Phase 0 — buying list (first of 3 servers + shared site kit)¶
Aligns with: BUSINESS-PLAN.md §6 — Phase 0 is used A100 80GB PCIe or used A100 40GB PCIe (validated bands €14k–24k vs €8k–14k per GPU [R18]). Pick SKU after parallel quotes.
Snapshot date: 2026-04-03 (links re-check before order).
Warranty — yes, treat it as mandatory for Phase 0¶
| Requirement | Why |
|---|---|
| Written warranty (target ≥12 months, 24 months better) | Caps downside if a card fails after burn-in; supports Elektronikversicherung and resale narrative. |
| Test report / “full working order” on invoice | Proves due diligence if you claim on insurance or dispute a dead-on-arrival unit. |
| B2B seller with VAT invoice (DE/EU) | Cleaner Vorsteuer and Gewährleistung than private eBay “as seen”. |
| Return / DOA window (e.g. 14–30 days) | Negotiate explicitly for four matching cards. |
Consumer-style “as is” without recourse is not worth the discount for a €40k+ GPU bundle.
Validation rule (prices)¶
| SKU | Plan band (used, EU) | PDP anchor |
|---|---|---|
| A100 80GB PCIe | €14,000–24,000 / card | Lower end is not a guaranteed shelf price every day — it is the validated band in the business plan; you still need live quotes. |
| A100 40GB PCIe | €8,000–14,000 / card | Often where ~€12k offers sit; confirm 80GB vs 40GB P/N before paying. |
| New 80GB retail | ~€30.5k net / ~€36.3k gross (DE IT) | Ceiling only — not Phase 0 economics. |
A — GPUs (4× same SKU: passive A100 PCIe)¶
| # | Spec | Qty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | A100 80GB or A100 40GB PCIe 4.0 x16, passive, matching P/N where possible | 4 | Same VRAM tier; firmware close; warranty per section above |
A100 80GB — product / quote pages¶
| Vendor | Link | Snapshot note (2026-04-03) |
|---|---|---|
| ITinstock (UK) | A100 80GB PCIe — used, tested | £14,250 ex VAT (~€16.5k ex VAT at ~1.17 GBP/EUR — FX moves); 2 year warranty, tested, used. Strong example of lower-quartile used 80GB with long warranty — confirm EU shipping, import VAT, and 4-unit stock. |
| IT-Markt (DE) — reference | 900-21001-0020-100 | €36,295 gross new — ceiling; ask for refurb/used or “Preis vorschlagen”. |
| Geizhals | Search A100 80GB | Price discovery across DE/AT shops. |
| Evernex (EU) | A100 80GB PCIe product | Historically quoted ~€19.5k ex VAT refurb + warranty (verify live; site may geo-block). |
| Exit Technologies | See exIT (below) — not a web shop | ITAD broker; no cart — email RFQ only. |
| Renewtech (DE) | A100 80GB PCIe SKU | DE refurb channel; price on request. |
exIT Technologies — why you only see “sell”¶
exIT is an IT asset disposal (ITAD) company. The site is built around companies selling them surplus gear; buying from them is B2B quote-only — there is no product catalog with a checkout.
How to request a purchase (buy) quote
- Email: sales@exittechnologies.com — say explicitly you want to buy (not sell), e.g. “RFQ: 4× NVIDIA A100 80GB PCIe passive, delivery to Germany, warranty, lead time, price.”
- Or use the contact form: DE — Kontakt · EN — Contact. The German page title sounds like sell only; the same sales channel handles purchase inquiries — label your message Einkauf / purchase.
- Marketing pages (explain offer + link to contact): DE — A100 80GB · EN — A100 80GB.
They often move stock in 8-GPU or full server lots; ask for 4× loose PCIe and any MOQ. (Site FAQ: minimum buy order about $1k+ in used IT — confirm for GPUs.)
About “€14k”: The business plan’s €14k mark is the bottom of the used 80GB band [R18]. A documented listing near that tier (with warranty) in this snapshot is £14.25k ex VAT from ITinstock — not exactly €14k in euros, but same ballpark once you add VAT, shipping, and FX. Anything materially below €14k per card: extra scrutiny (condition, warranty, scam risk).
A100 40GB — product / quote pages¶
| Vendor | Link | Snapshot note |
|---|---|---|
| Idealo / shops | PNY A100 40GB offers | Mix of new and B-Ware — read condition; new often ~€11k–14k. |
| smicro.eu (example) | A100 40GB PCIe | Example EU SKU page — verify used/refurb and warranty. |
| Geizhals | Search A100 40GB | Cross-shop comparison. |
Procurement actions (GPUs)¶
- RFQ in parallel: 4× used 80GB and 4× used 40GB with same warranty class (min. 12 mo, prefer 24 mo).
- Demand four matched passive PCIe cards (VBIOS/firmware as close as possible).
