Asus to launch custom graphics card for mining workloads

[David Matthews]

Last May the value of Bitcoin reached $2000 per coin for the first time. As of writing, Bitcoin is holding steady at around $2424 per coin. Since the invention of the cryptocurrency in 2008, many have delved into the computationally intensive world of Bitcoin mining, the process in which Bitcoin transactions are processed and validated on the Bitcoin network (called a blockchain). In reality, it simply involves running a computer program, however, the machine it's running on should ideally be powerful and able to stay running for long periods of time.

While most high end GPUs are more than up to the task computationally, they're not designed for non-stop use. To aid in that endeavor, Asus has created specialty versions of the GTX 1060 (Mining P106) and Radeon RX 470 (Mining RX 470) that are meant to excel in long term reliability.

Read this: The State of Mining: Guide to Ethereum

"Asus Mining P106 is designed for coin mining with high-efficiency components - delivering maximum hash-rate production at minimum cost," reads Asus' product listing. "Asus Mining P106 enhances the megahash rate by up to 36% compared cards in the same segment that are not tailored for mining. The new card is also engineered to be seriously durable, enabling 24/7 operation for uninterrupted coin production."

Both graphics cards feature dual-ball bearing fans that reduce friction and are IP5X certified for dust resistance. Asus claims this will lead to a 2x longer lifespan and cooling efficiency. Asus' GPU Tweak software allows you to modify the GPU and memory clock speeds as well as the voltage to get better hash rates.

In recent weeks leading to the announcement of mining graphics cards, neither Nvidia nor AMD wanted to confirm them. However, the fact that Asus product websites are live gives credence to the information. If anything, dedicated graphics cards for mining workloads were inevitable this time around given the surge in value of Ethereum, which is still "profitable" to mine using regular desktop components, while Bitcoin has required dedicated hardware for quite some time now.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/69895-asus-launch-custom-gpus-bitcoin-mining.html

 

[oldikes]

These cards arent for bitcoin mining. GPU mining on bitcoin is largely incredibly unprofitable, bitcoin is primarily ASIC mining. Ethereum is the current GPU craze for mining.
Also, several manufacturers have released mining cards or are planning to do so, including Sapphire off the top of my head.

Its more than likely that their emphasis on "reliability for 24/7 use" is just a marketing ploy and they are hardly any different than gaming GPUs. the point of these is to cut cost by removing video outputs and such.

 

[Evernessince]

These cards arent for bitcoin mining. GPU mining on bitcoin is largely incredibly unprofitable, bitcoin is primarily ASIC mining. Ethereum is the current GPU craze for mining.
Also, several manufacturers have released mining cards or are planning to do so, including Sapphire off the top of my head.

Its more than likely that their emphasis on "reliability for 24/7 use" is just a marketing ploy and they are hardly any different than gaming GPUs. the point of these is to cut cost by removing video outputs and such.

Other than the dual bearing fans, anti-dust coating, and lack of ports they are the same. I don't really see them as a good investment as they have little resale value.

 

[psycros]

Why don't they remove some of the RAM? I can't imagine you need that much for crypto processing since its a purely linear operation. That would make these cards cheaper. In any case, whatever gets these mining bozos to stop buying up all the real GPUs is a good thing IMO.

 

[Julio Franco]

These cards arent for bitcoin mining. GPU mining on bitcoin is largely incredibly unprofitable, bitcoin is primarily ASIC mining. Ethereum is the current GPU craze for mining.
Also, several manufacturers have released mining cards or are planning to do so, including Sapphire off the top of my head.

Its more than likely that their emphasis on "reliability for 24/7 use" is just a marketing ploy and they are hardly any different than gaming GPUs. the point of these is to cut cost by removing video outputs and such.

You're right, poor inexact wording... thing is, bitcoin has almost become a generic term for cryptocurrency, but evidently adjustments were necessary on the story. Now updated.

 

[oldikes]

You're right, poor inexact wording... thing is, bitcoin has almost become a generic term for cryptocurrency, but evidently adjustments were necessary on the story. Now updated.

Yea I understand its a tricky situation. Its gonna get messy when something else pops up to replace ethereum and as the cycle continues - we need to find something catchy thats a blanket term for cryptocurrencies that isnt the word "cryptocurrency".

 

[Steve]

Why don't they remove some of the RAM? I can't imagine you need that much for crypto processing since its a purely linear operation. That would make these cards cheaper. In any case, whatever gets these mining bozos to stop buying up all the real GPUs is a good thing IMO.

VRAM is very important. 2GB cards for example can no longer mine Ethereum.

 

[Kenrick]

Not sure how is this different to cards that touts military class components, japanese components or the normal cards. BTW, Sapphire will only provide 6-month warranty for all gaming graphics SKUs being used in crypto-currency mining purposes. Not sure how can they enforce this.

