Following the broader cryptocurrency market crash a few weeks ago, cheap graphics cards may once again be at risk of inflation, as popular cryptocurrencies such as ethereum and bitcoin began to appreciate rapidly again this weekend.
According to reports Currency Taiwan (opens in new tab)both Bitcoin and Ethereum posted their first gains this weekend since the June market crash, with Bitcoin climbing as high as 5% (though it’s worth remembering that the crash dropped its value by 34%), while Ethereum was in It has surged 20% over the same period.
While this is good news for anyone still invested in any currency rally, this recovery could indeed mean that if cryptocurrencies become viable again, we could see GPU prices start to surge. Bitcoin is not a problem as it is practically impossible to mine the coin efficiently using a consumer graphics card, but since it is the most valuable and mature cryptocurrency on the market, its health usually has a knock-on effect with other coins.
On the other hand, Ethereum is a potential threat to our relatively affordable period in the GPU market. Although commitments move to the same “proof-of-stake” verification that Bitcoin uses (a system that uses randomly selected miners to verify transactions), the currency still uses “proof-of-work” (a competing verification method that can be exploited by miners).
GPU Shortage 2: Electric Boogaloo
A simpler idea is that proof-of-work allows miners around the world to try and be the first to solve a “mathematical puzzle”, and the first to do so can update the blockchain and be rewarded with a fraction of the cryptocurrency . Someone with access to hardware with a higher hash rate (the amount of computations that can be done per second) is more likely to solve the puzzle first.
These “hard problems” can be solved on traditional graphics cards rather than specialized mining rigs known as ASIC miners (application-specific integrated circuits), although ASICs do tend to offer better hashrate-price. As such, ASIC miners are typically only used with Bitcoin as it moves to proof-of-stake, but if Ethereum can still be mined efficiently on consumer graphics cards, PC gamers aren’t out of the woods yet.
There’s no guarantee that history will repeat itself, but as prices of popular graphics cards stabilize after two years of turmoil, low prices could lure miners back into Ethereum mining while GPU prices are low and the currency can still be mined in On them, that’s not even counting the many other small coins that still use proof-of-work verification.
This is especially frustrating, as AMD’s RDNA3 cards and Nvidia’s Lovelace series are expected to launch later this year, which could see gamers scrambling again to buy themselves shiny shiny ones before being mass snapped up by scalpers and miners New RTX 4080. In Taylor Swift’s words: I think I’ve seen this movie before and I didn’t like the ending.
Should you buy now, or wait for the next generation?
12 to 18 months ago, when I reported on the rising cost of recently released GPUs such as the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080, the price of AMD and Nvidia’s most popular next-gen products had risen to nearly 3x the MSRP, these Products made graphics cards are impossible to find in stock, and most people can’t afford them. Part of the blame lies with crypto miners, ranging from small operations to large industrial farms, as they have the purchasing power to use robots to snap up all available inventory from online stores.
If you’re wondering how bad this could be, news broke a few weeks ago that Ethereum miners have spent $15 billion on GPUs over the past two years, and that doesn’t even include building a mining rig – here’s only graphics card.
While this is all scary for PC gamers, and being prepared certainly helps, remember – there are no guarantees. We see signs that history could repeat itself, but that doesn’t mean it will, and a lot could happen between now and the launch of the next generation of graphics cards. If ETH eventually moves to proof-of-stake, for example, one of the biggest problems will be solved immediately.
If you’re bent on snapping up an RTX 4060 at launch, keep an eye on current market prices, but for those with the cash right now, don’t overlook the potential of the current-generation graphics card.There are a lot of great deals on the Radeon RX 6800 XT and GeForce RTX 3080 GPUs right now, and many of the current ones are still a great buy for years to come, and we can at least enjoy some Discounted graphics cards Before the breakthrough of all hell potential is lost again.
