AI and GPU colocation: density, cooling and a delivery date in writing
GPU racks run at 30 to 100+ kW. Facilities that can commit that density, the cooling for it and a ready date bid blind on your spec, and every bid comes back on one 36-month cost.
Rack density, from the server up
DGX H100 systems per rack, at 10.2 kW and 8U each.
| Servers | Peak draw | Space | What it needs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 per rack | 10.2 kW | 8U | High density, air with containment or rear-door cooling |
| 2 per rack | 20.4 kW | 16U | High density, air with containment or rear-door cooling |
| 3 per rack | 30.6 kW | 24U | High density, air with containment or rear-door cooling |
| 4 per rack | 40.8 kW | 32U | Liquid-assisted cooling, confirm in writing |
| 5 per rack | 51.0 kW | 40U | Liquid-assisted cooling, confirm in writing |
NVIDIA, DGX H100/H200 user guide: introduction and specifications. Network switches and storage add to each rack.
What a circuit delivers
Usable kW at an 80% continuous load, and how many 10.2 kW servers each feeds.
| Circuit | Usable | DGX H100s |
|---|---|---|
| 208V single-phase, 30A | 5.0 kW | 0 |
| 208V three-phase, 30A | 8.6 kW | 0 |
| 208V three-phase, 60A | 17.3 kW | 1 |
| 415V three-phase, 32A | 18.4 kW | 1 |
| 415V three-phase, 60A | 34.5 kW | 3 |
| 415V three-phase, 100A | 57.5 kW | 5 |
kW = volts x amps x 0.8, times 1.732 for three-phase. With 2N power, each rack needs two of these.
Cheapest metered power for a 40 kW rack
At GPU density, power is most of the bill. Metered cost at 70% draw and a billed PUE of 1.4, per rack.
| Metro | Industrial rate | Per month | 36 months |
|---|---|---|---|
| Houston | 7.07 cents/kWh | $2,023 | $72,833 |
| Dallas / Fort Worth | 7.07 cents/kWh | $2,023 | $72,833 |
| Austin | 7.07 cents/kWh | $2,023 | $72,833 |
| Seattle | 7.51 cents/kWh | $2,149 | $77,366 |
| Charlotte / Raleigh | 8.37 cents/kWh | $2,395 | $86,226 |
| Hillsboro / Portland | 8.92 cents/kWh | $2,553 | $91,892 |
| Salt Lake City | 9.10 cents/kWh | $2,604 | $93,746 |
| Miami | 9.17 cents/kWh | $2,624 | $94,467 |
EIA Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A, July 2026. All 25 metros.
Facilities built for high density, per their operators
| Metro | Operator | Facility | Built for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston | Element Critical | Element Critical Houston HOU1, 22000 Franz Rd, Katy | High-density and AI/GPU colocation; Element Critical advertises cabinets through private suites and cloud on-ramps to AWS, Azure, Oracle and Google Cloud. | Operator |
| New York | CoreSite | NY2, 2 Emerson Lane, Secaucus, NJ | Cabinets, private cages and liquid cooling in a purpose-built Tier III site above the 500-year flood plain. | Operator |
| Ashburn | Digital Realty | ACC4, 44480 Hastings Drive, Ashburn, VA | Data center suites, powered base buildings, build-to-suit and high-density colocation, plus ServiceFabric and Internet Exchange. | Operator |
| Ashburn | CoreSite | VA1, Reston, VA | Full cabinets, private cages and suites (no 1U, 2U or shared cabinets), liquid cooling, direct cloud on-ramps. | Operator |
| Ashburn | QTS | Ashburn 1 (DC1), 22271 Broderick Drive, Sterling, VA | Large-block capacity: 55 MW+ critical power in DC1, liquid cooling available. | Operator |
| Chicago | Digital Realty | ORD10 (350 E Cermak), Chicago, IL | Data center suites, high-density colocation, cross connects and Internet Exchange in a 1,005,500 sq ft building. | Operator |
| Chicago | DataBank | ORD1, 600 S Federal St, Chicago, IL | Cabinet colocation in a carrier hotel; 10 kW+ air-cooled and 25 kW+ liquid-cooled per cabinet. | Operator |
| Salt Lake City | Aligned Data Centers | SLC-01 (3333 W 9000 S, West Jordan) | Large and high-density deployments: liquid cooling loops for GPU workloads, 415V A+B rack distribution, 100% uptime SLA on a 55-acre campus. | Operator |
| Silicon Valley | Equinix | SV1, Great Oaks campus, San Jose, CA | Interconnection-dense retail colocation with direct access to hyperscalers and AI/cloud providers. | Operator |
