Nvidia applies its cryptocurrency mining limits to newly released GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, RTX 3070 Ti, and RTX 3060 Ti graphics cards. Other cards affected are RTX 3080, RTX 370, and RTX 360. After nerfing the hash rates of the RTX 3060 for its launch in Q1 2021, Nvidia is now starting to label new cards with a “Lite Hash Rate” or “LHR” identifier to let potential customers know the cards will be restricted for mining.
As per Matt Wuebbling, Nvidia’s head GeForce marketing, this reduced hash rate only applies to newly manufactured cards with the LHR identifier and not to cards already purchased. He further said that “We believe this additional step will get more GeForce cards at better prices into the hands of gamers everywhere.”
The new RTX 3080 Ti card will start shipping in a few days, and the LHR identifier will be displayed in retail product listings and on the box. Nvidia originally started hash limiting with the RTX 3060, and the company has already committed to not limiting the performance of GPUs already sold.
While Nvidia tried to limit Ethereum mining with the RTX 3060, the company also accidentally released a beta driver that unlocked hash rates and increased performance. That’s been reinstated with more recent drivers, but the beta drivers are out in the wild now.
Nvidia offers a separate Cryptocurrency Mining Processor (CMP) for Ethereum miners instead. These cards include the best performance for mining and efficiency, but they won’t handle graphics at all. Nvidia’s move to nerf new cards will undoubtedly drive up prices for existing 30-series GPUs that don’t have these restrictions in place.
SeiMaxim offers RTX 3090 GPU cards for cryptocurrency mining that LHR does not limit. The RTX 3090 GPU is available with dedicated and virtual servers equipped with Intel Xeon Silver CPU.
