It&#x27;s about how much machine  learning you&#x27;re currently doing and how much you expect to spend.<p>E.g. if you play around for a little bit, you could end up spending $50 on the cloud. By contrast, a card will set you back $350+.<p>If you&#x27;re doing lots of machine learning, the cloud will quickly rack up.<p>There&#x27;s other factors. E.g. the cloud&#x27;s performance can vary depending on the time of day (and whose using the application).<p>Don&#x27;t buy a graphics card unless you&#x27;re certain you&#x27;re going to do lots of ML. Or buy one if you think that&#x27;ll motivate you to do justify the purchase by doing lots of ML.