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> Could someone with insight into these matters please help me understand - why would TSMC or Samsung choose to build factories in the US? It's partially to mi

> Could someone with insight into these matters please help me understand - why would TSMC or Samsung choose to build factories in the US? It's partially to mitigate supply risk. Recently, drought has worsened the supply of chip production, many of which are concentrated in Taiwan[1]. If you go on any PC parts forum, you will see that parts like new GPUs are nearly impossible to get. Some years back, flooding in Thailand[2] also threatened the supply of hard drives. [1] https://thediplomat.com/2021/03/taiwan-prays-for-rain-as-drought-threatens-chip-production/ https://thediplomat.com/2021/03/taiwan-prays-for-rain-as-dro... [2] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/oct/25/thailand-floods-hard-drive-shortage https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/oct/25/thailand-...

Scoundreller 6y ago
My friend can sell his 7y.o. GPU that he bought 3-4y ago for 50 EUR for 100EUR today. And it’s useless for mining.
- samvher 6y ago
  Even though mining doesn't directly drive up the price of that GPU, it does do so indirectly. Miners push gamers out of the new GPU market so the gamers go elsewhere. And old GPUs can be pretty valuable for making it through the year (while waiting to obtain something better).
- baybal2 6y ago
  > And it’s useless for mining. Tell these to people who keep mining at loss for god knows what reason
  - gruturo 6y ago
    They may be counting on the price going up in the future, given past trends. It's not like they have to immediately sell whatever they mine. (Yes, if you are really betting on that, you may as well skip the mining and buy the coins outright, but maybe they have cheap power or other reasons)
dj_gitmo 6y ago
Looked it up and apparently: > Industry statistics indicate that creating an integrated circuit on a 300 mm wafer requires approximately 2200 gallons of water in total, of which 1500 gallons is ultra-pure water.

Scoundreller 6y ago

My friend can sell his 7y.o. GPU that he bought 3-4y ago for 50 EUR for 100EUR today. And it’s useless for mining.

samvher 6y ago
Even though mining doesn't directly drive up the price of that GPU, it does do so indirectly. Miners push gamers out of the new GPU market so the gamers go elsewhere. And old GPUs can be pretty valuable for making it through the year (while waiting to obtain something better).
baybal2 6y ago
> And it’s useless for mining. Tell these to people who keep mining at loss for god knows what reason
- gruturo 6y ago
  They may be counting on the price going up in the future, given past trends. It's not like they have to immediately sell whatever they mine. (Yes, if you are really betting on that, you may as well skip the mining and buy the coins outright, but maybe they have cheap power or other reasons)

dj_gitmo 6y ago

Looked it up and apparently: > Industry statistics indicate that creating an integrated circuit on a 300 mm wafer requires approximately 2200 gallons of water in total, of which 1500 gallons is ultra-pure water.