future of bitcoin mining ( ASIC or GPU)

[valtiel]

im reading some post around predicting gpu mining is almost die and the future is ASIC (Application-specific integrated circuit) im not sure if thats ok or is only one of these (run when you can) posts but im curious. what that mean for average joe? is real? gpu mining is dead? and if that true now mining is only reserve to people with big budgets rich enough or smart guys who know how create these things.? is factible find a way to jump from gpu to ASIC in a painless way. is cheap or really expensive? maybe some of te moste xperimented miners or system designers can answer my questions

[Jack of Diamonds]

GPU mining is dead if difficulty raises so high that electricity costs will far surpass BTC earning potential.

Specialised ASICs created for the sole purpose calculating hashes will consume ~20x less power, cost 5x less but calculate the same amount of mhash/s as an average GPU.

This is of course all utopia at this point until we actually see a mass produced ASIC which can be purchased. It's also possible they will be monopolised by certain people and never sold.