A Humble PC Builder
In early 2021, I had the glorious idea of building my own computer.
I knew the cool names like SSD, CPU, GPU, RAM, etc., but I didn't really know what they did for the system. While I was a bit intimidated, I wasn't deterred, so off to YouTube I went to learn about PC building. I went through several videos, but one channel had a particularly system build with a $500 budget that called my attention since that was in my range (thank you to ScatterVolt with the build guide here). Little did I know that whole process would change my life...and hurt my wallet.
The video showed all the parts needed and what they did, and it also gave links to Amazon to shop for each item. At the time, I know why the video would say something like "this is a $250 dollar GPU", but when I checked Amazon, the GPU would go for $400. I figured maybe the GPU was an updated version, in some way, of the one listed in the video, or maybe the part ran out and I was seeing a replacement. I was still inexperienced on computer parts overall, and I didn't realize each part was so complex it could use an instructional video on it's own.
And can you blame me? Would you think an Gigabyte GTX 1660 Super GDDR6 6GB VRAM would be better than a PNY GTX 1080ti OC GDDR5X 11GB VRAM? Sure the numbers on one seem higher...but is it better? And at that moment, I really wondered about pricing discrepancies, but at the time I wasn't even sure what questions to ask and I was more excited to build a new rig.
Despite it all, I ended up building the PC...and I was disappointed.
I realized the budget PC was just unsatisfactory, so I sent everything back to Amazon, and purchase every PC part again but upgraded by a few notches. My budget went from $500 to $1700, but in the end I was quite satisfied with the results. I learned a lot from the experience, and I am very proud to actually know what each part of my computer does now. After the computer was built, I became obsessed with knowing what each part of my PC did further and how it affected the rest of the build, and each day I went to YouTube to watch creators in the space explain things in detail. In learning all this, I also learned the answer to my question on computer price variations: crypto mining and scalping.
I knew the cool names like SSD, CPU, GPU, RAM, etc., but I didn't really know what they did for the system. While I was a bit intimidated, I wasn't deterred, so off to YouTube I went to learn about PC building. I went through several videos, but one channel had a particularly system build with a $500 budget that called my attention since that was in my range (thank you to ScatterVolt with the build guide here). Little did I know that whole process would change my life...and hurt my wallet.
The video showed all the parts needed and what they did, and it also gave links to Amazon to shop for each item. At the time, I know why the video would say something like "this is a $250 dollar GPU", but when I checked Amazon, the GPU would go for $400. I figured maybe the GPU was an updated version, in some way, of the one listed in the video, or maybe the part ran out and I was seeing a replacement. I was still inexperienced on computer parts overall, and I didn't realize each part was so complex it could use an instructional video on it's own.
And can you blame me? Would you think an Gigabyte GTX 1660 Super GDDR6 6GB VRAM would be better than a PNY GTX 1080ti OC GDDR5X 11GB VRAM? Sure the numbers on one seem higher...but is it better? And at that moment, I really wondered about pricing discrepancies, but at the time I wasn't even sure what questions to ask and I was more excited to build a new rig.
Despite it all, I ended up building the PC...and I was disappointed.
I realized the budget PC was just unsatisfactory, so I sent everything back to Amazon, and purchase every PC part again but upgraded by a few notches. My budget went from $500 to $1700, but in the end I was quite satisfied with the results. I learned a lot from the experience, and I am very proud to actually know what each part of my computer does now. After the computer was built, I became obsessed with knowing what each part of my PC did further and how it affected the rest of the build, and each day I went to YouTube to watch creators in the space explain things in detail. In learning all this, I also learned the answer to my question on computer price variations: crypto mining and scalping.
To Eth or not to Eth
Cryptocurrencies have been quite hot over the past few years because, well, they are trending and humans have severe FOMO (fear of missing out) and they think there is something to gain in this trend. The reality is that not many people know the intricacies of cryptocurrencies, but they are purchased and sold regardless.
I am here to give you a sliver of information on the crypto world and how it relates to computer parts (and other things). First, we must ask the most basic of questions: where does a crypto coin come from? Why you make it of course! Technically speaking, you are "mining" the coin by doing complex computations, and the more coins you mine, they more complex the computations become. Crypto mining has a built-in snowballing effect because each coin mined depends on the computation of the previous one. Think of it like a Fibonacci sequence, so first coin is 1, then the second is 1, then 2, then 3, then 5, then 8...do you know what the computation of the 25th coin is? 46368. You can see how in just a few entries, the number is exponentially larger than the 5th entry. I won't go into more details on how crypto coins are made, but the TLDR is that they are created by complex computations with encryption and decryption algorithms through a blockchain (this is the snowballing effect we already discussed above), and our good old friend the GPU is really good at doing this. So good, in fact, people are buying GPUs in bulk to set "farms" to mine coins - particularly Ethereum. This is turn creates a high demand for GPUs that manufacturers cannot keep up due to the global chip shortage, so prices are radically inflated. |
Mine the Gap
Before we talk about the global chip shortage, let's take an intermission to chat about our resident scoundrel: the scalper.
