GPU shortages and inflated prices have become a byproduct of the growth of cryptomining. Needless to say, that’s bad news for the gamers that make up a big chunk of the computing industry’s customer base. To help solve some of the demand-side issues, NVIDIA has created dedicated GPUs for professional miners and halved the hash rate for its RTX 3060 cards. Now, it’s extending those capacity limits to more GeForce chips in a bid to free up its product for gamers.
The company has announced that it will apply a reduced Ethereum hash rate for newly manufactured GeForce RTX 3080, RTX 3070 and RTX 3060 Ti graphics cards. You’ll be able to spot the cards, which start shipping in late May, by the new “Lite Hash Rate” or “LHR” label on product listings and on the physical box. NVIDIA said the change would not impact GPUs that have already been purchased.
“We believe this additional step will get more GeForce cards at better prices into the hands of gamers everywhere,” the company said in a blog post.
NVIDIA’s attempts at troubleshooting haven’t exactly been an overwhelming success. Earlier this year, it flip flopped on the hash rate limit of the RTX 3060 cards by releasing a driver update that undid the caps, before fixing them again. (Those wishing to mine could just stick with the mistakenly uncapped driver, though.)
The company’s bid to directly target the crypto mining crowd may have fared better, however. It launched four Cryptocurrency Mining Processors (CMP) in February, including the 30HX, 40HX, 50HX, and 90HX, which start from $599. NVIDIA said it expected quarterly revenue from the cards to be $150 million, triple its own estimates.
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