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>100k+ GPU's, just for training. That's a tiny drop in the sea of the almost 2 billion PC gamers [0], and hundreds of millions of gaming consoles [1] in the wo

>100k+ GPU's, just for training. That's a tiny drop in the sea of the almost 2 billion PC gamers [0], and hundreds of millions of gaming consoles [1] in the world. Not to mention the energy required to manufacture all that hardware. Plus the datacenters required for online gaming, which must also be considerable. It's weird to be concerned about power usage of AI, but turning a blind eye to the massive amounts of power required by the gaming industry. [0] https://www.statista.com/statistics/420621/number-of-pc-gamers/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/420621/number-of-pc-game... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_game_consoles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_game_cons...

rybosworld 1y ago
I think it's weird to ignore that every GPU used for AI equates to 10-50 gaming GPUs (10 if you assume every gamer has a 3080, which they don't), and that the number of GPUs used for AI is 10x every 18-24 months. It's not that AI uses too much power today, it's that at the current trend, it'll be using somewhere between 100x and 1000x as much power by 2030/2035. Which would place it between 2-20% of total power consumption.
- elpocko 1y ago
  Where does this "10-50" figure come from? A quick google search says a H100 draws 700 W, while a 3080 draws 320 W. AI provides tangible value to businesses and private users beyond mere entertainment. We'll see how much power it consumes in the future, and where that power comes from.
  - rybosworld 1y ago
    I did the math in previous comment that you already replied too.. "The GPU's used for AI have significantly higher utilization rates than gaming GPU's... Here's some napkin math: H100: 61% utilization / 700W ~ 3.7MW/year RTX 3080: 10% utilization / 320W ~ 0.27MW/year" H100 uses at least 10x as much power as a 3080 over it's life time. And most gamers aren't playing on 3080's.
  - coliveira 1y ago
    The difference here is between potential energy use and actual energy use. AI chips as well as other server chips are in use most of the time. But if I sell 1 billion gaming chips, these chips will be in use a small fraction of the time.

rybosworld 1y ago

I think it's weird to ignore that every GPU used for AI equates to 10-50 gaming GPUs (10 if you assume every gamer has a 3080, which they don't), and that the number of GPUs used for AI is 10x every 18-24 months. It's not that AI uses too much power today, it's that at the current trend, it'll be using somewhere between 100x and 1000x as much power by 2030/2035. Which would place it between 2-20% of total power consumption.

elpocko 1y ago
Where does this "10-50" figure come from? A quick google search says a H100 draws 700 W, while a 3080 draws 320 W. AI provides tangible value to businesses and private users beyond mere entertainment. We'll see how much power it consumes in the future, and where that power comes from.
- rybosworld 1y ago
  I did the math in previous comment that you already replied too.. "The GPU's used for AI have significantly higher utilization rates than gaming GPU's... Here's some napkin math: H100: 61% utilization / 700W ~ 3.7MW/year RTX 3080: 10% utilization / 320W ~ 0.27MW/year" H100 uses at least 10x as much power as a 3080 over it's life time. And most gamers aren't playing on 3080's.
- coliveira 1y ago
  The difference here is between potential energy use and actual energy use. AI chips as well as other server chips are in use most of the time. But if I sell 1 billion gaming chips, these chips will be in use a small fraction of the time.