This morning was the opening keynote of the annual GPU Technology Conference (GTC), Nvidia’s big annual show. CEO Jansen Huang took to the stage and made a number of interesting announcements, including the unveiling of the world’s largest GPU — the GDX-2 — and some impressive deep learning demos powered by Nvidia’s move into AI.
However, two important groups of people were left virtually unmentioned by Huang. Gamers, and cryptocurrency miners.
Both groups have been eagerly awaiting the release of the next generation of graphics cards, specifically the announcement of a GPU made solely for mining cryptocurrency. Miners want more hashing power, while gamers want the skyrocketing prices of GPUs to get back to normal levels. A new generation of GPUs would accomplish both of those tasks.
The future for #GPU #cryptocurrency miners will be laid out this morning at #GTC18. Here’s how to watch the keynote. https://t.co/u13Y2trJFY #bitcoin
— Jake Rossman (@ptownjake) March 27, 2018
Outside of the possibility of interest in the GDX-2 as a powerhouse mining rig, gamers and miners are as in the dark as they were yesterday.
This “GPU crisis,” as it’s been referred to, has been left nearly unaddressed by the company. Of course, for Nvidia, it’s hardly a crisis. It’s given lip-service to the problem, but has no doubt enjoyed the profits of the new use case for its products. The lack of any mention of it at the keynote is a hard pill to swallow.
GTC isn’t a gaming-focused event — I get that. But it also would have been a great time to give even just a hint or tease at what’s to come. There’s lots of rumors and conspiracies floating around the internet, all of which could have been squelched with a mention by Huang from the stage. It also would have shown that they’re aware of how gamers feel, and given them a light at the end of the tunnel. Instead, I’m left to wonder if and when Nvidia will fix the issue.
“The more you buy, the more you save,” Huang repeated over and over throughout the keynote.
For the people Nvidia ignored, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Buy? Buy what? For many, affordable GPUs aren’t even available.
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