Will the coin mining bubble kill off PC Gaming?

[arandomguy]

I'd say the DIY market is the biggest though. You're not going to fit a 1080 TI inside a Dell or HP or other clone computer lol and even if you somehow get it to fit the cheap 150w PSU they put in those things is not going to handle it. The type of person that buys a high end graphics card is typically the type of person that builds their own machine. Or the type of person that has more money than brains and buys an Alienware. But those people usually just buy a console.

The consumers in the market for GTX 1080ti class GPUs is already in the minority even for DIY enthusiasts.

All the major OEMs have already been developing higher end gaming specific lines due to the shift in changing market conditions. Dell's Alienware is not the only line catering to this. Even looking at what were traditionally PC DIY companies such as MSI you may have noticed over the last years they are expanding and moving more into prebuilts, AIOs, gaming laptops, and etc. A company like Asus isn't even thought of anymore in the same way in terms of their product mix compared to 10-15 years ago.

Smaller system builders are also now setting aside cards specifically for their in house builds.

Not to mention the growth of the gaming laptop market.

The above have access to the supply channel at higher level than DIY consumers. HP certainly is not paying the current end retail prices for GTX 1080ti's going into their Omen systems.

Only a small portion of potential customers are dead set on being DIY. If we have a prolonged shift with higher DIY prices, not just GPUs but other components as well, then more consumers will simply switch to things like boutique, prebuilts or laptops. The current situation will do more to hasten the further demise of the DIY market, particularly in the mainstream, as opposed to any impact on PC gaming as a whole.

 

[whm1974]

Speaking of DIY market, I'm as hell hoping that overpriced dGPUs are not going to finally kill off it off and I've been building my own since 2000 and will continue to do so as long as I can.

 

[KMFJD]

I have a buddy that doesn't know much about computers, but bought 48 GPUs this month after being financed by his bro in law.

I really don't like what it's doing to the market.

hmm

 

[wags69]

Sadly, I believe the mining will kill PC gaming.
For the price of a high end card, I can buy a high end console plus games, and still have plenty of money left for Doritos and beer.

 

[JSt0rm]

they just need to increase production to meet demand. Nvidia and amd dont like to see price gouging as they arent the ones doing it. They would rather sell 2x as many cards at msrp or map.

 

[Stg-Flame]

Sadly, I believe the mining will kill PC gaming.
For the price of a high end card, I can buy a high end console plus games, and still have plenty of money left for Doritos and beer.

I built my computer in September 2012 and upgraded my GPU and PSU (PSU died) in 2015. It can still play almost every game at maxed settings at 2k resolution. I'd love to see consoles do the same.

 

[Red Storm]

I built my computer in September 2012 and upgraded my GPU and PSU (PSU died) in 2015. It can still play almost every game at maxed settings at 2k resolution. I'd love to see consoles do the same.

And I'd love to see consoles play PC games. Seriously, no amount of money would push me to consoles.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Straight from the horses' mouths...

Takeaways :
- PSU mfgs : Stoked - they've never sold more high-wattage power supplies, a product which was on a downtrend due to reductions in power consumption by AMD, Intel, and nVidia.
- Other component mfgs : Concerned - no brand loyalty, possibly reduced / unbalanced sales of other components (mobos, CPUs, RAM, gaming peripherals, etc.)

 

[PigSkinYtBoi]

I built my computer in September 2012 and upgraded my GPU and PSU (PSU died) in 2015. It can still play almost every game at maxed settings at 2k resolution. I'd love to see consoles do the same.

Problem is your computer has no games besides low budget shovelware and multiplats, whereas Horizon, Uncharted, The Last of Us, God of War, and Spiderman are better or shaping up to look better than anything on pc.

 

[PigSkinYtBoi]

I'd say the DIY market is the biggest though. You're not going to fit a 1080 TI inside a Dell or HP or other clone computer lol and even if you somehow get it to fit the cheap 150w PSU they put in those things is not going to handle it. The type of person that buys a high end graphics card is typically the type of person that builds their own machine. Or the type of person that has more money than brains and buys an Alienware. But those people usually just buy a console.

Isn't pc THE platform for more money than brains when you have people spending thousands just to mostly play low budget games like counter strike, dota, and pubg? Lol the irony.

 

[Charlie22911]

Isn't pc THE platform for more money than brains when you have people spending thousands just to mostly play low budget games like counter strike, dota, and pubg? Lol the irony.

Can confirm, sli 1080ti and I mostly play CS:S or Minecraft.

 

[bigboxes]

Can confirm, sli 1080ti and I mostly play CS:S or Minecraft.

Why do you have a 1080Ti in your HTPC? Isn't that a little overkill for 1080p?

 

[bigboxes]

Why do you have a 1080Ti in your HTPC? Isn't that a little overkill for 1080p?

and what do you need a pair of 1080Ti to run that Acer monitor? I've got a 34" Dell and my single 1080Ti handles it with no problem.

 

[Charlie22911]

It’s a 100hz monitor, I do play games from time to time that actually tax the system @100hz with all settings maxed. My friends play Minecraft and CS:S though so that why I play those mostly.
Also it’s for longevity, the system this replaced was an FX 8350 and 3x 6970s; I’ll keep this for several years until it can’t play the games I want anymore.