A website named GPU Purses is currently selling a luxury product named the GT730 purse with fan, for $1,024 (h/t VideoCardz). This clear plastic purse with gold trimmings features an old Nvidia GT730 encased in resin sitting inside it, while a Gigabyte-branded fan is glued to the outside. The GT 730, which launched in 2014, was priced at $70 to $80 when it came out. But at the moment, brand new GT 730 graphics cards go for around $50, while you can find used examples at around $20.
This is the seller's description for the GT 730 purse: “For the GPU rich. This purse has an external cooling fan that spins and a GT730 Nvidia board. Fits a phone.” They also say, “Limited edition. I am making like 10 more in the next few weeks,” and that it has a “long or short chain available.”
Even if we assume that the seller bought brand new GT 730 GPUs, the materials and labor needed for building the luxury handbag should not exceed $200. But, of course, we cannot discount the prestige given to ‘luxury’ fashion, which is known to jack up prices to unreasonable levels.
The GPU Purses store page proudly labels itself ‘The Fastest Fashion’ and also offers an Nvidia H100 Purse for $65,536, which, presumably, has an actual H100 GPU embedded inside it. Although the H100 item doesn’t include any pictures, the seller describes it as a “Purse that has a rare one of a kind gpt-4 training gpu (sic).”
Interestingly, the prices are in powers of two, with the GT 730 purse priced at 2^10, while the H100 is 2^16. It would have been more reasonable if the prices started at 2^8 ($512) instead, but that would likely defeat the ‘luxury’ branding on the GPU Purses page.
While the price and packaging of the GT 730 purse may be a first in the union of fashion and computer hardware, this isn’t the first time that we’ve seen computer parts reused as fashion accessories. We’ve seen CPU keychains as far back as the 1990s, but they’re usually on the bags of PC enthusiasts and not marketed as luxury fashion accessories. Etsy also has a healthy ‘CPU Jewelry’ marketplace, with prices ranging from $10 to $20. However, searches for ‘GPU Jewelry’ did not net any results, so the seller might have found a niche market here.
At the advertised price and with its questionable-looking craftsmanship, we do not recommend buying this handbag, and we think the amateur product page contents show that the seller isn't well-established. But if you can and want to risk $1,024 to have your very own GPU handbag (or want to give it to someone), then now’s your chance.
