg href is /go/newegg/<slug>. Case fans follow the GPUs (67 C vs 57 C, published).",
    "seven_slot": {
      "min_slots": 7,
      "primary": {
        "id": "fractal-torrent",
        "name": "Fractal Design Torrent",
        "role": "Airflow pick: the most included intake, bottom fans blow straight at the cards.",
        "fans": "2x 180 mm front + 3x 140 mm bottom",
        "slots": 7,
        "product_id": "fractal-design-torrent",
        "src": "builder-case-torrent",
        "spec": "https://www.fractal-design.com/products/cases/torrent/torrent/black-solid/",
        "go": "/go/newegg/fractal-design-torrent/?src=builder-case-torrent",
        "radiator_360": [
          "front",
          "bottom"
        ],
        "cpu_cooler_max_mm": 188
      },
      "picks": [
        {
          "id": "fractal-torrent",
          "name": "Fractal Design Torrent",
          "role": "Airflow pick: the most included intake, bottom fans blow straight at the cards.",
          "fans": "2x 180 mm front + 3x 140 mm bottom",
          "slots": 7,
          "product_id": "fractal-design-torrent",
          "src": "builder-case-torrent",
          "spec": "https://www.fractal-design.com/products/cases/torrent/torrent/black-solid/",
          "go": "/go/newegg/fractal-design-torrent/?src=builder-case-torrent",
          "radiator_360": [
            "front",
            "bottom"
          ],
          "cpu_cooler_max_mm": 188
        },
        {
          "id": "fractal-meshify-2",
          "name": "Fractal Design Meshify 2",
          "role": "All-rounder: E-ATX room and storage; add a third front fan for two cards.",
          "fans": "2x 140 mm front + 1x 140 mm rear",
          "slots": 7,
          "product_id": "fractal-design-meshify-2",
          "src": "builder-case-meshify-2",
          "spec": "https://www.fractal-design.com/products/cases/meshify/meshify-2/black-tg-dark-tint/",
          "go": "/go/newegg/fractal-design-meshify-2/?src=builder-case-meshify-2",
          "radiator_360": [
            "top",
            "front"
          ],
          "cpu_cooler_max_mm": 185
        },
        {
          "id": "phanteks-enthoo-pro-2-server",
          "name": "Phanteks Enthoo Pro 2 Server Edition",
          "role": "Room to grow: 11 slots and a side fan bracket for a third card or a riser; buy fans separately.",
          "fans": "None listed as included on the product page",
          "slots": 11,
          "product_id": "phanteks-enthoo-pro-2-server-edition",
          "src": "builder-case-enthoo",
          "spec": "https://phanteks.com/product/enthoo-pro-2-server-edition-tg/",
          "go": "/go/newegg/phanteks-enthoo-pro-2-server-edition/?src=builder-case-enthoo",
          "radiator_360": [
            "top",
            "front",
            "side"
          ],
          "cpu_cooler_max_mm": 195
        }
      ],
      "warnings": [],
      "notes": [
        "Blower R9700s push heat out the back; case fans cool the air the cards breathe. Point the case fans at the GPUs. A published 4-card build paused on a CPU-following curve when the card area hit 68 C; full-speed case fans cooled that area from 67 C to 57 C (GPU junction only 1–4 C).",
        "Use two cards of the same model. ASUS Turbo cards may choke without a slot gap; on 4-slot-spacing boards there is a 2-slot gap."
      ],
      "why": "Two 2-slot R9700s (max 271 mm) on a sourced 4-slot-spacing x8/x8 board end by slot 7. A 7-slot ATX case is enough. Blower R9700s push heat out the back; case fans cool the air the cards breathe. Point the case fans at the GPUs. A published 4-card build paused on a CPU-following curve when the card area hit 68 C; full-speed case fans cooled that area from 67 C to 57 C (GPU junction only 1–4 C)."
