Crypto Mining Could Make Gaming GPUs More Expensive Again

The graphics card market faces another challenge as cryptocurrency mining returns and demand for AI hardware grows. With GPU availability already under pressure, renewed mining interest could make it harder for gamers to find affordable graphics cards.

Meanwhile, delays around NVIDIA's rumored 24GB RTX 5080 and AMD's plans for future integrated graphics raise more questions about the GPU market's direction. However, a new GPU manufacturer is also making progress, potentially creating another competitor for AMD and NVIDIA.

Crypto Mining Demand Could Bring Older NVIDIA GPUs Back

According to a new report from China, some graphics card manufacturers are now telling distributors to focus on older GPUs instead of NVIDIA's RTX 50 series. We aren't talking about the RTX 40 series either. The report specifically mentions the RTX 3060 and RTX 3050 as potential options for filling current demand gaps.

Much of this demand reportedly comes from the return of cryptocurrency mining. A new cryptocurrency called Pearl has become profitable to mine using gaming GPUs. The good news is that this situation currently appears to be affecting the Chinese market, but the cryptocurrency can also generate profits in the US.

Using the national average electricity cost in the US, miners can reportedly make a few dollars per day, with an RTX 5090 generating up to $184 per month after electricity costs. The report also points to the e-commerce promotional period as another driver of demand. However, if we start seeing the same mining demand spread across the US, it could put even more pressure on an already struggling GPU market.

With AI companies already competing for hardware, cryptocurrency mining could create another challenge for gamers looking to purchase a new graphics card. The problems don't stop with cryptocurrency mining. Remember the rumored 24GB RTX 5080 that was expected to replace the existing 16GB model? It looks like we might have to wait longer than expected.

NVIDIA's 24GB RTX 5080 Could Face Another Delay

NVIDIA has already removed the 16GB RTX 5080 from its store, making the situation more concerning for anyone waiting for the rumored 24GB version. According to a new report from BenchLife, NVIDIA was supposed to provide board partners with the necessary design kits back in October. These design kits contain the documents and information manufacturers need to complete the design and testing.

However, October has already passed, and NVIDIA still hasn't sent them out. That's a problem because, according to VideoCardz, one board partner said launching a new graphics card takes at least 6 weeks after receiving the required information. With the current component shortage, even 2 months may be optimistic.

The 24GB RTX 5080 was previously rumored to launch as early as December or January. NVIDIA could still announce the graphics card at CES, but getting it onto store shelves by January now looks very unlikely. Between AI demand and the return of cryptocurrency mining, gamers could end up paying even more for their next graphics card.

Memory prices are still high, but there are ways to reduce the cost of upgrading a PC. Micro Center is offering hardware bundles that can significantly lower the price of DDR5 memory. For example, one bundle includes a Ryzen 7 7800X3D, 32GB of G.Skill Flare X DDR5-6000 memory, and an ASUS B650E motherboard. Purchasing these components together saves almost $235 compared to buying them separately.

Since the card launched in May, Lisuantech has released new GPU drivers every month.

That's fairly close to AMD's driver release schedule, although NVIDIA generally releases its Game Ready drivers more frequently. For a company releasing its first gaming GPU, maintaining this update schedule is a positive sign. What's more interesting is how many changes these updates include.

In September, the company released a driver update containing 67 different fixes and optimizations. These included 34 fixes and 33 game performance optimizations. The latest release, published on October 29, included another 58 changes. These updates address several games that previously wouldn't even launch, including F1 24, F1 25, Star Wars Outlaws, and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.

Public allegations have also raised concerns that Lisuantech may have reused another company's GPU technology without authorization. Additionally, many driver updates focus on fixing bugs and basic compatibility issues rather than introducing major performance improvements.