Power Density Evolution: CPU Era to AI Factory
Power Density Evolution: From CPU Era to AI Factory
Rack-level power consumption (kW) — Traditional Data Center → AI Data Center → Vera Rubin AI Factory
Traditional Data Center (CPU)
AI Data Center (Hopper/Blackwell)
AI Factory (Vera Rubin)
Traditional DCWeb servers, file storage
5–15 kW
AI DC — Hopper H100LLM training & inference
40–140 kW ~10×
AI DC — Blackwell NVL72Agentic AI, large-scale inference
120–140 kW
AI Factory — Vera RubinFull liquid cooling, 2026
190–230 kW ~20×
* Multipliers shown relative to traditional data center baseline. Vera Rubin requires full direct-to-chip liquid cooling; air cooling is physically insufficient above ~80 kW/rack. Sources: NVIDIA, Giga Energy, CtrlS Data Center analysis.