It could also be unattainable to purchase a graphics card proper now, however the brand new Game Ready 466.27 drivers launched right this moment simply tipped off Nvidia’s next counterstrike within the warfare in opposition to cryptocurrency miners. The firm unintentionally cracked its personal anti-mining “hashrate limiter” launched alongside the GeForce RTX 3060 however it’s coming again for a second spherical of restrictions, and these ones may very well be much more intensive.
In the “new options” part of the 466.27 driver release notes, you’ll discover the next word: “This driver updates the hash limiter for the GeForce RTX 3060 12GB and is required for product shipped beginning mid-May.”
That alone can be intriguing sufficient, however simply yesterday, respected leak web site Videocardz reported that Nvidia plans to start out delivery a “Lite Hash Rate” sequence for the GeForce RTX 30-series graphics playing cards beginning in mid-May. These refreshed silicon iterations gained’t carry out any in a different way in gaming workloads than the unique variations of the RTX 3060 Ti, 3070, 3080, and 3090, nor will they be marketed as new merchandise with new names, if Videocardz’s report proves true (and the word in Nvidia’s new drivers actually provides credence to it). But the brand new, barely tweaked GPUs would require new drivers, and it seems to be like they’ll sport Nvidia’s newest anti-mining expertise. Videocardz reviews the brand new silicon with an older identify can even add in native Resizable BAR help for elevated efficiency in suitable programs.
Brad Chacos/IDGEVGA’s GeForce RTX 3060 XC Black Gaming.
We’d additionally count on these options (together with the up to date hash limiter) to come back inventory in any new GeForce releases as nicely, such because the long-rumored RTX 3070 Ti and 3080 Ti.
“RTX 3060 software program drivers are designed to detect particular attributes of the Ethereum cryptocurrency mining algorithm, and restrict the hash charge, or cryptocurrency mining effectivity, by round 50 p.c,” Nvidia’s Matt Wuebbling said whereas asserting the primary doomed iteration of the expertise. Any graphics card that may’t bypass the hash limiter, new or outdated, can be considerably much less worthwhile for mining cryptocoins.
Industrious miners might very nicely wind up cracking Nvidia’s impending anti-mining options, as a result of there’s some huge cash floating round Ethereum, Bitcoin, and different cryptocurrencies, and large cash lets mining farms pay builders devoted to crafting customized software program as wanted. Nvidia, conversely, desires miners paying up for its new CMP HX crypto playing cards as an alternative. But if Nvidia’s countermeasures show profitable, PC avid gamers might lastly be capable of begin shopping for GPUs repeatedly—although mining isn’t the one purpose graphics card value a lot proper now.
