Comment by filchermcurr

> Not to mention, running a giant model locally for hours a day is sure to shorten the lifespan of the machine…

That is not a thing. Unless there's something wrong (badly managed thermals, an undersized PSU at the limit of its capacity, dusty unfiltered air clogging fans, aggressive overclocking), that's what your computer is built for.

Sure, over a couple of decades there's more electromigration than would otherwise have happened at idle temps. But that's pretty much it.

> I think I would need to spend $2000+ to run a decent model locally

Not really. Repurpose second hand parts and you can do it for 1/4 of that cost. It can also be a server and do other things when you aren't running models.

The computer is a general purpose tool, though. You can play games, edit video and images, and self-host a movie/TV collection with real time transcoding with the same hardware. Many people have powerful PCs for playing games and running professional creative software already.

There's no reason running a model would shorten a machine's lifespan. PSUs, CPUs, motherboards, GPUs and RAM will all be long obsolete before they wear out even under full load. At worst you might have to swap thermal paste/pads a couple of years sooner. (A tube of paste is like, ten bucks.)

$2000 for a new machine is only a little over a year in AI costs for OP