Introduction
Artificial Intelligence (AI), gaming, cloud computing, and autonomous cars are all using the latest generation graphics processors (GPUs) in lieu of CPUs. The reasoning is that GPUs offer higher computational density than traditional CPUs as measured in terms of acquisition cost, size, and power requirements [Jensen Huang Keynotes NVIDIA’s 2018 GPU Technology Conference].
The implications for power architecture seem clear; 48 V will be the dominant voltage on the board with the GPU, and the final voltage will need to be somewhere around 1 V or less. Power levels are already around 1.5 kW and could soon go to as high as 3 kW per GPU. What is less clear is what will be the architecture for getting from 48 V to 1 V at these power levels. Continue Reading
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