Nvidia started releasing LHR (or “Lite Hash Rate”) graphics cards last year to slow down their cryptocurrency mining performance and make them less appealing to non-gamers. Late last week, crypto mining platform NiceHash announced that it had finally found a way around those limitations and released an update to its QuickMiner software that promises full Ethereum mining performance on almost all LHR-compatible GeForce RTX 3000 series GPUs.
Unlike previous attempts to disable the LHR protections, NiceHash’s solution seems to be the real deal: Tom’s Hardware was able to confirm the performance gains using QuickMiner and a GeForce RTX 3080 Ti.
For now, NiceHash says the LHR solution only works in Windows, with “no Linux support yet.” The more flexible NiceHash Miner software doesn’t include the workarounds yet, though it will soon. NiceHash also says that the software will not speed up mining performance on newer GeForce cards that use version 3 of the LHR algorithm, a list that includes (for now) the RTX 3050 and the 12GB version of the RTX 3080, but will likely grow as Nvidia releases new GPUs and updated revisions for older releases GPUs.
Miners have been trying to find ways around the LHR restrictions since its introduction. The first card to use LHR, the GeForce RTX 3060, was defeated by a failed driver release from Nvidia. Other solutions included flashing alternate BIOSes and mining multiple cryptocurrencies on the same card.
But LHR solutions can also be too good to be true. Another group promised LHR-destroying drivers in February, but they didn’t do what they said they would and ended up being riddled with malware.
Whether this LHR unlock will have an impact on GPU pricing or availability remains to be seen. Bitcoin and Ethereum prices have fallen lately as interest rates and the stock market turmoil have prompted investors to bet more safely. Ethereum’s “merger”, which will turn the currency from a mining-driven “proof-of-work” system to a proprietary “proof-of-stake” system, is also reportedly a few months away, although that has been the case for several years now. Right now, even with the performance improvements and price increases, buying some new cryptocurrency mining GPUs can still be a risky investment.
