It’s uncertain whether gamers will look angrily at mining rigs like this again in the case of the RTX 4000 and RX 7000.
In order to digitally mine the Ethereum cryptocurrency, you need a lot of computing power, which gaming graphics cards also offer. This should have changed a long time ago due to a new system behind it, but now that move to 2.0 has been postponed again. More precisely, it is about the transition from intensive computing proof of work
-Method for Proof of Stake
-Procedure.
We already reported on the specific context more than a year ago. According to a recent tweet from Ethereum developer Tim Beiko, the change will not take place in June as planned, but a few months later – and therefore possibly only after the release of the new generations of GPUs from Nvidia (RTX 4000) and AMD (RX 7000), which are expected in late 2022.
related to Twitter content
Exact dates and uncertain impact
the statement It won’t be June, but probably a few months later
of the tweet above leaves quite a long window of time open for the final implementation of the process change in Ethereum 2.0. The fact that it has already been postponed more than once does not necessarily give hope that it will take place as soon as possible.
As a result, we already fear a negative impact on the prices of graphics cards. Lately, they’ve been coming down little by little. At the same time, it is difficult to estimate how much a delayed switch to Ethereum 2.0 will also affect the costs of next-generation graphics cards from AMD and Nvidia.
Besides the still unanswered question of exactly when the RTX 4000 and RX 7000 will change and release, the ability of these new models to adapt to mining plays a major role. If this is the case to a large extent – for example due to particularly fast video memory, which is very important in mining – AMD and Nvidia could still take further countermeasures.
What are AMD and Nvidia doing against mining?
Mining lock with a difference: the RX 6500 XT is hardly suitable for mining Ethereum due to its small amount of VRAM.
There are still no official statements about new generations of GPUs and their suitability for mining. However, it can be assumed that Nvidia will also offer its graphics cards in the next generation RTX 4000 as an LHR variant (LHR stands for Light hash rate
) with reduced mining performance. As in the current generation RTX 3000, the ease and extent of clearing these locks ultimately matters.
AMD hasn’t taken comparable action so far, the only exception being the RX 6500 XT. According to the manufacturer, it deliberately only has 4.0 GB of VRAM because it is significantly less suitable for mining than models with more VRAM. Such a step is only possible for entry-level models. At the same time, we don’t expect a mining ban for the faster RX 7000 generation GPUs.
You can also find out what to expect from the new graphics cards in terms of performance, efficiency, and price in our big hardware podcast on 2022 gaming GPUs:
Link to podcast content
No end to the crypto boom in sight
If manufacturers do not provide sufficient remedy, this could also be done by significantly lowering prices. In the case of Ethereum, however, there are currently no clear signs of a permanent price decline.
From the historic high of just over 4,000 euros at the end of 2021, the value initially fell sharply to around 2,100 euros at the start of 2022. At the moment, however, we are again more in the area of the 3,000 euro mark.
It remains exciting to see how prices will evolve until the switch to Ethereum 2.0, which has been repeatedly postponed, and especially after – and when this change will finally arrive.
How do you assess the situation? Would it be important for better prices for new graphics cards from AMD and Nvidia to move as soon as possible to Ethereum 2.0, does it matter little or is it impossible to predict? Feel free to write it in the comments!