With NVIDIA cracking the whip on the supply chain to pave the way for the next-generation RTX 40-series, we're seeing some very oddball graphics card hit the market as official/retail products. One such card in China is the MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Ventus 3X with 20 GB of memory. The card is neither based on the GA102-200 ASIC powering the original RTX 3080 with 10 GB of memory, nor is it based on the GA102-220 powering the RTX 3080 12 GB, but rather the "GA102-250," or at least the board description sticker says so. The card features 20 GB of memory across a 320-bit wid memory bus. Its core-config remains unknown.

The SKU positioned above the RTX 3080 12 GB, the RTX 3080 Ti, is powered by the GA102-225. VideoCardz discovered that the card lacks the LHR hardware-limitation for blockchain hashrates, which could be evidence that MSI had a special stock of graphics cards that it was directly selling to miners even while LHR-enabled cards were being pushed to the retail market. The card yields a hash-rate of 97.48 MH/s in the ETHASH test, proving the lack of the LHR block. The card also features display connectors. The leaker behind pictures of this card says that there may be as many as a 100 of these cards in circulation, priced around RMB 3xxx (USD $432 to $600).

NiceHash, one of the largest mining software providers in the world, has today announced that the company had updated its QuickHash miner with the capability to unlock 90% of the performance for NVIDIA's Lite Hash Rate (LHR) version 3. Currently, there are only two cards available with LHRv3 on the market, and those are NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB version and RTX 3050, which are limited in the software to have poor hash rate when mining. This is done to get these cards away from the hands of miners and into the hands of consumers. However, engineers working at NiceHash have presented QuickMiner v0.5.4.2 Release Candidate, which unlocks 90% of that LHRv3 capability.

Previously, the company has already presented its work and enabled 100% unlock for LHRv2 cards and has now almost the entire stack covered. It is a matter of time before LHRv3 unlock goes up to 100%. NiceHash advises using NVIDIA driver version 512.15 or higher to get the latest unlock. Some stability issues have been fixed in the release, so users will experience no BSODs upon running the mining software.

NiceHash has recently announced that their latest QuickMiner (Excavator) cryptocurrency mining software is able to unlock 100% of performance for NVIDIA RTX 30-Series Lite Hash Rate (LHR) graphics cards except the RTX 3050 and RTX 3080 12 GB. The first NVIDIA LHR algorithm was inadvertently unlocked by NVIDIA themselves after non-LHR drivers were released before an updated LHR algorithm was introduced with the RTX 3060 that is now present on all RTX 30 cards except the RTX 3090. The NiceHash developers had previously announced an unlock mechanism to reach 70% mining performance in August 2021 before today announcing this complete unlock. This unlock has been independently verified by the Benchmark.pl team where they recorded hash rates with the RTX 3080 Ti of 117 MH/s up from 85 - 88 MH/s previously.

NiceHashWe are very excited to tell you that NiceHash QuickMiner (Excavator) is the first mining software to FULLY (100%) UNLOCK LHR cards!

Now you can earn more profits than any other mining software on the market if you are using LHR graphics cards with NiceHash QuickMiner. Support for NiceHash Miner is coming soon.

A Chinese PC components OEM started making desktop graphics cards with NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU. Why, you ask? NVIDIA did not feel the need to enable LHR (lite hash-rate) limiters for its Laptop GPUs. This genius contraption also benefits from the lower TDP and aggressive power management of the mobile GPU. What's more, the OEM combined the GPU with 6 GB of memory as per its specification, not having to do 12 GB.

Pairing this with a fairly basic-looking cooling solution, the card is able to sell for as low as $540 a piece when bought in bulk quantities. Based on the same "GA106" silicon as its desktop counterpart, the RTX 3060 Laptop GPU has more CUDA cores—3,840 vs. 3,584, albeit with lower memory amount (which doesn't matter for mining), and tighter clock-speeds. The increased CUDA core count, along with lack of LHR, make this an interesting contraption.

