Layer 1 · The numbers that decide
Rack power density
Kilowatts drawn by one rack. The number that decides your cooling method, your floor loading and whether an existing building can host you at all.
The number
- What it is
- Kilowatts drawn by one rack. The number that decides your cooling method, your floor loading and whether an existing building can host you at all.
- Typical values
- ~27 kW average in 2026, up 69% year-over-year; GB200 NVL72 at 120-132 kW; GB300 at 135-200 kW
Verified 2026-09-09.
The catch
The average hides everything. AI training racks are the outliers pulling the curve, and a facility designed to the average cannot host one.
What this is powering
A GB200 NVL72 rack draws 120–132 kW and a GB300 pushes 135–200 kW, against a 2026 average rack of about 27 kW. The silicon decision and the power decision are the same decision, made eighteen months apart.
Layer 2 — Silicon · GB200 NVL72 · The 150 W inference option
Others in the numbers that decide
Sources
Want this whole layer as one table?
The power and cooling options on these pages as a single CSV — lead time, capex, carbon, maturity, density supported, PUE, the catch and what each one decides — ready to sort, filter or load into a notebook.
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