Nvidia to cripple Etherum mining on GeForce RTX 3060 cards to deter crypto bods from nabbing all the gear
- Reference: 1613691905
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/02/18/nvidia_gpu_mining/
- Source link:
Specifically, if the driver software for the GeForce RTX 3060 cards detects certain [1]proof-of-work algorithms used in the mining of digital currencies, it will slash the hash rate. This is intended to deter folks from snapping up the cards to mine Ethereum in particular, it seems, leaving more kit for computer game fans to fight over.
[2]
“We are gamers, through and through,” the Silicon Valley-based corporation [3]insisted in a statement. “Yet Nvidia GPUs are programmable. And users are constantly discovering new applications for them, from weather simulation and gene sequencing to deep learning and robotics. Mining cryptocurrency is one of them.
Nvidia: Using cheap GeForce, Titan GPUs in servers? Haha, nope! [4]READ MORE
[5]
“With the launch of GeForce RTX 3060 on February 25, we’re taking an important step to help ensure GeForce GPUs end up in the hands of gamers. RTX 3060 software drivers are designed to detect specific attributes of the Ethereum cryptocurrency mining algorithm, and limit the hash rate, or cryptocurrency mining efficiency, by around 50 per cent."
“The RTX 3060 software drivers are designed to detect specific attributes of the [6]Ethash (Dagger Hashimoto) algorithm , which is based on a unique memory access pattern,” an Nvidia spokesperson told The Register . “Ethereum has the highest global mining yield for any GPU-mineable coin at the moment and thus is likely the main demand driver for GPUs in mining.
“Other algorithms do not contribute significantly to GPU demand and cannot change quickly due to network effects within a given cryptocurrency. The rate limiter applies to anything that uses Dagger Hashimoto or Ethash-like algorithms.”
The RTX 3060 – which will go on sale at 0900 PT (1700 UTC) for $329 (£299) next Thursday – is Nvidia’s most affordable GPU built to date using its latest Ampere architecture. Its cousins, the RTX [7]3090 , [8]3080 , and 3070 cards, were released last year and sold out virtually immediately, leaving gamers fuming. This time round, Nvidia wants to make its hardware less desirable to miners, leaving more silicon for game fans. This also all comes amid a shortage in chips, as fabs have been unable to meet demand for various pandemic-related reasons.
To make up for this crack down on miners using GeForce cards, Nvidia will also peddle a new crypto-focused series of GPUs collectively named CMP HX. These come in four flavors: the 30 HX, 40 HX, 50 HX, and the 60 HX, each one containing more memory and power than the last. Here’s a handy table containing each chip’s main specs:
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What you get for your bucks ... Click to enlarge. Source: Nvidia
They lack any ability to connect to displays, making them unsuitable for desktop gaming. On top of this, they have specific cooling systems and operate at lower peak core voltages and frequencies to keep power consumption low for mining.
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Nvidia expects the weaker-end CMP GPUs will be available next month, we’re told, with more powerful gear coming out in the second quarter of the year. They will be sold via authorized vendors, including: ASUS, Colorful, EVGA, Gigabyte, MSI, Palit, and PC Partner. ®
Get our [11]Tech Resources
[1] https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/consensus-mechanisms/pow/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_personal_tech/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YC9F6yJben3CLsDwU8tbNgAAAMY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2021/02/18/geforce-cmp/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2018/01/03/nvidia_server_gpus/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_personal_tech/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YC9F6yJben3CLsDwU8tbNgAAAMY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://github.com/ethereum/wiki/wiki/Dagger-Hashimoto
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2020/09/24/nvidia_rtx3090_shortage/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2020/09/18/nvidia_geforce_rtx_debut_derailed/
[9] https://regmedia.co.uk/2021/02/18/nvidia.jpg
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_personal_tech/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YC9F6yJben3CLsDwU8tbNgAAAMY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Ugh. Sounds like a new cat and mouse game with video drivers. We have this already with AV software.
And while I don't follow etherum specifically, I would have to imagine that if this hardware is superior to everything else out there, then there will be highly motivated people trying to circumvent this software restriction.
"Ugh. Sounds like a new cat and mouse game with video drivers."
Yes, but if the miners take a few weeks or months to get around the restrictions, then the cards will not be bought up by miners at launch.
If they succeed in making the cards unattractive to miners in the long term, they can sell more of the cheaper-to-produce but higher margin mining cards AND when those cards get retired from mining they don't lower the price of second hand gaming cards.
Not sure what you mean by "long term". Weeks or months really isn't long term.
And why wouldn't big miners still go out and acquire the cards en masse? If you're big enough or wallet deep enough, hedging your operation that the newest and best piece of cheaper hardware might be a software fix away, that seems like a good idea.
And at the end of the day, if you can't defeat the driver, however unlikely that is, you can still unload the cards on eBay. I'm no expert by any stretch on video cards or video card drivers. But I know that software is mutable and physically having your hands on a computer is king. Time is, after all, on the miner's side.
Nvidia can't alter the hardware once it's in the hands of the miners.
Excuse my cynicism
I await the announcement of a whole new line of crypto mining cards, which are lower spec than the gaming cards, but with different firmware, at the usual 200% markup.
Re: Excuse my cynicism
Having custom firmware only for mining would make them more efficient I guess?
Re: Excuse my cynicism
I don't know what ethereum does exactly but I think that it looks for a pattern in a 4g+ random data that has been generated from a hash. What are they crippling is unknown to me. It would nice to know what exactly is being done, before someone releases a patched firmware that undoes whatever it is that they have tried to do.
Hmmmm, well I hope they do something robust in fixed silicon to enforce this. If its drivers only, then I would not be surprised if someone somewhere hacks the driver to remove the limit...
This is a stupid idea on Nvidia's part. Their heart might be in the right place, but it's not going to work.
Even if the mining only GPU's are cheaper than normal cards (which they are unlikely to be.) Miners have no incentive to buy them because they'll have zero resale value later on, because once they're worthless to miners, they're worthless to everyone, and actual miners factor that in to their profit model. So you're going to see miners loading up on 3060's anyway and running hacked drivers, because then, they'll still be able to resell them once they're done since they're still normal GPU's.
"This is a stupid idea on Nvidia's part. Their heart might be in the right place, but it's not going to work."
- grabs some nice headlines, helps generate brand loyalty
- helps with availability of cards at launch and maybe for a few weeks (days?) after
Nvidia have a massive incentive to push miners into needing the easier, quicker and cheaper to produce mining cards so there's a chance this isn't just firmware level.
Old school
Selling shovels to fools. Silicon Valley's favorite biz model since the roaring 1840s. You do all the mucking around in the mud, we skim the lions share of the profit from the few lucky enough to make one, and leave them holding all the worthless capitol hardware in 6 months time.
My play is to sell deluxe bespoke organic earplugs to quiet the wails of the Cryptobros. 16 tulip bulbs to get in on the ground floor.