diff --git a/nanochat/gpt.py b/nanochat/gpt.py
index a65e120..d214054 100644
--- a/nanochat/gpt.py
+++ b/nanochat/gpt.py
@@ -29,11 +29,17 @@ os.environ["HF_HUB_DISABLE_PROGRESS_BARS"] = "1"
 # Official docs of FA3 label it as "beta" and want you to install FA3 from source, which is a pain.
 # Wishing for official FA3 wheels soon, for now this seems to be a fast way to get them (ty varunneal)
 from kernels import get_kernel
+
+flash_attn = None
 try:
-    flash_attn = get_kernel('varunneal/flash-attention-3').flash_attn_interface
+    # Flash Attention 3 uses NVIDIA Hopper-specific features like TMA (Tensor Memory Accelerator).
+    # These are only physically available on GPUs with Compute Capability >= 9.0 (e.g. H100).
+    # We explicitly check for this to prevent "No kernel image available" crashes on Ampere/Ada GPUs (RTX 30xx/40xx) etc.
+    if torch.cuda.is_available() and torch.cuda.get_device_capability()[0] >= 9:
+        flash_attn = get_kernel('varunneal/flash-attention-3').flash_attn_interface
 except Exception:
-    # Kernel loading failed (e.g. on Mac/MPS or CPU), fallback to SDPA
-    flash_attn = None
+    # Fallback to PyTorch SDPA on non-Hopper NVIDIA GPUs, Mac (MPS), or CPU.
+    pass
 
 @dataclass
 class GPTConfig: