New Reports suggest that Nvidia is going to launch a mining GPU sooner than previously expected. The graphics unit comes with features that cryptocurrency miners will find attractive. According to leaked specifications, the Inno3D card is based on the gaming GeForce GTX 1080 Ti.

New Card Good for Mining Ethash Coins

The leading manufacturer of video processing hardware Nvidia is going to launch a dedicated mining graphics card, according to new media reports. Preliminary specifications suggest that the Inno3D model is be based on GeForce GTX 1080 Ti. It is said to be a cutdown clone of the gaming card, but will feature customization targeted at cryptocurrency miners.

The upcoming lineup will be powered by a version of the older “Pascal” chips, which were installed in GTX 1080 Ti and Titan-branded cards. Unlike the gaming products, the mining card will offer custom configuration for the memory and faster performance, but it won’t have a video output.

The card uses Inno3D’s Twin X2 cooler design, with two fans and five heat pipes. No bracket for attaching to a mining frame is seen on leaked pictures, although according to Crypto Mining Blog, a standard PC bracket will be provided as an accessory.

The P102-100 GPUs are similar to Nvidia’s P104-100 cards. They are equipped with CUDA cores 3200, with base clock at 1582 MHz. The physical memory is 5 GB in size, GDDR5X type, with 320-bit interface and 11 Gbps clock. The memory bandwidth is 400 GB/s. They come with PCIe Gen1 x4 bus support and two 8-pin PCI-E connectors. The maximum thermal design power is 250 Watt.

P102-100 will offer the following hashrates: ETH ~47 mhs; ZEC ~660 Sol/s; XMR ~879 hs. The data provided by Inno3D is for reference only. The GPUs are optimized for mining Ethash coins. Currently, there is no information about the price of the new graphics card.

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Shifting Winds, Changing Expectations

Strong sales in the crypto segment last year have forced major manufacturers to take measures to adapt to growing market demand. It has been reported that more than 3 million graphics cards were bought by cryptocurrency miners in 2017, with sales reaching $776 million. Advanced Micro Systems (AMD) announced intentions to increase production. It has been rumored that Nvidia was preparing to offer a new “Turing” card dedicated for mining applications.

More recent reports, however, suggest that companies fear decreasing demand, caused by market and regulatory risks. Tech sites announced Nvidia had decided to postpone the launch of “Turing” until at least July, and might even scrap plans to offer a mining GPU. AMD has also shared concerns of dropping card sales in 2018. Then, winds shifted again, with information about a new player entering the mining GPU market. Hardware manufacturer Asrock is expected to join the competition in April. The company may introduce its own graphics processing unit, which will be based on AMD chips.

Inno3D will offer crypto miners another specialized product sooner than previously expected. Last year Nvidia released two graphics cards dedicated for mining. P106-100 and the P104-100, based on the previous-generation “Pascal” design, were sold through other companies, including Inno3D. Using “Pascal” chips, P102-100 cards may be offered as a cheaper alternative to the “Turing” cards, which should be based on the new Volta architecture.

Source: news.bitcoin.com