GPU MODELS / ALTERNATIVES TO H20
Alternatives to the H20
The H20 is the China-market Hopper: full 96 GB of HBM3 and 4.0 TB/s of memory bandwidth, but tensor compute capped at 148 TFLOPS of FP16 - a fraction of the H100's. That inversion flips the usual trade: per dollar of compute it is weak, but per gigabyte of memory it is one of the cheapest ways to hold a large model. It exists because export rules limit compute, not memory, and the market prices it accordingly.
People usually compare the H20 against H100 SXM, H800. Prices below are live on-demand published rates from the panel.
LOADING LIVE DATA...
| Alternative | Memory | Bandwidth | Cheapest live rate | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| H100 SXM | 80 GB HBM3 | 3.35 TB/s | - | H20 vs H100 SXM |
| H800 | 80 GB HBM3 | 3.35 TB/s | - | H20 vs H800 |
WHEN EACH ALTERNATIVE WINS
H100 SXM
Same Hopper die family and similar memory system (96 GB vs 80 GB, 4.0 vs 3.35 TB/s), but the H20's FP16 tensor throughput is about 7% of the H100's. For inference holding a big model, compare the panel prices; for training, there is no comparison.
H800
The H800 is the earlier export-compliant Hopper: far more compute (about 10x the H20's FP16) but 80 GB and lower interconnect. For training under the rules, the H800 wins; for pure inference-per-dollar, the H20's newer memory system competes.
H20 ALTERNATIVES - FAQ
What is the best alternative to the H20?
It depends on the workload. H100 SXM: The H100 SXM is the chip the current generation of frontier models was trained on, and the benchmark every other datacenter GPU is priced against. H800: The H800 was the first export-compliant Hopper for the China market: near-H100 tensor throughput but NVLink cut from 900 to 400 GB/s and FP64 essentially removed. Live rates for each are in the table above.
Why look for H20 alternatives?
Compute-bound training: the FP16 cap is the entire point of the SKU. Buy H100-class silicon where rules allow.
How much does the H20 cost compared to its alternatives?
Each alternative's current cheapest published rate is listed in the table above; figures recompute hourly from provider-published prices.