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Nvidia’s H100 AI #GPUs are taking the tech world by storm, but their reign comes at the price of a hefty energy bill.
According to a report from #CBInsights and #Stocklytics.com, these power-hungry processors are projected to consume a staggering 13,797 GWh in 2024, exceeding the annual energy consumption of nations like #Georgia and #CostaRica.
Imagine this, a legacy data center consumes 10 kW/rack where #CyrusOne, #KKR owned leading global data center operator and developer specialising in #AI applications, consumes 300 kW/rack!
But why do #GPUs consume so much power?
Data center #GPUs consume a substantial amount of power primarily due to their high computational requirements and the complex algorithms they handle. These #GPUs optimize parallel processing tasks like #machinelearning and #dataanalytics, involving simultaneous processing of vast amounts of data.
While #parallel processing speeds up data processing, one demerit is that, at a time most parts of a chip are active. This constant computation, coupled with the execution of complex algorithms, demands significant computational power, thereby increasing energy consumption.
The large-scale deployment of #GPUs in data centers, where racks and clusters utilize hundreds or thousands of #GPUs further amplify their collective power consumption. This combination of factors underscores the considerable energy consumption associated with data center GPUs.
Successfully navigating these challenges and fostering innovation will shape the future landscape of #AI computing.
So, what options do we have?
● #Amazon, frenemy to Nvidia, recently unveiled Arm based Graviton4 and Trainium2 chips holds promise for efficiency gains.
● In the near to medium term, #Neuromorphic computing is being researched aggressively as an alternative to synchronous parallel computing architectures. Neuromorphic computing is an asynchronous computing paradigm which runs on event based ‘spikes’ rather than a clock signal. And drastically lowers the power consumption.
● Big money is going into enabling tech like liquid cooling - #KKR acquired CoolIT Systems for $270 mn and Bosch acquired Jetcool through its venture arm
While CooIT Systems becomes the supplier for Cyrus One, #KKR makes money on both!