Decommission a GPU cluster for resale

The resale value of a cluster is mostly decided before the screwdriver comes out. Buyers pay for a known set of GPUs on a known board, with serials and a report. They pay less for a pallet of mixed modules and a promise. This is a seller's checklist for taking a cluster down without throwing that value away. BreezeWish does not test or store the hardware.

Inventory before you power off

Walk the racks and write down the GPU product, the form factor, the memory size, and the count per server. An HGX H100 and an HGX H200 are different boards even when the chassis looks the same [S1] [S2]. A 40 GB A100 and an 80 GB A100 should become two lists. While the machines still boot, run nvidia-smi -q or the DCGM report you already use, and save the files with the host name [S3]. That report is what you will hand to a buyer. You will not get a cleaner one after the GPUs are in a bin.

Capture serials from the report and from the labels. Photograph the asset tag on the chassis and the label on the baseboard. Note which NVSwitch trays, cold plates, NVLink bridges, and power cables belong to which board. Those parts are often worth as much to the next buyer as a loose GPU, and they are easy to leave in the rack.

Decide the lot boundary

A complete eight-GPU HGX board is usually a better lot than eight loose modules. NVIDIA's H100 and H200 pages describe those GPUs as SXM modules in four- and eight-GPU HGX systems [S1] [S2]. If you split the board, say so in the listing. If you sell the whole server, list the chassis, the GPUs, and the drives as separate lines only when you are willing to part them out. A buyer who wanted the board and receives modules has a freight argument, not a discount.

PCIe cards can be lotted by model and memory. Keep bridges with the pairs they came from. Do not mix H100 PCIe and H100 SXM in one line to make the count look larger.

Condition, hours, and liens

Choose the condition you can defend: new sealed, new open box, refurbished, used grade A, used grade B, or for parts. If the GPUs ran, do not call them new. Enter hours if you have a real figure, and label an estimate as an estimate. Pull the lease schedule and the UCC search before you list. A buyer will ask who holds title. If a lender does, the listing should wait until you can say how the lien will be released. BreezeWish does not clear liens.

Wipe what is not the GPU

Buyer data does not belong in the sale. Wipe drives, management controllers, and any license keys that are tied to your organization. The GPU serial stays. Your customer list does not. If a drive is staying in the chassis, say whether it has been wiped. If you are keeping the drives, say the server ships without them.

How to list it

One model per line. Put "H100 SXM5" or "H200 SXM" or "A100 80GB" in the model field so the model page can match the lot. Set memory and form factor. Set the asset type to the HGX assembly, the server, or the PCIe card, and make the GPU count match. State the US state where the hardware sits. Hidden reserves are allowed on a sealed-bid sell offer and are not shown on the public board. A catalog listing shows the price you choose to publish. Name the condition with the grades in used, refurbished, and new.

Write the warranty you will actually sign. "As is" is a choice. A short seller warranty is a different choice. Do not write that an OEM warranty transfers unless you have the document.

Freight

An HGX tray and a loose PCIe card do not crate the same way. Ask your shipper about shock, tilt, and insurance before you promise a date. The buyer and you choose the Incoterm. Independent escrow services are the parties' choice if you want a third party to hold funds. That service is not BreezeWish.

What to keep back

Keep one copy of the serial list, the test report, the lien release, and the bill of sale. If a serial is dead on arrival, those pages are how you and the buyer talk about it. BreezeWish is not in that conversation as a party. You are.