Wednesday, December 12th 2018

Razer Wants to Mine Crypto on Your PC in Return for Loyalty Rewards

In a move that made us go "WTF" internally, Razer has decided to test their fanbase's loyalty more so than ever before. Today, the company introduced Razer Softminer, a mining software program that is intended to be installed on computers and run to mine cryptocurrency. But instead of the users getting whatever new cryptocurrency is in fashion, Razer instead wants to retain all mined crypto and in turn "award" users with the so-called Razer Silver- loyalty reward credits, in their own words. The miner appears to be running off a version of the Gamma desktop application, as per speculation from TweakTown.

Razer Softminer utilizes heavy GPU performance loads, and there is no mention as to what the actual mining is for. It is clear, however, that the users are not mining Razer Silver (which Razer is quick to admit is not cryptocurrency) and these loyalty credits are handed out in an equivalent manner based on the mining power of the system. In their estimate, a sytem with at least a NVIDIA GTX 1050 or AMD RX 460 running the mining program for a whole day will net ~500 Razer Silver, and these can be used to "redeem Razer peripherals, digital rewards such as games, vouchers and more" from a dedicated rewards page.
Razer Silver expires after 12 months from the date of earning, which makes this all the worse given the least expensive rewards include small-scale PC games at 21,000 Silver (~40 days of continuous mining for games that can be bought for $10-15 without discounts) and Razer's own products will take a lot, lot longer (over one year in some cases). This reeks of desperation for liquid cash, an unwise move in this time of low cryptocurrency interest and value, and overall little regard to their fans. Hopefully, no one ends up taking up Razer on this until we get more clarification on what the miner does for them, and even then it needs to be a lot more lucrative to interest most people.
Source: Razer
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36 Comments on Razer Wants to Mine Crypto on Your PC in Return for Loyalty Rewards

#2
Xaled
Not only sell overpriced products but also try to instantly get money even after the purshace?!
Posted on Reply
#3
R-T-B
Yeah, I'm hardly anti crypto... well at least in an idealized sense, but this has "WTF" written all over it. Sorry, but I can't say I'm surprised really. I mean, it is Razer. They practically pride themselves on their bizzare behavior coupled with shitty products...

At least it's not part of their "cloud driver..." yet...
Posted on Reply
#4
AsRock
TPU addict
I wounder if they work it like air miles haha, trying to be positive here i guess at least they are asking lol.

But still say 70% of owners decided yes will the others be forced to as well ?, and if not will the default be on or off as some people might not be aware of this BS.

Well for me never plan to buy another Razer product after having 4 mice and 2 keyboards fail in a pretty short time.
Posted on Reply
#6
R-T-B
AsRockI wounder if they work it like air miles haha, trying to be positive here i guess at least they are asking lol.

But still say 70% of owners decided yes will the others be forced to as well ?, and if not will the default be on or off as some people might not be aware of this BS.

Well for me never plan to buy another Razer product after having 4 mice and 2 keyboards fail in a pretty short time.
My one Roccat mouse has thus far outlived 4 of my previous Razer DeathAdders. Build quality was never really Razer's thing.
Posted on Reply
#7
cryohellinc
I hate razer, and this just fuels my hate towards them.
Posted on Reply
#8
Vayra86
I'm lost for words.

