NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Nerfs Not Only Ethereum Hash Rate But Also Other Coin Algorithms

The power consumption of GDDR is per bit, not per chip. The memory bus on the 3080 Ti is the same width as the 3090, just clocked slightly slower. This means you're only saving about 1.5W compared to a 3090.

3090 = 7.25 pJ/b * 384 bits * 19.5 Gbps = 54,288 mW

3080 Ti = 7.25 pJ/b * 384 bits * 19 Gbps = 52,896 mW

That would mean that the 3080ti with its 12 GDDR6X chips is pulling twice as much wattage per GDDR IC compared to the 3090 with 24 chips. I don't see how that's possible given how close the margins already are on memory temps for the 3090.
 
That would mean that the 3080ti with its 12 GDDR6X chips is pulling twice as much wattage per GDDR IC compared to the 3090 with 24 chips. I don't see how that's possible given how close the margins already are on memory temps for the 3090.
This is where it actually gets kind of fuzzy to me. The pJ/b measurement is per bit transferred, and the memory bus is doing 384 bits at a time. Each chip has two 16-bit channels, for a total of 768 on the 3090. If simply going by that total the calculation would actually be 32 bits per chip * 24 chips * 7.25 pJ/b * 19.5 Gbps on the 3090 for 108,576 mW. If that is the case then the 3080 Ti is using less than half that power. It looks like the FBVDD is rated for up to 150W.
 
They are the only one I can think of that through software hobbles consumer hardware. Sure perhaps other companies will only allow super stable pro drivers to install on pro hardware. But no one has actually disabled hardware function via software.

Make no mistake that is what Nvidia is doing here... and if they get away with it. Next up will be compute stuff. I don't think Nvidia would be above limiting things like Blender performance on "gaming" cards if they think they can get away with it.

Disabling a function via software that they are not marketing the card for, i.e. mining is software limited on card NOT being marketed for mining, is the best solution.
Why?
Because at some future point, if they want to open up the use to allow mining, they can just release a driver and boom, it's done.

Arguing that it should be disabled in Hardware instead, someone will bitch about that too - see LTT and eWaste arguments. This is actually a much more likely way to turn a piece of hardware into junk, when it's tied to mining, should crypto take a huge dive again (who knows). Sometimes this can be worked around or hacked into working, but its messy. The chosen solution to software limit it instead, is the best overall choice. Probably easier to hack too...
This also allows faster reaction to changes in market drivers (crypto demand, or lack thereof). This affects the hardcore miners in such a way as to make these undesirable. Miners will keep going after 3080's or the mining specific cards.

When you see someone bitching about it, no matter what course is taken, points out the AMD fanboys.

With a global silicon supply shortage coupled with a crypto boom, there is no easy way out. It's gonna suck no matter what they do. This is the best choice they could make. Limit mining on gaming cards, put out mining specific cards, and in the process hopefully ship out more total cards than would have been otherwise. A part of that price bump calculation, was to make the 3080ti even less attractive to miners. Would you rather pay a $200, 20% markup and get a card, or only find in stock those listed for $2000 or more.

Who is the big winner in this mess? AMD. They selling their overpriced GPU's as fast as they can make them. 6900XT's should have been $699, not $999, and be a questionable buy even at that price. Instead they have a built in 43%, $300 markup, and they all sell out. That's called smart business, supply and demand, free market, capitalism.
Unless nVidia is doing it, then it's greed!!
 
Disabling a function via software that they are not marketing the card for, i.e. mining is software limited on card NOT being marketed for mining, is the best solution.
Why?
Because at some future point, if they want to open up the use to allow mining, they can just release a driver and boom, it's done.

Arguing that it should be disabled in Hardware instead, someone will bitch about that too - see LTT and eWaste arguments. This is actually a much more likely way to turn a piece of hardware into junk, when it's tied to mining, should crypto take a huge dive again (who knows). Sometimes this can be worked around or hacked into working, but its messy. The chosen solution to software limit it instead, is the best overall choice. Probably easier to hack too...
This also allows faster reaction to changes in market drivers (crypto demand, or lack thereof). This affects the hardcore miners in such a way as to make these undesirable. Miners will keep going after 3080's or the mining specific cards.

When you see someone bitching about it, no matter what course is taken, points out the AMD fanboys.

With a global silicon supply shortage coupled with a crypto boom, there is no easy way out. It's gonna suck no matter what they do. This is the best choice they could make. Limit mining on gaming cards, put out mining specific cards, and in the process hopefully ship out more total cards than would have been otherwise. A part of that price bump calculation, was to make the 3080ti even less attractive to miners. Would you rather pay a $200, 20% markup and get a card, or only find in stock those listed for $2000 or more.

