In January 2024, NVIDIA officially announced the new members of the RTX 40 series graphics cards: RTX 4080 SUPER, RTX 4070 Ti SUPER, and RTX 4070 SUPER in the form of an online live broadcast. According to NVIDIA, the SUPER series of graphics cards not only surpasses their predecessors in performance, but also has the excellent AI capabilities of the RTX platform, of which the RTX 4080 SUPER has a starting price of 8099 yuan.
Although Nvidia is sparing no effort to launch new graphics cards and use DLSS, an almost "cheating" way to show the frame rate of the graphics card. But judging from consumers' willingness to buy, NVIDIA's new graphics card seems to lack some sincerity. Judging from the hardware statistics of Steam gamers, the most used graphics card in December 2023 is still the "dessert-grade" RTX 3060 graphics card released in February 2023, and only the RTX 4060 mobile version of the entire 40 series surpasses Intel's Iris Xe GPU.
Image source: Steam
Obviously, the shortcomings of the RTX 4070 are not in performance, after all, even the worse 4070 performs better than the Iris Xe. In fact, there is only one reason that affects the sales of 40 series graphics cards - price. Although the price of graphics cards has dropped slightly in recent years, there has not been large-scale "mining" compared with AI training, and the price of high-performance gaming graphics cards is still in an unreasonable price range. So apart from buying the so-called "mining card", is there really no way for gamers to buy a game graphics card with excellent performance at a reasonable price?
The answer is no.
The price is low, and the price is not low
Some time ago, a batch of unknown "magic change graphics cards" suddenly appeared on a second-hand platform in China, the model is generally RTX 4080M, and the price is about 3000 yuan. Of course, we can also find higher-end RTX 4090M, which is generally priced at more than 10,000 yuan. If you look at it from the perspective of cost performance, you can buy performance close to 4070Ti for less than half the price of the 4070Ti, and these magic graphics cards have surpassed the 4090 and become a real cost-effective choice. But the problem is that these graphics cards aren't meant for desktop computers.
Image source: Ray Technology
From the model number, it is not difficult to see that this batch of low-priced graphics cards is essentially a mobile graphics card that is removed from a laptop and packaged separately. Converting a laptop's mobile graphics card to a desktop-friendly one can theoretically offer some potential benefits, especially in terms of energy savings, size, and specific use cases. Because mobile graphics cards are designed to accommodate the battery life and space constraints of notebooks, they typically have a high energy efficiency ratio and a smaller physical size.
If there are only performance problems, then these modified graphics cards seem to be acceptable, after all, cost is the primary consideration when everyone installs a computer, and the cost performance of these modified graphics cards is actually not low. But the real problem is that after all, the revised card comes from a small workshop, not only in the driver and other software adaptation, but also in the circuit design level may not be passed. What's more, no one can guarantee that these mobile GPUs are not involved in high-load operations such as mining before they are removed, and there is no guarantee of the "physique" of the graphics card.
Coupled with the non-binding "warranty policy" of second-hand platforms, no one dares to make any promises about the longevity of these graphics cards. If you really "burn the card", you will lose the graphics card at least, and it may even bring safety hazards such as fire.
It's just an old trick from 20 years ago
But then again, repackaging a mobile graphics card into a desktop graphics card isn't a new way to play in recent years. Leaving aside the repackaging of the 30 series mobile graphics cards, back in the days of MXM graphics cards, gamers with limited budgets have already come up with the idea of repackaging MXM graphics cards into PCIe graphics cards and using them on desktop computers.
Prior to the GTX 10 series graphics cards, MXM graphics cards were a common, replaceable graphics card designed specifically for laptops that used the same technical standards as PCIe for desktop computers, but differed in shape, size, and cooling schemes. MXM graphics cards are designed to provide a flexible way to upgrade or replace graphics cards on your laptop, although there aren't many laptops on the market that allow users to replace MXM graphics cards themselves.
Image source: JD.com
Converting an MXM graphics card to a PCIe graphics card is also not an easy task: MXM graphics cards differ from standard PCIe graphics cards in terms of physical interfaces and layouts, which requires the use of special adapters or adapter boards to achieve physical connection compatibility. Second, because MXM graphics cards are often designed with more compact and efficient cooling configurations to accommodate laptops' space constraints, additional cooling configurations may be required when used in desktop computers to keep the graphics card's temperatures stable under higher loads.
