Couldn't Microsoft/AMD/NV release a firmware update to disable mining on standard graphics cards?

[K1LaW8tt5]

What if the end of line test for the GPU is to run it mining for 6 months before it goes in the box?

Would explain the delays

 

[ljt]

I'd just prefer it if mining was somehow made uneconomical, regulated and made so you can't make money from it, that would be a better solution.

 

[mikehhhhhhh]

I'd just prefer it if mining was somehow made uneconomical, regulated and made so you can't make money from it, that would be a better solution.

To what end? What is your problem with it?

I can't understand why anyone would want to stop someone using a graphics card for whatever purpose they deem fit?

If I buy a graphics card, I should be able to do whatever I want with it, whether it's mining crypto or eating my dinner off it.

 

[BlueInf]

I'd just prefer it if mining was somehow made uneconomical, regulated and made so you can't make money from it, that would be a better solution.

Mining is just using compute power to crack a complicated mathematical problem.

 

[ljt]

To what end? What is your problem with it?

I can't understand why anyone would want to stop someone using a graphics card for whatever purpose they deem fit?

If I buy a graphics card, I should be able to do whatever I want with it, whether it's mining crypto or eating my dinner off it.

To quieten demand down.

The only reason there is an insatiable demand that nobody will ever be able to keep up with is because every card bought makes money, especially if the price you get for mining keeps going up. As long as money can be made from a GPU, then demand will never cease.

 

[mikehhhhhhh]

To quieten demand down.

The only reason there is an insatiable demand that nobody will ever be able to keep up with is because every card bought makes money, especially if the price you get for mining keeps going up. As long as money can be made from a GPU, then demand will never cease.

You think the lack of supply is because of demand from miners rather than lack of supply from the global pandemic?

 

[ljt]

You think the lack of supply is because of demand from miners rather than lack of supply from the global pandemic?

At the moment it's both.

It was also like this a few years back when mining became profitable.

Even if they made a million GPU's a month, if mining is profitable, they'll all be bought instantly if mining is allowing people to make free money.

 

[Martini1991]

You think the lack of supply is because of demand from miners rather than lack of supply from the global pandemic?

Yes because we've been in a similar position before.

 

[mikehhhhhhh]

At the moment it's both.

It was also like this a few years back when mining became profitable.

Even if they made a million GPU's a month, if mining is profitable, they'll all be bought instantly if mining is allowing people to make free money.

If I mined with my 3090FE today from home, my ROI would be over 10 months if the price of ETH remained consistent, even ignoring all costs besides the GPU and electricity.

You need access to cheap or free electricity to make it worth while, I'm not convinced there are enough people doing it at scale to account for all the supply issues.

I'd put money on the more significant issue, simply being covid related supply shortages.

 

[ljt]

If I mined with my 3090FE today from home, my ROI would be over 10 months if the price of ETH remained consistent, even ignoring all costs besides the GPU and electricity.

You need access to cheap or free electricity to make it worth while, I'm not convinced there are enough people doing it at scale to account for all the supply issues.

I'd put money on the more significant issue, simply being covid related supply shortages.

The same happened a few years ago, way before a global pandemic.

The mining farms will buy every single GPU produced if it's currently making money, it's an unfulfillable apetite when it's profitable. The only lapse we get is when the current boom becomes a bust.

 

[mikehhhhhhh]

The same happened a few years ago, way before a global pandemic.

The mining farms will buy every single GPU produced if it's currently making money, it's an unfulfillable apetite when it's profitable. The only lapse we get is when the current boom becomes a bust.

Perhaps it's simply because I wasn't buying a card at the time, but I don't recall ever having such an issue buying a graphics card.

Certainly no situation where people's pre-orders hadn't been fulfilled 4-5 months after release.

 

[Puppetmaster]

Bitcoin was unlikely to have been very profitable when the cards launched, yet there's been shortages since then. The mining boom has recently picked up again because the price of btc went from $10k to $30k - 40k, but the shortages existed prior to that. To claim that mining is the reason there are shortages is wrong. There are many other factors especially the fact that nvidia and amd are not bringing enough to the retail market. Distribution are only receiving a handful often weeks apart and you only have to look at the evga situation with the UK / ocuk to know there are issues.

The majority of UK distribution have zero stock of any graphics card apart gt710 level because there isn't any, even for cards that make no money mining bitcoin.

 

[Blackjack Davy]

So, greed and profit are Nvidia's and AMD's only long term considerations?

Of course they are they're businesses out to make a profit they're not charities that solely exist to put a card in gamers' cases! Bless.

 

[ljt]

Bitcoin was unlikely to have been very profitable when the cards launched, yet there's been shortages since then. The mining boom has recently picked up again because the price of btc went from $10k to $30k - 40k, but the shortages existed prior to that. To claim that mining is the reason there are shortages is wrong. There are many other factors especially the fact that nvidia and amd are not bringing enough to the retail market. Distribution are only receiving a handful often weeks apart and you only have to look at the evga situation with the UK / ocuk to know there are issues.

The majority of UK distribution have zero stock of any graphics card apart gt710 level because there isn't any, even for cards that make no money mining bitcoin.

I'm not saying mining is the only reason there's no stock this time around. It is however a contributing factor, and has been the primary contributor in the past, and it will be again in the future unless something drastic is done about it to make it unprofitable.

 

[Armageus]

If I mined with my 3090FE today from home, my ROI would be over 10 months

Although given the current shortages and pricing gouging, you could sell the card and get back what you paid for it, meaning you could have had x months worth of return with no real penalty or investment cost

 

[g67575]

Is it a good or beneficial thing to flood auction websites with GPUs that have been run 24/7 for many months in crypto mining systems? Graphics cards aren't designed to run under these conditions, guess what happens next.

 

[mikehhhhhhh]

Although given the current shortages and pricing gouging, you could sell the card and get back what you paid for it, meaning you could have had x months worth of return with no real penalty or investment cost

I guess it's possible, but it seems unlikely that will still be the case once the card has been out for a year.

 

[Armageus]

Is it a good or beneficial thing to flood auction websites with GPUs that have been run 24/7 for many months in crypto mining systems? Graphics cards aren't designed to run under these conditions, guess what happens next.

You do talk some rubbish...

Running at a constant level 24/7 is probably less stressful to electronics that being turned on/off, idling then running at full load, then being turned off whilst hot etc, as is the case for a typical gaming gpu.

 

[Jerry64]

You do talk some rubbish...

Running at a constant level 24/7 is probably less stressful to electronics that being turned on/off, idling then running at full load, then being turned off whilst hot etc, as is the case for a typical gaming gpu.

At least some one in the thread knows what he's talking about

and totally agree

 

[Biffa]

At least some one in the thread knows what he's talking about

and totally agree

Except he doesn't, as that's not how it works, miners run gpu's undervolted, underclocked on the core with only the memory cranked. e.g. a 6900xt when gaming runs at 240W, but when mining as fast as it can it only runs at 160W

As someone else said, they often have a custom BIOS specifically for mining that maximises output but minimises heat and power usage.