Who is the big winner in this mess? AMD. They selling their overpriced GPU's as fast as they can make them. 6900XT's should have been $699, not $999, and be a questionable buy even at that price. Instead they have a built in 43%, $300 markup, and they all sell out. That's called smart business, supply and demand, free market, capitalism.
Unless nVidia is doing it, then it's greed!!

Bitching about Nvidia removing a previously available feature has nothing to do with AMD at all. It has to do with Nvidia removing a previously available feature.
 
What feature would that be?

It's a brand new card, not marketed for mining. Go buy an AMD one and mine on that.
 
What feature would that be?

It's a brand new card, not marketed for mining. Go buy an AMD one and mine on that.

Doing complex memory reads of near-random access patterns for evaluating algorithms. I used to be able to do it on existing hardware, and now Nvidia wants me to buy "special" hardware to do it...

Once again, AMD has NOTHING to do with this conversation. You can't make AMD the boogeyman for every problem you have. The real problem is Nvidia nerfing their consumer lineup for essentially no good reason other than artificial product segmentation.
 
Doing complex memory reads of near-random access patterns for evaluating algorithms. I used to be able to do it on existing hardware, and now Nvidia wants me to buy "special" hardware to do it...

Once again, AMD has NOTHING to do with this conversation. You can't make AMD the boogeyman for every problem you have. The real problem is Nvidia nerfing their consumer lineup for essentially no good reason other than artificial product segmentation.

There's only one recourse. Figure out how much money it's worth to you, and refuse to pay more under any circumstances. It doesn't matter how much money you have, it's the principle (and by "you" I mean anyone who's shopping for a graphics card). For me, that number is $800 new / $600 used, and I can wait a very long time.
 
There's only one recourse. Figure out how much money it's worth to you, and refuse to pay more under any circumstances. It doesn't matter how much money you have, it's the principle. For me, that number is $800 new / $600 used, and I can wait a very long time.

I did that with the entire Turing generation on principle as it was a terrible value proposition compared to Pascal.
 
I did that with the entire Turing generation on principle as it was a terrible value proposition compared to Pascal.

I did the same thing. I really thought I was a genius for it when the MSRP for the 3070 was announced, but shit happens sometimes. As it stands, my sli 980ti's are fast enough, but they are overpowering my air conditioning. Maybe I should just upgrade my apartment instead.
 
Disabling a function via software that they are not marketing the card for, i.e. mining is software limited on card NOT being marketed for mining, is the best solution.
Why?
Because at some future point, if they want to open up the use to allow mining, they can just release a driver and boom, it's done.

Arguing that it should be disabled in Hardware instead, someone will bitch about that too - see LTT and eWaste arguments. This is actually a much more likely way to turn a piece of hardware into junk, when it's tied to mining, should crypto take a huge dive again (who knows). Sometimes this can be worked around or hacked into working, but its messy. The chosen solution to software limit it instead, is the best overall choice. Probably easier to hack too...
This also allows faster reaction to changes in market drivers (crypto demand, or lack thereof). This affects the hardcore miners in such a way as to make these undesirable. Miners will keep going after 3080's or the mining specific cards.

When you see someone bitching about it, no matter what course is taken, points out the AMD fanboys.

With a global silicon supply shortage coupled with a crypto boom, there is no easy way out. It's gonna suck no matter what they do. This is the best choice they could make. Limit mining on gaming cards, put out mining specific cards, and in the process hopefully ship out more total cards than would have been otherwise. A part of that price bump calculation, was to make the 3080ti even less attractive to miners. Would you rather pay a $200, 20% markup and get a card, or only find in stock those listed for $2000 or more.

Who is the big winner in this mess? AMD. They selling their overpriced GPU's as fast as they can make them. 6900XT's should have been $699, not $999, and be a questionable buy even at that price. Instead they have a built in 43%, $300 markup, and they all sell out. That's called smart business, supply and demand, free market, capitalism.
Unless nVidia is doing it, then it's greed!!
You think the winner in this is AMD ?

LOL I think fan boy detected indeed. Don't eat what Nvidia is shoveling my friend. They are not killing mining for the good of any customers.
 
I did the same thing. I really thought I was a genius for it when the MSRP for the 3070 was announced, but shit happens sometimes. As it stands, my sli 980ti's are fast enough, but they are overpowering my air conditioning. Maybe I should just upgrade my apartment instead.
It might be cheaper depending where you live.
 