A few days ago, we found out that NVIDIA corporation has been hacked and that attackers managed to steal around 1 TB of sensitive data from the company. This includes various kinds of files like GPU driver and GPU firmware source codes and something a bit more interesting. The LAPSUS$ hacking group responsible for the attack is now threatening to "help mining and gaming community" by releasing a bypass solution for the Lite Hash Rate (LHR) GPU hash rate limiter. As the group notes, the full LHR V2 workaround for anything between GA102-GA104 is on sale and is ready for further spreading.

Additionally, the hacking group is making blackmailing claims that the company should remove the LHR from its software or share details of the "hw folder," presumably a hardware folder with various confidential schematics and hardware information. NVIDIA did not respond to these claims and had no official statement regarding the situation other than acknowledging that they are investigating an incident.Update 01:01 UTC: The hackers have released part of their files to the public. It's a 18.8 GB RAR file, which uncompresses to over 400,000 (!) files occupying 75 GB, it's mostly source code.

TechPowerUp today released the latest version of TechPowerUp GPU-Z, the handy graphics sub-system information and diagnostic utility for gamers and PC enthusiasts. Version 2.44.0 adds support for several new GPUs, feature updates to the Resizable BAR detection, and a handful other fixes. To begin with, GPU-Z adds support for NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050, RTX 3080 12 GB, RTX 3070 Ti Mobile, RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, RTX 2060 12 GB, MX550, and a number of other mobile GPUs from NVIDIA. On the AMD front, you get support for Navi 24: Radeon RX 6500 XT, RX 6400, RX 6300M, RX 6500M, PRO W6300M, PRO W6500M, and PRO W660M. Support is also added for Intel "Alder Lake" non-K processors, "Alder Lake" mobile processors, and Xeon processors based on "Rocket Lake."

TechPowerUp GPU-Z can now report the exact base-address register (BAR) size when Resizable BAR is enabled. Find it in the Advanced Panel, under Resizable BAR. Detection of Resizable BAR has been improved. Detection of LHR in certain RTX 3060 cards has been improved to weed out misreporting of LHR. Vendor detection was added for Vastarmor. The internal Screenshot hosting utility now uploads screenshots over HTTPS. The 64-bit Windows Vista name will now include a space character, so "Vista 64" instead of just "Vista64." Grab GPU-Z from the link below.

DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp GPU-Z 2.44.0

GALAX has added another graphics solution to its lineup in the form of the RTX 3060 Metaltop Mini (FG) Graphics Card. The (FG) bit stands as an interesting warning to cryptocurrency miners; besides the card being shipped with NVIDIA's Lite Hash Rate (LHR) modifications, it actually stands for "For Gamers". That's definitely one way of stopping scalpers and miners from buying up stock... Or is it, really?

The Metaltop Mini would feel right at home in HTPC settings, considering its Mini-ITX form-factor - and is the first GALAX graphics card that features a single fan on cooling duty for an Ampere chip. The Metaltop measures 16.8 cm (length), 11.5 cm (width), and 4 cm (height). Support for 0dB technology still made onto the card despite the single-fan cooling solution - the fan will automatically turn itself off when passive cooling is enough. The card features the same 12 GB GDDR6 memory over a 192-bit bus as other RTX 3060 cards, and there's no factory overclocking or an OC button on the Metaltop - it runs at the stock 1,777 MHz Boost as NVIDIA's reference. I/O is taken care of by the customary 3x DisplayPort, 1x HDMI connectors. A single 8-pin power delivery connector is present. No word on pricing, though availability is scheduled for "soon" via the manufacturer's website.

ZOTAC today added to its NVIDIA RTX 3000-series portfolio with a white version of the RTX 3060 Ti. The ZOTAC RTX 3060 Ti AMP White Edition LHR (Lite Hash Rate) essentially reuses the cooling solution found on its darker cousin, the 3060 Ti Twin Edge, which we have reviewed here. The IceStorm 2.0 cooling solution maintains the 11-blade, dual-fan, dual-slot design, but paints the shroud in white for users that want that particular color coordination for their system.

