While the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 range of graphics cards hit the market next week, the manufacturer has just announced that they will be restricted to limit their use in cryptocurrency mining.
At the same time, Nvidia announces the arrival of a range of graphics cards focused on mining.
The GeForce RTX 3060 will be available for sale on February 25, and this release is already shaping up to be sultry with limited stocks and prices, however set by Nvidia, which do not seem to be respected by all resellers in the context of pre-orders.
Latest GeForce RTX 30 graphics card models suffer from massive shortages, especially because cryptocurrency miners manage to get their hands on rare stocks, to the chagrin of players.
Nvidia has therefore decided to counterattack, announcing today he counts “Limit the hash rate of GeForce RTX 3060 GPUs, in order to make them less efficient to use for mining”.
The explanation given is simple: the manufacturer considers that a graphics card is above all designed to play, even if he admits that “Nvidia GPUs are programmable”.
But with great evils, great remedies: “With the launch of the GeForces RTX 3060 on February 25, we are taking the necessary steps to ensure graphics cards reach gamers’ hands.”.
GPUs dedicated to mining
In practice, RTX 3060 drivers were designed to detect specific attributes of Ethereum, one of the most mined cryptocurrencies today. The hash, which corresponds to the extraction efficiency of the cryptocurrency, is then reduced by about 50%. What obviously harm the profitability of the practice.
In return, Nvidia announced the arrival of GPU named Nvidia CMP, for ”Cryptocurrency Mining Processor’.
These models, “Which do not manage the graphics”, are designated as intended for “Professional mining”. CMPs do not have a display output, which optimizes the airflow to densify mining. In addition, Nvidia explains that “CMPs also have lower peak voltage and frequency, which improves energy efficiency in mining.”.
In short, the manufacturer seeks to divert the attention of cryptocurrency miners to products designed for them in order to alleviate the pressure on its graphics cards “For players”. We are now wondering if Nvidia could go so far as to restrict a posteriori the other RTX 30 graphics cards, which are rare on the market and have been the subject of mad speculation in recent months.