Just before NVIDIA launched its new GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card last month, the company announced that the GPU’s cryptocurrency mining capabilities would be canceled at launch. A company representative said there would be a secure handshake between the driver, the RTX 3060 chip and the BIOS (firmware) to prevent users from removing the hash rate limiter, specifically if you are mining Ethereum. NVIDIA also said that it would not be possible to revert to an older version of the driver to restore the card’s original mining capacity.
The miners did not have to wait long, as last week there were reports of the successful removal of mining restrictions on the Geforce RTX 3060. Although those proved to be incorrect, as the alleged images showed a totally different cryptocurrency, new confirmations now question NVIDIA’s unreadable restriction. Several reports state again, saying that they can mine Ethereum to its full potential.
Image: PC Watch
As first reported by PC Watch, Ethereum mining restrictions can be circumvented without the need to modify the driver or BIOS.
“The editorial department was able to confirm the fact that restrictions can be circumvented by interacting with related parties. The specific method is not presented here, but it does not require modification of the driver or BIOS, and anyone can easily do this with a little effort.“
Apparently, it is possible to get around the RTX 3060 hash rate limiter simply by using the GeForce 470.05 beta driver that NVIDIA distributed to developers through the Windows Insider program. How ComputerBase and user posts on the forum Guru3D and DC Inside point out, installing the beta driver automatically unlocks mining performance for most RTX 3060 GPUs.
Image: ComputerBase
During the announcement of the new mining restriction, NVIDIA also announced a new product line made specifically for mining Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies. The CMP, or Cryptocurrency Mining Processor, was launched by the company to specifically address Ethereum mining needs, ensuring that the RTX 3060 ends up in the hands of players, as intended. But the release of this beta driver – although probably unintended – hampers the launch of this new product line.