ZOTAC have decided to slightly bump operating frequencies of the GA-104 chip powering the RTX 3060 Ti AMP White (1,775 MHz compared to the Twin Edge's 1,750 MHz). The remainder of the specs are as expected: 4,840 Ampere CUDA cores, 8 GB of 14 Gbps GDDR6 memory over a 256-bit bus, and a pair of 2x 8-pin connectors to power all the electronics up. External card dimensions stand at 231.9 mm length, 141.3 mm width, and 41.5 mm thickness. I/O is assured by the usual 3x DisplayPort 1.4a and 1x HDMI 2.1 connectors. The card is now springing up in retail stores - and considering current pricing for the Twin Edge version, listed at $659, you should expect pricing to be in the same ballpark.

The latest version of NBMiner, a software that helps you mine Ethereum, purportedly restores up to 70% of the mining performance of NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30-series GPUs with LHR (lite hash-rate). The latest batches of the company's GeForce RTX 3080, RTX 3070, RTX 3060 Ti, and RTX 3060, are LHR by default, meaning that the GPUs feature a mining hash-rate limiter that throttles the GPU when faced with workloads resembling mining; with the idea being that they become unviable for miners.

The latest NBMiner update doesn't completely restore mining performance for LHR, but works around the LHR restrictions. The ETH mining hashrate is increased from 50% to 68-70%, which is a definite improvement. This is also the first public miner with improvements made to LHR GPU mining performance. Until now, only private mining groups have claimed to develop custom miners with workarounds for LHR GPUs.

MSI's iconic Hydrogen series of graphics cards are making a comeback. According to the latest Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) listings, we have information about the latest addition to MSI's lineup of graphics cards. For starters, MSI has filled EEC reports about its upcoming GeForce RTX 3060 LHR variants, which feature an updated GA106-302 GPU. The new cards will carry the LHR name as a part of the official product name, to be easily separated from non-LHR variants, so buyers know exactly what model they are getting.

Additionally, MSI is seemingly making a comeback of its Hydrogen series. Hydrogen lineup used to be popular with GeForce GTX 580 Hydrogen card, which delivered awesome overclocking performance enabled by a water block strapped onto the card. If MSI brings the series back, it will come in the form of the GeForce RTX 3090 Hydrogen model, which could represent the highest-end RTX 3090 design from the company. It remains to be seen what MSI does with it, and if we are getting it at all, so we have to wait for more information.

MSI launched the official Godzilla-licensed MSI GeForce RTX SUPRIM SE GODZILLA graphics card in Japan. Co-developed with Toho Co., creators of the King of the Monsters, this limited edition card is based on the RTX 3070 SUPRIM X, but with metallic red replacing the magnesium-silver, and slick Godzilla die-cast graphics on the back-plate. It also comes in a rare, collectible box with an old-school live-action costume Godzilla from the Toshimitsu era. Under the hood, is a factory-overclocked LHR (lite hashrate) variant of the RTX 3070. Amazon Japan lists it for the equivalent of USD $1,060.

MSI partnered with Toho Co., trademark owners of Godzilla, to develop limited edition variants of the GeForce RTX 3070 LHR SUPRIM SE graphics card. The card swaps out silver for Godzilla's distinctive metallic cherry red color, and features a large Godzilla die-cast print along the backplate. The Godzilla logo (in Japanese) dominates both the backplate, as well as an embossed version sits on the central fan. The card uses the lite hashrate (LHR) variant of the RTX 3070 GPU, paired with MSI's top-of-the-line SUPRIM cooling solution. The MSI RTX 3070 SUPRIM x Godzilla will launch exclusively in the Japanese market, it could be resold as a collector's item.