    },
    "eight_slot": {
      "min_slots": 8,
      "primary": {
        "id": "phanteks-enthoo-pro-2-server",
        "name": "Phanteks Enthoo Pro 2 Server Edition",
        "role": "Room to grow: 11 slots and a side fan bracket for a third card or a riser; buy fans separately.",
        "fans": "None listed as included on the product page",
        "slots": 11,
        "product_id": "phanteks-enthoo-pro-2-server-edition",
        "src": "builder-case-enthoo",
        "spec": "https://phanteks.com/product/enthoo-pro-2-server-edition-tg/",
        "go": "/go/newegg/phanteks-enthoo-pro-2-server-edition/?src=builder-case-enthoo",
        "radiator_360": [
          "top",
          "front",
          "side"
        ],
        "cpu_cooler_max_mm": 195
      },
      "picks": [
        {
          "id": "phanteks-enthoo-pro-2-server",
          "name": "Phanteks Enthoo Pro 2 Server Edition",
          "role": "Room to grow: 11 slots and a side fan bracket for a third card or a riser; buy fans separately.",
          "fans": "None listed as included on the product page",
          "slots": 11,
          "product_id": "phanteks-enthoo-pro-2-server-edition",
          "src": "builder-case-enthoo",
          "spec": "https://phanteks.com/product/enthoo-pro-2-server-edition-tg/",
          "go": "/go/newegg/phanteks-enthoo-pro-2-server-edition/?src=builder-case-enthoo",
          "radiator_360": [
            "top",
            "front",
            "side"
          ],
          "cpu_cooler_max_mm": 195
        }
      ],
      "warnings": [
        "Slot spacing for this board is not verified here: check its manual layout; an 8+ slot case is the safe choice."
      ],
      "notes": [
        "Blower R9700s push heat out the back; case fans cool the air the cards breathe. Point the case fans at the GPUs. A published 4-card build paused on a CPU-following curve when the card area hit 68 C; full-speed case fans cooled that area from 67 C to 57 C (GPU junction only 1–4 C).",
        "Use two cards of the same model. ASUS Turbo cards may choke without a slot gap; on 4-slot-spacing boards there is a 2-slot gap."
      ],
      "why": "Two cards: this board’s slot spacing is not verified here, so the picker asks for 8+ slots. Blower R9700s push heat out the back; case fans cool the air the cards breathe. Point the case fans at the GPUs. A published 4-card build paused on a CPU-following curve when the card area hit 68 C; full-speed case fans cooled that area from 67 C to 57 C (GPU junction only 1–4 C)."
    },
    "slugs": [
      "fractal-design-torrent",
      "fractal-design-meshify-2",
      "phanteks-enthoo-pro-2-server-edition"
    ]
  },
  "cooler": {
    "note": "No live or invented prices. Every Newegg href is /go/newegg/<slug>. 65 W → PA120 SE; 9900X/9950X → NH-D15 G2; 360 AIO only when the case has a top mount.",
    "air_65w": {
      "id": "pa120se",
      "name": "Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE",
      "type": "air",
      "why": "The 9600X ships with no cooler (AMD lists Thermal Solution (PIB): Not included on the 9600X, 9900X and 9950X product pages.) At 65 W a dual-tower air cooler is plenty; AMD recommends a premium air cooler.",
      "product_id": "thermalright-peerless-assassin-120-se",
      "src": "builder-cooler-pa120se",
      "spec": "https://www.thermalright.com/product/peerless-assassin-120-se/",
      "go": "/go/newegg/thermalright-peerless-assassin-120-se/?src=builder-cooler-pa120se",
      "warnings": [
        "Tall DIMM heatspreaders can hit the front fan; check RAM height against the cooler."
      ],
      "alt": null
    },
    "air_120w": {
      "id": "nhd15g2",
      "name": "Noctua NH-D15 G2",
      "type": "air",
      "why": "The 9900X ships with no cooler (AMD lists Thermal Solution (PIB): Not included on the 9600X, 9900X and 9950X product pages.) AMD recommends liquid for best boost, but MoE expert-offload decode is limited by memory and PCIe traffic, not CPU compute, so AMD’s liquid recommendation is about peak boost, not decode speed. A big dual-tower air cooler is the simpler 24/7 choice (no pump).",
      "product_id": "noctua-nh-d15-g2",
      "src": "builder-cooler-nhd15g2",
      "spec": "https://noctua.at/en/nh-d15-g2/specification",
      "go": "/go/newegg/noctua-nh-d15-g2/?src=builder-cooler-nhd15g2",
      "warnings": [
        "Tall DIMM heatspreaders can hit the front fan; check RAM height against the cooler."
