GPU manufacturer Nvidia earlier said that it would not address the crypto mining performance of GPUs sold before the release of the RTX 3060. However, it appears that the manufacturer may just ramp up on restrictions for future purchases.
However, according to a new report by HKEPC (thanks PCGamesn), Nvidia will be refreshing the RTX 3060 supply with a GA106-302 codename rather than the original GA106-300. A new PCI Device ID attached means that the older drivers would become obsolete for anyone who purchases the new one. These new drivers will include stronger crypto mining limitations.
This story is also backed up by well known leaker, Kopite7kimi. However, the leaker says that this is just the beginning. Nvidia may be putting out GA104-202, GA104-302 GA102-202, and GA102-302 model numbers, which would be refreshes for RTX 3060 Ti, RTX 3070, RTX 3080, and RTX 3090 respectively.
Last month we reported that Nvidia released GeForce RTX 3060 beta drivers that accidentally removed the hash limiter. Reportedly, a developer driver “inadvertently included code used for internal development which removes the hash rate limiter on RTX 3060 in some configurations.”
These drivers were intended to allow developers to test out features like OpenCL 3.0 support and Windows Subsystem for Linux. However, the hash limiters weren’t put in place on the test drivers before making them available to download. Unfortunately for Nvidia, the driver was publicly available long enough that it has started circulating. Anybody looking to unlock their RTX 3060's full performance to mine cryptocurrency just has to search for RTX 3060 470.05 drivers, download and install them, and then turn off auto-updates. The company must be kicking itself for that one.
Nvidia has clearly been having a tough time dealing with cryptominers. Only a week before its own driver related mistake, Nvidia’s so called “unhackable” RTX 3060 was taken apart by Chinese mod makers, who managed to figure out a way of getting around Nivida's hash limiter and letting the GPU mining for cryptocurrencies.
"End users cannot remove the hash limiter from the driver," Nvidia told PC Gamer. "There is a secure handshake between the driver, the RTX 3060 silicon, and the BIOS (firmware) that prevents removal of the hash rate limiter." Unfortunately, the modders found a way.