NVIDIA recently released a new driver update for its graphics cards and in the GeForce driver release, NVIDIA has confirmed that they are reintroducing cryptocurrency mining hash rate limiter on the GeForce RTX 3060 graphics cards which will arrive in May.
Recently, it was reported by Videocardz that NVIDIA is working on LHR (Lite Hash Rate) GPU lineup for its GeForce RTX 3000 gaming graphics cards. It is now confirmed by NVIDIA themselves that a refreshed lineup of all the RTX 3000 series GPUs will be launching, starting from the RTX 3060 in May. The latest GeForce 466.27 WHQL driver confirms this in the changelog:
According to NVIDIA, the latest driver updates the hash rate limiter for the GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB graphics card and is required for products shipped starting mid-May. Existing GeForce RTX 3060 graphics cards will once again get crippled within mining when users update to the new drivers. And the newer variants based on the Ampere GA**2 line of chips will require this driver to work.
This will not affect the people whose usage scenarios include gaming and work. But if cryptocurrency mining rigs are updated with the new drivers, then this would limit the mining hash rate to 50% of the overall capability.
Specifications and prices for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3000 Lite Hash Rate series cards are not going to change. The refreshed RTX 3000 series lineups are expected to feature the brand new GPU SKUs under the ‘GA**2’ branding and will come with Resizable BAR support out of the box.
Following are all the new NVIDIA Ampere GA**2 SKUs that are expected to feature in the refreshed lineup.
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 – GA102-300-A1 -> GA102-302-A1
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 – GA102-200-A1 -> GA102-202-A1
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 – GA104-300-A1 -> GA104-302-A1
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti – GA104-200-A1 -> GA104-202-A1
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 – GA106-300-A1 -> GA106-302-A1
The NVIDIA GA**2 GPUs will start shipping in mid of May so we can expect graphics cards with the new chips to start hitting the retail shelves around June 2021.
