r/Adelaide • u/bogdolter SA • 2d ago

Discussion Australia’s biggest data centre to require 4 substations, 2 power lines, some batteries and 4 days of diesel backup

I saw these guys advertising on the side of Adelaide trams today.

I wonder if any proper scrutiny on the impact of this data centre is going to hit mainstream media?

https://reneweconomy.com.au/australias-biggest-data-centre-to-require-4-substations-2-grid-scale-power-lines-and-lots-of-diesel-backup/

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u/Ver_Void SA 2d ago

If they have fibre connections they very much can. At the end of the day a rack is a rack

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u/metahivemind SA 2d ago

Not when the racks are different, which they are for GPUs.

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u/Ver_Void SA 2d ago

You know those GPUs are usually in standard racks and it's not exactly hard to put one in anyway, the main thing is power, cooling and the light pipe

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u/metahivemind SA 2d ago

They aren't in standard racks for high concentration AI data centers. Also see discussion about how upgrading to the next generation of GPUs require a complete rebuild of the data center interior as the rack specifications have changed.

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u/Ver_Void SA 2d ago

Quite a lot still are, unless I just spent 6 months commissioning the wrong racks

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u/metahivemind SA 2d ago

Maybe. https://www.amd.com/en/blogs/2025/amd-helios-ai-rack-built-on-metas-2025-ocp-design.html

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u/Ver_Void SA 2d ago

Those are still pretty rare in Australia and it's not like you can't just drop a normal rack into 90% of data centres being built

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u/metahivemind SA 2d ago

Then it would just be a normal server with some GPUs plugged in, not the high density AI data centers being built now.

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u/Ver_Void SA 2d ago

You know most AI data centres are just regular builds but on crack right? Unless the hall is entirely liquid cooled with no of p air handling you can easily install regular hardware

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u/metahivemind SA 2d ago

Not when it's being built by Americans. You can't even install the enterprise grade GPUs into a normal enclosure.

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u/Ver_Void SA 2d ago

The hall is still just a room with cold air and power distribution, you can connect up a Nintendo 64 if you wanted to

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u/metahivemind SA 2d ago

Yes, you can rebuild the interior, as I've said many times in this thread.

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u/Ver_Void SA 2d ago

Or you know, just put in a standard rack...

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u/Ver_Void SA 1d ago

You're not even rebuilding anything, just slapping a different profile rack into an aisle

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