GPU prices skyrocket as Bitcoin rises

[Calavera]

I was looking around on Newegg and noticed Geforce GTX 1660 Super video cards are listed around $400-$500! That can't be right I thought so then I went to Ebay and checked the sold listings.....holy crap it is right! Apparently there is a shortage of GPUs but there has been for most of 2020. The main reason the prices for GPU are skyrocketing is because Bitcoin has had a huge surge in price. It has went from $18,000 to $40,000 in the last two months. Another virtual currency called Ethereum has also shot up in price. Going from $560 to $1,300 in the last two months. So with the value so high miners are buying up all the video cards.

I purchased my 1660 Super at the end of April last year for $250 brand new. That same card is now selling for $400+ used! That is just insane! I'm almost tempted to sell my card for $450 then when the value of Bitcoin plummets again and miners are selling off tons of cards spend that $450 on a more powerful card! I'm not going to though because who knows how long it will be until prices are normal again? I wouldn't want to be without a decent GPU for a long time.

I really don't know a lot about Bitcoin but even with the value being so high right now after paying such a high price for GPUs plus the electricity to run them wouldn't it be hard to make a profit? Also it seems really risky. They could buy up GPUs for these insane prices today and then Bitcoin could fall to half the value next week giving the miners a huge loss. It sucks for people who are trying to build a new PC right now or are just wanting to upgrade their video card. It is more or less impossible to buy a GPU for gaming right now unless you want to overpay like crazy. The 1660 Super is a good gaming card for $250 but for $400-$450 no it isn't worth that. I haven't really looked into other GPUs but if something like the 1660 Super is going for that much just imagine how much the cards that were normally $700+ are going for right now!

[ian]

I was looking around on Newegg and noticed Geforce GTX 1660 Super video cards are listed around $400-$500! That can't be right I thought so then I went to Ebay and checked the sold listings.....holy crap it is right! Apparently there is a shortage of GPUs but there has been for most of 2020. The main reason the prices for GPU are skyrocketing is because Bitcoin has had a huge surge in price. It has went from $18,000 to $40,000 in the last two months. Another virtual currency called Ethereum has also shot up in price. Going from $560 to $1,300 in the last two months. So with the value so high miners are buying up all the video cards.

I purchased my 1660 Super at the end of April last year for $250 brand new. That same card is now selling for $400+ used! That is just insane! I'm almost tempted to sell my card for $450 then when the value of Bitcoin plummets again and miners are selling off tons of cards spend that $450 on a more powerful card! I'm not going to though because who knows how long it will be until prices are normal again? I wouldn't want to be without a decent GPU for a long time.

I really don't know a lot about Bitcoin but even with the value being so high right now after paying such a high price for GPUs plus the electricity to run them wouldn't it be hard to make a profit? Also it seems really risky. They could buy up GPUs for these insane prices today and then Bitcoin could fall to half the value next week giving the miners a huge loss. It sucks for people who are trying to build a new PC right now or are just wanting to upgrade their video card. It is more or less impossible to buy a GPU for gaming right now unless you want to overpay like crazy. The 1660 Super is a good gaming card for $250 but for $400-$450 no it isn't worth that. I haven't really looked into other GPUs but if something like the 1660 Super is going for that much just imagine how much the cards that were normally $700+ are going for right now!

The miners brought the price up before, and it's happening again. problem is, new cards have gone insane on price, so they help keep the old cards worth a lot.

I'm sitting here with my old card (and the rest of the old PC) wondering how it is still worth anything at all, but because a modern low end card is AUD $500 (what the mid range should be) it keeps older stuff up there.

when I can get twice the performance of this system, for exactly half the price, is when I'll upgrade. Fuck mining, it's as boring as real mining without the payoff.

[Calavera]

The miners brought the price up before, and it's happening again. problem is, new cards have gone insane on price, so they help keep the old cards worth a lot.

I'm sitting here with my old card (and the rest of the old PC) wondering how it is still worth anything at all, but because a modern low end card is AUD $500 (what the mid range should be) it keeps older stuff up there.

when I can get twice the performance of this system, for exactly half the price, is when I'll upgrade. Fuck mining, it's as boring as real mining without the payoff.

