Snowflake Arctic 480B
Snowflake · moe · 480B parameters · 4,096 context
Parameters
480B
Context Window
4K tokens
Architecture
MoE
Best GPU
B200 SXM
Cheapest API
$1.50/M
Intelligence Brief
Snowflake Arctic 480B is a 480B parameter Mixture-of-Experts (128 experts, 2 active) model from Snowflake, featuring Grouped Query Attention (GQA) with 35 layers and 7,168 hidden dimensions. With a 4,096 token context window, it supports structured output, code. The most cost-effective API deployment is via snowflake at $1.50/M output tokens. For self-hosted inference, B200 SXM delivers optimal throughput at $17044/month.
Architecture Details
Memory Requirements
BF16 Weights
960.0 GB
FP8 Weights
480.0 GB
INT4 Weights
240.0 GB
Fits on (single GPU) — most practical first
Fits on (multi-GPU with Tensor Parallelism)
Multi-GPU configurations use Tensor Parallelism (TP) to split model layers across GPUs. Requires NVLink or NVSwitch interconnect for optimal performance.
GPU Compatibility Matrix
Snowflake Arctic 480B is compatible with 2% of GPU configurations across 41 GPUs at 3 precision levels.
GPU Recommendations
FP8 · 4 GPUs · tensorrt-llm
100/100
score
Throughput
280.0 tok/s
Latency (ITL)
3.6ms
Est. TTFT
1ms
Cost/Month
$17044
Cost/M Tokens
$23.16
FP8 · 4 GPUs · tensorrt-llm
100/100
score
Throughput
280.0 tok/s
Latency (ITL)
3.6ms
Est. TTFT
1ms
Cost/Month
$17082
Cost/M Tokens
$23.21
FP8 · 2 GPUs · tensorrt-llm
100/100
score
Throughput
280.0 tok/s
Latency (ITL)
3.6ms
Est. TTFT
1ms
Cost/Month
$19929
Cost/M Tokens
$27.08
Deployment Options
API Deployment
snowflake
$1.50/M
output tokens
Single GPU
Requires multi-GPU setup (480 GB VRAM needed)
Multi-GPU
B200 SXM x4
280.0 tok/s
TP· $17044/mo
API Pricing Comparison
| Provider | Input $/M | Output $/M | Badges |
|---|---|---|---|
| snowflake | $1.50 | $1.50 | Cheapest |
Cost Analysis
| Provider | Input $/M | Output $/M | ~Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| snowflakeBest Value | $1.50 | $1.50 | $15 |
Cost per 1,000 Requests
Short (500 tok)
$1.05
via snowflake
Medium (2K tok)
$4.20
via snowflake
Long (8K tok)
$15.00
via snowflake
Performance Estimates
Throughput by GPU
VRAM Breakdown (B200 SXM, FP8)
Precision Impact
bf16
240.0 GB
weights/GPU
fp8
120.0 GB
weights/GPU
~280.0 tok/s
int4
60.0 GB
weights/GPU
Capabilities
Features
Supported Frameworks
Supported Precisions
Where to Deploy Snowflake Arctic 480B
Self-Hosted Infrastructure
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Frequently Asked Questions
How much VRAM does Snowflake Arctic 480B need for inference?
Snowflake Arctic 480B requires approximately 960.0 GB of VRAM at BF16 precision, 480.0 GB at FP8, or 240.0 GB at INT4 quantization. Additional VRAM is needed for KV-cache (143360 bytes per token) and activations (~2.00 GB).
What is the best GPU for Snowflake Arctic 480B?
The top recommended GPU for Snowflake Arctic 480B is the B200 SXM (x4) using FP8 precision. It achieves approximately 280.0 tokens/sec at an estimated cost of $17044/month ($23.16/M tokens). Score: 100/100.
How much does Snowflake Arctic 480B inference cost?
Snowflake Arctic 480B API inference starts from $1.50/M input tokens and $1.50/M output tokens. Self-hosted inference costs depend on your GPU configuration — use our ROI calculator for a detailed breakdown.