AMD and NVIDIA to Launch Cryptocurrency Mining GPUs?

Strong rumours have emerged that both AMD and NVIDIA are planning to release graphics card aimed specifically at cryptocurrency miners. If true, GeForce and Radeon-branded mining cards could hit the market soon. AMD has reportedly suffered a GPU shortage thanks to miners, so a move by it and NVIDIA to satisfy the cryptocurrency market makes sense.

Custom Mining Cards

According to the rumours, reported by VideoCardz:

“AMD and NVIDIA are both facing problems with the stock of their power efficient and cost effective graphics cards due to the popularity of cryptocurrency mining. In order to satisfy the demand for such solutions and prevent shortages of gaming cards for normal customers both AMD and NVIDIA are planning to announce special editions of their popular graphics cards designed specifically for cryptocurrency mining.

NVIDIA is said to launch GeForce GTX 1060 with GP106-100 GPU, a custom edition for mining. This card would lack display connectors and most likely not support any gaming at all. According to our sources, these cards, unlike normal editions, would only have 90 days warranty. The good news is that these cards will be cheaper than same models for gamers. These cards will be sold by add-in-board partners.

AMD is also planning Polaris based model for mining, except the details are yet unknown.”

AMD GPU Shortage

Radeon GPUs are out of stock in countries across the globe, thanks to cryptocurrency miners. Remaining AMD graphics cards have seen a significant price increase. Miners consider AMD’s hardware as the most efficient performer for excavating digital currencies.  AMD cards tend to be cheaper and more energy efficient than their NVIDIA rivals.

Pricing and Availability

Since we’re relying on rumours here, we have no concrete information on price or release date.