OEMs are reportedly selling Nvidia laptop GPUs as desktop mining cards, and it’s helping crypto miners dodge Lite Hash Rate restrictions. While the best gaming laptops featuring RTX 3060 and RTX 3070 chips haven’t been hit as hard as their fully-fledged gaming PC counterparts, the commercial practice could contribute to ongoing shortages.
Highlighted by Videocardz, I_Leak_VN shares evidence of repurposed Nvidia laptop GPUs as mining cards on Twitter. The leaker shows photos of what appears to be a desktop ‘RTX 3070M’ card, accompanied by specs on Taobao that confirm laptop chip suspicions. While the parts are being marketed toward mining, they don’t feature specific OEM markings, but I_Leak_VN suspects small Chinese manufacturers like Huananzhi may be behind the products.
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard of GPUs being transformed into cryptocurrency components, as there’s rumoured to be a mining rig that uses recycled PS5 chips. Of course, digital currency enthusiasts don’t really have to get creative with alternatives, as there are ways to bypass hash rate limiters on desktop cards.
Gaming PC availability and pricing is starting to normalise, as you can actually get an RTX 3090 Ti for less than MSRP. That said, questionable OEM practices could hamper gaming laptop supplies if left to continue, but Nvidia hasn’t reacted to the situation as of yet.
Hands-on "RTX 3070M" card 🤣🤣https://t.co/ouCgCxvlwQ pic.twitter.com/Hhk9i026Fa
— I_Leak_VN (@I_Leak_VN) May 26, 2022
There are reports that a crypto crash is on the horizon (via Forbes), which might just prevent these manufacturer moves from becoming an issue. Nevertheless, it’s still something to keep an eye on, especially since we’re all aware of the stock and price implications.