How do you select GPUs for LLM training and inference, and what specs actually matter?
Picking GPUs is a real applied decision, and 'get the biggest one' misses the point. The signal is knowing which spec binds your workload (VRAM, bandwidth, interconnect) and the train-versus-serve difference that flips the answer.
Updated Aug 2026 · Grounded in real Applied AI Engineer interview loops and written to a senior-engineer editorial bar.
Picking GPUs is a real applied decision, and 'get the biggest one' misses the point. The signal is knowing which spec binds your workload (VRAM, bandwidth, interconnect) and the train-versus-serve difference that flips the answer.
Lead with where the obvious approach breaks, because that is the judgment they are screening for — most candidates jump straight to the happy path and lose the room.
Then walk the failure back through the pipeline in order, naming the one metric the customer's exec sponsor actually cares about before you propose the fix.