Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

AMD gains ground on Nvidia thanks to cryptocurrency miners

By
AMD Adrenalin Edition
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Cryptocurrency miners continue to change the landscape of the GPU market, and it looks like they may have even pushed AMD’s GPU sales to record highs. According to Tech Radar, AMD’s GPU market share rose from 27 percent to 33 percent in the tail end of 2017, and Nvidia’s market share fell from 72 percent to 66 percent. That’s a big change, and one that directly affects AMD and Nvidia’s bottom lines.

Part of the reason for the shift in AMD’s favor could be simply because of the GPU manufacturer’s already low prices. Compared to Nvidia, AMD graphics cards have always been the favorite of budget-conscious PC gamers, offering almost the same amount of graphical horsepower as comparable Nvidia graphics cards at slightly lower prices. Those naturally lower prices meant AMD graphics cards could bear a higher price increase while still remaining viable to cryptocurrency miners looking to buy graphics cards in bulk.

Recommended Videos

According to Jon Peddie Research, graphics cards manufacturers sold around three million GPUs to cryptocurrency miners in 2017, or roughly $776 million in total sales. That’s nearly a billion dollars pumped into the GPU market by cryptocurrency miners alone. It’s a growing segment of Nvidia and AMD’s markets so it will be interesting to see how each company deals with shortage issues without alienating this growing industry.

Get your weekly teardown of the tech behind PC gaming
Check your inbox!
Privacy Policy

Tech Radar speculates that the boost to AMD’s sales could have been the result of Nvidia’s open support of PC gamers who have criticized cryptocurrency miners for causing a GPU shortage and pushing prices to unacceptable highs. Feeling more supported by AMD could have meant more miners bought AMD products, but it’s more likely that crypto outfits just looked at prices and picked whichever one would maximize their returns.

Nvidia has reportedly floated the idea of developing graphics cards designed solely for GPU mining in order to offer an alternative for crypto miners, so gamers aren’t priced out of the GPU market entirely. The problem remains that video memory is in short supply. Increasing production of GPUs and introducing a new product like the proposed “Turing” cards could mitigate the current price increases in the short term, but it remains to be seen if prices will fall or if PC gamers will just have to deal with the new reality of paying double for midrange graphics cards.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Jayce Wagner
Jayce Wagner
Former Digital Trends Contributor
A staff writer for the Computing section, Jayce covers a little bit of everything -- hardware, gaming, and occasionally VR.
GPU prices are back on the rise again
RTX 4060 Ti sitting next to the RTX 4070.

We haven't had to worry about the prices of some of the best graphics cards for quite some time. With most GPUs sold around their recommended retail price, there are plenty of options for PC builders in need of a new graphics card. However, a new report indicates that we might see an increase in GPU prices, especially on the cards made by Nvidia's add-in board partners (AIBs). Is it time to start worrying about another GPU shortage? Not quite, but it might be better to shop now before it gets worse.

The grim news comes from IT Home, a Chinese tech publication that cites anonymous "industry sources" as it predicts that Nvidia's AIBs are about to raise their prices by up to 10% on average -- and this won't be limited to high-end GPUs along the lines of the RTX 4090. In fact, IT Home reports that the RTX 4070 Super has already received a price increase of about 100 yuan, which equals roughly $14 at the time of this writing. This is a subtle price increase given that the GPU costs $550 to $600, but according to the report, it might just be the beginning.

Read more
The sad reality of AMD’s next-gen GPUs comes into view
The AMD RX 7900 graphics card on a pink background.

For months now, various leakers agreed on one thing -- AMD is tapping out of the high-end GPU race in this generation, leaving Nvidia to focus on making the best graphics cards with no competitor. Today's new finding may confirm that theory, as the first RDNA 4 GPU to make an official appearance is one that has been speculated about for months: Navi48.

Following the typical naming convention for AMD, the flagship in the RDNA 4 generation should have been called Navi41 -- and it very well might have been, but according to various sources, that GPU will not be making an appearance in this generation. Hence, the flagship is now said to be the Navi48, and the latest finding shared by Kepler_L2 on X tells us that might indeed be the case.

Read more
Everything you need to know about buying a GPU in 2024
RTX 4090.

The graphics card, also known as the GPU, is arguably one of the most exciting components in any PC build. Alongside the processor, your graphics card often has the greatest impact on the overall performance of your PC. That makes it a pretty high-stakes purchase, especially if you consider that GPUs can get pretty expensive.

The GPU market has a lot to offer, and that's regardless of your needs and your budget. Whether you're aiming for something super cheap to support some light browsing or a behemoth to handle the most GPU-intensive games, you have lots of options. In this guide, we'll show you what to look out for so that you can pick the best GPU that fits your budget and needs.
Nvidia, AMD, or Intel?
Consumer graphics cards are generally split into two categories -- integrated and discrete graphics. Since you're here, you're most likely looking for a discrete (or dedicated) GPU, and that's what we're going to focus on in this article.

Read more