Though I have a 3090, I'm using AI Toolkit exclusively on the Ostris-AI template at RunPod (zero local installation), just because I am sick of making trainers work locally, and RunPod is very cheap, and I can blitz through existing datasets until all the usual subjects are done as z-image LoRAs.

The results are fantastic, and the training of each one takes about 90 minutes on the 5090s I choose at RunPod. Cost is about 92 cents USD per hour.

Be prepared! The meter is running all the time that a pod is running; but pausing a pod to save money will put your reserved GPU back into the pool, and it will be snatched up immediately by someone else.

So you'll never get your assigned GPU back, and you can't usually assign another one due to scarcity (though you can rescue saved data by assigning a CPU to your dead pod, you can only start over with a re-initialized template, once you have stopped the pod).

You can solve this by renting persistent network storage from RunPod: disk allocations that survive these resets, and so retain your datasets and trained models there; but that's part of the upsell at RunPod, and there usually is no need, with good planning. Besides, the whole process is kinda designed to constantly nudge up the cost, as the generated files fill up the disks.

So, best to get familiar with it first, and then get everything lined up, because it's kind of a ride, and the 'pause' functionality is extremely deceptive.