ASUS has updated their RTX 3070 lineup with the new LHR (Lite Hash Rate) branding from NVIDIA as they switch to using the new boards. ASUS has followed NVIDIA's guidelines for advertising LHR models exactly with the new cards feature a different model number, updated prominent information on product pages and LHR branding on the packaging. ASUS has released a total of seven new models in the RTX 3070 LHR series which will replace existing models. ASUS has also updated their website with RTX 3060 LHR models however the RTX 3080 and RTX 3060 Ti are yet to be updated with these new revisions. The specifications of the cards remain identical apart from the hash rate reduction and are simply rebadges to meet NVIDIA requirements.

Expreview have tested one of the latest RTX 3060 graphics cards of the LHR (Lite Hash Rate) nature, so as to discern exactly how cryptomining limited these LHR cards are in practice - and whether or not there are performance differences for non-mining related workloads such as gaming. The results are satisfying: the new RTX 3060 Lite Hash Rate puts out around 21 MH/s at 119 W - and it does so from the beginning of the workload, which didn't happen prior, when NVIDIA's solution was a poorly implemented driver check instead of a new device ID (it started at 40 MH/s and then decreased until it hit the LHR ceiling). The RTX 3060 also didn't show any performance difference compared to previous, non-LHR cards in gaming benchmarks, which might put some prospective buyers at ease.

Also leaked was the said RTX 3080 Ti mining score. Since this card is only coming out now, a way to differentiate it from existing stock is unneeded. But even if the RTX 3080 Ti doesn't carry the LHR suffix as does the RTX 3060 and eventually the 3070 and 3080 upon their re-release to the wild, it does pack in the same mining performance limiter. And the card was tested to deliver some 58 MH/s at a 199 W board power. One should be cautious about expecting swift prices back on the market, as miners shift their focus towards the RTX cards already in the second-hand market or the new CMP cards; one can only be hopeful that the actual gaming market is already well-furnished with cards enough that scalpers aren't able to contend with the (ideal?) overflow of stock on LHR cards.

NVIDIA today released their latest GeForce drivers, which keep your GPU of choice ticking with the least amount of problems possible - in theory. Version 466.47 WHQL of the GeForce drivers are Game Ready for Days Gone, one of the latest PlayStation exclusives to make the jump towards your gaming PC. The release notes also indicate that this particular driver is the base one for correct operation for GeForce RTX 3080, RTX 3070, and RTX 3060 TI graphics cards with LHR (low-hash-rate), which ship starting late May, 2021. Read on after the break for the full list of fixed and known issues, and as always, follow the link below to download these drivers straight from our TPU host.Download: NVIDIA GeForce 466.47 WHQL Drivers

NVIDIA today has officially announced what we have gotten to know through sheer power of will, speculation, and leaks. The company took to a blog post to announce a new, revised lineup of RTX 30-series graphics cards, spanning from the RTX 3060 all the way to the premium RTX 3080 graphics card. All of these will now ship with a new silicon revision (the last 0 has been replaced with a 2, so we're now looking at GA102-202, GA04-302, etc.). LHR effectively halves each of these graphics cards' output in Ethereum mining, which is currently the greatest driver behind mining (and scalping) acquisition of graphics cards.

NVIDIA has also clarified that AIB partners will be clearly labeling their graphics cards with stickers denoting their "LHR" nature, both in the box and card itself, so that customers can know with utmost certainty what they are actually acquiring - though this only applies to newly-manufactured graphics cards, and not to the ones already in the retail channel, for obvious reasons. We are thus looking at a situation where we can find ourselves with two secondary markets for NVIDIA's RTX 30-series cards: one for miners, with non-LHR graphics cards and sold at much-inflated prices, and LHR-cards which should be in keeping with their MSRP - eventually. It remains to be seen whether or not we'll have to cope with yet another scalping arms race for the LHR cards as well, since there is surely a significant market still hungering for the 30-series performance.