Prithvi WxC TPS calculator

Open weights IBM Research,University of Alabama,Stanford University,Colorado State University,Oak Ridge National Laboratory,NASA 2.3B parameters September 2024

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 · 16.0 tok/s

Fastest card

B200

1,473 tok/s · 180 GB

Which GPUs can run Prithvi WxC?

Set the inputs, read the answer

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

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

818 cards match

Calculating
Needs Quantisation Fit
1,473 tok/s

884–2,357 · low confidence

B200 NVIDIA 180 GB 8,000 GB/s Jan 2024 3.2 GB Q8_0 Comfortable
1,473 tok/s

884–2,357 · low confidence

B300 NVIDIA 288 GB 8,000 GB/s Sep 2025 3.2 GB Q8_0 Comfortable
1,176 tok/s

706–1,882 · low confidence

Radeon Instinct MI350X AMD 288 GB 8,190 GB/s Jan 2025 3.2 GB Q8_0 Comfortable
1,176 tok/s

706–1,882 · low confidence

Radeon Instinct MI355X AMD 288 GB 8,190 GB/s Jan 2025 3.2 GB Q8_0 Comfortable
941 tok/s

564–1,505 · low confidence

Radeon Instinct MI300 AMD 128 GB 6,550 GB/s Jan 2023 3.2 GB Q8_0 Comfortable
900 tok/s

540–1,441 · low confidence

H200 NVL NVIDIA 141 GB 4,890 GB/s Nov 2024 3.2 GB Q8_0 Comfortable
900 tok/s

540–1,441 · low confidence

H200 SXM 141 GB NVIDIA 141 GB 4,890 GB/s Nov 2024 3.2 GB Q8_0 Comfortable
862 tok/s

517–1,379 · low confidence

Radeon Instinct MI325X AMD 256 GB 6,000 GB/s Oct 2024 3.2 GB Q8_0 Comfortable
765 tok/s

459–1,224 · low confidence

Radeon Instinct MI300A AMD 128 GB 5,325 GB/s Dec 2023 3.2 GB Q8_0 Comfortable
765 tok/s

459–1,224 · low confidence

Radeon Instinct MI300X AMD 192 GB 5,325 GB/s Dec 2023 3.2 GB Q8_0 Comfortable
765 tok/s

459–1,224 · low confidence

Radeon Instinct MI308X AMD 192 GB 5,325 GB/s Dec 2023 3.2 GB Q8_0 Comfortable
726 tok/s

435–1,161 · low confidence

H100 NVL 94 GB NVIDIA 94 GB 3,940 GB/s Mar 2023 3.2 GB Q8_0 Comfortable
619 tok/s

371–990 · low confidence

H100 PCIe 96 GB NVIDIA 96 GB 3,360 GB/s Mar 2023 3.2 GB Q8_0 Comfortable
619 tok/s

371–990 · low confidence

H100 SXM5 80 GB NVIDIA 80 GB 3,360 GB/s Oct 2022 3.2 GB Q8_0 Comfortable
619 tok/s

371–990 · low confidence

H100 SXM5 94 GB NVIDIA 94 GB 3,360 GB/s Mar 2023 3.2 GB Q8_0 Comfortable
619 tok/s

371–990 · low confidence

H100 SXM5 96 GB NVIDIA 96 GB 3,360 GB/s Mar 2023 3.2 GB Q8_0 Comfortable
619 tok/s

371–990 · low confidence

H800 SXM5 NVIDIA 80 GB 3,360 GB/s Mar 2023 3.2 GB Q8_0 Comfortable
471 tok/s

283–754 · low confidence

Radeon Instinct MI250 AMD 128 GB 3,280 GB/s Nov 2021 3.2 GB Q8_0 Comfortable
471 tok/s

283–754 · low confidence

Radeon Instinct MI250X AMD 128 GB 3,280 GB/s Nov 2021 3.2 GB Q8_0 Comfortable
393 tok/s

236–628 · low confidence

Data Center GPU Max 1550 Intel 128 GB 3,280 GB/s Jan 2023 3.2 GB Q8_0 Comfortable
384 tok/s

