← All parts of this equation

Equation 1 · Part 4 · The Real Resource Footprint of Building Colossus

multiplication

PGPU=NGPU×TDPGPU=100,000×700 W=70 MW.P_{\mathrm{GPU}} = N_{\mathrm{GPU}} \times \mathrm{TDP}_{\mathrm{GPU}} = 100{,}000 \times 700\ \mathrm{W} = 70\ \mathrm{MW}.
multiplication

What this part means

Multiply the quantities on either side.

Its job in the formula

Multiply the quantities on either side.

The passage around this formula

The technical starting point is disclosed with unusual precision, because Nvidia had a marketing interest in disclosing it. In an October 2024 press release, Nvidia stated that Colossus connected up to 100,000 liquid-cooled H100 GPUs on a single RDMA fabric using its Spectrum-X Ethernet platform, built in 122 days from the first rack’s arrival, with only 19 days between first rack and the start of training, and quoted Musk calling it “the most powerful training system in the world” [ 4 ] . Nvidia’s own current H100 product page lists the SXM variant’s thermal design power at up to 700 watts, configurable [ 5 ] . That is enough to write a first, deliberately narrow equation — the power draw…

Read this part in the article →

Learn the underlying idea

Multiplication scales one quantity by another. A dot, a cross, or adjacent symbols can indicate a product.

Open the illustrated multiplication: combining factors guide →

Sources cited in the surrounding passage

These citations provide research context; check each source for the exact claim it supports.