This etherium mining is going crazy that all RX series and gtx 1060 are sold out and shoot up in price. The video card industry must be really happy together with the electric power suppliers.

 

[Evernessince]

Not sure how is this different to cards that touts military class components, japanese components or the normal cards. BTW, Sapphire will only provide 6-month warranty for all gaming graphics SKUs being used in crypto-currency mining purposes. Not sure how can they enforce this.

This etherium mining is going crazy that all RX series and gtx 1060 are sold out and shoot up in price. The video card industry must be really happy together with the electric power suppliers.

They can't enforce them. It's just making themselves look like a bunch of stingy jerks, which is on par with pretty much every interaction I've had with them thus far. When I buy AMD, I avoid Sapphire. Good designs, worst support.

 

[David Matthews]

These cards arent for bitcoin mining. GPU mining on bitcoin is largely incredibly unprofitable, bitcoin is primarily ASIC mining. Ethereum is the current GPU craze for mining.
Also, several manufacturers have released mining cards or are planning to do so, including Sapphire off the top of my head.

Its more than likely that their emphasis on "reliability for 24/7 use" is just a marketing ploy and they are hardly any different than gaming GPUs. the point of these is to cut cost by removing video outputs and such.

You're right, poor inexact wording... thing is, bitcoin has almost become a generic term for cryptocurrency, but evidently adjustments were necessary on the story. Now updated.

Whoops! Should've paid more attention there when I wrote the article. I'm so used to reading about bitcoin mining that my mind automatically assumed it was for bitcoin.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

These cards arent for bitcoin mining. GPU mining on bitcoin is largely incredibly unprofitable, bitcoin is primarily ASIC mining. Ethereum is the current GPU craze for mining.
Also, several manufacturers have released mining cards or are planning to do so, including Sapphire off the top of my head.

Its more than likely that their emphasis on "reliability for 24/7 use" is just a marketing ploy and they are hardly any different than gaming GPUs. the point of these is to cut cost by removing video outputs and such.

Other than the dual bearing fans, anti-dust coating, and lack of ports they are the same. I don't really see them as a good investment as they have little resale value.

Absolutely no computer hardware is a good investment because it becomes redundant far too quickly but if something like this can make you a bit of coin (Bitcoin... get it?... ugh, rather forget it) then I suppose you could consider it as money well spent.

 

[GreenNova343]

Not sure how is this different to cards that touts military class components, japanese components or the normal cards. BTW, Sapphire will only provide 6-month warranty for all gaming graphics SKUs being used in crypto-currency mining purposes. Not sure how can they enforce this.

It's really simple. The SKUs for these types of cards are different from the SKUs for "regular" gaming GPUs. If you're submitting a warranty claim, you either have to show that you registered the product with the company, or you have to provide a copy of the original sales receipt...both of which will show the date you purchased the item. They can easily have their automatic claim processing software auto-deny any claims where the purchase date is more than 6 months prior to the date a claim was submitted. And it makes it a lot easier for their customer service reps taking the call: "Sorry, sir, the notes say that you purchased that mining GPU on June 30, 2017, but you didn't submit the warranty claim until May 9, 2018, which is well past our 6-month warranty expiration. Have a nice day."

 

[Kenrick]

They can't enforce them. It's just making themselves look like a bunch of stingy jerks, which is on par with pretty much every interaction I've had with them thus far. When I buy AMD, I avoid Sapphire. Good designs, worst support.

Yeah kinda dumb and ignorant in their part. Still this is a serious threat to consumers. They want us to use the gaming cards only for gaming and light load applications. Sapphire recently updated their site to reflect this new terms/conditions.

It's really simple. The SKUs for these types of cards are different from the SKUs for "regular" gaming GPUs. If you're submitting a warranty claim, you either have to show that you registered the product with the company, or you have to provide a copy of the original sales receipt...both of which will show the date you purchased the item. They can easily have their automatic claim processing software auto-deny any claims where the purchase date is more than 6 months prior to the date a claim was submitted. And it makes it a lot easier for their customer service reps taking the call: "Sorry, sir, the notes say that you purchased that mining GPU on June 30, 2017, but you didn't submit the warranty claim until May 9, 2018, which is well past our 6-month warranty expiration. Have a nice day."

Not sure if you understood my post or not. I know how warranty claim is. Just to rephrase my post, Sapphire, an AMD video card supplier, will void warranty on their gaming graphics SKUs (RX580, RX570 etc) if they have been used for etherium mining. They already changed their terms and conditions on their site. I am talking about regular cards and not etherium specialized cards like the asus in the article. My question was, how can they determine if you used your regular sapphire gaming card for etherium mining?