The scalper, like a crow, is very smart and opportunistic, and they will show no remorse in taking advantage of any situation. Scalpers will see what is on demand, hoard it, and sell it back to you with a fair and benevolent price gouge. While more commonly seen in tickets for events like football games and concerts, nothing is off limits to the scalper. Be it toiler paper? yes, it has been scalped. Shoes? yup, got that covered. And now they are reaping the rewards of the GPU shortages. GPUs are highly coveted by crypto miners and PC gamers alike, so scalpers see this chance to buy GPUs at MSRP and resell them at 50%+ their retail price. As of today (2-9-2022), an EVGA RTX 3080 retails for $1,429 and scalpers are selling them for close to $2,100 in Amazon. That's close to $600 in profit on reselling. Unfortunately, gamers get the short end of the stick here. Scalpers have bot armies that can clear an inventory in a matter of minutes or seconds, and stablished miners can sink their money into price gauged GPU because they know they will break even after a few months. Gamers have neither bots nor money to spare, so they either hold on to the GPUs they do have, buy much older GPUs, or cave in and pay the markups. While price gouging is illegal for essential products in emergencies, GPUs are not essential, so scalping them is fair game, which is why gamers and miners absolutely hate scalpers. Miners and gamers also have a bit of a blood feud since gamers see miners hoard several GPUs that are used to mine rather than gaming, but miners simply shrug because they can use their product ay way they want - if you want to use your microwave as flashlight, well, no one can stop you. You see, a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) was originally meant to compute complex images, which are really good for games with advanced rendering techniques. GPUs can do the same advance computations to mine crypto currency, which is why miners and games both desire the part. |
Hope for the Future?The harsh reality is that GPUs being hoarded to mine crypto isn't going anywhere, and demand for the product is but a small portion of a global problem.
The problem, at its core, is a global chip shortage that affects almost everything since we are so dependent on computer chips and the foundries that make them. TSMC, the largest chip manufacturer in the world, has committed to increase production in the next three years, and Samsung has also committed to expand production - recently in Texas. To our dismay. it will still take years to get out of this problem for every single industrial sector. The Biden administration has declared that the shortage will still last pass the first half of 2022, and even then, whatever is manufacture will still be in high demand. All this pent up demand piled with the global pandemic is a recipe for disaster. We are in a "things will get worse before they get better" situation. Even the new and used car industry is facing the same problems. New cars are being marked well over MSRP and parking lots can barely hold stock, used cars are also hiking in price from demand not satisfied from buying new cars. This video by car enthusiast Doug DeMuro goes into detail into why these problems are raising, and what we can expect for the future of vehicles. Things will get better, but it's going to be a few years down the road until "regular" people like me feel the changes. |
Still a humble, but educated, PC Builder
My journey started with a small desire to build a PC with zero knowledge about anything. After a year, I've expanded my knowledge of computers exponentially, and I've learned auxiliary, connected issues like cryptocurrency and the global chip shortage that affects other segments of the economy. I am still in awe on how our life can breed complexity and how things are connected by an obvious, but often ignored web of events.
In the meantime, I decided to create a Python scrip logging cryptocurrency news to make a "time capsule" of sorts that I can look back and remember what was trending each day in some tech sectors. My script focuses mostly on Youtube news since that is where I consume most of my news updates.
I want to go back to this a few years from now and remember what crazy world we were living in. Key operating word here being "were" living in since I hope things are a lot better by 2024.
In the meantime, I decided to create a Python scrip logging cryptocurrency news to make a "time capsule" of sorts that I can look back and remember what was trending each day in some tech sectors. My script focuses mostly on Youtube news since that is where I consume most of my news updates.
I want to go back to this a few years from now and remember what crazy world we were living in. Key operating word here being "were" living in since I hope things are a lot better by 2024.
NOTES:
The video list above may include unrelated material to the news category, or you may notice items that are in a language other than English. This is all related to discrepancies on how content creators label their channels or videos as well as the quirky YouTube algorithm.
I have a python script making API calls to YouTube, and while I try to localize videos with a USA regionality and a preference for English on the API calls, content creators outside of the USA and not speaking English will either not state their location or language, or state they are in the USA to garner more views. Not blaming anyone here, they are are hustling for their business, but correcting for that is more trouble than it's worth right now so I am leaving the videos on the list.
Another thing to note is that the search is done on "relevance", so it will be whatever YouTube deems as relevant at the time. Since YouTube doesn't disclose how their algorithms work, I can't tell why sometimes videos with low view counts are considered relevant.
The video list above may include unrelated material to the news category, or you may notice items that are in a language other than English. This is all related to discrepancies on how content creators label their channels or videos as well as the quirky YouTube algorithm.
I have a python script making API calls to YouTube, and while I try to localize videos with a USA regionality and a preference for English on the API calls, content creators outside of the USA and not speaking English will either not state their location or language, or state they are in the USA to garner more views. Not blaming anyone here, they are are hustling for their business, but correcting for that is more trouble than it's worth right now so I am leaving the videos on the list.
Another thing to note is that the search is done on "relevance", so it will be whatever YouTube deems as relevant at the time. Since YouTube doesn't disclose how their algorithms work, I can't tell why sometimes videos with low view counts are considered relevant.