Last year, Nvidia began releasing LHR (or “Lite Hash Rate”) graphics cards to slow down cryptocurrency mining performance and make them less appealing to non-gaming users. Late last week, crypto mining platform NiceHash announced that it had finally found a way around these limitations and released an update to its QuickMiner software that promises full Ethereum mining performance on almost all LHR-enabled GeForce RTX 3000 series GPUs.
Unlike past attempts to disable LHR protection, the NiceHash workaround seems real – Tom’s Hardware was able to confirm performance improvements with QuickMiner and GeForce RTX 3080 Ti.
For now, NiceHash says the LHR workaround will only work on Windows, “no Linux support yet.”The more flexible NiceHash Miner software does not yet include workarounds, though they will be coming soon. NiceHash also reports that the software will not improve mining performance on new GeForce cards using the LHR version 3 algorithm, a list that (for now) includes the RTX 3050 and the 12GB version of the RTX 3080, but will likely grow. as Nvidia releases new GPUs and updates versions of older GPUs.
Miners have been trying to find ways to get around the LHR restrictions since they were introduced. The first card to use LHR, the GeForce RTX 3060, failed due to an unsuccessful driver release from Nvidia. Other workarounds include flashing alternative BIOSes and mining multiple cryptocurrencies on the same card.
But LHR workarounds can also be too good to be true. Another group promised drivers in February that could defeat LHR, but they didn’t do what they promised and ended up full of malware.
It is not yet known if this LHR unlock will affect GPU prices or availability. Bitcoin and Ethereum prices have been falling recently as rising interest rates and stock market turmoil pushed investors to safer rates. An Ethereum “merger”, which will switch the currency from a mining-based “proof of work” system to a ownership-based “proof of stake” system, is also expected to happen in a few months, although this has been the case for several years. At this point, buying multiple new GPUs for cryptocurrency mining, even with performance improvements and higher prices, can still be a risky investment.