# EP 138: Talking GPU Depreciation, OCP Takeaways

- Show: [The Circuit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit)
- Published: 2025-10-20
- Length: 51m
- Episode: 140
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2025-10-20-ep-138-talking-gpu-depreciation-ocp-takeaways
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/21dde9df

## Summary

Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the debate over GPU depreciation cycles, arguing that while NVIDIA's Blackwell offers significant performance gains, physical infrastructure limits and economic viability suggest a 4-5 year lifecycle rather than the feared 2-year cycle. Goldberg shares takeaways from the Open Compute Project (OCP) forum, highlighting the rise of 'neoclouds' as a key growth driver for hardware vendors and the strategic pressure on hyperscalers like Amazon and Microsoft to maintain market share. The hosts also analyze the supply chain constraints in power equipment, noting severe backlogs for transformers and gas turbines, and touch on TSMC's cautious approach to capital expenditure despite record demand.

## Chapters

- [0:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2025-10-20-ep-138-talking-gpu-depreciation-ocp-takeaways#t=6) Introduction and GPU Depreciation Debate
- [4:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2025-10-20-ep-138-talking-gpu-depreciation-ocp-takeaways#t=258) Economic vs. Physical Lifespan of GPUs
- [11:41](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2025-10-20-ep-138-talking-gpu-depreciation-ocp-takeaways#t=701) Infrastructure Limits and NVIDIA's Allocation Strategy
- [23:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2025-10-20-ep-138-talking-gpu-depreciation-ocp-takeaways#t=1386) OCP Forum Takeaways and the Rise of Neoclouds
- [31:16](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2025-10-20-ep-138-talking-gpu-depreciation-ocp-takeaways#t=1876) Orchestration Layers and Hyperscaler Competition
- [40:32](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2025-10-20-ep-138-talking-gpu-depreciation-ocp-takeaways#t=2432) Power Supply Chain Constraints and Grid Challenges
- [46:53](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2025-10-20-ep-138-talking-gpu-depreciation-ocp-takeaways#t=2813) TSMC Earnings and Capital Expenditure Caution

## Topics

- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Sourcing & supply chain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sourcing-and-supply-chain)
- [Retail, wholesale & distribution](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/retail-and-distribution)
- [Energy & climate tech](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/energy-and-climate-tech)

## Most relevant to

large enterprises

## Mentioned

- NVIDIA (company)
- Blackwell (product)
- Hopper (product)
- A100 (product)
- Vera Rubin (product)
- Open Compute Project (company)
- Cisco (company)
- Rista (company)
- VMware (product)
- Lepton (product)
- AWS (product)
- Azure (product)
- Google (company)
- Oracle (company)
- XAI (company)
- Aligned Data Centers (company)
- BlackRock (company)
- Microsoft (company)
- Honeywell (company)
- TSMC (company)
- ASML (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Google TPU vs Nvidia GPUs: Token Per Watt Dominance, or the Era of Scaling Is Over?](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/built-2-scale/2025-11-26-google-tpu-vs-nvidia-gpus-token-per-watt-dominance-or-the-era-of-scaling-is-over) (Built 2 Scale)
- [Who benefits from the AI power bottleneck?](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-12-04-who-benefits-from-the-ai-power-bottleneck) (Catalyst)
- [Back on the road in '26](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2026-03-04-back-on-the-road-in-26) (The Amp Hour)
- [How Much is Enough for Hyperscale Companies?](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2019-07-26-how-much-is-enough-for-hyperscale-companies) (EE Times Current)
- [Predictions 2025](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2025-01-10-predictions-2025) (Oxide and Friends)

## Citing this page

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