I know next to nothing about mining but I don't see how jumping in when bitcoin is at the highest can turn a profit. It just blows my mind that people are paying over $400 for a GPU that was $250 brand new only a few months ago. Like I said in my first post even the R9 290X has went up to $120. I think they were around $60-$70 before. I don't understand why anybody would even want those for mining! They are absolute power hogs and they are over 7 years old!

The RTX 3090 is going for around $2000 with some actually selling for $2500+! So that is $500-$1000 over MSRP! I'm no expert on the Bitcoin market but I don't expect it to keep rising. Most likely it will drop sharply in the next month or two. Maybe then we'll be able to get some cheap GPUs when all the miners are trying to sell their cards. Then again when that happens you'll have to be careful when buying cards. If the person selling them is honest and reveals that they were used for mining then no problem. But you know many people will not tell that they have been running at 100 percent for several months straight. I really don't know how much that actually affects a card but still I wouldn't want to pay the same price for a card that was run full blast for several months.

*edit it seems that tariffs are also causing price increases.

[Dr. Zoidberg]

Let's hope BC crashes and then we can get some cheap cards!

[ian]

Then again when that happens you'll have to be careful when buying cards. If the person selling them is honest and reveals that they were used for mining then no problem. But you know many people will not tell that they have been running at 100 percent for several months straight.

I'd actually take (and HAVE in the past, and my current 1070) a mining card OVER a gaming card.

Because you can be pretty much assured that a mining card has been run on an open bench or in an open rack and not stuffed into a cramped case with crappy cooling, and that the mining card has been underclocked to use less power, thus make less heat and maximise profits.

Where as a gaming card you can guarantee has had the tits clocked off it so a gamer can squeeze extra frames.

I've now owned 3 ex miners GPU's.. I got them MUCH cheaper than non mined cards, they were all in better condition with less dust than gaming or daily use cards, and I've not had any issues with a single one after years.
Even if the price was identical.. I'd still take a mining one over a gaming one.

[Calavera]

Let's hope BC crashes and then we can get some cheap cards!

I just checked the prices and umm.... that hasn't quite happened. It is currently at $60,180. Even if you bought in at $30,000 you'd still be rich! Although if you had the money to buy several bitcoins at $30,000 you probably already have a bit of money, but you'd have more money!

Even though it keeps going up far more than anyone would have expected. Personally when it was around $30,000 I thought that would be the highest ever and you'd be foolish to invest at that price. I still wouldn't invest if I had the money. Some places say it could reach $500,000 by 2030 but they have no idea. It could or it could all go to shit and go down to near nothing. It is a fickle market. You are much better off buying some stock in an American Institution like AT&T.

[Calavera]

I just checked to see how much my 1660 Super is going for nowadays. $500-$550! Wow! So that is now 2x what it was less than a year ago.

[ian]

I'm hoping the shortage holds up and I can sell my 1070 for more than it cost brand new ($749)

I saw an identical model to mine go for $510 the other day.. which is fucking nuts, it's worth like $250 MAX.

[pixel]

Holy fuck my stubby 2060 super is listed at $500-800

[ian]

Update: I HAD a 1070. I just sold it for Eight Hundred Billion Dollars and bought a solid gold house and a rocket car.
After this, someone offered to buy my 2080 with a trillion dollar bill.
I told them: "I don't need any more money, I'm not greedy! As long as I've got my health, and my millions of dollars, and my gold house, and my rocket car, I don't need anything else."

Someone once gave me a plate of corn muffins to paint their chicken coop, but the corn muffins were lousy, so I never did it! Another guy gave me a couple of blintzes to paint their fence, but those blintzes were terrible, so I didn't do that either!

Long story Short, if you paid $300 for a mid range ex mining card 3-5 years ago, you're now wearing a monocle on a yacht and bathing in Dom Pérignon Rose 1959 every day.

[pixel]

Update: I HAD a 1070. I just sold it for Eight Hundred Billion Dollars and bought a solid gold house and a rocket car.

[melancholy]

My MSI Gaming Z 2070 is going for $1300 new on EBay and Amazon. That’s kinda stupid.