In brief: As cryptocurrency prices continue to fall and Bitcoin once again drops below the $20,000 mark, cryptomining is becoming increasingly less profitable—and that's good news for gamers looking to grab a second-hand GPU. According to a recent report, prices of used graphics cards have crashed as much as 50% in recent months. The crypto market isn't showing any signs of improving, barring a temporary uptick over the weekend that saw markets briefly pass $1 trillion. That's bad news for investors, crypto companies, and North Korea but good news for those looking to buy a used graphics card, especially as Ethereum's upcoming switch from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake, aka The Merge , is going to push prices down even further. Bloomberg estimates that more than a third of the consumer graphics card market could vanish as cryptominers decide that their money-making hobby just isn't worth it anymore. The publication estimates that 35% of consumer graphics cards were bought … [Read more...] about Used graphics card prices fall up to 50% as more cryptominers sell their GPUs
Green card workforce
Asus and Gigabyte predict motherboard sales will fall 25% this year as GPU bundles lose appeal
In a nutshell: Graphics card prices and availability finally returning to (somewhat) normal levels is excellent news for consumers, but motherboard manufacturers are unlikely to be as pleased. Asus and Gigabyte, who combined make up 70% of the mobo market, have warned that they expect sales to fall by around 25% compared to last year. And it seems much of the decline is due to people not needing to buy a new motherboard just to get the bundled GPU. According to DigiTimes (via Tom's Hardware ), Taiwan PC industry sources say the two big motherboard—and other hardware—makers are expecting the market to shrink by around a quarter this year compared to 2021. It's a prediction already seen in the Q2 2022 shipment figures, which experienced a larger-than-expected reduction. Year Asus motherboards Gigabyte motherboards 2022 (projected) 14 million 9.5 million 2021 18 million 13 million 2020 N/A 13 million 2019 16.4 million N/A Two factors … [Read more...] about Asus and Gigabyte predict motherboard sales will fall 25% this year as GPU bundles lose appeal
The world can’t wean itself off Chinese lithium
The industrial port of Kwinana on Australia’s western coast is a microcosm of the global energy industry. From 1955, it was home to one of the largest oil refineries in the region, owned by British Petroleum when it was still the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. It once provided 70 percent of Western Australia’s fuel supplies, and the metal husks of old tanks still dominate the shoreline, slowly turning to rust in the salt air. The refinery shut down in March 2021, but it isn’t just oil below the region’s red soil: Australia is also home to almost half of the world’s lithium supply. The trucks and machinery are humming once again, but now they’re part of a race to secure the clean energy sources of the future—a race being dominated by China. 2021 . Hundreds of so-called gigafactories across the country are churning out millions of EV batteries for both the domestic market and foreign carmakers like BMW, Volkswagen, and Tesla. China’s share of the market for lithium-ion batteries … [Read more...] about The world can’t wean itself off Chinese lithium
samsung: Samsung Galaxy M53 5G review: The quintessential Samsung mid-ranger
Rating Critic 3.5 Click Here For Gallery Top Features Vibrant display Reliable performance Impressive battery Close Samsung Galaxy M53 5G 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 7 Samsung ’s M-series of smartphone lineup has quite a few competent offerings. The Galaxy M53 5G, however, is the most expensive of them all. With a launch price of Rs 26,499 for the base variant, the Galaxy M53 5G does seem to have a lot of expectations to carry. And that’s not just because of the price tag. It’s a hyper competitive segment in which the Galaxy M53 5G operates and faces stiff competition. So it really has to check all the boxes to meet the customers’ expectations. We used the Galaxy M53 5G for a while and here’s what we think of the smartphone: Design and display For a phone that costs north of Rs 25,000, it is a bit of surprise to Samsung giving it a plastic … [Read more...] about samsung: Samsung Galaxy M53 5G review: The quintessential Samsung mid-ranger