Specter TPS calculator

Open weights Allen Institute for AI,University of Washington 110M parameters May 2020

Each card below is assessed against this model at the context length and minimum quality you choose. Speed is an estimate for a single request, calculated from the card's memory bandwidth and the size of the model once compressed.

Calculated for this model

818 cards that can run it

818 cards we hold specifications for

Smallest card that fits

Tesla C1080

4 GB · Q8_0 · 335 tok/s

Fastest card

B200

30,802 tok/s · 180 GB

Which GPUs can run Specter?

Set the inputs, read the answer

Context length tokens

A longer conversation needs more memory, which can push this model off smaller cards.

Minimum quality

Hides cards that would only fit the model by compressing it below this point.

Search cards

Card memory

Also show cards that cannot run it

818 cards match

Calculating

					Needs	Quantisation	Fit
30,802 tok/s 18,481–49,283 · low confidence	B200 NVIDIA	180 GB	8,000 GB/s	Jan 2024	0.8 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
30,802 tok/s 18,481–49,283 · low confidence	B300 NVIDIA	288 GB	8,000 GB/s	Sep 2025	0.8 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
24,596 tok/s 14,758–39,354 · low confidence	Radeon Instinct MI350X AMD	288 GB	8,190 GB/s	Jan 2025	0.8 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
24,596 tok/s 14,758–39,354 · low confidence	Radeon Instinct MI355X AMD	288 GB	8,190 GB/s	Jan 2025	0.8 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
19,671 tok/s 11,803–31,474 · low confidence	Radeon Instinct MI300 AMD	128 GB	6,550 GB/s	Jan 2023	0.8 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
18,828 tok/s 11,297–30,124 · low confidence	H200 NVL NVIDIA	141 GB	4,890 GB/s	Nov 2024	0.8 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
18,828 tok/s 11,297–30,124 · low confidence	H200 SXM 141 GB NVIDIA	141 GB	4,890 GB/s	Nov 2024	0.8 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
18,019 tok/s 10,812–28,831 · low confidence	Radeon Instinct MI325X AMD	256 GB	6,000 GB/s	Oct 2024	0.8 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
15,992 tok/s 9,595–25,587 · low confidence	Radeon Instinct MI300A AMD	128 GB	5,325 GB/s	Dec 2023	0.8 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
15,992 tok/s 9,595–25,587 · low confidence	Radeon Instinct MI300X AMD	192 GB	5,325 GB/s	Dec 2023	0.8 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
15,992 tok/s 9,595–25,587 · low confidence	Radeon Instinct MI308X AMD	192 GB	5,325 GB/s	Dec 2023	0.8 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
15,170 tok/s 9,102–24,272 · low confidence	H100 NVL 94 GB NVIDIA	94 GB	3,940 GB/s	Mar 2023	0.8 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
12,937 tok/s 7,762–20,699 · low confidence	H100 PCIe 96 GB NVIDIA	96 GB	3,360 GB/s	Mar 2023	0.8 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
12,937 tok/s 7,762–20,699 · low confidence	H100 SXM5 80 GB NVIDIA	80 GB	3,360 GB/s	Oct 2022	0.8 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
12,937 tok/s 7,762–20,699 · low confidence	H100 SXM5 94 GB NVIDIA	94 GB	3,360 GB/s	Mar 2023	0.8 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
12,937 tok/s 7,762–20,699 · low confidence	H100 SXM5 96 GB NVIDIA	96 GB	3,360 GB/s	Mar 2023	0.8 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
12,937 tok/s 7,762–20,699 · low confidence	H800 SXM5 NVIDIA	80 GB	3,360 GB/s	Mar 2023	0.8 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
9,851 tok/s 5,910–15,761 · low confidence	Radeon Instinct MI250 AMD	128 GB	3,280 GB/s	Nov 2021	0.8 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
9,851 tok/s 5,910–15,761 · low confidence	Radeon Instinct MI250X AMD	128 GB	3,280 GB/s	Nov 2021	0.8 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
8,209 tok/s 4,925–13,134 · low confidence	Data Center GPU Max 1550 Intel	128 GB	3,280 GB/s	Jan 2023	0.8 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
8,034 tok/s 4,820–12,854 · low confidence	Data Center GPU Max Subsystem Intel	128 GB	3,210 GB/s	Jan 2023	0.8 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
7,855 tok/s 4,713–12,567 · low confidence	A100 SXM4 80 GB NVIDIA	80 GB	2,040 GB/s	Nov 2020	0.8 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
7,855 tok/s 4,713–12,567 · low confidence	A100X NVIDIA	80 GB	2,040 GB/s	Jun 2021	0.8 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
7,855 tok/s 4,713–12,567 · low confidence	A800 SXM4 80 GB NVIDIA	80 GB	2,040 GB/s	Aug 2022	0.8 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
7,855 tok/s 4,713–12,567 · low confidence	H100 CNX NVIDIA	80 GB	2,040 GB/s	Mar 2023	0.8 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable

Speeds are estimates for a single request — one conversation at a time — calculated from memory bandwidth, model size and quantisation. Real throughput varies with the inference runtime and its version. Figures published by hardware vendors measure many simultaneous requests and are much higher.

