Performance Per Watt is the most effective GPU monitoring metric for assessing and optimizing power efficiency in an AI data center. This metric measures the computational output (e.g., FLOPS) per unit of power consumed (watts), directly indicating how efficiently the GPU is using energy. Inefficient power usage can drive up operational costs, especially in large-scale GPU clusters like those powered by NVIDIA DGX systems. By monitoring and optimizing Performance Per Watt, administrators can adjust workloads, clock speeds (e.g., via NVIDIA GPU Boost), or scheduling to maximize efficiency while maintaining performance, as recommended in NVIDIA's "Data Center GPU Manager (DCGM)" documentation.
Fan Speed (B) relates to cooling but does not directly measure power efficiency. GPU Memory Usage (C) tracks memory allocation, not energy consumption. GPU Core Utilization (D) shows workload distribution but lacks insight into power efficiency. NVIDIA's "DCGM User Guide" and "AI Infrastructure and Operations Fundamentals" emphasize Performance Per Watt for energy optimization.