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To Combat Shortage, Nvidia Asks Retailers To Limit Graphics Card Orders (pcmag.com)
An anonymous reader writes: If you're a PC builder -- or your aging desktop system is in dire need of some modern upgrades -- you've probably wondered why it's impossible to get a graphics card lately. You can thank the outrageous interest in cryptocurrency for all of this. Since graphics cards mine cryptocurrency much faster than CPUs, an eager community of get-rich-quick enthusiasts are scooping up graphics cards as fast as they can get them. While there isn't much major manufacturers AMD and Nvidia can do about the overwhelming demand for GPUs, Nvidia is at least trying to let retailers know that they should be holding their stock for the company's core audience: gamers, not miners. "For NVIDIA, gamers come first. All activities related to our GeForce product line are targeted at our main audience. To ensure that GeForce gamers continue to have good GeForce graphics card availability in the current situation, we recommend that our trading partners make the appropriate arrangements to meet gamers' needs as usual," reads a translated statement Nvidia's Boris Bohles. Nvidia is suggesting that retailers limit graphics card orders to just two per person, but that's just an idea -- one Nvidia can't actually enforce beyond restricting sales on its website, which it's currently doing. Further reading: It's a terrible time to buy a graphics card.
nVidia knows two things: First, gamers will need graphics cards. Now, tomorrow, forever. Miners will need a lot of cards now but whether they will still buy any with the next generation is questionable. First question, is cryptocurrency still a thing and second, is GPUs still where the bitcoins are. If they can't supply enough cards to meet the demand today anyway, there is no point in trying to suck up to any customers today. But you might have to see where you get your customers tomorrow.
And second, gamers might have a preference for nVidia today, but they will buy AMD if they can't get nVidia cards for a reasonable price. If the gaming market suddenly gets flooded with AMD cards, game makers will stop optimizing mainly for nVidia. If there are more people playing on AMD than on nVidia, game makers will optimize for AMD.
And who'd then buy an nVidia card tomorrow when there (possibly) isn't a demand for crypto mining anymore?
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
The lesson here is to never buy a used GPU unless you can be sure it wasnâ(TM)t a mining GPU.
Why, exactly? The cards are run at lower wattage, at lower temps, 24/7 - minimal power cycling.
How does that make the card less valuable over time, or more likely to fail? What parts (besides the fans) are going to experience wear&tear?
Nvidia should put buzz words like "blockchain" and "crypto" in the name/descriptions of a line of video cards they're producing with a high margin and let nature take its course.
"Introducing the NEW Ford Pinto... powered by a BLOCKCHAIN engine with Ford's new CRYPTO door opener and starter mechanism!"
Bitcoin is mined on ASICs these days but there are other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum that are designed to be "ASIC resistant" by involving a very large number in their mining algorithms that needs to be stored in RAM, and changes periodically. Currently for ETH I believe that number is ~3GB. The result is that it makes ASICs unlikely to be worthwhile since a GPU is already a massively parallel processor with access to high speed ram. So yeah, GPU mining is back and reasonably profitable. Even after electricity costs many cards would pay for themselves in 3-5 months at current rates.
Nvidia doesn't mind selling tons of GPUs to whoever has money.
But what they don't want is for all the $popular_crypto_coin to suddenly crash (and it looks like they're about to) and then flood the market with dirt cheap used GPUs and leave Nvidia in the lurch unable to sell $Gpu->filter('this_year')->get_newest()
By doing this they can continue the high demand for their products and try to smooth out the coming bumps and dips.
And second, gamers might have a preference for nVidia today, but they will buy AMD if they can't get nVidia cards for a reasonable price. If the gaming market suddenly gets flooded with AMD cards, game makers will stop optimizing mainly for nVidia. If there are more people playing on AMD than on nVidia, game makers will optimize for AMD.
Which brings the related question :
ever noticed the recent trend in gaming consoles ?
Microsoft :
Since the XBox 360 all the way to the current XBox One X, uses ATI/AMD GPU hardware (and since the XBox One uses AMD CPUs too).
Sony:
Since the Playstation 4, including the current Playstation 4 Pro, uses an AMD APU.
Nintendo:
With the sole exception of the current Switch (which is Nvidia Tegra based) uses graphics core by ATI/AMD, either through acquisition (ATI did buy Art-X who were doing the GameCube's Flipper and Wii's GX) or by putting their own tech (The GX2 core of Wii U's Latte is a Radeon HD derivative core).
Nearly all hardware outputing graphics from gaming console has been some way or another related to AMD.
Chances are, game developer, more precisely triple-A big studio that target multiple consoles in addition to Windows PCs, are paying attention to AMD hardware optimisation.
(Though, due to the diverse jungle of graphical APIs. it doesn't necessarily translate into things applicable directly onto PC with AMD GPUs)
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