Nvidia is purposely making its new RTX 3060 graphics cards less efficient for mining Ethereum cryptocurrency. New drivers that will accompany the launch of GPUs later this month will reduce the hash rate of Ethereum mining by about 50 percent, using software detection for cryptocurrency mining.
“We designed GeForce GPUs for gamers, and gamers are crying out for more,” says Matt Wuebbling, head of global GeForce marketing at Nvidia. “Still, NVIDIA GPUs are programmable. And users are constantly discovering new applications for them, from climate simulation and gene sequencing to deep learning and robotics. Mining cryptocurrency is one of them. “
Of course, Nvidia is making changes to try to help with the availability of its GeForce products. Nvidia is offering a new cryptocurrency mining processor (CMP) to Ethereum miners. This will include the best performance for mining and efficiency, but will not be compatible with graphics. Nvidia says that these CMP products, in a crucial way, “do not affect the availability of GeForce GPUs to players”.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22312133/xV6u2t6.png)
CMP products will not have display entrances, so they can be compacted more compactly in systems designed for mining. Nvidia is also ensuring that CMPs have a lower peak frequency and core voltage to improve the large power requirements associated with Ethereum mining. “With CMP, we can help miners build the most efficient data centers, while preserving GeForce RTX GPUs for gamers,” says Wuebbling.
While the introduction of a dedicated option for miners is welcome, Nvidia’s move to specifically nerf mining performance on the RTX 3060 is likely to receive some criticism. It is an artificial limit imposed with software restrictions that have been put in place because Nvidia is struggling to make enough GPUs to meet demand.
The entire industry, from games to car manufacturing, is being affected by the lack of chips at the moment. Nvidia clearly feels that now is the right time to respond to GPU demand, ensuring that what is likely to be its most popular new GPU is focused purely on games.