With Bitcoin down nearly 70% from its all-time high, the cryptocurrency market is currently in a downward spiral. While this crash is being driven by several factors like rising interest rates, Russia/Ukraine, and inflation, the impact of the plummeting cryptocurrency isn’t confined to those who own digital tokens. In fact, as crypto prices began to fall, so did the prices of hardware and other equipment commonly used in the digital currency industry for mining and other operations.
Let’s take a look at what made cryptocurrency so popular, how this caused a demand for high-end GPUs, and how the decline of cryptocurrencies affected the gaming PC market.
The Rise of Crypto
Back in 2008 Bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency was created by an anonymous entity, called Satoshi Nakamoto, in order to take power away from government agencies and central banks. The first Bitcoin units were worth very little, in fact, one of the earliest Bitcoin users used 10,000 coins to purchase two pizzas. At today’s value, that user would’ve paid $450 million worth of Bitcoin for a couple pies.
As the surge in Bitcoin became undeniable by 2013, when the value of one unit of Bitcoin first broke $1,000, investors and news outlets were quick to jump on this investment – making the currency all the more popular. By the end of 2020, the price was at $29,374 for a single Bitcoin unit – the highest it had ever been. Bitcoin continued to surge into the first half of 2021 when it reached an all-time high of over $64,000 per unit, only to drop to $30,000 over the summer, hit a new high of $68,000 in November, and then dropped below $35,000 by January 2022.
While some experts still say the price of Bitcoin will surpass $100,000, the crypto craze has certainly hit a temporary setback in popularity. So how does this relate to the GPU and gaming PC market?
Crypto-miners vs. Gamers and Professionals
Back when the crypto market was booming, the world was already dealing with shipping delays and product shortages caused by the pandemic – and the rising popularity of crypto-mining only caused the GPU market to explode, with many paying over double MSRP for RTX graphics cards.
Mining crypto requires an incredible amount of computing power, which can be achieved through powerful, expensive computers or cheaper Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) instead of CPUs.
So when crypto boomed, gamers, scalpers, and crypto-miners were all competing for the same equipment causing a huge shortage and making GPUs unaffordable to the average consumer.
On top of that, miners typically buy the (newest) most expensive graphics cards in bulk, which accounts for a significant portion of manufacturers like AMD’s business – and only causes further price hikes and more shortages.
Even though graphics cards manufacturers like AMD and Nvidia had increased production in order to meet the high level of demand, they still couldn’t keep up with the demand from miners and gamers – and the scalpers that buy these items immediately after they’re listed in order to resell them for a much higher price, pitting miners and gamers against each other in a battle for graphics cards that was always going to go to the crypto-miners.
So what did gamers do? Most compromised and bought the available mid-ranged graphics cards, though many used their old systems in anticipation of the GPU market dropping in the next few years – which is exactly what happened.
When Crypto collapsed
If you’ve been keeping up with crypto news, you’re probably already aware of the crash in the price of many major cryptocurrencies, including the popular Bitcoin and Ethereum. This collapse in value is leading crypto-miners to sell their equipment – mainly GPUs– as now the operational costs don’t make sense at various cryptocurrency’s reduced prices.
The first collapse occurred just two months after Bitcoin reached its all-time high in November 2021, when Bitcoin fell from over $60,000 to a little over half of that at $36,000. The first crash caused many miners who weren’t very invested in the system, or those with high electricity costs, to sell their equipment and quit mining. This makes sense since the value of Bitcoin fell below the threshold of making it economically feasible to continue mining for many people.
Many of those that weren’t convinced to stop mining in early 2022 were further coaxed to consider selling their mining equipment when Bitcoin dropped around $20,000 in June 2022 – amounting to only a third of what it was worth just six months before. Even Ethereum, which also had an all-time high in November of around $4,800, fell below $1,000 on June 18, 2022.
How does this affect the price of GPUs and gaming computers?
Now that there is a much lower demand for GPUs for mining, prices have begun to plummet around the world. In fact, you can now find top-end GPUs like the RTX 3090 Ti and RTX 3090 at or below the MSRP. Remember, these systems were going for over double MSRP less than a year prior.
Although there is a correlation between the crypto crash and the price drop of GPUs, it isn’t a direct correlation. Due to the fact that many businesses and consumers have been unable to purchase high-performance graphics cards before miners and scalpers bought them all, there is still a huge demand for the latest and fastest GPUs. Therefore, a drop in the crypto industry does not necessarily mean the graphics card markers will be equally impacted moving forward.
So what does this mean? It’s a great time to get a graphics card or gaming PC, no matter if you’re renting one for your business or purchasing one for your home. Just make sure you beware of buying used equipment, as many crypto-miners use a large quantity of GPUs which are much more subject to wear and tear.
Using gaming PCs for business makes sense now
As the latest high-end GPUs are at some of their lowest prices ever, it’s a great time to consider using high-performance PCs for your business. With the drop in GPU prices, not only are there more gaming PCs available but they are also available at a much more affordable rental rate. Consider renting a high-performance PC to increase productivity at your company if:
Your employees work from home. Keeping employees engaged from a distance is easier than ever, especially with the right equipment. Every good worker aspires to work with the latest and greatest equipment, whether they are in the office or working remotely. Make sure you provide your employees with the right hardware, support, and resources to set up their home offices if you want them to stay busy. Many businesses are now supporting the remote workforce with computer rentals – which puts the latest technology in the hands of your employees at a fraction of the price and less liability.
