Glossary3 sections1 min read
What is TDP (power)?
TDP (thermal design power), or board power, is the maximum power a GPU is designed to draw and dissipate under load, in watts.
Why it matters when renting a GPU
Higher power budgets usually come with higher sustained performance, but also with higher hosting cost, which shows in rental prices.
Low-power cards suit dense inference fleets and cost-sensitive serving.
Worked example
The H100 SXM is rated at 700 W, the H100 PCIe at 350 W and the L4 at 72 W. Over a 24-hour day, a 700 W board at full load uses 16.8 kWh.
Frequently asked questions
- Does TDP affect my rental bill?
- Not directly: you pay the hourly price. Power is part of the provider's cost behind that price.