231–615 · low confidence

Data Center GPU Max Subsystem Intel 128 GB 3,210 GB/s Jan 2023 3.2 GB Q8_0 Comfortable
376 tok/s

225–601 · low confidence

A100 SXM4 80 GB NVIDIA 80 GB 2,040 GB/s Nov 2020 3.2 GB Q8_0 Comfortable
376 tok/s

225–601 · low confidence

A100X NVIDIA 80 GB 2,040 GB/s Jun 2021 3.2 GB Q8_0 Comfortable
376 tok/s

225–601 · low confidence

A800 SXM4 80 GB NVIDIA 80 GB 2,040 GB/s Aug 2022 3.2 GB Q8_0 Comfortable
376 tok/s

225–601 · low confidence

H100 CNX NVIDIA 80 GB 2,040 GB/s Mar 2023 3.2 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
IBM Research,University of Alabama,Stanford University,Colorado State University,Oak Ridge National Laboratory,NASA
Organisation type
Industry,Academia,Academia,Academia,Government,Government
Country
United States of America
Published
20 September 2024
Authors
Johannes Schmude, Sujit Roy, Will Trojak, Johannes Jakubik, Daniel Salles Civitarese, Shraddha Singh, Julian Kuehnert, Kumar Ankur, Aman Gupta, Christopher E Phillips, Romeo Kienzler, Daniela Szwarcman, Vishal Gaur, Rajat Shinde, Rohit Lal, Arlindo Da Silva, Jorge Luis Guevara Diaz, Anne Jones, Simon Pfreundschuh, Amy Lin, Aditi Sheshadri, Udaysankar Nair, Valentine Anantharaj, Hendrik Hamann, Cam…

What it does

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

Domain
Earth science
Task
Weather forecasting

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
2.3B

a 2.3 billion parameter foundation model developed using 160 variables from the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2).

Training data
tokens

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.

Training compute
7.2 × 10¹⁹ FLOP

"we train the model on 64 A100 GPUs and batch size 1 for 100,000 gradient descent steps" "With these choices we are dealing with 51,840 tokens per sample yet are keeping the length of the global and local sequence roughly balanced" Total number of tokens: 100000*51840=5184000000 Training compute: 6*5184000000*2300000000=7.15392e+19

How it was established
Operation counting

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 A100
Chips used
64
Power draw
50.4 kW

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
Unreleased

Community Data License Agreement Permissive 2.0 https://huggingface.co/ibm-nasa-geospatial/Prithvi-WxC-1.0-2300M MIT license for inference code: https://github.com/NASA-IMPACT/Prithvi-WxC

Hugging Face
ibm-nasa-geospatial

How it is classified

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

Record confidence
Confident
Citations
38

Sources

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

Reference
Prithvi WxC: Foundation Model for Weather and Climate
Last updated
25 May 2026

The extremes

What the numbers mean

Hardware requirements in practice

Minimum card

Tesla C1080

Memory needed

3.2 GB

Fastest

1,473 tok/s

Prithvi WxC reaches a parameter count of 2.3B. 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 16.0 tokens per second.

At the other end sits B200, generating roughly 1,473 tokens per second on the strength of a memory bandwidth of 8,000 GB/s.

What this model is

Prithvi WxC was published by IBM Research,University of Alabama,Stanford University,Colorado State University,Oak Ridge National Laboratory,NASA, in the country recorded as United States of America, during September 2024. The publishing organisation is categorised as industry,Academia,Academia,Academia,Government,Government.

It works in the domain of Earth science, and is recorded as performing the task of weather forecasting.

The weights being open is what puts this page in the calculator rather than only in the catalogue: it is a model you can actually hold. On Hugging Face it is published under the organisation ibm-nasa-geospatial.

What decides the speed

Half the cards that hold it manage more than 41.4 tokens per second. Producing text faster than most people read it: 785 of them.

Every weight participates in every token here, so bandwidth is the whole story: the ranking below is effectively a ranking of memory throughput.