Watching everyone complain about the limited hash on video cards reminds me of people who complained when they put cold medicine behind a counter because of everyone buying it to make illegal drugs. The cold medicine wasn't being marketed as an ingredient, but some were using it for that, so something had to be done so that it would be available to those who wanted to use it for its original intended purpose. And, yes, I know crypto isn't illegal, but I see a lot of the same arguments.
 
Who gets to decide the intended purpose anyway? It should be the buyer, who is the one who has to find a compelling reason to fork over $1200.
Companies decide their support scopes all the time and nerf the crap out of processes that operate outside it. This is 100% not a new process and it exists artificially in everyday electronics and computers across the board. CPU’s, GPU’s, network cards, printers & scanners, as well as a swath of various programmable logic chips.
 
Who gets to decide the intended purpose anyway? It should be the buyer, who is the one who has to find a compelling reason to fork over $1200.
Well, a "video card" has a "Graphical Processing Unit", maybe, just maybe, it's intended to do something with a video signal.
 
Disabling a function via software that they are not marketing the card for, i.e. mining is software limited on card NOT being marketed for mining, is the best solution.
Why?
Because at some future point, if they want to open up the use to allow mining, they can just release a driver and boom, it's done.
Solution for what?
There will be no future point where they will open it back up by a driver release. They will just push you to Quadro. Besides its more then a driver, its also a vbios. The only thing nvidia has given back to the community since Kepler is they just recently enabled Geforce GPUs to work with PCIe passthrough. Hell with Ampere they said that the cards would support SR-IOV but when asked after launch they said nope.

The hilarious thing about this is there are alot of people who dont even know how mining works at a fundamental level but they are trying to tell people that this is great.
Why release a LHR GPU >2 months before the Etherium fork? After the fork its done. What a big help nvidia did for gamers! I cant wait till this happens yet the GPU shortage will continue. By the time the etherium fork happens i bet you the amount of LHR cards to regular cards is marginal. Nvidia has never been in touch with mining and they proved that here and with Pascal during the bitcoin fiasco. Remember what happened with Pascal? BTC drove the price up and nvidia raised their prices as well. Then overmining and ASIC miners happened and it was no longer profitable to mine and it was to hard to get mining jobs. Nvidia carried the prices over to Turing and thats what made Turing such a bad value.

The 3 reasons for a GPU shortage is Pandemic(shortages of chips,etc), Fab volume, and mining.
They cant do anything about the pandemic because thats out of their control. They cant do much about fab volume cause the fabs would probably tell them to kick rocks cause there is a line of people who they can sell the volume to. That leaves mining. Now nvidia doesnt have control over mining but they look at it as ALOT of money and see that alot of people are using their cards to mine. So what do they do? They start increasing prices of cards. Then limit mining on cards going forward and create a weak ass product segment using unusable cards on Turing architecture that "caters to mining", the hash rate is half of what a Ampere card will do and they double the price. They marketed it as a solution to mining causing gpu supply issues and went full force on that. So they made themself look better to people who couldnt get the cards by shoving the blame off on something that isnt even the problem and is now profiting from it. Business wise it was a 300 IQ move. Customer/consumer wise its a bullshit sandwich.

Im glad i was able to get a GPU in December and mine with it to make some of my money back. Im betting when Hopper comes out nvidia will act like they did when they went from Pascal to Turing. I wouldnt doubt that RTX4060s will be $750 MSRP because thats what nvidia does.

It really is a create the sickness and sell the cure situation.
 
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Im glad i was able to get a GPU in December and mine with it to make some of my money back. Im betting when Hopper comes out nvidia will act like they did when they went from Pascal to Turing. I wouldnt doubt that RTX4060s will be $750 MSRP because thats what nvidia does.

It really is a create the sickness and sell the cure situation.

I think it's more of a publicly traded business situation, where they're legally obligated to price their products at what they calculate the market will support, in service of providing the maximum benefit and reward to their shareholders. All the debate about "what cards should cost" become irrelevant once factoring who the real customer base is.
 
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Companies decide their support scopes all the time and nerf the crap out of processes that operate outside it. This is 100% not a new process and it exists artificially in everyday electronics and computers across the board. CPU’s, GPU’s, network cards, printers & scanners, as well as a swath of various programmable logic chips.

I know, and I get it. It's widespread, and it's well within the rights of the company. On the same token, it's my right not to celebrate or reward the practice. NVidia appears to be selling more GPUs than ever for more money than ever. Now they are creating segmentation, ostensibly in order to sell a product that they can charge even more money for. For the record, I don't mine, and I'm just an occasional gamer, so this doesn't affect me much, but when their message is "we're doing it because we care about gamers" I feel like I need to call them out. I was born on a Thursday, but it wasn't last Thursday.
 
