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add $5K decision section — 2× M1 Ultra 128GB is the pick
382ee1458ed71442e8798a6bdc24496c133b8d85 · 2026-05-12 12:38:49 -0700 · Steve
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commit 382ee1458ed71442e8798a6bdc24496c133b8d85
Author: Steve <steve@designerwallcoverings.com>
Date: Tue May 12 12:38:49 2026 -0700
add $5K decision section — 2× M1 Ultra 128GB is the pick
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<div class="src" style="margin-top:10px">⚠️ Both internal SSDs are critically full (89% / 94%). New box would relieve pressure regardless of which you pick.</div>
</section>
+<section>
+ <h2 class="section-title">$5 K budget — locked top picks</h2>
+
+ <div class="rec">
+ <h3><span class="num">①</span> 2× Techable M1 Ultra 128 GB / 2 TB → $4,998 <span class="pill pick">THE PICK</span></h3>
+ <p><strong>The right answer for scale-out architecture.</strong> 256 GB aggregate RAM, 1,600 GB/s aggregate memory bandwidth, true parallelism across 2 new nodes. Combined with Mac1 + Mac2 that's <strong>320 GB across 4 nodes</strong>. Each new node hosts its own Ollama instance — no time-slicing, failure isolation, drop-in to the existing tailnet. 2-year reseller warranty on each unit.</p>
+ </div>
+
+ <div class="rec" style="border-left-color: var(--accent)">
+ <h3 style="color: var(--accent)"><span class="num">②</span> 1× M1 Ultra 128 GB at Techable → $2,499 <span class="pill">MINIMUM VIABLE</span></h3>
+ <p><strong>Half the spend, pocket $2,500.</strong> 128 GB on a single new node — same per-node spec as Pick ①. See how it slots in for a month, buy the second unit later if it earns its keep. Lowest-risk path into the upgrade.</p>
+ </div>
+
+ <div class="rec" style="border-left-color: var(--good)">
+ <h3 style="color: var(--good)"><span class="num">③</span> 1× M2 Ultra 192 GB (Swappa, used) → ~$4,939 <span class="pill">SINGLE-BOX</span></h3>
+ <p><strong>If you'd rather have one bigger box than two matched ones.</strong> 192 GB unified is the largest single-machine pool at this budget. M2 Ultra is one generation newer than M1 Ultra. Loses to Pick ① on aggregate bandwidth, true parallelism, and failure isolation — but wins if you specifically want a single 192 GB model to fit on one node.</p>
+ </div>
+
+ <div class="legend" style="margin-top: 18px">
+ <span><strong>Skip-list at this budget:</strong></span>
+ <span>· DGX Spark (lower per-stream BW than Mac, CUDA software bet only)</span>
+ <span>· RTX 5090 single-card build (only 32 GB VRAM)</span>
+ <span>· M4 Max refurb 128 GB at $3,139 (M1 Ultra 128 GB is $640 cheaper for same RAM)</span>
+ </div>
+</section>
+
<section>
<h2 class="section-title">$2 K tier — sub-$2,500 finds (May 2026, verified)</h2>
<div class="legend">
← 253204e add $2K-tier finds — Techable M1 Ultra 128GB $2499 is the pi
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