Razer SoftMiner uses your GPU to mine cryptocurrency

Are you seriously comparing an OC scenario to a stock scenario? OC significantly increases heat output (especially if you overvolt it as well), which is the real killer. As long as you keep thermals at reasonable levels and perform proper maintenance the component will last for a very long time. CPUs and GPUs don't come with a MTBF figure because such figures do not exist - I still have a Core 2 Quad and Athlon II X4 systems from a decade ago crunching data.

Of course electronics will eventually fail over time but that's typically a very long time for modern electronics - most people upgrade long before this happens. I sold my old GTX 780 a few months ago not because it had degraded but because of obsolescence - it consumed too much power and performed far worse than my Pascal GPUs. Interestingly enough, the person I sold it to bought it as a replacement for a 780 that he killed by overclocking.

I'm just saying, would this kind of reaction exist if the GPUs were used for rendering or cloud gaming? I think not. Most of the people who commented in this thread said they were not comfortable with it, and I think a large part of that is because of mining (gamers' hatred for miners is well documented).

Razer could have probably bought some goodwill if they did it that way, but it would been detrimental to their immediate bottom line. I find it odd that they would jump on-board the mining bandwagon at this stage though (when mining is a joke). I'm more confused by this move than anything else.

 

What the actual ****!

 

What a scam trying to trick people into mining for max. 10% of actual income.

 

Lets see how long until they back down. Something like:

After careful consideration, we have decided to blablabla

 

Damn, we really don't like Razer here do we!

 

in all honesty, we undervolt (AMD) and reduce clocks for core speed (since it's not relevant in mining) but we do overclock the memory. A lot. Having, say, rx 570 doing 2100MHz on memory is quite a lot, since factory is like 1750ish, and without molded bios you can't get 2000, not even close.
Even with that said, most wear and tear will be on VRM and fans. Yes, we keep cards cool, but it's 24/7...

 

seems i am not clear with what i tried to say to u, i am not comparing OC vs stock scenario
what i am trying to point is like u said, the "heat" that generated from 24/7 usage

24/7 @100% GPU usage -> that means GPU always in "warm" condition right ?
i know well it depends on various things but again if compared to 6~8hours heaving gaming, obviously the one used for mining 24/7 is always in "warm" condition

now like u said heat that kill our hardware... so by that logic, it should faster the degrade/killing process no ?
or you have special reason why 24/7@100% do not accelerate the failure/degradation ?

on other-hand, if we think about heat, then OC should also be fine if we keep the thermal cool right (no different to 100% GPU scenario) ?

 

actually, gpu usage is around 25%....My cards are between 50C and 56C @ 50ish % fanspeed. But there is heat. But not nearly as much as the same 570 produces during gaming. Mining uses less power too per card, so that should also tell you something.

 

My next mouse will be Logitech or Roccat. I bought Razer Deathadder Elite because I'm just used to the shape, but their product don't bear much quality and their software isn't anything too fancy. The mouse has been working okay, unlike my last two Deathadders with their scroll wheels, but I don't like the mindset of this company. It is a tad annoying how finding a fitting gaming mouse can be time consuming, but I guess you get used to whatever PC peripheral in time.

 

And what I am trying to point out is that it doesn't really matter. Most people upgrade long before a GPU fails or degrades, even if they run it 24/7 at 100%. The way people talk in this thread, you'd think the GPU will quickly wear out and become useless if you mine with it but that is simply not the case.

Speaking as someone who has multiple PCs and runs all of them at full load at all times, the last thing I think about is my CPU or GPU breaking from overuse. If something breaks it's usually something else (like the PSU) and the only GPU that I've killed was due to liquid damage (I've never had a CPU fail on me). I occasionally see posts on reddit about dead GPUs but it's gamers who post these (and I don't think they were mined with) and a CPU failure is usually due to some user error (e.g., a failed overclock or delidding).

Again, I think this is mostly due to personification of hardware - gamers think of PCs as human beings, who need to rest every now and then for proper health. I also used to think this way when I was a pure gamer - I once accidentally left a game running overnight and felt bad that I had stressed out my computer .

 

The only way I would do it if Razor would get me a PC to use for it and pay for my electric bill since they have tons of money but too lazy to use it for mining themselves.

Dude you are so wrong on so many levels. Do you realize how long these cards run for. 24/7 for several years and stressed to the max. There is no way gaming cards would get close to that. Even if you kept your PC running 24/7 365 for several years.

It is a scam if you think about it. Because they only pay you in currency that is only valid on their website and the payout is utter garbage. While if you do the mining yourself the payout is better and you can convert the coins into actual money than can be used anywhere if mining craze was still profitable that is. Also since the currency expires after a year it is impossible to earn enough to purchase big ticket items on their site such as the $200 dollar keyboard. Maybe you could get a sizeable discount though but at the end of the day it is not worth it.

 

Yes and my gaming rigs die faster than my 24/7 server rigs. I sell them to people I know and they never had them dead. Gaming causes intensive temperature stress due to cooling and heating damaging components. Mining rigs run 24/7 constant temperature, constant load. They are smooth sailing all the way. No constant voltage switching. Also mining rigs probably have better and louder cooling because nobody cares about them since they are far away from people.

They should. I undervolt my server CPUs as much as I can push it. Really worth cooler temps and lower power bill. Those non mining/non server users are really superstitious.
Gaming card used for intense gaming and rest of the time mining would get me worried.

 

Server components are higher end but gaming components are pretty close to server class. You must be using cheap components for gaming. Yeah you keep telling yourself that. Also mining stresses the CPU and GPU @ 100% utilization which gaming never does. Also mining rigs run hotter than gaming rigs.

 

If the points expire after only a year and one of the cheapest items takes almost 500 days worth of mining to obtain, that is straight up Fraud. Showing the required points for any item that takes more than a year to obtain clearly shows they intended to deceive. The textbook definition of fraud.

 

"It wasn't our intention" (for any of you to find out)

 

Not only fraud but a textbook definition of a scam.

 

100% utilization is not the issue - it's heat and power consumption. Miners typically undervolt/underclock or run at stock, while many PC gamers overclock and/or overvolt their systems. Servers and mining rigs are built around stability and optimal performance per watt/dollar while gaming rigs are not - typically, gamers will optimize their systems for absolute performance, pushing their systems to the hilt to get the highest synthetic scores and game frame rates.

Not necessarily. Mining can typically be done using multiple devices so if you combine several devices then you'll be able to earn enough points. Someone with a workstation, home server or a mining rig might be able to hit the required number of points well within a year (theoretically, you might even be able to buy hashing power for it, although that sort of defeats the purpose since you'd basically be paying for it).

 

My servers are made from user grade components and not server components. Also even google published statistics that too cold hardware dies faster than bit warmer one. Obivously not overheating ones.

 

Gamers don't run hardware at very cold temps. The only time any enthusiast does when they are experimenting on how high of an Overclock they can get on a CPU using LN2 and idle temps with LN2 are in negative digits Celsius but they only do that for a certain period of time. Also of course hardware has a minimum recommended operating temp and it's not recommended to go below that value but users do it but only for a short period of time.