It would seem that the hardware used to build AI centres has a very limited lifespan
I would like to see some of these components reused to build, for example, Linux workstations.
These AI centres are loaded with top end GPU’s.
I would like to see someone build a multi-gpu workstation with say 1Tb of ram and a low power requirement .
There should soon be plenty of the necessary components available from ewaste.
Building a Linux to drive it may be quite a challenge… we dont have any distro ported to run directly on multiple gpu’s without any controlling cpu. Its a complete new architecture. https://www.reddit.com/r/hardware/comments/5h2zin/what_would_it_take_to_boot_linux_on_a_gpu/?rdt=53361
Yeah, apparently the lifetime of the GPU’s in AI centres is about 3 years… then they are replaced with newer better models.
Its not just in AI centres either. My sister recently acquired a 1 year old iPad for 20% of the new price… from the local school… they replace all their iPads for students every 12 months and sell of the unwanted last years models … have to have the latest model.
I thought that was rather wasteful.
@harriebaken ,
Thank you, that is truly informative
In Australia, most of our land area is very dry. There has been concern about water used for mining operations and for cotton growing, but that is dwarfed by this data centre phenomenon.
My 15 year old Toshiba laptop still works fine for basic Internet tasks. My desktop is now over 3 years old and I hope to keep it going for quite a while. My cell phone is a 2018 Motorola and I use a 10 year old tablet for reading. I don’t replace electronics until they become obsolete or fail to function. Way too much electronic junk that goes to waste.
Same with me. My main desktop is about 13 years old, and my other one is a refurbished mini tower, not sure how old.
It is the pressure to be leading edge that makes these AI centres so wasteful. If they must do that, there needs to be a system for re-using their components.
