Nvidia is purposely making its new RTX 3060 graphics cards less efficient for Ethereum cryptocurrency mining. The new drivers that will come with the release of the GPU later this month will reduce the hash rate of Etherium mining by about 50 percent, using software software detection for cryptocurrency mining.
“We’ve developed a GFORce GPU for gamers, and gamers are increasingly applauding,” says Matt Wubbling, head of global GeForce marketing at NVDA. “Yet NVIDIA GPUs are programmable. And users are constantly looking for new applications for them, from weather simulation and gene sequencing to deep learning and robotics. Mining cryptocurrency is one of them. “
It is clear that Nvidia is making changes to try to help the availability of its GeForce products. Nvidia is offering a new cryptocurrency mining processor (CMP) for Etherium Miners instead. This will include the best performance for mining and efficiency, but it will not handle graphics. Nvidia says these CMP products, in turn, “will not affect the availability of GameForce GPUs for gamers.”
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CMP products will not have display inputs so they can be packed more densely into systems designed for mining. Nvidia is also ensuring that Cythapis has a frequency to improve the low peak core voltage and large power requirements associated with Etherium mining. “With the help of CMP, we can help miners build the most efficient data centers for gamers by preserving the GeForce RTX GPU,” says Wubbling.
While the introduction of a dedicated option for miners is welcomed, there is likely to be some criticism of Nvidia’s move, especially for the incomplete mining performance on the RTX 3060. It is an artificial limitation imposed with software restrictions that has been put in place because Nvidia is struggling to create enough GPUs to meet demand.
The entire industry, from gaming to car manufacturing, is now plagued by chip shortages. Nvidia clearly feels that now is the right time to respond to GPU demand by making sure that its most popular new GPU focuses on pure gaming.
