Methods for detecting Nvidia Geforce RTX 30 graphics cards with LHR mining limiter

In May 2022, Nvidia decided to limit all of its Ampere or RTX 3000 series gaming graphics cards (with the exception of the oldest RTX 3090 model) in cryptocurrency mining performance. Therefore, the new models announced in May: Geforce RTX 3070 Ti and RTX 3080 Ti come with a mining limiter by default, and the RTX 3060 Ti, RTX 3070, 3080 models, which initially did not have mining restrictions, are also being released with a new revision of the GPU, which will also have built-in protection against mining. To differentiate between old (unlocked) and new (locked) versions of graphics cards, Nvidia introduced a new term LHR (Lite Hash Rate). Separately, the RTX 3060 graphics card was originally released with a mining limiter, but later this limitation was bypassed, and NVidia had to release a new version of the GPU for the RTX 3060 with stronger mining protection, but at the same time the RTX 3060 graphics card is like the RTX The 3070 Ti and RTX 3080 Ti do not have the LHR designation in their names, although in fact they do. It gets even more confusing because almost all the brands that make Nvidia graphics cards don't indicate on the box or in the model name whether it is an LHR graphics card or not. Actually, in this article we will try to tell you by what features you can distinguish LHR video cards from Nvidia, produced by various brands: ASUS, Palit, MSI, KFA2, Gigabyte, Inno3d.

Method 1. By name.

All RTX 3090 graphics cards have no mining restrictions.

The RTX 3060 graphics card has two types of software lock, which has already been cracked, and LHR. The LHR marking for this video card is also not indicated, since these video cards were originally released with mining blocked.

The Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti and RTX 3080 Ti graphics cards are equipped with an LHR mining limiter, even if it is not indicated in the name or on the box with the graphics card.

For RTX 3060Ti, RTX 3070 and RTX 3080 video cards, the manufacturer may indicate on the box or in the title that the video card being sold belongs to a new revision that implements Lite Hash Rate (LHR) technology. In this case, it immediately becomes clear that during mining such video cards will show an underestimated hashrate.

If the model name does not indicate that it is an LHR model, then unfortunately this does not mean that it is an old revision without mining restrictions. This can be either an LHR or a regular video card.

For what reasons do manufacturers mislead buyers: intentionally or not? One can only guess.

If you come across a video card without the LHR designation, then you will use other methods to check such a video card for mining restrictions.

Content

• What is Low Hash Rate
• Unlocking Low Hash Rate via NBMiner
• Tricky option
• Bypass Low Hash Rate in GMiner
• Unlocking Low Hash Rate on T-Rex miner
• Mining on RTX LHR in 2022

In this material, we will look at how to use adapters with LHR in mining, what is needed to bypass it, and what kind of income you can get from cryptocurrency mining. We will give examples on the video cards we have, but all GPUs with Low Hash Rate are able to bypass blocking in a similar way.

Method 2: By GPU ID

This is the most reliable way to check for the presence of LHR in an Nvidia video card, but to do this you need to install the tested video card in the computer and run the CPU-Z program or a similar one, in which you can find out the GPU ID of the video card.

It is clear that when buying a video card to order or in an online store, you will not have this opportunity, so this method is more suitable when buying video cards on the secondary market or in a local store, from which you can return the goods in the first days after purchase.

Bypass Low Hash Rate in GMiner

The miner program from Russian developers allows you to achieve a hashrate for ETH of 67%. While this does not maximize the mining capabilities of the 3060Ti LHR or other GPU, it is still better than the standard 45%. Let us remind you that now GMiner allows you to work not only with the ETHash algorithm, but also with others, like:

• ProgPoW;
• KawPow;
• Equihash;

We recommend downloading the program from the official branch on GitHub, and even after you start working, you should check the updates at least once every couple of days, since they have been actively released since September 2022. Currently this is version Gminer 2.70.

To increase the speed of crypto mining in mining with 3080 LHR or other stripped-down adapters, you don’t even need to write anything here. By default, the settings use the auto-tune parameter, which increases the hashrate automatically. If you need to disable it, for example, when working with unlocked GPUs, then you will need to write the following in the BAT file:

“–lhr_autotune 0” – disable automatic stabilization of the cryptoluvat mining speed.

Also, this version already has a built-in automatic restart function after LOCK. The fact is that when the Low Hash Rate bypass algorithm works, jumps in load and power parameters occur, such as:

• Memory Controller Load;
• GPU Load;
• Board Power Draw.

Because of these differences, the 3070 LHR video card in mining, or any other, significantly reduces the hashrate, down to its standard values. This is called LOCK. When GMiner detects it, it will automatically restart the GPU to the original values ​​specified in the .bat file.

In the latest version of the GMiner miner, you can set your own lhr_tune values, ranging from -10 to 10. The higher the parameter, the more active the GeForce RTX 3060 LHR video card, or another, will bypass the blocking, that is, the hashrate will increase. But at the same time, the likelihood of Power surges will increase, as described above. Each individual model may have its own numbers, so everything here has to be found empirically.

All graphical identifiers of Nvidia RTX 3000 video cards

What is cryptocurrency mining

Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin are produced through what is known as mining. This means that computers try to mine digital coins by solving math problems as quickly as possible. These math problems are part of the blockchain system, a ledger that tracks transactions for a specific cryptocurrency. Whoever can verify the transaction first by solving the math problem gets a new coin.