      ],
      "alt": null
    },
    "aio_when_top": {
      "id": "nhd15g2",
      "name": "Noctua NH-D15 G2",
      "type": "air",
      "why": "The 9900X ships with no cooler (AMD lists Thermal Solution (PIB): Not included on the 9600X, 9900X and 9950X product pages.) AMD recommends liquid for best boost, but MoE expert-offload decode is limited by memory and PCIe traffic, not CPU compute, so AMD’s liquid recommendation is about peak boost, not decode speed. A big dual-tower air cooler is the simpler 24/7 choice (no pump).",
      "product_id": "noctua-nh-d15-g2",
      "src": "builder-cooler-nhd15g2",
      "spec": "https://noctua.at/en/nh-d15-g2/specification",
      "go": "/go/newegg/noctua-nh-d15-g2/?src=builder-cooler-nhd15g2",
      "warnings": [
        "Tall DIMM heatspreaders can hit the front fan; check RAM height against the cooler."
      ],
      "alt": {
        "id": "lf3pro360",
        "name": "ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III Pro 360",
        "type": "aio",
        "why": "Suggest a 360 AIO only because this case has a top radiator mount (exhaust). Keep the radiator off the front or bottom intake the blowers breathe.",
        "product_id": "arctic-liquid-freezer-iii-pro-360",
        "src": "builder-cooler-lf3pro360",
        "spec": "https://www.arctic.de/en/Liquid-Freezer-III-Pro-360/ACFRE00180A",
        "go": "/go/newegg/arctic-liquid-freezer-iii-pro-360/?src=builder-cooler-lf3pro360",
        "warnings": [
          "Check the board’s M.2_1 heatsink against the pump block (ARCTIC lists some clashes and ships a free replacement M.2 cooler)."
        ],
        "alt": null
      }
    },
    "slugs": [
      "thermalright-peerless-assassin-120-se",
      "noctua-nh-d15-g2",
      "arctic-liquid-freezer-iii-pro-360"
    ]
  },
  "parts": {
    "note": "No live or invented prices. Every Newegg href is /go/newegg/<slug>. Query strings are not evaluated on this host.",
    "default": {
      "answers": {
        "gpus": 1,
        "later_big": false,
        "offload": "no",
        "min_budget": false,
        "expand_gpu": true,
        "cold_load": false
      },
      "parts": [
        {
          "role": "GPU",
          "part": "AMD Radeon AI PRO R9700 32GB x1",
          "why": "32 GB per card; the site’s measured cards.",
          "spec": null,
          "product_id": "r9700",
          "src": "builder-list-gpu",
          "go": "/go/newegg/r9700/?src=builder-list-gpu"
        },
        {
          "role": "Motherboard",
          "part": "ASRock X870 Taichi Creator",
          "why": "Default is a dual x8/x8 board, including for one GPU, so a later card can sit on matching CPU lanes.",
          "spec": "https://www.asrock.com/MB/AMD/X870%20Taichi%20Creator/",
          "product_id": "asrock-x870-taichi-creator",
          "src": "builder-list-board",
          "go": "/go/newegg/asrock-x870-taichi-creator/?src=builder-list-board"
        },
        {
          "role": "CPU",
          "part": "AMD Ryzen 5 9600X",
          "why": "The model lives in GPU memory, so the CPU mostly feeds the cards. The 9600X is enough. Any Ryzen 9000 desktop chip has 24 usable PCIe 5.0 lanes for x8/x8 on the right board.",
          "spec": "https://www.amd.com/en/products/processors/desktops/ryzen/9000-series/amd-ryzen-5-9600x.html",
          "product_id": "amd-ryzen-5-9600x",
          "src": "builder-cpu-9600x",
          "go": "/go/newegg/amd-ryzen-5-9600x/?src=builder-cpu-9600x"
        },
        {
          "role": "RAM",
          "part": "G.SKILL Flare X5 96 GB (2x48) DDR5-5600 CL40",
          "why": "We still recommend 96 GB (2x48 DDR5) for most builds, so Qwen 3.8 Flash stays an option. 32 GB (2x16) is enough only if you will run the 35B on one card and never want Flash. You cannot top up a 2-DIMM kit later. Memory makers say do not mix kits, and 192 GB / 256 GB only exist as matched 4x48 or 4x64 sets — moving up means replacing the kit you bought.",
          "spec": "https://www.gskill.com/specification/165/396/1683011081/F5-5600J4040D48GX2-FX5-Specification",
          "product_id": "ddr5-96",
          "src": "builder-ram-96",
