Nvidia is As soon as Once more Limiting GPUs for Crypto Mining

Graphics card producer Nvidia has reintroduced a characteristic that limits crypto mining on its flagship RTX 3060 GPU, a month after a earlier replace unintentionally eliminated the characteristic and enabled crypto miners to utilize the playing cards.

Nvidia has had a thorny relationship with crypto miners, who use its GPUs for the number-crunching required to mine proof-of-work cryptocurrencies, comparable to Ethereum. The latest crypto bull run has seen miners snap up the playing cards, which have been designed to energy high-end gaming PCs—leading to shortages and spiraling costs.

Dealing with mounting anger from avid gamers, Nvidia launched hash fee limiters on its gaming GPUs, which throttle the playing cards’ mining efficiency. However a March beta driver launch inadvertently allowed miners to bypass Nvidia’s restrictions, as soon as once more enabling the RTX 3060 for use for crypto mining.

Now Nvidia has launched the brand new GeForce 466.27 driver, which reinstates the hash fee restrict. In response to videocardz.com, future RTX 3060 playing cards will forestall them from getting used with older drivers—such because the beta driver that eliminated hash fee restrictions.

Individually, the corporate can also be engaged on an up to date model of “Lite Hash Rate” GPUs throughout different RTX 30-series playing cards; the playing cards will restrict hash charges, making them of restricted worth to crypto miners. How the corporate intends to perform this—and whether or not it’ll be via software program, {hardware} or a mix of each—has but to be disclosed.

The GPU mining panorama

Nvidia is strolling a tightrope, trying to stability the wants of its core PC gaming buyer base with the increasing crypto mining market. 

Nvidia has introduced a devoted card designed for crypto miners, the Nvidia CMP, which has reportedly demonstrated efficiency comparable to that of a RTX 3060 in assessments. Miners are already snapping them up; Hut 8 Mining Corp, has positioned an order for $30 million value of the playing cards, whereas Nvidia has raised its 2022 first-quarter income projection for the crypto mining playing cards to $150 million.

In the meantime, Nvidia rival AMD has introduced that it gained’t attempt to throttle hash fee on its gaming GPUs—whereas stressing that they’re designed with avid gamers in thoughts.

The long-running dispute between miners and avid gamers could also be set to fizzle out quickly, although. Most GPUs are used for mining Ethereum; Bitcoin miners have lengthy since moved on to extra highly effective ASIC miners. 

However Ethereum is shifting over from the computationally-intensive proof-of-work consensus mechanism to the much less demanding proof-of-stake mannequin, which doesn’t require miners in any respect. 

It’ll make the swap with the long-awaited Ethereum 2.0 improve. Because of this, the crypto business might be set to lose its voracious urge for food for GPUs—one thing that can go away avid gamers feeling like they’ve hit a excessive rating.