Hasty Briefsbeta

I regret building this $3000 Pi AI cluster

6 hours ago
https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2025/i-regret-building-3000-pi-ai-cluster
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  • #Benchmarking
  • #Cluster Computing
  • #Raspberry Pi
  • Ordered 10 Compute Blades in April 2023, arrived recently.
  • Upgraded to 10 16GB CM5 Lite modules for 160GB total RAM.
  • Total cost around $3,000, making it the biggest Pi cluster built.
  • Compared performance with $8,000 Framework Desktop cluster.
  • Benchmarked HPL Top500 test: 325 Gflops after thermal fixes.
  • Tested AI performance with llama.cpp, found limitations with iGPU.
  • 70B model ran at 0.28 tokens/s, much slower than Framework.
  • Cluster is efficient, quiet, and compact but not cost-effective.
  • Real-world use cases include CI jobs and high-security edge deployments.
  • Parts list includes Compute Blade, CM5 modules, NVMe SSDs, and more.
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