| Silicon Valley | CoreSite | SV7, 3020 Coronado Drive, Santa Clara, CA | Retail colocation on a multi-megawatt campus with cloud on-ramps; liquid cooling and DGX-Ready SV9 for AI. | Operator |
| Silicon Valley | Digital Realty | SJC37, 641 Walsh Avenue, Santa Clara, CA | Suites, high-density colocation and ServiceFabric across 15 Bay Area facilities. | Operator |
| Silicon Valley | H5 Data Centers | Silicon Valley, 1360 Kifer Rd, Sunnyvale, CA | Carrier-neutral colocation with dual meet-me rooms and high-density cooling. | Operator |
| Las Vegas | Switch | The Core Campus, Las Vegas | Large and high-density deployments: Switch advertises density up to 2 MW per cabinet, 100% renewable power and a 7 ms fiber route to The CITADEL. | Operator |
| Atlanta | QTS | Atlanta 1 campus (1033 Jefferson St NW, Atlanta) | Large-scale and hyperscale capacity: a 99-acre campus listed at 278 MW+ critical capacity with direct fiber access to multiple carriers. | Operator |
| Dallas | Digital Realty | DFW10, 2323 Bryan St, Dallas, TX | Suites, high-density colocation, ServiceFabric and Internet Exchange; larger campuses in Richardson and Lewisville. | Operator |
| Dallas | Aligned Data Centers | DFW-01, 2800 Summit Ave, Plano, TX | High-density and GPU deployments with air, liquid or hybrid cooling in the same hall. | Operator |
| Phoenix | Aligned Data Centers | PHX-01 (2500 W Union Hills Drive, Phoenix) | High-density and GPU deployments: air cooling arrays plus DeltaFlow liquid cooling, 415V rack distribution, 100% uptime SLA, on a 55-acre campus. | Operator |
| Hillsboro | Flexential | Portland - Hillsboro 2 (5737 NE Huffman St, Hillsboro) | High-density colocation (up to 80+ kW per cabinet, liquid cooling, 18 MW critical power) with subsea cable connectivity and a 100% SLA. | Operator |
| Austin | Switch | Data Foundry Austin (multi-tenant colocation acquired 2021) | Buyers wanting high-density options and power guarantees: Switch advertises a 100% power uptime guarantee and 100% renewable energy across its Austin sites. | Operator |
| Austin | Element Critical | Element Critical Austin AUS1, 8025 North IH-35, Austin | Cabinets through private suites and high-density colocation; Element Critical advertises carrier-neutral connectivity with cloud on-ramps to AWS, Azure, Oracle and Google Cloud. | Operator |
| Miami | CoreSite | MI2, 2100 NW 84th Ave, Doral | Hurricane-resilient purpose-built space (CoreSite cites Category 5 design) with liquid cooling and a lit fiber link to MI1. | Operator |
| Minneapolis | Flexential | Minneapolis - Chaska, 3500 Lyman Blvd, Chaska | High-density and AI workloads: 9 MW, 80 kW+ per cabinet, liquid cooling. | Operator |
| Boston | Markley Group | One Summer Street, Boston | Carrier-hotel access in downtown Boston; cabinet, cage or dedicated suite, including high-density options. | Operator |
| Toronto | eStruxture | TOR-1, 151 Front St W, Toronto | Colocation inside the main carrier hotel with direct TorIX access; eStruxture also offers TOR-3 at 431 Horner Ave for high-density power. | Operator |
| Detroit | 123NET | DC1, 24700 Northwestern Hwy, Southfield | Interconnection-heavy and high-density deployments: 80,000 sq ft, 20 MW dedicated DTE substation, racks up to 60 kW, DET-iX on site. | Operator |
GPU colocation questions
How much power does a GPU rack need?
Start from the server. An NVIDIA DGX H100 is 8U and draws up to 10.2 kW (NVIDIA). Four in a rack is about 41 kW before networking, several times a standard cabinet.
Do I need liquid cooling?
Not always. Racks in the 15 to 35 kW range are often air-cooled with containment or rear-door heat exchangers. Above that, ask each facility which method it will commit to, and get the density and cooling written into the order. Liquid cooling colocation.
Which metros are cheapest for GPU power?
Where power is metered, the utility rate drives the bill at high density. The table on this page ranks our metros by metered cost for a 40 kW rack.
How fast can a facility deliver high-density space?
It depends on the building, and it's the line most often left vague. We ask every bidder for a committed delivery date and show it next to the price in your shortlist.