t cht lk
FORGET COOLING : DATA CENTRES ’ BIGGEST HURDLE IS NOW POWER
As AI technologies advance , their escalating power demands are rendering traditional data centre designs outdated . Gary Tinkler , Managing Director of Data Centres , Northern Data Group , explores how AI is reshaping the data centre landscape , and why operators must rethink their approach to create more efficient , future-ready facilities .
When we talk about High-Performance Computing ( HPC ), the fusion of Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) and computational power is driving incredible innovations . In the past , we focused mainly on cooling solutions to keep systems running smoothly . But now , with AI-driven HPC systems requiring so much more power , the real challenge isn ’ t just about keeping hardware cool ; it ’ s about managing an enormous demand for electricity . This pivotal shift in the industry is telling us something important : it ’ s no longer a cooling problem – it ’ s a power problem .
Where are we now ?
Let ’ s take a closer look at NVIDIA , a giant in the HPC world . It ’ s created popular air-cooled systems that have served us well . However , as AI models get more
The real challenge isn ’ t just about keeping hardware cool ; it ’ s about managing an enormous demand for electricity .
complex , the power requirements are skyrocketing . Reports show that AI training tasks use 10-15x more power than traditional data centres were designed to handle . Facilities that once operated at 5-8kW per rack are quickly becoming outdated . Recently , NVIDIA announced a major rollout of new GPUs , highlighting the urgent need for advanced technology to meet these growing power demands .
www . intelligentcio . com INTELLIGENTCIO EUROPE 69