The bane of PC gaming, GPU mining, is coming to an end. The imminent move of Ethereum to Proof of Stake and away from energy-intensive Proof of Work means the end of bulk mining GPU purchases. We see this reflected in the plummeting prices of new graphics cards and the flood of pre-sales, including those that have been live-streamed. (opens in new tab)
At the peak of the mining boom, it was very difficult to obtain new high-end cards at prices that did not involve the harvesting of non-essential organs. Miners, on the other hand, had no problem issuing a large number of cards in batches when Ethereum was at an all-time high, making it easier to recoup their spending costs.
If you need a card or two, go to a retail store. If you need 100 pieces, please try our distributor. If you need 1000, the company should be happy to call you. MSI seems to be one such company.According to the photos posted @hongxing2020 (opens in new tab) (via video cards (opens in new tab)), MSI sold the unreleased RTX 3080 20GB card directly to miners.
A long time ago, there was a rumor that Nvidia was considering selling a 20GB RTX 3080. (opens in new tab)This makes sense since 10GB feels a bit thin compared to the 16GB RX 6×00 card and the RTX 3090. It turns out that the cards went well beyond the planning stage and were actually produced.
Interestingly, the card was the FHR version, meaning it offered better hash rates than the consumer LHR version. Bad luck for smaller miners who had to deal with retail 3080 hash rate blocks. Money seems to be the issue. If there’s one thing he doesn’t lack in large miners, it’s money.
according to @hongxing2020 (opens in new tab) There are at least 100 of them and they sell for “over 3,000 RMB” or over 400 USD. It’s a bargain. But don’t buy. Nvidia has not released the card, so there is no driver support. So unless you plan on mining for a few more weeks, this card won’t be much more than a novelty collector’s edition.
Even if you could buy it for gaming, it’s nothing compared to the RTX 3080 12GB. (opens in new tab) It has more cores and a wider memory bus. So the 3080 20GB is a downgrade over the 3080 12GB and very few games use more than 12GB of vRAM.
The 3080 20GB is a good choice for prosumers with large data sets, but why sell it in that market when Nvidia can push it towards a 24GB 3090? It looks good on the top, but compared to its brother card, this card was pretty pointless.
The fact that the cards exist shows how much market power miners had. At a time when gamers had to pay exorbitant prices for cards, GPU makers were quietly willing to sell to miners behind the scenes. Every hail is proof of stake!