Its internal architecture is not on file, so memory is approximated from the parameter count and marked accordingly. Expect the real figure to differ, more so at long context.

How it was trained

The training run consumed about 7.2 × 10¹⁹ FLOP, on hardware recorded as NVIDIA A100. That figure measures what producing the model cost, and has no bearing on how fast it answers.

Step by step

How to choose a GPU for Prithvi WxC

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

  1. 01

    Read the memory figure first

    Start from what it actually needs, which is the requirement of Prithvi WxC, needing around 3.2 GB at a compression of Q8_0. That figure, not the headline performance of a card, is what decides whether it runs.

  2. 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 Prithvi WxC.

  3. 03

    Decide how much compression you will accept

    The quantisation column varies by card, because a bigger card holds a more accurate copy, 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.

  4. 04

    Rank by throughput rather than spec sheet

    Sort by speed to see how cards rank for Prithvi WxC. It will not match a gaming ordering, because generation is bound by memory bandwidth. The card topping the list is B200, at 1,473 tok/s.

  5. 05

    Check the fit verdict before buying

    Tight means it loads and works with no room to raise the context later, in the case of Prithvi WxC. 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.

  6. 06

    Check the card from the other side

    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 Prithvi WxC.

Answers

Prithvi WxC — common questions

01

Prithvi WxC— who created it?

It was published by IBM Research,University of Alabama,Stanford University,Colorado State University,Oak Ridge National Laboratory,NASA, based in United States of America, an organisation categorised as industry,Academia,Academia,Academia,Government,Government.

02

Prithvi WxC— when was it released?

It was published in September 2024. Capability per parameter has improved considerably since, so a newer model of the same size is often the better use of the same hardware.

03

Prithvi WxC— what is it used for?

It works in the domain of Earth science, and is recorded as handling the task of weather forecasting. Models frequently carry more than one of each, and the tags describe purpose rather than capability limits.

04

Prithvi WxC— where can I download it?

Its weights are published on Hugging Face, under the organisation ibm-nasa-geospatial. We do not host model files — this site calculates what hardware is needed to run them.

05

Prithvi WxC— how much compute was used to train it?

Training consumed around 7.2 × 10¹⁹ FLOP, on hardware recorded as NVIDIA A100. That measures what producing the model cost and says nothing about how quickly it answers once trained — inference speed comes from memory bandwidth, not from the training budget.

06

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

Partly. Layers that do not fit sit in system memory and run at a fraction of the speed, so a mostly-offloaded model is rarely worth using. Every figure here assumes the whole model is resident on the card.

07

Prithvi WxC— would two GPUs run it faster?

Two cards buy memory rather than speed, which matters only if one card cannot hold it. The number that can: 818. So a second card is rarely the answer here.

08

Prithvi WxC— 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.

09

Prithvi WxC— 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: 884–2,357 tok/s on B200. The same model and card vary by thirty to fifty per cent depending on the inference software and its version.

10

Prithvi WxC— 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 3.2 GB, and produces roughly 16.0 tokens per second. The number of cards able to run it in total: 818.

11

Prithvi WxC— how fast is it on a GPU?

It depends on the card. The quickest we calculate is B200, at about 1,473 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: 785.

12

Prithvi WxC— how much VRAM does it need?

It needs about 3.2 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.

13

Prithvi WxC— 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 3.2 GB and generating roughly 274 tokens per second. The fit is comfortable.

14

Prithvi WxC— 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 3.2 GB and generating roughly 168 tokens per second. The fit is comfortable.

15

Prithvi WxC— 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 3.2 GB and generating roughly 208 tokens per second. The fit is comfortable.

16

Prithvi WxC— 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 3.2 GB and generating roughly 247 tokens per second. The fit is comfortable.

17

Prithvi WxC— 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.

18

Prithvi WxC— how many parameters does it have?

It has a parameter count of 2.3B. a 2.3 billion parameter foundation model developed using 160 variables from the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2). 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 25 May 2026

The other direction

Looking at it from the other side?

This page starts from the model. If you already own a card and want to know everything it will run, start from the hardware instead.