Work out your rack power density in seconds. Enter units per rack and power per unit, or a direct kW/rack figure, and get the cooling approach it forces, the equipment that fits, and how many racks a target IT load needs.
Rack density — kilowatts per rack — is the number that drives your whole facility design. It decides how the rack is cooled, how many racks a cluster needs and how much power distribution each rack requires. This tool turns a rack build into that density and everything that follows from it.
Each step is a simple, labelled calculation so you can see exactly where the numbers come from and adjust them to your build.
Density is what forces the move from air to liquid cooling. A standard enterprise rack sits around 5–15 kW and is comfortably air-cooled. An H100 HGX rack lands near 40 kW; a B200 liquid rack around 80 kW; a GB200 NVL72 concentrates 72 GPUs into roughly 120 kW and a GB300 NVL72 pushes ~140 kW. Air simply cannot reject that much heat from a single rack, which is why direct-to-chip liquid cooling is now standard for the highest-density AI.
Density also sets your footprint. Packing more kW into each rack means fewer racks, less floor space and shorter cable runs — but denser cooling and power distribution per rack. Spreading the same load across more, lower-density racks is easier to cool with air but needs more space, more PDUs and more network. Getting the target density right early is what lets you size cooling, power and space together instead of discovering a mismatch mid-build.
This calculator classifies your density against standard cooling thresholds, recommends the equipment that fits, and links it straight into our catalog so you can move from a number to a scoped design.
The density thresholds and cooling approach the calculator uses. Figures are planning bands used across the industry; confirm exact limits against your rack, coolant temperatures and ambient conditions.
| Density | Approach | Typical racks |
|---|---|---|
| ≤ 15 kW | Air cooling (CRAC / CRAH) | Standard enterprise |
| 15–40 kW | Rear-door heat exchanger | H100 / H200 HGX |
| 40–80 kW | Direct-to-chip liquid (CDU) | B200 liquid |
| > 80 kW | Integrated direct-liquid + CDU | GB200 / GB300 NVL72 |
Rack density is the electrical power a single rack draws, measured in kilowatts per rack (kW/rack). You get it either by multiplying the number of servers/nodes in the rack by the power each one draws, or by entering a known kW/rack figure. Density is the number that decides whether a rack can be air-cooled or needs liquid cooling.
AI racks are dense. A standard enterprise rack sits around 5–15 kW. An H100/H200 HGX rack lands near 40 kW, a B200 liquid rack around 80 kW, and a GB200 NVL72 concentrates 72 GPUs into roughly 120 kW — with GB300 NVL72 pushing ~140 kW. That is an order of magnitude above a traditional rack, which is why high-density cooling is now standard.
Density decides the approach. Up to ~15 kW/rack, room air (CRAC/CRAH) is enough. From ~15–40 kW/rack a rear-door heat exchanger rejects heat to facility water with no server plumbing. Above ~40 kW/rack you need direct-to-chip liquid cooling with a CDU; above ~80 kW/rack (GB200-class) cooling is integrated liquid by design.
Divide your total IT load by the power density you can put in one rack and round up: racks = ceil(target load ÷ kW per rack). Higher density means fewer racks and a smaller footprint but denser cooling; lower density spreads the load across more racks. This tool computes both from your inputs.
Our solutions engineers size racks, cooling and power together and confirm real lead times — no payment, no commitment, quotes back in about one business day.
Our engineers scope power, cooling and compute together. No payment, and quotes come back in about a business day.