In addition, software and driver compatibility is also an important consideration. While MXM graphics cards are technically PCIe compliant, the brand is still optimized or customized for specific use cases for laptops, which can lead to driver installation and compatibility issues when used on desktop computers.
Despite all the inconveniences, MXM graphics cards are still the "desktop" graphics card of choice for gamers on a budget. It wasn't until later that the 10-series graphics cards and the Max-Q scheme were introduced, and they gradually withdrew from the stage. And the "magic mobile graphics card" we see on the second-hand platform is just a special product of the Chinese graphics card market in a special time background and a "spiritual sequel" of the MXM graphics card.
Cutting and untidy China's graphics card market
Between 2020 and 2022, China's graphics card market experienced unprecedented changes and challenges, and the market dynamics during this period were affected by multiple factors such as the global pandemic, supply chain issues, and the cryptocurrency mining boom. During this time, we have witnessed wild swings in graphics card prices, tight supply and demand, and changes in consumer buying behavior, as well as the industry's response to these challenges.
With the global outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020, the demand for PCs and their components increased dramatically due to the sharp rise in demand for remote work, online learning, and home entertainment. Graphics cards, as one of the key components of computer performance, have become more sought-after during this period. However, the pandemic has also led to disruptions in the global supply chain, affecting multiple segments, including the production and distribution of graphics cards, resulting in a situation where supply exceeds demand even more.
In addition, the price surge of cryptocurrencies during this period has triggered a new mining boom. Due to the critical role of high-performance graphics cards in cryptocurrency mining, this has led to a large number of graphics cards being snapped up by miners, further exacerbating the supply and demand tension in the market. This trend is particularly pronounced in the Chinese market, which has led to skyrocketing graphics card prices in both the retail and second-hand markets, and regular consumers and gamers are finding it increasingly difficult to afford new graphics cards.
Image courtesy of NVIDIA
In 2022, while the global graphics card market is still facing challenges, the supply situation is starting to improve. As the impact of the pandemic gradually wanes and the supply chain gradually recovers, the production and distribution of graphics cards begin to normalize. Coupled with the cooling of the cryptocurrency market, the supply and demand relationship in the graphics card market has gradually returned to equilibrium, and the price has begun to stabilize. It wasn't until 2023 that the AI market was extremely hot that the price of graphics cards was pushed up again. The operation of changing mobile cards to desktop cards has once again entered the public eye due to the high price of graphics cards.
But between a high-priced graphics card and a "magical" graphics card, we have other options.
Is there hope for domestic graphics cards?
In 2023, the rapid development of the artificial intelligence industry has put an unprecedented demand for computing power, especially in areas such as deep learning, machine learning, and more. This demand is directly driving the pursuit of high-performance graphics cards. With the expansion of AI technology applications, the demand for graphics cards has surged, from data centers to personal computers, leading to a new round of price increases in graphics cards.
Image Credit: Moore Threads
For a domestic graphics card brand like Moore Threads, this is both a challenge and an opportunity. On the one hand, domestic graphics card brands need to quickly upgrade their technology to meet the market demand for high-performance graphics cards, especially in the field of AI. Considering that the current demand for high-performance general-purpose computing in the industry is mainly reflected in CUDA performance, domestic graphics cards need to invest heavily in R&D and technology accumulation if they want to seize this opportunity.
On the other hand, due to the price increase of mainstream graphics card brands, which provides more room for choice for cost-effective users, domestic graphics card brands can attract users by offering competitive prices and appropriate performance, especially those who do not need top-notch performance but still expect a good experience in daily use and light AI applications.
For domestic graphics card brands, the rise of the AI industry in 2023 and its high demand for graphics card performance have indeed brought new market opportunities. Through continuous technological innovation and market strategy adjustment, domestic brands are expected to stand out in this wave of technological innovation, provide users with more choices, and promote the progress of the domestic technology industry.
And when the domestic graphics card successfully proves itself with performance, domestic players naturally have no need to "magical" the graphics card.