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CPU-first ML on a VPS
Without a GPU, a VPS suits data prep, CPU inference, and small models. The bottleneck is almost always RAM, so pick a plan with 8GB if you plan to load larger datasets or run Jupyter.
Specs that matter
- 8GB RAM for pandas, scikit-learn, and PyTorch CPU workloads
- NVMe storage for fast dataset reads and model checkpoints
- Full root access to install Python stacks cleanly
- SSH-only access to run long training jobs safely
Set up your stack
sudo apt update
sudo apt install python3-venv python3-pip
python3 -m venv ml && source ml/bin/activate
pip install numpy pandas scikit-learn jupyter
Use htop to watch memory during training. More RAM means fewer out-of-memory crashes and bigger batch sizes, which is why a higher-RAM plan is the right call here.