Rows of laptops of the latest models have been discovered in China, which are highly sought after by the gaming community and used to mine cryptocurrency.
In tweets published on Wednesday, pictures show a room with “several hundred” gaming laptops that are said to be equipped with graphics processors (GPUs) from the Nvidia RTX 30 series. WCCTech, a computer and gaming publication, said the laptops featured in the tweets are from the Chinese manufacturer Hasse and are used to mine crypto with the sought-after Nvidia cards.
Like something out of a gamer’s nightmare, some laptops seem to have been stripped of their cases to provide optimal cooling for the hard-working GPUs.
High-end GPUs are preferred by cryptocurrency miners because the cards have more processing power to do the math tasks required for mining. While special processors called ASICs are required for Bitcoin mining, cryptocurrencies such as Etherethers Ether can still be mined on GPUs.
However, gamers also want top-of-the-line cards because they add graphics performance and are generally the easiest component of a computer to upgrade to keep up with the latest game titles.
Typically, tech retailers and distributors place purchase restrictions on the number of products in demand to ensure even distribution. The tweets indicate that, according to the WCCTech report, an agreement may have been made between a retailer, distributor, or laptop maker and the mining company for a large order.
The entry-level laptops are priced at $ 999, while the high-end models are expected to hit shelves for a suggested retail price of $ 1,999, according to the report. If the images and videos are indeed authentic, the start-up mining operation could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars at high street prices.
Nvidia recently said that it could potentially resume production of dedicated GPUs for cryptocurrency miners if the need arises. However, it has downplayed the possibility of miners eating into its general inventory and said that the players are over their supplies.