- Optional: refresh Vast offer stats before final pricing —
tooling/marketplace/vast_gpu_price_snapshot.py(internal); align list €/hr with archive analysis 011. - Success: all-in GPU spend fits chosen §6 path + insurance still ≤ plan CAPEX envelope.
B — Server platform (4× double-slot GPUs)¶
| # | Component | Target spec | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| B1 | Chassis | Dell R750xa or Supermicro 4124GS / 420GP | Redundant PSU, iDRAC Enterprise / IPMI |
| B2 | CPU | 2× Xeon Scalable 3rd gen or EPYC 7002/7003 | Enough PCIe lanes (gpu-server-ops) |
| B3 | RAM | 256–512 GB ECC DDR4 | ≥64 GB/GPU guideline |
| B4 | Storage | 2× 2 TB NVMe RAID1 | Scratch / DLPerf |
| B5 | NIC | 10 GbE+ | Static IP at site |
| B6 | PSU | 2× ~2000 W redundant | ~1.8 kW+ peak with 4× A100 |
| Vendor | Link | Snapshot note (2026-04-03) |
|---|---|---|
| Bargain Hardware | R750xa CTO | Configure CPUs/RAM/NVMe; €6.1k shell seen — stock varies |
| Dell (spec only) | R750xa DE | New = budget breaker; datasheet only |
C — Rack / site install (size for 3-server end state)¶
| # | Item | Typical € (ex VAT) | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| C1 | 18U–24U rack / cabinet | 500–1,200 | Depth ≥1000 mm, load class for 3 full servers |
| C2 | 2× metered rack PDU (32A, 230V) | 1,200–1,800 | Capacity for eventual 3-server rack, not only server #1 |
| C3 | Rails / shelf / blanking / cable mgmt | 250–600 | One-time site kit |
| C4 | Electrician + kWh sub-meter + SPD share | 1,200–2,400 | Site prep and protection |
D — Networking / control plane (one-time shared)¶
| Item | Typical € (ex VAT) | Link / note |
|---|---|---|
| Router / firewall (e.g. MikroTik RB5009 class) | 200–350 | Separate VLAN for OOB management recommended |
| 10 GbE switch (e.g. CRS312 class) | 600–1,000 | Sized for 3 servers + uplink headroom |
| Optics / DAC / patch set | 150–350 | Include spare cables and transceivers |
| UPS for network + management only (1.5–2.2 kVA) | 500–1,200 | Keeps control plane alive for graceful shutdown |
| Internet CPE + activation (e.g. Starlink Business) | 300–700 | starlink.com/business — DE pricing at checkout |
E — Metering¶
- kWh sub-meter on agreed BtM take-off — electrician + partner sign-off.
F — Ops stack¶
- Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, NVIDIA driver, Docker, NVIDIA Container Toolkit, Vast host — gpu-server-ops/SKILL.md.
Roll-up (illustrative)¶
| Path | GPU line (indicative) | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| 4× used 80GB @ £14.25k ex VAT | ~€66k+ ex VAT + import/VAT rules | ITinstock snapshot; re-quote. |
| 4× used 80GB @ €18k | €72k | Mid-band. |
| 4× used 40GB @ €11k | €44k | Lower CAPEX; lower typical €/hr — model in §9.1 |
Phase 0A — first-server tranche (buy shared infra upfront)¶
This tranche assumes you buy one 4-GPU server now, but size the site kit for the full 3-server / 12-GPU end state.
| Line | € (ex VAT, planning) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4× A100 80GB used | 66,000 | Base-case SKU path from plan |
| 1× configured 4-GPU server | 8,000 | CPUs, RAM, NVMe, NIC, redundant PSU |
| Rack + dual metered PDUs + cable mgmt | 3,500 | 18U–24U rack, 2× 32A PDUs, install accessories |
| Networking + control UPS + CPE/activation | 2,000 | Router, 10GbE switch, optics/cables, network UPS |
| Electrical prep + sub-meter + SPD share | 1,500 | Electrician/site prep contribution |
| Contingency | 3,000 | Slippage, DOA swaps, travel, small parts |
| Depreciable subtotal (Phase 0A) | 84,000 | First-server tranche with shared site kit |
| German VAT 19% on CAPEX | ~15,960 | If fully VAT-creditable invoices |
| UG formation + register/notary | ~800 | Expensed |
| Peak cash to launch with server #1 | ~100,760 | Round planning figure: ~€101k |
40GB alternative (same shared-infra posture):
4× €11k GPUs + €8k server + €7k shared site kit + €3k contingency = €62k net CAPEX → VAT ~€11.8k → + UG ~€0.8k → ~€74.6k peak cash.
Insurance: ~3% of insured hardware value/year — include serial numbers and invoices.
Next step: Replace plan CAPEX with sum of accepted quotes; keep warranty PDFs in the data room.