On record

Full specification

Everything on record for this model. Most of it describes how it was trained rather than how it runs — useful context for judging how much work went into it, and how it compares with models built at a different scale.

Origin

Who built this model, where, and when it was published.

Organisation: Allen Institute for AI,University of Washington
Organisation type: Research collective,Academia
Country: United States of America
Published: 20 May 2020
Authors: Arman Cohan, Sergey Feldman, Iz Beltagy, Doug Downey, Daniel S. Weld

What it does

The problem areas the model was built for. A model can carry several of each.

Domain: Language
Task: Document representation
Base model: SciBERT

Size

How large the model is and how much data it was trained on. Parameters are the figure that decides whether it fits on a given graphics card.

Parameters: 110M
Training data: tokens
Epochs: 2

Training compute

The arithmetic performed to train the model, measured in floating-point operations. It is a measure of what the training run cost, not of how fast the finished model answers you.

How it was established: Hardware,Operation counting
Fine-tuning compute: 3.1 × 10¹⁷ FLOP

The training run

What it physically took to train: which chips, how many, for how long, and what that drew from the wall.

Training hardware: NVIDIA Titan V
Chips used: 1
Wall-clock time: 84 hours
Power draw: 280 W

Availability

Whether you can obtain the model and run it on your own hardware, which is what decides if any of the graphics-card figures on this page apply.

Weights: Open — downloadable
Model access: Open weights (unrestricted)
Training code: Open source

How it is classified

Labels the source dataset applies when tracking notable models, and how confident it is in the entry.

Record confidence: Likely

Sources

Where this record came from and when it was last checked.

Reference: SPECTER: Document-level Representation Learning using Citation-informed Transformers
Last updated: 28 November 2025

The extremes

The ten fastest GPUs that run Specter

Ranked by estimated tokens per second, newest card first where speeds tie. Because generation is bound by memory bandwidth, this ordering follows bandwidth rather than any gaming benchmark.

The smallest GPUs that still run Specter

The cheapest route in, by memory capacity. A tight fit runs the model but leaves nothing spare for a longer conversation.

What the numbers mean

Hardware requirements in practice

Minimum card

Tesla C1080

Memory needed

0.8 GB

Fastest

30,802 tok/s

Specter reaches a parameter count of 110M. That is small enough that hardware is rarely the obstacle, including on cards several years old. The number of cards we track that can run it: 818.

The entry point is Tesla C1080, with a memory capacity of 4 GB, running it at a compression of Q8_0 and producing around 335 tokens per second.

The fastest we calculate for it is B200, generating roughly 30,802 tokens per second on the strength of a memory bandwidth of 8,000 GB/s.

Where it came from

Specter was published by Allen Institute for AI,University of Washington, in the country recorded as United States of America, during May 2020. The publishing organisation is categorised as research collective,Academia.

It works in the domain of Language, and is recorded as performing the task of document representation.

Rather than being trained from scratch, it is derived from SciBERT. That is why it shares the base model's general shape and size.

Because its weights were released, nothing about running it depends on a provider staying available — it is yours once downloaded.

Understanding the speeds

Half the cards that hold it manage more than 864.9 tokens per second. Exceeding reading speed outright: 818 of them.

It is a dense model, so every parameter is read for every token produced. That makes speed track memory bandwidth almost exactly — a card with twice the bandwidth generates roughly twice as fast.

Memory here is estimated from size rather than computed from the architecture, which is not recorded for this model — the numbers are indicative rather than exact.

Step by step

How to choose a GPU for Specter

The table above has already assessed every card we hold specifications for against this model. Getting to your answer takes six steps.

