Nvidia's latest Game Ready 512.95 driver restores LHR crypto mining limiter on Ampere cards but it is not foolproof
In a disappointing turn of events for crypto miners, the latest graphics drivers from Nvidia have re-enabled LHR on the GeForce RTX 3000 series cards. After installing the Nvidia Game Ready 512.95, users will see a significant hit to their GPU’s Ethereum mining capability or hashrate. Per VideoCardz, the drivers will limit the hashrate of a GPU to 50 to 70%.
Nvidia introduced the GeForce RX 30 LHR boards in May 2021 to discourage miners from scooping up Ampere GPUs. The introduction of LHR cards was a half-hearted attempt by Nvidia to alleviate the GPU shortage that was caused by a combination of a severe chip shortage, rampant scalping, alleged price gouging, and a mining boom. Soon after LHR was introduced, crypto miners found a way to bypass LHR and operate RTX 30 cards at 70% of their hash rate capability.
Although the GPU supply crunch has eased quite a lot since last year and prices continue to move toward normalization, the effects of the board shortage of the last two years still linger.
The latest 512.95 comes two weeks after miners were finally able to crack the puzzle and get full hashrate out of their boards. VideoCardz has found a video depicting an RTX 3060 only managing 25 MH/s of ETH hashrate with the new drivers. In contrast, a fully unlocked RTX 3060 can push 46 MH/s.
That said, it is not foolproof as all you have to do to enjoy full hashrate on your card again is to stick with the old drivers.
Aside from the LHR adjustment, Nvidia Game Ready 512.95 also brings DLSS and raytracing for Hitman 3.
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