Cryptocurrencies have taken over for the time being and this has taken away all the consumer cards in large-scale operations. Did NVIDIA have a solution? Eh … I would not say that this is exactly a solution, rather a PR step to win the hearts and minds of the consumer. Was the fight against cryptocurrency mining ever a priority for NVIDIA? We do not know the answer for sure, but it probably was not.
What does a mining tree with a cryptocurrency normally look like? And how does this affect NVIDIA?
Prior to the current boom, cryptocurrency mining was popular in late 2017 and early 2018 when Bitcoin reached a peak of $ 20,000. We have since learned a lot about what the market looks like before and after the rise of graphics cards. The most popular card was the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti with an MSRP of $ 800. We quickly saw what happened to cards that doubled and tripled in price due to the extraordinarily high demand from miners.
Source: Investopedia
NVIDIA saw the whole thing unfold and stood idle through the whole situation, but to their surprise, when the value of Bitcoin dropped once, the whole card market blew up in their face. NVIDIA planned to introduce the RTX 20 series of cards, but these cards have a higher price point and not enough performance improvements compared to the previous generation. In many ways, many saw the 1080 Ti as the best card. The launch of the 20-series chart compared to other launches will be categorized as a flop.
At the end of the crypto boom, mining companies had to sell all their mining cards. A resurgence of used 10 series cards has become available on the second hand market. For anyone building a system, the 10 series charts were the best choice as it has a lower MSRP price point in the second hand market. The rise of old cards has caused the launch of the 20 series to be overshadowed by a surge of more affordable options from the previous generation that everyone was happy for.
The Hash Rate Limiter is a poor attempt to win the hearts of consumers, and the CMP series wants to kill the second-hand GPU market.
As described above, the crypto tree gave everyone a baseline a few years ago for what another crypto tree would look like, but NVIDIA saw it too. Their response this year was to release mining cards and limit the mining power of consumer cards. The solution of the CMP series and hash constraints via the VBIOS and software was. Some people have given them praise, but they do not deserve the praise. It was just a PR stunt that hid their true intentions. NVIDIA’s real intentions were not to help consumers fight the crypto boom. It was to arrange the market in such a way that something similar to the RTX 20 series would not happen again. The end of a crypto boom is always leading to cards being sold cheaply in large quantities, overshadowing the new versions of NVIDIA. NVIDIA does not want a saturated market when they launch their new products, so the CMP series was born.
If we look at the hash rate limiters, it is simply inefficient and a ploy to please consumers. The hash rate limiter is simply bad. I can not put it any other way. It is aimed at Ethereum mining only and is still profitable for a number of other cryptocurrencies. CryptoLeo tested the hash limit on the 3060 and found that it is only for Ethereum and that in many cases the 3060 is still profitable and can earn up to $ 6.5 per day. I admit that it is very difficult to limit something to limit all currencies so that we can appreciate an effort. The restriction of the hash tariff only limits the retail consumer who wants to mine on the side, because large-scale operations can crack the limit.
But as most millennials will know, SecuROM can be virtually anything.
Usman Pirzada @usmanpirzada 18 February 2021
I can exceed the hash limit because it is difficult to pull off successfully. However, I am very angry with the CMP series because at the end of the day there is nothing positive about them. I even want to go so far as to say that this is the anti-consumer behavior of NVIDIA. The CMP series is going to reduce the amount of stock for consumer cards because they use very similar silicone, but the card itself can only be used for mining. Silicone is not finite, but the way it is made makes it increasingly difficult to continue at the same pace.
Why is it bad, you may ask? It’s pretty simple, the current mining boom will end at some point and cards will flood the market. What happens if CMP cards are no longer useful? Players and consumers can use CMP cards for free, so they are recycled or dumped. I might add, it’s bad for the environment too, but it’s definitely good for NVIDIA. Older cards are usually passed on to budget builders, but now budget builders do not have the option. If the market is not saturated with graphics cards before launch, the product they release will perform better. Each card seen in the photos is sold at a cheap price on the second hand market so that consumers can buy it. What happens if the rack is full of CMP cards? All the cards end up in the trash because consumers cannot buy them.
Even the specs are lower than average in the CMP data table, leading us to believe that lower inner cords are a way to find more maps. The CMP series is ultimately an economic strategy to destroy the resale market and promote the purchase of newer NVIDIA cards. Once the crypto boom ends, CMP cards will go in the trash and fewer second-hand cards will flood the market. It’s a win-win for NVIDIA, but it’s bad for the environment and bad for the consumer, but does it matter? Absolutely not, Nvidia’s conclusion and shareholders will be very pleased with their increased returns.
The hash restriction and the CMP series have mixed reactions. Some praise it, while others see it as an economic move against consumers. Ultimately, it’s up to the people to decide if they like NVIDIA or not.