 

[Greg S]

Why don't they remove some of the RAM? I can't imagine you need that much for crypto processing since its a purely linear operation. That would make these cards cheaper. In any case, whatever gets these mining bozos to stop buying up all the real GPUs is a good thing IMO.

VRAM is very important. 2GB cards for example can no longer mine Ethereum.

And also the fact that more memory bandwidth = higher hash rates for most algorithms. 8gb cards outperform 4gb cards by enough to justify paying for more memory.

 

[CaptainTom]

You're right, poor inexact wording... thing is, bitcoin has almost become a generic term for cryptocurrency, but evidently adjustments were necessary on the story. Now updated.

Yea I understand its a tricky situation. Its gonna get messy when something else pops up to replace ethereum and as the cycle continues - we need to find something catchy thats a blanket term for cryptocurrencies that isnt the word "cryptocurrency".

Crypto-mining. we already have a word lol. Problem is people don't know what that is...

 

[GreenNova343]

Not sure if you understood my post or not. I know how warranty claim is. Just to rephrase my post, Sapphire, an AMD video card supplier, will void warranty on their gaming graphics SKUs (RX580, RX570 etc) if they have been used for etherium mining. They already changed their terms and conditions on their site. I am talking about regular cards and not etherium specialized cards like the asus in the article. My question was, how can they determine if you used your regular sapphire gaming card for etherium mining?

http://www.anandtech.com/show/11579...and-polarisbased-cryptocurrency-mining-cards-

It looks like the 6-month warranty is being applied to the specific types that the miners want, as opposed to a "We will change it if we find out you used it for crypto mining". For example, one of the specific crypto mining variants on Newegg (https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202292) lists a 180-day warranty. One of their RX 460 products (https://www.newegg.com/products/N82E16814202269) lists a 2-year warranty, but their "regular gaming" Nitro 4GB RX 470 model (https://www.newegg.com/products/N82E16814202271) specifically is listed as having a 180-day warranty.

In other words...because of the current cryptocurrency mining craze, Sapphire is saying that all models that could theoretically be used for crypto mining are going to be limited to a 180-day warranty. So if you want a 2-year return policy right now, you either have to pay extra to the 3rd-party seller for an "extended warranty", or settle for a card that the crypto miners don't want like an RX 460/560.

 

[Evernessince]

http://www.anandtech.com/show/11579...and-polarisbased-cryptocurrency-mining-cards-

It looks like the 6-month warranty is being applied to the specific types that the miners want, as opposed to a "We will change it if we find out you used it for crypto mining". For example, one of the specific crypto mining variants on Newegg (https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202292) lists a 180-day warranty. One of their RX 460 products (https://www.newegg.com/products/N82E16814202269) lists a 2-year warranty, but their "regular gaming" Nitro 4GB RX 470 model (https://www.newegg.com/products/N82E16814202271) specifically is listed as having a 180-day warranty.

In other words...because of the current cryptocurrency mining craze, Sapphire is saying that all models that could theoretically be used for crypto mining are going to be limited to a 180-day warranty. So if you want a 2-year return policy right now, you either have to pay extra to the 3rd-party seller for an "extended warranty", or settle for a card that the crypto miners don't want like an RX 460/560.

Or, just buy from a vendor that does offer good service. The main issue that occurs with miner's cards is the fan going out. Sapphire was just touting it's super easy to replace fans on it's Nitro cads for the 400 and 500 series. So easy in fact that they merely need to mail you a replacement fan. They like to tout their new features but not actually use them when it costs them money.

These companies should have learned for the last mining craze. Program the card's BIOS to cope with 24 operation

 

[Kenrick]

http://www.anandtech.com/show/11579...and-polarisbased-cryptocurrency-mining-cards-

It looks like the 6-month warranty is being applied to the specific types that the miners want, as opposed to a "We will change it if we find out you used it for crypto mining". For example, one of the specific crypto mining variants on Newegg (https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202292) lists a 180-day warranty. One of their RX 460 products (https://www.newegg.com/products/N82E16814202269) lists a 2-year warranty, but their "regular gaming" Nitro 4GB RX 470 model (https://www.newegg.com/products/N82E16814202271) specifically is listed as having a 180-day warranty.

In other words...because of the current cryptocurrency mining craze, Sapphire is saying that all models that could theoretically be used for crypto mining are going to be limited to a 180-day warranty. So if you want a 2-year return policy right now, you either have to pay extra to the 3rd-party seller for an "extended warranty", or settle for a card that the crypto miners don't want like an RX 460/560.

Your reply does not make sense to my question and your post about warranty length is not my concern. My concern was how can they prove that you used your regular gaming card for mining and void your remaining warranty.

Anyway, this might help you so that we are in the same direction. Evernessince understood my post so I am not sure if there was a word that confused you. https://www.reddit.com/r/bapcsalesc...from_sapphire_re_using_gpus_for_cryptomining/