Tesla P100 16GB for local LLMs: what it runs, what it costs
The Tesla P100 16GB is a 2016 datacenter card that now sells for less than a used gaming GPU. Its HBM2 memory (732 GB/s) is fast enough that one card, with part of a mixture-of-experts model kept in system RAM, runs a 35B model at reading speed.
As of October 3, 2026, one in ten of the 165 single-card Tesla P100 16GB PCIe listings on eBay priced at 50% or more of the median asks $129 or less shipped. The median ask is $197 across all 168. A user on r/LocalLLaMA reports Qwen3.6-35B-A3B generating 54–60 tok/s of prose (66–72 for code) on one card, with part of the model in system RAM.
What it runs: published benchmarks
| Model and engine | Setup and workload | Result | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qwen3.6-35B-A3B (UD_Q4_K_XL GGUF) llama.cpp fork with shinbunbun's patches | 1 card; 22 layers of MoE experts in system RAM (--n-cpu-moe 22) MTP speculative decoding on | 54–60 tok/s generation (prose); 66–72 (code) Prefill about 600 tok/s at an empty context, 440–500 by 10K tokens. The poster paid about $95 for the card. | u/Mrinohk on r/LocalLLaMA Community seen Sep 27, 2026 |
Community: posted by a user; not reproduced by rackbites. rackbites hasn't measured this configuration yet. Every figure is the source's own, on its stated setup; a different engine version, driver or workload gives a different number.
Before you buy
- Passively cooled: it needs server airflow through its heatsink, or an added blower shroud in a desktop.
- Power comes through one 8-pin EPS-12V (CPU-style) connector, not a PCIe 8-pin. Use the right adapter.
- The host needs Above 4G Decoding enabled in its firmware.
- The model doesn't fit in 16GB: the run keeps part of the MoE experts in system RAM, so the host's RAM capacity and speed matter.
- Drivers: NVIDIA's R580 branch is the last to support Pascal, and CUDA 13 dropped it. Stay on CUDA 12.x.
Cheapest live Tesla P100 16GB listings as of October 3, 2026
eBay affiliate disclosure: The listing links below lead to eBay. rackbites may earn a commission if you make a purchase.
Not shown: 3 of the 168 listings ask under 50% of the median. Prices that far below the market are often scams or mislabeled listings. They count toward the listing total and the median, not the low end.
PCIe cards only: SXM2 modules need an SXM2 board. “+ build” starts a build sheet with that card. More on the card: Tesla P100 16GB price page. See all proven builds.