Anyone using this should be banned from using a PC and instantly given a free console. Can't we think up a PEGI rating for that based on IQ?
Posted on Reply
#9
eidairaman1
The Exiled Airman
Nope, they are pathetic product to begin with
Posted on Reply
#10
27MaD
Reading the title made laugh.
Posted on Reply
#11
dorsetknob
"YOUR RMA REQUEST IS CON-REFUSED"
Flogging a Dead horse with a Razor mouse comes to mind
just want to know if they Sacked the PR dumb ass that proposed this
Posted on Reply
#12
craigo
I just got a new mouse too.. time to add some rules to the firewall
Posted on Reply
#13
adulaamin
Gives me more reason to stay away from their products. I've never owned a Razer product and I think I never will.
Posted on Reply
#14
JalleR
Razer makes crappy products quality vise, my son has broken 2 mice’s and one Razer keyboard, and before them he had a plastic "gaming keyboard and mouse" from our local Supermarket that is still working well, and now he is using a used Logitech that is also working well and have done so for over a year. . And now this….. Razor=FancyCr...p.. :)
Posted on Reply
#15
CandymanGR
Razer: Crap quality, awful software, overpriced products, overhyped as a brand.
I still cannot accept that marketing alone can make a company like Razer, a big name in the industry.
Posted on Reply
#16
Digital Dreams
Considering this comes from the same company that introduced synapse I'm not surprised. Just another reason to steer clear of this garbage brand.
Posted on Reply
#17
PanicLake
Crap brand, stupid “opportunities”…
Posted on Reply
#18
remixedcat
yet another reason to stick with Logitech
Posted on Reply
#19
Th3pwn3r
At one point in time Razer did make some cool products. That was well over 10 years ago. Synapse was by far the worst thing they came up with. Once that rolled around I never bought another Razer product, I even stopped using the ones I had. A lot of people like talking up Logitech but their proy aren't that great either, they make a lot of mass produced products so they don't have great quality control anymore either . Corsair has awful support and glitchy Bluetooth devices. All that said, these days it's hit or miss but Razer ranks among the worst for me, I favor Steelseries and Das these days.
Posted on Reply
#20
Mussels
Freshwater Moderator
i just bought a $250 Au razer (Nari, but not the ultimate) headset, and the mic was total garbage and worse than $20 analogue crap.

I feel that razers lost its way, and is going downhill fast... all about how to make profit, and no interest in protecting their reputation anymore
Posted on Reply
#21
TheinsanegamerN
CandymanGRRazer: Crap quality, awful software, overpriced products, overhyped as a brand.
I still cannot accept that marketing alone can make a company like Razer, a big name in the industry.
It's not just marketing. People have short memories. To them, something expensive made of PREEEMIUM materials is quality, not something that lasts a long time with regular use. See also: the smartphone world, apple's macbooks with butterfly keyboards, disposable "SMART" appliances, ece.
Posted on Reply
#22
Renald
Razer is like the Apple for Windows dedicated products.
Except that Apple is making good product and stable environment for their apps (even if I find it too pricey still).

Razer makes also crappy drivers like for the second generation of Naga mouses ...
razer/comments/804umn
Posted on Reply
#23
neatfeatguy
Digital DreamsConsidering this comes from the same company that introduced synapse I'm not surprised. Just another reason to steer clear of this garbage brand.
Their Synapse software just blows.


Multiple issues I came across when using it with my Naga 2014 mouse (that broke just after the warranty) and the Synapse software:
1) tracking issues - uninstalled Synapse and tracking issue went away
2) tracking issues without the software - re-installed Synapse and tracking issue went away
3) tracking issue came back - uninstalled, did not fix. Had to manually clean the registry - tracking issue went away
4) Middle mouse click not working - installed software, middle mouse working
5) GPU not throttling down to idle/2D clocks, stuck at 3D clocks. Killed programs running - Synapse was the culprit
6) Middle mouse button issues again - installed Synapse software for a fourth time, issue went away
7) 2 weeks after warranty, middle mouse button completely failed
8) picked up a Logitech G502 and have been using it for almost 2.5 years now without any issues.

Only thing I make use of now from Razer is the Cortex software, and that's only for tracking time played in games for my own OCD needs.
RenaldRazer is like the Apple for Windows dedicated products.
Except that Apple is making good product and stable environment for their apps (even if I find it too pricey still).

Razer makes also crappy drivers like for the second generation of Naga mouses ...
It's not the driver that's bad, it's just the hardware - period. I bet if that user from Reddit used the Naga mouse on a clean, white sheet of paper it would track just fine. The sensor on the Naga just, for lack of a better word, blows.
Posted on Reply
#25
lexluthermiester
kastriotAnother epic fail..
Vayra86I'm lost for words.
Anyone using this should be banned from using a PC and instantly given a free console. Can't we think up a PEGI rating for that based on IQ?
Agreed.
WTH Razer? Get your heads out of your back-sides be less shady.
StanicEnemyWhy did my message deleted?
While I didn't see it, I'm guessing it was deleted because it did not meet forum standards. Please review them here;
www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/forum-guidelines.197329/
Posted on Reply
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