You’re a creative professional. If your daily workflow involves a lot of 3D rendering, the computing performance and vast quantity of VRAM packed into our gaming PC rentals will greatly improve your efficiency. This system is capable of running any video editing software from Adobe Premiere Pro, Cyberlink PowerDirector 365, Corel VideoStudio Ultimate, HitFilm Express, VideoPad, Pinnacle Studio, Filmora9, DaVinci Resolve 16, and any other Windows-supported video editing software.
You’re an engineer who uses Computer-Aided Design. Are you looking to run CAD design and engineering programs like Altium Designer? You’ll need a PC like the Alienware Aurora R11, which has enough RAM to run programs like Altium Designer, SolidWorks, Autodesk Inventor, Fusion360, and complete other CAD and engineering tasks.
You design 3D modeling in the medical field. Our gaming PCs support programs like Altium Designer, SolidWorks, Autodesk Inventor, Fusion360, and have the necessary specs to complete other CAD and engineering tasks.
You don’t want to worry about 4K gaming performance. Our high-end plug-and-play PCs comes with Nvidia RTX 3090 pre-equipped. Finally, you can max out the FPS of any game you’re playing and forget about it.
You want guaranteed overclocking. Our gaming PCs were designed to support custom upgrades. They are engineered for lower temperatures and more reliable graphics overclocking to produce higher-performing graphics.
You want the very best. Whether you’re at the forefront of 8K gaming or just want the best of the best, the latest Alienware Aurora or similar gaming PC will not disappoint. Not to mention, a rental is a great option if you want the very best, but you’re on a budget or time constraint.
As not all systems are built alike, here are some product recommendations for completing various tasks. Since the system you use for accounting isn’t going to need the same computing power as a computer used for photo/video editing, web designers, content creators, audiophiles, medical professionals, architects, and other professions. Consider these options:
For completing daily tasks, accounting, coding, or web design. We recommend a standard mini-tower case, with an intel i5 processor, at least 8GB of RAM, a 500 Gigabyte Solid State Drive (SSD), and a 24” LCD Monitor for lighter loads like accounting, coding, web design, and running tasks like phone, email, and company messengers.
For photo or video editing. When it comes to multimedia editing projects, the most important components are the graphics card and processor. That’s why we’d recommend a standard mid-tower case with an Intel i7 processor and at least 32 Gigabytes of RAM. However, suppose you want to speed up the project and have the best visual capabilities. In that case, we’d recommend a 500 Gigabyte SSD, a 4 Terabyte standard hard drive, a high-end video card such as the RTX series, and of course, a 4K 32” LED monitor.
For the best power and performance. Many web designers, content creators, audiophiles, medical professionals, architects, and other professionals turn to gaming PCs to get their tasks done more quickly because of the power and performance offered by these gaming desktops–or even gaming laptops.
Gaming computers deliver high-end graphics because they have dedicated RAM for processing graphics, meaning gaming computers can render graphics more quickly and accurately, there’s a reason why some gamers become excellent at what they do.
To put it simply, if you want fast loading times, rich colors, and superior performance—you can’t beat a hand-picked gaming PC and the right 4K monitor.
High-performance rentals with Rentacomputer.com
With the crash in crypto and the resulting dip in the GPU market, there has never been a better time to rent a computer. With more high-end PCs available at an even more affordable rental rate, short-term rentals are a great option in today’s business climate.
Rentacomputer.com can supply high-end computers like Dell Alienware Aurora R11, MSI Trident, HP Omen, Dell XPS, and more!
Contact us today, and one of our friendly rental representatives will walk you through every step of the process from picking which technology equipment and peripherals you need, to delivery, troubleshooting if necessary, and return shipment.
Rentacomputer.com also has a large stock of equipment ready to deliver that includes laptops, desktop computers, servers, tablets, smartphones, WiFi hotspots, Audio Visual equipment, and more. Not only can we deliver your rentals, but we also offer custom configuration and setup, so you know everything will be ready and in working order before, during, and after your event or project.
Are you thinking about renting a gaming or high-performance PC? Tech Travel Agent Mark Gillaugh specializes in gaming PCs, Alienware rentals, RTX workstations for conferences, and much more. Mark will handle any questions you have about RTX PCs. Contact Mark today at 1-800-736-8772 ext. 249 or fill out a fast, easy online quote form.
Subscribe to our blog today to stay up-to-date with Rentacomputer.com and follow us on social media. Join the discussion by commenting below.
*We are a Business to Business (B2B) rental firm. All rental orders must be placed by an authorized representative of a qualified business. First-time business customers are screened for compliance to ensure the order is legitimate and authorized. In short, you must be a business that has been established for a minimum of 2 years with an email address connected to a corporate domain and a ship to address that also meets our requirements. To see the full requirements, visit our Requirements to Rent page.
