To prevent graphics cards NVIDIA RTX 30 series will be used for Ethereum mining, the company proposed LHR. This solution halves the computing power of hashing, making mining less profitable. As well, NiceHash announced to have reached Unlock 90% of LHR v3.
The idea of Low Hash Rate (LHR) from NVIDIA that graphics cards reach gamers. To meet the demand of the mining sector, the company launched the CMP charts designed for the ether mining which lack video output, among other parameters.
NiceHash builds NVIDIA LHR v3 romper
Currently the only graphics cards with NVIDIA LHR v3 are the RTX 3050 8GB
This solution was introduced in February 2021 with the RTX 3060 and since then all have integrated this limitation. the RTX 3080, RTX 3070, RTX 3060 Ti and RTX 3060 they integrated LHR v2, which seemed more robust than the previous version. Recently, the RTX 3040 8GB and RTX 3080 12GB arrived with LHR v3.
From NiceHash, they report that all RTX 30 series have been fully or 90% unlocked. Those dedicated to Ethereum mining should only download NiceHash QuickMiner v0.5.4.2 RC. This software update, in addition to “breaking” LHR, brings “significant stability improvements”. With this update, 41 Mh/s are reached on the RTX 3050 and 90 Mh/s on the RTX 3080.
Although the market has undergone a significant correction, mining continues, albeit less profitable. The reason is that the market generally undergoes these corrections to rise significantly. Just go back to 2017, when Bitcoin touched $20,000 and then fell to $4,000. A few months ago, Bitcoin hit $60,000 and is currently hovering around $30,000.
A limitation whose days were numbered
When NVIDIA announced this measure, it was already clear that its duration was going to be limited. Many mining engineers have worked to unlock these graphics cards.
Note that currently only NVIDIA implements limitations on its graphics cards and offers exclusive solutions for mining. AMD does not implement any restrictions for mining Ethereum, Ravencoin, ERGO, GRIN or any other cryptocurrency. Additionally, AMD has a blockchain tab on their website where they advertise different mining rigs.
The only effective measure to prevent the use of graphics cards for Ethereum mining is the amount of graphics VRAM. Currently, the Ethereum DAG (“file” necessary for calculations) exceeds 4.5 GB in capacity. This renders any graphics card with a lower amount of VRAM unusable for this process.
It is possible that NVIDIA is working on a more efficient measure for the RTX 40 series, although there is no data. The truth is that this market makes a lot of money and ultimately it’s the sales that matter.