01

Check what it needs before anything else

Every card here has been checked against Specter, needing around 0.8 GB at a compression of Q8_0. Capacity is the gate — a card either holds it or it does not.
02

Set the context length you will work at

Longer conversations cost memory on top of what the weights need. Move the slider to your real working length before trusting any row for Specter.
03

Choose how far you will compress it

Compression is what makes a model fit smaller cards, at some cost in accuracy, reaching a compression of Q8_0 on the smallest card that fits. Setting a minimum quality drops the cards that only manage it by squeezing further than you would want, and holds the comparison at one level.
04

Rank by throughput rather than spec sheet

The speed ordering is effectively an ordering by memory bandwidth, for Specter. It will not match a gaming ordering, because generation is bound by memory bandwidth. The card topping the list is B200, at 30,802 tok/s.
05

Check the fit verdict before buying

The fit column separates cards that just manage it from those with room to spare, in the case of Specter. Comfortable means you can grow the context later. That difference matters more than a few tokens per second, so buy for comfortable if you expect to.
06

Open the card you have settled on

Every card name links to its own page, which runs the same calculation across the whole model catalogue. A card is usually bought for more than one model, so it is worth a look before buying for Specter.

Answers

Specter — common questions

Specter— who created it?

It was published by Allen Institute for AI,University of Washington, based in United States of America, an organisation categorised as research collective,Academia.

Specter— when was it released?

It was published in May 2020. Capability per parameter has improved considerably since, so a newer model of the same size is often the better use of the same hardware.

Specter— what is it used for?

It works in the domain of Language, and is recorded as handling the task of document representation. A model can carry several of each, so these are the areas it was built for rather than a limit on what it will attempt.

Specter— where can I download it?

The weights are published, though we do not hold a repository link for it. This site calculates hardware requirements rather than hosting model files.

Specter— can I run it if it does not fit in my GPU?

Only by offloading, which is usually a false economy: the part held in system memory drags the whole thing down. Every figure here assumes the whole model is resident on the card.

Specter— would two GPUs run it faster?

Capacity adds across cards; throughput does not. The number of cards already holding it on their own: 818. So a second card is rarely the answer here.

Specter— why does the quantisation differ between cards?

Each card is shown running the least-compressed copy it can hold. The number of distinct compression levels across the cards that fit it: 1. Bigger cards get the more accurate version, and the quality floor above pins the comparison to one level.

Specter— how accurate are these speed estimates?

Every figure is derived from memory bandwidth and model size, not benchmarked, which is why each is published as a range rather than a single number. One example: 18,481–49,283 tok/s on B200. The same model and card vary by thirty to fifty per cent depending on the inference software and its version.

Specter— what GPU do I need to run it?

The smallest card in our catalogue that holds it is Tesla C1080, with a memory capacity of 4 GB. It runs the model at a compression of Q8_0 using about 0.8 GB, and produces roughly 335 tokens per second. The number of cards able to run it in total: 818.

Specter— how fast is it on a GPU?

It depends on the card. The quickest we calculate is B200, at about 30,802 tokens per second; the slowest that still runs it manages considerably less. Reading speed is around ten tokens per second, and the number of cards clearing that: 818.

Specter— how much VRAM does it need?

It needs about 0.8 GB at a compression of Q8_0, which is what the smallest card that runs it uses. Less compression needs more: the figures in the memory column above are recalculated for each card, because each one holds the least-compressed version it can.

Specter— can I run it on a GPU holding 8 GB?

Yes. The card CMP 170HX 8 GB, holding 8 GB, runs it at a compression of Q8_0, using about 0.8 GB and generating roughly 5,737 tokens per second. The fit is comfortable.

Specter— can I run it on a GPU holding 12 GB?

Yes. The card GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, holding 12 GB, runs it at a compression of Q8_0, using about 0.8 GB and generating roughly 3,513 tokens per second. The fit is comfortable.

Specter— can I run it on a GPU holding 16 GB?

Yes. The card Tesla V100 SXM2 16 GB, holding 16 GB, runs it at a compression of Q8_0, using about 0.8 GB and generating roughly 4,351 tokens per second. The fit is comfortable.

Specter— can I run it on a GPU holding 24 GB?

Yes. The card GeForce RTX 5090 D V2, holding 24 GB, runs it at a compression of Q8_0, using about 0.8 GB and generating roughly 5,159 tokens per second. The fit is comfortable.

Specter— is it open source?

Its weights are published, so it can be downloaded and run on your own hardware. Note that open weights is not the same as open source in the full sense — it says nothing about the training data, the training code, or the commercial terms attached.

Specter— how many parameters does it have?

It has a parameter count of 110M. "We initialize the model from SciBERT pretrained weights (Beltagy et al., 2019) since it is the stateof-the-art pretrained language model on scientific text" SciBERT has 110M parameters. That figure is the total, and it is what decides how much memory the model needs — roughly half a gigabyte per billion at the compression most people use.

Source

Original publication

Record last updated 28 November 2025

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