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Best GPU for local AI in Australia
Graphics cards ranked by how fast they generate text per A$1,000, using today's lowest in-stock AUD price and the Llama 2 7B Q4_0 reference test. Updated 20 Oct 2026, 7:38 am AEST from Scorptec, Mwave.
Quick picks
How to choose
VRAM first: it decides which models fit at all. Bandwidth second: it decides how many tokens per second you get. Speed per dollar favours cheap cards, so a 12GB card can top the value list and still be too small for the model you want. Check the model first on the models page.
All graphics cards we price (13), best value first
NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell 96GB
Tracked but no current AU listing: NVIDIA RTX 4060 Ti 16GB, NVIDIA RTX 3090 24GB, NVIDIA RTX 4090 24GB, AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24GB.
FAQ
What's the best value GPU for local AI in Australia right now?
On speed per dollar, the Intel Arc B580 12GB at A$419 (Scorptec) leads, with 167.4 tok/s per A$1,000 on our reference test. If you want 16GB of VRAM for bigger models, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB at A$1,169 is the best value.
How much VRAM do I need for local AI?
It depends on the model. At 4-bit, a 16GB card holds models up to about gpt-oss 20B (MoE) (12 GB needed) with an 8k context. For 24–32B dense models or long contexts, look at 24GB+ cards: the cheapest in stock today is the AMD Radeon AI PRO R9700 32GB at A$2,299. Every model page shows exactly how much memory it needs.
Is a Mac or DGX Spark better than a graphics card?
They hold bigger models but generate text more slowly. The DGX Spark has 128GB of unified memory at 273 GB/s for A$8,999, while the NVIDIA RTX 5090 32GB has 1,792 GB/s but only 32GB. Pick a graphics card for speed on models that fit, and unified memory for very large models.
Should I buy a used RTX 3090 or 4090?
We only track new retail prices from Australian stores, not used listings. The NVIDIA RTX 3090 24GB, NVIDIA RTX 4090 24GB, AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24GB had no current new listing at the retailers we check. Used 24GB cards can be good value, but check the seller and warranty yourself.
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