A BMW driver has installed several RTX 3080 graphics cards in his electric car. The driver is quite well-known as a crypto miner and has already caused a stir with another project. He named two reasons for his new construction: First, he wants to earn money on the go and, secondly, he simply wants to annoy gamers.
Here’s what it’s about: A user has installed several GeForce RTX 3080 graphics cards in his BMW to be able to mine even while driving.
He has installed the graphics cards in a BMW i8 hybrid. This is an electric car. The price for the car alone is between 138,000 and 155,000 euros, depending on the model.
Who is this? Simon Byrne is a well-known figure in the mining community. He is known for his larger projects. For example, he had built a massive mining rig made of 78 RTX 3080 graphics cards (via GameStar.de).
People like Byrne mine various cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoins with their mining systems. This requires not only a lot of power but also a lot of electricity. In Germany, this usually does not pay off due to high electricity costs.
Now it seems he has gotten bored with his mining rig. He has now introduced his next project online with his BMW i8.
RTX 3080 in the car – can this really work?
Byrne revealed some details about his project in the car to the online magazine tomshardware.com.
- The car has more than enough power for the graphics cards. As soon as he starts the car, he has up to 3500 watts available. His graphics cards consume 1500 watts.
- His project has a problem: he cannot close the tailgate, as it would cause the graphics cards to overheat.
When asked if this was really real, he explained: “Indeed, just to annoy gamers.”
RTX 3080 availability: Miners are not the only problem for gamers
As if gamers didn’t already have enough problems getting decent gaming hardware. Because in addition to general price increases in the hardware sector, old graphics cards are also more sought after than ever.
Old graphics cards are more sought after than ever: Currently, GPUs are in such demand that you can even make a profit with old graphics cards. This is partly due to the strong COVID restrictions that have made many turn to gaming to spend time with friends or family. This has suddenly made older hardware important again.
Older graphics cards like the RX 570/580 or the GTX 1650 currently cost as much as they did at their release, and sellers can suddenly make money with their old graphics cards. You can read a detailed report on this here on MeinMMO:
Price increases for hardware in 2021: And as if the shortage wasn’t enough, a first manufacturer has already announced price increases for hardware. Among people who just want to game, Simon Byrne might not become very popular.
Graphics cards currently barely available: Graphics cards like the RTX 3080 are currently hardly or only available at very high prices. The GeForce RTX 3080 was already sold out within moments of its release and landed for high sums on Ebay.
The RTX 3080 was sold out within moments and landed at high prices on Ebay.
That one person buys half a dozen of the coveted graphics cards and uses them not for gaming but for mining Bitcoins, is probably not to everyone’s liking.
However, he hasn’t even installed the fastest graphics card in his car, as that would currently be the GeForce RTX 3090. That this one can also be pushed hard was recently demonstrated by a YouTuber. While playing Minecraft, the graphics card only manages 5 FPS:
GeForce RTX 3060 and notebooks are a small hope for gamers
More new graphics cards in 2021: Nvidia has at least announced a graphics card for the mid-range with the GeForce RTX 3060, which is intended to succeed the GTX 1060 and the Radeon RX 480/580. Because with its performance, the RTX 3060 clearly targets players who primarily want to play in Full HD.
You can find an overview of the RTX 3060 from Nvidia here on MeinMMO:
Laptops as an alternative to desktops: The newly announced gaming laptops, which will all come with the new RTX 3000 series, also represent an alternative. These devices were introduced along with other highlights at CES 2021.
With powerful RTX 3000 graphics cards and fast display units, the new devices offer more than enough power and FPS to satisfy even demanding gamers.
These devices primarily represent an alternative for those who previously had no chance of getting a graphics card. The most exciting gaming laptops with RTX 3000 are featured in this special.