Needless to say, anyone who mines enough of these coins can make some serious money quickly. Consider, for example, that one Ethereum digital coin is worth about $2,700 at the time of this writing. However, mining requires electricity and you need the right equipment to mine cryptocurrency quickly.

Graphics cards are currently the ideal hardware for mining the hottest cryptocurrencies. GPUs are designed to solve math problems because they need to calculate tons of math in parallel to run a video game. This fundamental feature makes them ideal for cryptocurrency mining.

Bitcoin, the granddaddy of cryptocurrencies, was also mined using GPUs at one point, and it was also used to power the consumer graphics card market. However, specialized hardware that was even better for Bitcoin mining, called ASIC rigs, took the pressure off the market. ASIC setups for other cryptocurrencies have not become as popular for reasons beyond the scope of this article.

The bottom line is that most cryptocurrencies, with the exception of Bitcoin, are mined mainly using video cards. Often one miner can have dozens of cards running simultaneously in hopes of making some serious money. Multiply the demand for dozens of cards by thousands of people, and you can see why mining is contributing to the current shortage.

Method 5. By release date (serial number)

In addition to the model designation, each video card has a serial number, which can be used to determine the release date of this video card. The production date designation for each manufacturer in the serial number is also different and does not have a uniform system. Therefore, for each manufacturer we will consider the designation of dates in serial numbers separately.

Since LHR models only began to be released at the end of May 2021 (22 weeks), all video cards released before this date have no mining restrictions. And if the release date is the end of May 2021 or later, then the video card may have these restrictions. And if there are no other signs by which you can determine whether the LHR is a video card or not. Then the only correct option to find out is to install a video card in your computer and start mining using the Dagger Hashimoto (Ethereum) algorithm or check the GPU-ID.

Determining the release date of Nvidia video cards by serial number

ASUS serial number: M2N0CX00Y276001

where M2-2021 (M) 2 is the month February. The year 2022 is designated by the letter L, the months from January to September are numbers from 1 to 9, A is October, B is November, C is December.

Gigabyte serial number: SN212541020415

where 2125 is 21 years and 25 weeks. Therefore, it is highly likely that this graphics card will work with LHR.

Palit serial number: BO200154221

where O20 is the month October (O), and 20 is the year. This is a card without LHR because it was released back in 2022. The months in Palita are designated from January to September by the numbers 1 to 9, followed by the letters O for October, N for November and D for December.

MSI Serial Number: 602-V389-143SB2106000014

where 2106 is 21 years 6 months

For Zotac, EVGA, KFA2 and Inno3D video cards, we did not find information on how to determine the production date by serial number. If you have such information, share it with us in the Cryptoage telegram chat.

Unlocking Low Hash Rate via NBMiner

The popular miner program allows you to increase your hashrate up to 68%. To do this, you need to download one of the latest versions, and write the following line in the configuration .bat file:

“lhr 65” – the number indicates the percentage of the adapter’s maximum power.

If you are using a farm with several RTX 3060 LHR video cards, but among them there is also a regular version without restrictions, then you will need to add the following parameter for it:

“lhr -1” – disable block bypass.

The final option for a farm of 6 GPUs, where 5 with Low Hash Rate and 1 without:

"lhr 68,67,66,68,68,-1."

Note that 68% is optimal for 90% of the adapters tested by the application developers. You can bet anything, even 85%, however, in this case, there is a high probability of periodic hashrate resets to the minimum, the program being disabled from mining, or other errors.

Tricky option

This decision is one of the last, as it appeared only in October. Through the efforts of the NBMiner development team, we managed to unlock 100% of the mining power of the GPU 3060 LHR and other models. True, this was done using some cunning. The fact is that the adapter’s capabilities are distributed between 2 algorithms, that is, dual mining occurs. Only 30% goes to Ethereum mining, and the direction of the remaining 70% can be chosen:

• Cornflux;
• Ergo;
• Ravencoin.

Since dual mining uses a large amount of adapter memory, its stable operation is guaranteed only on older versions. Thus, the RTX 3060 Ti LHR video card can sometimes drop its hashrate, since 8 GB, alas, is not enough.

And not everyone wants to invest in tokens other than the most famous ETH. Therefore, this option is not suitable for everyone.

Method 5: By tagging the GPU chip.

You can also find out the GPU ID of the video chip by disassembling the video card and removing the thermal paste from the chip, where the GPU ID will be engraved. This method is not needed, since the GPU identifier can be found using the CPU-Z program, especially since disassembling the video card will void the warranty and it will no longer be possible to return such a video card to the warranty store.

The graphics card production date is after 22 weeks of 2022, that is, after May 2022, does not mean that all graphics cards released after this date are limited in LHR mining, since manufacturers still have stocks of old graphics chips that they are gradually using in production. Accordingly, the later the video card comes out, the less chance there is of buying an Nvidia video card without a mining limiter.

Unlocking Low Hash Rate on T-Rex miner

As with NBMiner, this miner allows you to increase standard ETH mining up to 68%, or enable dual mining to activate 100% of GPU power.

In the first case, automatic adjustment via auto-tune is used. T-Rex miner itself will try to increase the hashrate of the adapter if it works stably with the current settings. You can disable this feature with the command:

–lhr-autotune-mode off

You can independently set your preferred value within 1-100% of the maximum cryptocurrency mining speed for a specific GPU by writing:

–lhr-tune

In the second case, dual mining is possible simultaneously with ETH and 1 of the following algorithms:

• ERGO;
• RVN;
• CFX;
• ZIL.

The power distribution goes like this: 30% Ether and 70% another coin.