          "go": "/go/newegg/ddr5-96/?src=builder-ram-96"
        },
        {
          "role": "PSU",
          "part": "Thermaltake Toughpower GT 1200W",
          "why": "Sized for two R9700s. AMD lists 300 W TBP per card (product page). Two cards plus a 9950X can reach about 1,100 W. Two native 12V-2x6 cables, one per card. You said a second GPU might come later, so this skips the 850 W step and buys the PSU once.",
          "spec": "https://www.thermaltake.com/toughpower-gt-1200w.html",
          "product_id": "ps-tpt-1200fnfagu-3",
          "src": "builder-psu-1200",
          "go": "/go/newegg/ps-tpt-1200fnfagu-3/?src=builder-psu-1200"
        },
        {
          "role": "Storage",
          "part": "Samsung 990 PRO 2TB (MZ-V9P2T0BW)",
          "why": "Your lanes need about 1587 GiB (every Q4–Q6 quant of Qwen3.6-35B, Qwen3.8-Flash-Next and GLM-5.3-Flash, one extra file of download headroom, 150 GiB for the OS). A 2 TB drive is 1,863 GiB usable. Gen4 TLC with DRAM is enough: published tests show Gen5 loads big GGUFs only about 9% faster on the default mmap path (15.2 s vs 13.8 s). Spend the difference on capacity or RAM.",
          "spec": "https://download.semiconductor.samsung.com/resources/data-sheet/samsung_nvme_ssd_990_pro_datasheet_rev.2.0.pdf",
          "product_id": "mz-v9p2t0bw",
          "src": "builder-ssd-990pro-2tb",
          "go": "/go/newegg/mz-v9p2t0bw/?src=builder-ssd-990pro-2tb"
        },
        {
          "role": "Case",
          "part": "Fractal Design Torrent",
          "why": "One card: any of the three maker-checked ATX cases fit a 271 mm R9700. Blower R9700s push heat out the back; case fans cool the air the cards breathe. Point the case fans at the GPUs. A published 4-card build paused on a CPU-following curve when the card area hit 68 C; full-speed case fans cooled that area from 67 C to 57 C (GPU junction only 1–4 C).",
          "spec": "https://www.fractal-design.com/products/cases/torrent/torrent/black-solid/",
          "product_id": "fractal-design-torrent",
          "src": "builder-case-torrent",
          "go": "/go/newegg/fractal-design-torrent/?src=builder-case-torrent"
        },
        {
          "role": "Cooler",
          "part": "Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE",
          "why": "The 9600X ships with no cooler (AMD lists Thermal Solution (PIB): Not included on the 9600X, 9900X and 9950X product pages.) At 65 W a dual-tower air cooler is plenty; AMD recommends a premium air cooler.",
          "spec": "https://www.thermalright.com/product/peerless-assassin-120-se/",
          "product_id": "thermalright-peerless-assassin-120-se",
          "src": "builder-cooler-pa120se",
          "go": "/go/newegg/thermalright-peerless-assassin-120-se/?src=builder-cooler-pa120se"
        }
      ],
      "warnings": [],
      "storage_need_gib": 1587.1
    },
    "slugs": {
      "draft": [
        "amd-ryzen-5-9600x",
        "amd-ryzen-7-9700x",
        "asrock-b850-pro-rs",
        "asrock-x870-taichi-creator",
        "cp-9020270-na",
        "f5-6000j3038f16gx2-fx5",
        "f5-6000j3644d64gx4-tz5nr",
        "mz-v9p2t0bw",
        "ps-tpt-1200fnfagu-3",
        "fractal-design-torrent",
        "fractal-design-meshify-2",
        "phanteks-enthoo-pro-2-server-edition",
        "thermalright-peerless-assassin-120-se",
        "noctua-nh-d15-g2",
        "arctic-liquid-freezer-iii-pro-360"
      ],
      "reused": "r9700"
    }
  },
  "picks": {
    "r9700": [
      "qwen36-35b.llamacpp-vulkan.262k",
      "qwen36-35b.llamacpp-vulkan.32k",
      "qwen36-35b-q4km.llamacpp-vulkan.4k"
    ],
    "r9700s": [],
    "r9600d": [],
    "r9600": [],
    "rx9070xt": [],
    "rx9070gre": [],
    "rx9070": [],
    "rx9060xt": [],
    "rx9060xt-lp": [],
    "rx9060": [],
    "rx7900xtx": [],
    "rx7900xt": [],
    "rx7900gre": [],
    "rx7800xt": [],
    "rx7700xt": [],
    "rx7700": [],
    "rx7600xt": [],
    "rx7600": [],
    "rx6800xt": [],
    "rx6700xt": [],
    "rx6950xt": [],
    "w7900": [],
    "w7800": [],
    "w7700": [],
    "w6800": [],
    "strix-halo": [],
    "ryzen-igpu": []
  }
}