Razer, the iconic gaming computer brand, recently launched a new ‘loyalty’ program, allowing users to download an application that will utilize their computer to mine ZCash while their system remains idle.
The application provides users with the opportunity to earn rewards in the form of “Razer Silver,” a closed-system points scheme that can only be spent within the Razer ecosystem.
Razer Silver holders can use the points to purchase hardware, games and gift cards from the Razer store.
Users can’t, however, access the cryptocurrency their computers mined for the company.
The new application stems from a partnership with GammaNow, a blockchain-based application geared towards gamers with a lot of downtime.
Like Razer’s points-scheme, Gamma harnesses the power of users’ PCs to mine cryptocurrencies, providing them with rewards in exchange for the service.
On Gamma’s website, the company lists a number of popular games for which users can receive rewards. From League of Legends to Counterstrike, and even some of Blizzard’s biggest hits, users can receive loot boxes, points, and other in-game bonuses by cashing in their rewards points.
But Is It Worth It?
Short answer:
No.
Slightly longer answer:
Gamma’s application, from which Razer’s is based, is very GPU-intensive. Because of this, users’ computers will be active, despite the presumed ‘idle’ mode. This means an increase in electricity usage and additional wear-and-tear on their system.
It is marketed towards gamers with strong PCs, who likely don’t mind additional electricity usage or hardware stress, but the reality is that the costs do add up.
One Twitter user broke down the maths:
https://twitter.com/PyronoidD/status/1072981282320248832
- PyronoidD
According to the calculations, users would be operating at a loss of $2.66 per day.
Breaking Down The Rewards
In Gamma’s case, users receive in-game rewards, such as loot or other bonuses, in exchange for their efforts.
But the points earned aren’t exactly generous for what users are giving up.
With atop-tierr machine, running the application for approximately 24 hours, users can expect to get between 450-500 points per day. To put this into perspective, it costs 10240 Gamma Points to purchase what is the equivalent of $10 worth of “Riot Points” – a League of Legends in-game currency.
This means users would have to keep the application active for roughly 20 days to receive $10 in in-game credit.
And Razer’s SoftMiner isn’t much better.
In fact, it may be even less reasonable.
On Razer’s website, its specialty gaming keyboard, the “Razer Huntsman Elite”, valued at approximately $200, will cost users a whopping 280,000 Razer Silver.
By Razer’s own estimates, suggesting a return of up to 500 points per day with a top-tier rig and high-speed internet connection, users would have to spend over 560 days with their computers in idle mode (read: mining mode) to ‘earn’ that reward.
Worse still, Razer Silver is not redeemable after one year.
The bottom line here is this: If you’re really set on getting a new fancy Razer keyboard, you would be better off simply turning your computer off for 75 days than trying to rack up some Razer Silver. And your prized gaming rig will thank you for it.
Originally posted on Crypto Insider : https://cryptoinsider.com/razer-softminer-scheme/