GPU Cluster BOM Review
What to check before you fund.
What it covers
GPUs are about 77% of a cluster's bill of materials, and the rest hides in lines that are hard to price: optics, cabling, support, installation and margin. A BOM review is how a lender sizes the advance against equipment, not against the quote.
What you should check for
| Read the quote | Configuration lines not double-counted | Zero-priced GPU, CPU, RAM, NIC and SSD lines under a server line document what is inside it; do not add them again. |
| Equipment separated from services | Support, deployment and freight are not collateral; size the advance on equipment. | |
| Lump sums broken out | Ask for the network, racks and optics lines itemized. | |
| Check the prices | List price is not market | One OEM listed a server at $1.5M online; the actual price was closer to $450,000. |
| Markups by line | Markups are not uniform: on one quote the GPU board was 2.8x market and a 64GB DIMM 24x. | |
| Memory at today's market | Used server memory traded +492% against normal depreciation in the October 2026 Rack Report; memory lines move fast between quote and delivery. | |
| Check the delivery | Changes until delivery | BOMs can change right up until delivery depending on inventory; tie the borrowing base to the delivered configuration. |
| Serials to the UCC-1 | The delivered serial numbers match the equipment schedule on the financing statement. |
Sources: American Compute.
What a real cluster BOM shows
Across the cluster BOMs we have analyzed, GPUs run 76% to 82% of hardware value at 22 nodes and above, and 87% to 91% on one- and two-node deals. Other quoted costs run 0% to 32% of the total, and optics and cables alone 4% to 17%.
Quotes come in three formats: a complete server line followed by zero-priced configuration lines, separately priced components on very large orders, and project quotes that bundle shipping, support, optics and installation with the margin spread across the package.
Red flags
| Un-itemized network and racks line | On one quote it was 11% of the equipment value. |
| Quote far above recent trades | The same B300 server has been quoted at both $460,000 and $550,000. |
| Advance on the project total | Support, installation and margin carry no resale value. |
Discuss a transaction
Send us the equipment list and the loan or lease you have in mind. We will come back with an indication and the questions we would need answered.
Prefer email? hello@amcompute.com