Why the Price per GPU No Longer Tells You What an AI System Costs

GPU, node, server, system and rack are often used as if they were interchangeable. Each actually describes a different layer of the hardware stack, with different costs and infrastructure requirements. Bitcoin miners have already learned a version of this lesson. An ASIC chip is not an ASIC miner. An ASIC miner is not a rack, and a rack is not an operating mining facility. AI infrastructure follows the same logic, but with more layers and far greater dependence on networking, cooling and...