how long do ai data centres last? what happens to them once they reach eol? what happens to the computing kit inside?
4
Replies
·
0
Boosts
@otfrom The buildings themselves should last as long as any other commercial building. The data centre I had things racked in in London was by no means new when I used it and is still in business.
Commodity hardware gets replaced on 3-5 year cycles typically. Specialist hardware either ends up as ewaste or someone figures out how to reuse it. A good example are the BC-250 boards that were used for crypto mining and are now being turned into cheap gaming PCs since they used PS5 APUs.
@semanticist are the new AI data centres that re-usable? (see other thread where I wonder if over optimisation of the buildings are true or not)
@otfrom I'd assume that folk from round these parts then start arguing about which flavour of Linux will run best on it.
@pete I've seen some of that already (and I approve).
I'm just not sure how true what I've been reading is.
(that they have a lifespan of 3-5 years, and are basically useless after that period as they are designed around a particular GPUs cooling set up needs)
I think that the AI supporters in gov't partly think they are getting long term assets not a 14 acre box of e-waste in 3-5 years.
