Earlier this year, Nvidia announced that their GeForce RTX 3060 graphics cards would ship with a “reduced Ethereum hash rate,” making them a lot less useful for crypto miners. They’re now extending that move to the RTX 3080, RTX 3070 and RTX 3060 Ti as well.
From late May, all the above models will start shipping with LHR (Lite Hash Rate) versions, with the ultimate goal being that gamers might find it easier to to get their hands on them, rather than crypto miners scooping them all up in bulk.
Of course, it won’t stop resellers, though it might take the wind out of their sales if crypto miners aren’t as incentivised to buy them in bulk either. And there’s always the chance that miners simply find ways to bypass these LHR models, like back in March when Nvidia accidentally unlocked their own protections with a driver update.
But hey, maybe in the short term it might be easier to get hold of a new graphics card! Maybe. Potentially. And if you can’t, well, remember that if you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with.
I’m Finally Happy I Bought An “Old” Graphics Card
Let me tell you about an emotional rollercoaster I’ve been on for the past eight months. It’s a cautionary tale, about the perils of obsessing over PC hardware, but also one of celebration, a triumph against the odds.
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