Thursday, October 22nd 2020
AMD Seemingly Working on Cryptocurrency-focused Navi 10 GPU
New Linux patches seem to point towards a cryptocurrency-focused graphics card from AMD. First spotted by Phoronix, the patches add descriptions for a "navi10 blockchain SKU" - it's a pretty self-describing, well, description. The device ID is reported as 0x731E, and Phoronix says that the major difference between this graphics card and the other Navi 10 offerings in the market (namely RX 5700XT and RX 5700) is the absence of Display Core Next (DCN) and Video Core Next (VCN) engines. Whether these are absent from the silicon, or simply disabled by other means is currently unclear. Their absence, however points towards cards with no graphical outputs, a lapalissian practicality for cryptocurrency-focused graphics mining products.
Phoronix estimates a release of no sooner than early 2021, considering the timing of the patch information on Linux. While the market for GPU-accelerated cryptocurrency mining isn't what it used to be (luckily), there is still a market opportunity to be taken advantage of here - while ASICs have become more commonplace, there are still many GPU-mining alternatives within the realm of crypto. A crypto-focused product might steer users away from gaming-oriented consumer products, thus easing strain on supply for AMD's upcoming RX 6000 series - especially if this Navi 10-based GPU (or should we call it a CHU - Cryptocurrency Hashing Unit?) features some voltage and power adjustments to increase power efficiency on these workloads.
Source:
Phoronix
Phoronix estimates a release of no sooner than early 2021, considering the timing of the patch information on Linux. While the market for GPU-accelerated cryptocurrency mining isn't what it used to be (luckily), there is still a market opportunity to be taken advantage of here - while ASICs have become more commonplace, there are still many GPU-mining alternatives within the realm of crypto. A crypto-focused product might steer users away from gaming-oriented consumer products, thus easing strain on supply for AMD's upcoming RX 6000 series - especially if this Navi 10-based GPU (or should we call it a CHU - Cryptocurrency Hashing Unit?) features some voltage and power adjustments to increase power efficiency on these workloads.
41 Comments on AMD Seemingly Working on Cryptocurrency-focused Navi 10 GPU
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale
Then again, I'll probably become something even less significant than dust in the wind before that happens...
PS: If I become a ghost or something after I die, I'm definitely staying around to watch either the end of humanity or whatever alternative route it takes, hope there is ghost popcorn at least :laugh:
Like for each work completed in Folding@home it would give you one unit of cryptocurrency. Something like that.
The rest of the time I'm a pessimist, so that I can't be disappointed too much too often :p. I might even get happily surprised at an unexpectedly positive turn of events.Happens everywhere. And depending who you ask, people might want the UN to either cease existing or have some of its powers/functions stripped away.The climate change thing is probably going to happen, mass migration? Maybe. Depends on where people live at the time, though I would actually move a few hundreds of miles south because this city is starting to get super annoying during summer. I can barely think straight with the heat, and I'm not even near the tropics.
Whatever happens with the economic system, I hope it's not communism or anything like that, and that it comes with a lot less politicians and bureaucracy.
And food... well, that's gonna be a big question, what with the growing number of mouths to feed and the fact that an important amount of food is wasted. The problem is gonna be solved very creatively or in a very practical way (read=war).I heard the view from there is quite mind-boggling :DMakes me wonder how long it would take for someone to ruin that idea with some hack. There's always someone.That... remains to be seen.
Currently a 7nm tape out at TSMC costs a couple hundred million dollars, plus I highly doubt AMD would waste 7nm waffer space on two NAVI10 designs just to sell one of them off to the Crypto market.
So I'm guessing this is sort of a soft EOL of NAVI10 cards. RDNA2 offerings are soon out on this price bracket and probably by the time NAVI23 gets around the corner they want they ~230-250mm2 die size space relatively empty of RX 5600 XT / 5700 / 5700 XTs. They do not want older RDNA1 offerings competing in the market segment.
Yes it is, and yes it always will be.
The question is whether or not it will be in demand enough this season to affect GPU prices. So far it has not been.Not really man. That was during peak. Crypto is probably at an all time low, energy consumption wise. The market just isn't happening.
Thing is, crypto doesn't need that level of involvement from mining to be useful. It's actually detrimental to the world for that to happen.There are coins that do some things. Not very successful because they don't payout well. The rest can be attributed to greed.This is true but it's attributable to way more than crypto. We burried ourselves way before this.AH yes, I remember when I was a crypto "criminal.' Was fun, hacking the internet for money...
Oh wait, that was the C&C generals internet cafe building for China. I get confused easily.There isn't really a thriving GPU coin left. I doubt if these were 10x more effective at one of the algos, people would spring for these over an ASIC. It just is over in that regard.Driving us to our doom, yes.