AI super-densification: how far will it really go?

Uptime Intelligence first observed that server silicon power was going to follow a steep upward trajectory in 2021. We anticipated the emergence of today’s processors with 500 watt thermal power and GPUs with ratings exceeding 1 kilowatt (kW) — and even more powerful products for the future. This was not prophecy, but the extrapolation of where silicon power is headed, pushed on by the combined forces of semiconductor physics and the pursuit of absolute performance.

Uptime Intelligence has long anticipated that realized rack densities would begin to climb, largely in line with escalating server power levels. When a new mainstream server is capable of reaching 1 kW at full load, rack power can quickly exceed 10 kW at partial load, even if not fully populated. This shift is now visible across the industry. An Uptime Intelligence report published in 2022 projected that 40 kW racks will become much more common in densified infrastructure, characterizing this as “ultra-high density“ (see Silicon heatwave: the looming change in data center climates).