How BuildSmith Ranks GPUs: VRAM First, Then TOPS, Then Price
BuildSmith ranks GPUs the way builders actually choose them, in a strict order: VRAM first, because a model that does not fit does not run. Published TOPS second, as a rough speed signal where the maker provides one. List price third, to break ties inside a memory tier. Everything else, brand, cooler, size, is a filter you apply, not a score we invent.
The order is deliberate and a little unfashionable. Benchmark charts rank by speed, which is the right question for gaming and the wrong first question for local AI, where the pass or fail line is memory. Inside the tier that fits your model, speed matters again, and there the app is frank about the data: many cards publish no comparable TOPS figure, and the ranking shows the gap rather than estimating one.
The ranking logic, visible: top consumer cards by VRAM
| GPU | VRAM (rank 1) | AI TOPS (rank 2) | US list price (rank 3) |
|---|---|---|---|
| AMD Instinct MI350X | 288 GB | Not published | $39,999 |
| AMD Instinct MI355X | 288 GB | Not published | $42,999 |
| NVIDIA B300 SXM | 288 GB | Not published | $69,999 |
| NVIDIA GB300 NVL72 | 288 GB | Not published | $3,750,000 |
| AMD Instinct MI325X | 256 GB | Not published | $34,999 |
| AMD Instinct MI300X | 192 GB | Not published | $29,999 |
| NVIDIA B200 SXM | 192 GB | Not published | $54,999 |
| NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 | 192 GB | Not published | $3,000,000 |
| NVIDIA H200 NVL | 141 GB | Not published | $39,999 |
| NVIDIA H200 SXM | 141 GB | Not published | $42,999 |
Two more rules keep the ranking honest. Cards sold only on quote never outrank a priced card on a guessed number; they list in their memory tier with the price shown as quote only. And when street prices drift far from list, as RTX 50 cards have this year, the app keeps the labeled list price and links the stores, instead of scraping a number it cannot stand behind.
Where do benchmarks fit, then? Inside the tier, as a tie breaker with a warning label. Once the app knows a card fits your model, it will happily sort the survivors by published TOPS or the speed figures makers provide, and it shows which cards in the tier publish no figure at all. What it will not do is let a faster 16 GB card outrank a slower 24 GB card for a model that needs 20 GB, because that ranking error is the one that empties wallets while looking like rigor.
The same ladder, fully filterable, is the GPU page. BuildSmith is in development; waitlist on the homepage.