Nvidia cannot deliver on time, which means orders continue to pile up. Some Dell servers will be unavailable for 39 weeks.

Dell has told investors that demand for AI servers is exploding. The big downside is that customers have to wait up to 39 weeks before they can use it. In a quarterly earnings call, COO Jeff Clarke said Dell shipped more than half a billion dollars’ worth of AI servers this quarter. “Demand has almost doubled sequentially”

“The Dell PowerEdge XE9680, a fourth generation Intel server

Although the manufacturer was able to triple its AI server pipelines in the last quarter, the backlog remains immense. “We are working to convert this pipeline into real customer orders as quickly as possible,” enthuses Clarke, according to The Register.

Nvidia controls everything

When asked by those present about the long wait of 39 weeks, Clarke made it clear that the problem was with Nvidia. “We look forward to the calendar year 2024, in which clear alternatives will emerge. They still have a lot of work to do, including new software stacks to take advantage of the opportunities it presents. But there are more opportunities on the way.”

Even a big player like Dell has to adapt to Nvidia’s rhythm and decisions. Last quarter, Nvidia sold half a million H100 GPUs. Considering that the manufacturer makes a profit of tens of thousands of dollars per unit, the bank account is undoubtedly looking good. The introduction of the newer Hopper H200 is unlikely to dispel appetite for the H100.

PC sales below expectations

In the same quarterly report, Dell also reported that PC sales for the quarter were $12.3 billion, of which business customers accounted for $9.8 billion. It was originally expected that there would be growth this quarter, but that didn’t happen.

Clarke expects 2024 to be an agricultural year: “300 million PCs will be four years old in 2024. This is traditionally a turning point for modernization in the business market.” In addition, there will be interesting AI architectures from Intel, AMD and Windows on ARM next year.”

Canalys today published its forecasts for the PC market and expects significant growth of eight percent in 2024, driven by AI and a new version of Windows.