You mean GPGPUs.
Yeah, we don't live in the 3Dfx Voodoo era anymore.
3Dfx chips were true ASICs (fixed-function graphics with zero programmability).
Blame CUDA/OpenCL. GPU compute is far bigger than gaming these days... it's not just mining, but also AI (neural networks/deep learning), self-driving cars, HPC/cloud etc.
3Dfx actually mocked the concept of GPU compute back in the late 90s (7:40):
As much as I loved 3Dfx, I have to admit that dinosaurs eventually perish... flexible organisms (companies) adapt and survive. Adapt or perish.
PCs (including 3D gaming) were instrumental in the 90s to kickstart the GPU revolution.
Imagine if we banned PCs due to CO2 concerns:
Being digital was supposed to mean less demand for hard energy. It isn't turning out that way.
www.forbes.com
People need to see the big picture (something that 3Dfx didn't do and they paid the price).
TSMC is already investing 100 billion USD to build more fabs.
By 2023-2024 we will have an abundance of affordable GPUs (used mining GPUs will surely help to keep MSRPs in check, although few people are willing to admit that), since the current bull run will most likely end by late 2021/early 2022.
People need to have patience. 2019 was an excellent year to buy a GPU. 2023 will be the new "2019". 2025 will be the new "2021" and so on (until 2030).
If you learn the market patterns, it's not that hard to buy GPUs at affordable prices and even pay off your entire PC when the next crypto bull run emerges (every 4 years like clockwork).
When 3D acceleration was introduced with 3Dfx Voodoo, many people called it "useless" (because most games used software rasterization back then).
When T&L was introduced with GeForce 256, many people called it "useless" (because most games didn't use DX7/T&L).
When programmable pixel/vertex shaders were introduced with GeForce 3, many people called them "useless" (because most games didn't use DX8/shaders).
See a pattern here? Only young people don't remember. Old people have no excuse to disrespect tech progress when it doesn't come from their favorite company.
DLSS is as revolutionary as Glide was back in late 90s from a technological perspective. Tensor cores are NOT useless for gaming.
You may argue it's proprietary, but Glide was proprietary too. Should people ignore 3Dfx Voodoo cards too?
People buy what's best bang for the buck. Ampere MSRPs are pretty reasonable (minus 3090 maybe).
I'm pretty sure if AMD invented DLSS first, everyone would love them. Just like they did with Mantle and Async Compute (great tech inventions too, not so great if nVidia brought them first).
Be careful what you wish for.
I know many people who consider gaming & PCs wasteful in terms of electricity consumption, especially if we compare them to smartphones consuming 2-3W max.
How would you feel if they banned PC ownership in favor of cloud computing/gaming?
You guys don't realize that banning freedoms is a slippery slope that -sooner or later- will bite you in the ass. They won't ban only the things you hate, but also things you love.
Centralized cloud infrastructures can be more efficient due to economies of scale. Don't take my word for it, just wait for cloud companies in the coming years.
If you're a PC gamer, please think about that next time you play the "CO2 card". It goes both ways.
I agree if you're talking about people who cannot see the big picture.
People will jump to RVN if they compromise ETH hashrates.
And if they do the same to RVN too, they will move to something else.
CMC has over 5000 coins (most are shitcoins, but are there are 20-30 solid projects worth looking into).
Banning p2p in general reminds me of banning BitTorrent. It's impossible to ban it, unless you shut down the internet (TCP/IP in general). Shutting down RapidShare was easy-peasy (I told RapidShare fans long time ago that centralized architectures are easy to shut down vs BitTorrent and they mocked me). Decentralization is crucial for preservation.
