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Crypto and Bitcoin miners are driving up the cost of VR

Zenbane
MVP
MVP
Came across an interesting article that notes the impact the Miners are having on the "cost of entry for Virtual Reality."

Basically, the Miners are buying up all the high-end Graphics Cards. In doing so, the cost of these cards is increasing. However, these are the same cards that are often required to create a machine to power an Oculus Rift or HTC Vive. Especially if you want to meet the graphic demands of something like Fallout 4.

The price range for a 1070 or 1080 is between $800 and $1,000. The price increase is the natural result of Supply/Demand, however, it certainly doesn't help make the case in favor of "affordable PCVR." Especially when VR Titles demand the higher end Graphics Cards for a "quality experience."

Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin were some the biggest sensations in 2017. We saw normal people become millionaires overnight due to the crazy growth and demand of crytocurrency. And with the explosion of cryptocurrency came the overhaul of crypto-miners that started to buy out all the GPUs on the market. Due to the demand for GPUs, the entry cost into PC based VR systems is now a lot higher.

When Nvidia first announced the GTX 1070 and 1080, they were priced around $379 – $600. Some thought this was pretty expensive for a graphics card. Now, if you check any eCommerce or marketplace like Amazon, you’ll notice how expensive these graphics cards are now.

While current minimum specs for the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive allow you to use GPUs such as a GTX 1060, demanding games like Fallout 4 VR state that you need at least a GTX 1070. But even then, a GTX 1060 costs almost $400.

https://www.vrandfun.com/bitcoin-miners-driving-vr-entry-prices/

55 REPLIES 55







That's why you don't hustle, there's always someone watching:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4GMrG0cekw



As we used to say in the army - "that'll learn 'em".
Big PC, all the headsets, now using Quest 3

kojack
MVP
MVP
When it comes to women on a train, you can't beat The Raid 2. (warning: quite violent)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTrJa197dSk

Although one that fits the previous theme a bit better might be:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6s7f3m1rT-c
🙂


Why are people buying gfx cards to do mining? ASICs earn coins faster.
Buy a $1000 Geforce 1080TI and earn $2.83 per day or get an AntMiner S9 for $2320 and earn $9.50 a day.
The Geforce takes 353 days to pay for itself, while the AntMiner S9 only takes 244 days to pay for itself (and doesn't stop your PC from being useful for other stuff at the same time).
The Baikal Giant X10 ASIC miner is coming out in a couple of weeks. Preorder cost is $6666, but it will currently earn $31.93 per day, so it pays for itself in just 209 days.
After the first year of mining, you will have earned a profit of (taking into account initial purchase cost):
1080TI - $32.95
S9 - $1147.5
X10 - $4988.45

That's the crazy bit, buy a Geforce 1080TI for mining and you won't start making a profit until almost a YEAR of running non stop.
Even longer if you take breaks to play VR games on it. 🙂

Author: Oculus Monitor,  Auto Oculus Touch,  Forum Dark Mode, Phantom Touch Remover,  X-Plane Fixer
Hardware: Threadripper 1950x, MSI Gaming Trio 2080TI, Asrock X399 Taich
Headsets: Wrap 1200VR, DK1, DK2, CV1, Rift-S, GearVR, Go, Quest, Quest 2, Reverb G2

Anonymous
Not applicable
Yup. That's why anyone with any sense is Cloud Mining. Buying your own hardware (whether it's a GPU or an ASIC) is going to be great at the beginning but as difficulty levels rise your mining revenue decreases. If you Cloud Mine you can compound your hashpower with the Bitcoin you mine.

edwardheavy
Explorer

I heard that it is not necessary to mine cryptocurrency, because now there is such a thing as tokens, which can also be profitable. What do you think of it?

Mairez
Honored Guest

To be honest, I don't understand profit very well, however I'm familiar with tokens as I use CoinsPaid crypto wallet which has its own CPD token. Naturally, I purchased it, but I use it to pay for crypto wallet services with it, or simply to get a rather large discount on these services. Maybe I could even make some money from it, but honestly, I didn't understand it. In general, if you are looking for a reliable crypto wallet, then I can definitely advise you this option. It is suitable for both personal use and business enterprises.

inovator
Consultant

I say screw them all. Because of bit coins the market was tough even before the pandemic

 Now its impossible. I still use my 1080ti and if it breaks I'll send it  to nvidia for repair. I gave up on getting a new card a few years ago. Now I wouldn't buy one at the normal price. Psvr2 is the ticket for me along with my ques2. The future will be cloud gaming for many. Very soon I'm starting a thread on that.