Nvidia Reintroduces Hash Rate Limiter for RTX 3060

The Comeback of the Hash Rate Limiter

Nvidia is stepping back into the ring with a reintroduced hash rate limiter for its RTX 3060 series graphics cards. This fresh move, officially announced with the rollout of the GeForce 466.27 driver, is designed to give gamers a fighting chance against crypto miners—those crafty tech wizards who’ve been hogging all the good stuff.

A Lasso For Crypto Cowboys

In a world where gamers want GPUs and miners want, well, everything, Nvidia is trying to right the ship. With the updated driver, the GeForce RTX 3060’s mining performance has been cut down by a whopping 50%. Matt Wuebbling, Nvidia’s head honcho of global GeForce marketing, stated simply, “We designed GeForce GPUs for gamers, and gamers are clamoring for more.” But aren’t we all a little bit of miners on the side? It’s a complicated relationship, folks.

What Makes the New Cards Different?

These new models won’t change the world; they’re basically identical to their predecessors, apart from one critical detail: a new PCI Device ID of 2504. This means anything that used the former ID can now effectively be rendered useless when connected to the 470.05 driver update. So miners, you might want to dust off that old GPU if you want to squeeze out operation.

Mixed Reactions from Gamers

The response from the gaming community? Well, it’s like trying to decipher the plot of a Christopher Nolan film: complicated and contentious. One forum user, Eric W, shared his frustrations, stating, “I want to buy a new GPU for gaming, but I also mine when I’m not actively playing games…” Sounds like a classic case of ‘you can’t have the cake and eat it too.’ However, Mark chimed in with a hopeful yet cynical view that forbidding miners won’t be effective unless the limit hits 90% or higher. Phew! That’s a tall order.

What Lies Ahead for Crypto Miners?

The consensus seems to be that while the hash limiter might take a bite out of small-scale mines, the big boys with their thousands of GPUs are still likely to run roughshod over Nvidia’s best intentions. It’s a classic game of cat and mouse, and nobody’s quite sure who the cat is anymore. With reports floating around that models like the RTX 3090 may not face such restrictions due to their hefty price tag, gamers are left wondering if they’ll actually see their desired upgrades in the midst of this crypto chaos.