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Why has Bit Coin Mining Driven Up GPU Prices So Much?!

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  • Peripherals
  • GPUs
  • Graphics
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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December 23, 2013 3:29:20 PM

I get what Bit Coin Mining is.
I understand why GPUs are used for Bit Coin Mining.

What I don't understand is why people would spend upwards of $400 to $500 on a GPU i got 6 or 7 months ago for <$300!

I get the potential, mine for bit coins, find blocks, cash em out, etc...

But when there are USB peripheral devices that are already into the Giga Hashes, as opposed to some GPUs where they are barely tipping the scales on 500 MH/s (arbitrary number, did not cite this before hand, but i think I'm close.) it seems like a waste to me!
:pfff: 
Maybe someone can better explain this?
My logic on the subject seems to be flawed, or else the GPU price rises would have stopped in it's tracks already.

More about : bit coin mining driven gpu prices

December 24, 2013 12:27:56 AM

It's just a typical case of supply and demand. Though bitcoin mining may be declining in its lucrativeness, people will continue to pursue it and try to make a quick buck until it becomes too painfully obvious that the returns are diminishing. In the meantime, they've snatched up as many powerful GPUs as they can and manufacturers and retailers will raise prices to capitalize on the increased demand.

Once the bitcoin mining market has reached saturation and demand for GPUs decreases you'll see a normalizing in prices.
December 24, 2013 9:30:38 AM

It seems as though, people would realize the crappy returns they're getting pretty quickly with the bit coin block algorithms becoming more and more complex.
It doesn't seem to me that there would be enough enthusiasts to actually pursue this without making something of a profit, let alone affect an entire market exponentially!
I get the potential of it, but now it just costs too much to get the hardware to get in.
I tried giving it a shot, mining in a pool, and it seemed as if
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December 24, 2013 9:46:10 AM

When everyone's rushing to buy your graphics cards hoping they will print money, it makes sense to raise prices.

Humans are greedy, go figure.
December 24, 2013 10:57:37 AM

Many of the buyers are actually mining litecoins and other scrypt based cryptocurrency.

The scrypt algorithm is not effectively mined by ASICs
December 24, 2013 11:38:39 AM

smeezekitty said:
Many of the buyers are actually mining litecoins and other scrypt based cryptocurrency.

The scrypt algorithm is not effectively mined by ASICs


If this is the case, then there are many forms of "internet" currencies, therefore we may not see the prices of GPUs stabilize for some time then?
December 24, 2013 11:48:17 AM

TomTom111 said:
smeezekitty said:
Many of the buyers are actually mining litecoins and other scrypt based cryptocurrency.

The scrypt algorithm is not effectively mined by ASICs


If this is the case, then there are many forms of "internet" currencies, therefore we may not see the prices of GPUs stabilize for some time then?


To some extent. But other "currencies" tend to follow bitcoin which took a dive in price.
I suspect prices will go down a bit.

Keep in mind these miners are generally extremely greedy and arrogant
December 27, 2013 1:50:56 PM

smeezekitty said:
Keep in mind these miners are generally extremely greedy and arrogant


Bingo! As a gun enthusiast, ammunition has been in very short supply for over the last year, in part because the government has bought some large quantities but also because as soon as it is put on the shelves some bubba buys 5 boxes he knows he'll never shoot "just in case." It's the same situation here.
December 27, 2013 2:05:15 PM

I've been wondering the same as well, I've looked it up before and all the initial investment as well as power bill,etc from mining just doesn't seem worth it to me at all. I think it is utterly ridiculous how much it has driven up prices. About a month ago I was going to buy a 2nd hd7950 and it was around $150-175ish and now they have shot up to almost 500 dollars everywhere. I have only seen r9 280x and not the plain r9 280 which is supposed to be basically a rebranded 7950. (If I'm not mistaken)


It has made me look at nvidia gpu instead for my bro's gaming pc. Hell you can find plenty of 660ti for around ~$150-175ish in good condition on sale even here.


If you're looking for a powerful but still cheapish gpu right now, I'd say the regular 2gb GTX 770, or the ~$200 r9 270x, the high end on AMD side seems to be screwed right now thanks to the greedy and dare I say foolish miners.
December 30, 2013 8:39:39 AM

WhiteSnake91 said:
I've been wondering the same as well, I've looked it up before and all the initial investment as well as power bill,etc from mining just doesn't seem worth it to me at all. I think it is utterly ridiculous how much it has driven up prices. About a month ago I was going to buy a 2nd hd7950 and it was around $150-175ish and now they have shot up to almost 500 dollars everywhere. I have only seen r9 280x and not the plain r9 280 which is supposed to be basically a rebranded 7950. (If I'm not mistaken)


It has made me look at nvidia gpu instead for my bro's gaming pc. Hell you can find plenty of 660ti for around ~$150-175ish in good condition on sale even here.


If you're looking for a powerful but still cheapish gpu right now, I'd say the regular 2gb GTX 770, or the ~$200 r9 270x, the high end on AMD side seems to be screwed right now thanks to the greedy and dare I say foolish miners.


Thank you sir, for the reply.
I actually went out and bought the 770 2GB edition since starting this thread.
I was VERY disappointed with the performance from it, compared to the 7950 i had.
(not comparing the two exclusively, knowing the 7950 had better specs. But the expectation and reality were in opposing universes.)
I had to refund it, it was that bad.

Since then, i am looking into the 280X (7970 GHz edition rebranded).
Maybe after the holiday season, say end of January, the prices may start to decline again.
This is wishful thinking, as predicting these things are horrendously inaccurate.

I am completely impartial when it comes to PC hardware, but AMD has won me over in this round in GPUs.
They just provide that bang for your buck i'm always looking for.
!