Well, a "video card" has a "Graphical Processing Unit", maybe, just maybe, it's intended to do something with a video signal.
GPUs... have not been simple display output devices for a very long time. Why is doing GPU compute for AI research any more valid then calculating block chain.. or for that mater why is calculating RT in Blender any more valid I mean Nvidia markets a completely different line of product for exactly that use. What I calculate on MY processors is no business of the companies I purchase hardware from. If they want to create a "pro" driver that is more stable for GPU compute type stuff and lock that to that line of cards... they can do that. But if someone writes software that engages and leverages my GPU FOR any purpose I deem worthwhile its none of their business. They are welcome to say hey buy a Quatro (or whatever they call their pro line these days) and get ECC memory and super stable operation... and hey they are offering value people will buy. In this case their mining cards are clearly a way to sell broken silicon... and their gaming cards are not being priced accordingly. Nvidia has decided to just up the MSRP for what... to deter scalpers cause there is no profit to be had anymore. Paying scalper price to NV instead of a middle man doesn't help consumers in anyway. Good on NV though they get to make a extra $200 per this round.

Bottom line I don't want my CPU GPU or Audio DSP ect ect manufactures targeting specific software uses to disable via firmware so they can properly segment their market. What I calculate on my hardware is my business. I am not saying they don't have the right to go ahead and do that... and Nvidia no isn't the first company to ever do something like this. I just believe consumers should shut this crap down by selecting another manufacturer or just withholding a purchase. (not that I think a ton of people are really lining up for $1200 3080tis)
 
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I think it's more of a publicly traded business situation, where they're legally obligated to price their products at what they calculate the market will support, in service of providing the maximum benefit and reward to their shareholders. All the debate about "what cards should cost" become irrelevant once factoring who the real customer base is.
This. Very much this.

As a NVidia share holder, I want them to charge more for their cards given the scalped prices right now, to hell with me actually being able to buy a card as a gamer. Given that to miners, card price is basically just determined by ROI, I want NVidia to: 1) add even more mining limiations to gaming cards. Maybe they can get the 4000 series to only output 10Mh/s for the gaming cards - that would be fantastic. Why? So that way they can charge 4x or more for the Mining series of cards. If a miner will pay $4000 for a 4080 that does 200Mh/sec (or whatever it will do), then I want nvidia to charge that. While they are at it, hopefully they raise the price on the 4000 series of gaming cards too, given the backlog of demand. 1199 for the 4080 LHR seems about right, as it's obvious the cards will sell at that price anyway. Worst case, if the 4080 LHR doesn't sell well at 1199, in 6 months release a slightly lower spec'd 4070ti for 599 using the same chip.
 
Doing complex memory reads of near-random access patterns for evaluating algorithms. I used to be able to do it on existing hardware, and now Nvidia wants me to buy "special" hardware to do it...
You can still do that, just not for these specific algorithms.
 
This. Very much this.

As a NVidia share holder, I want them to charge more for their cards given the scalped prices right now, to hell with me actually being able to buy a card as a gamer. Given that to miners, card price is basically just determined by ROI, I want NVidia to: 1) add even more mining limiations to gaming cards. Maybe they can get the 4000 series to only output 10Mh/s for the gaming cards - that would be fantastic. Why? So that way they can charge 4x or more for the Mining series of cards. If a miner will pay $4000 for a 4080 that does 200Mh/sec (or whatever it will do), then I want nvidia to charge that. While they are at it, hopefully they raise the price on the 4000 series of gaming cards too, given the backlog of demand. 1199 for the 4080 LHR seems about right, as it's obvious the cards will sell at that price anyway. Worst case, if the 4080 LHR doesn't sell well at 1199, in 6 months release a slightly lower spec'd 4070ti for 599 using the same chip.

You say that, but I'm the first person to tell you that I'm not paying that kind of money for a card "just" to play games. Case in point, the overpriced Turing generation. I never bought one of them new. I have 5 Ampere cards that I bought all new, so that's 5 lost sales from Nvidia following your advice. There are more people out there like me than you'd think. That's why Nvidia prices things the way they do.
 
You can still do that, just not for these specific algorithms.

But they are removing the ability from their consumer cards. Just because it's a feature YOU don't use doesn't mean that the removal of a feature isn't important. Next time they might remove one that you use. I can see them separating out a card for video encoding/decoding or charging to enable the feature in the future. Nvidia isn't doing this to be benevolent. They are doing it to make money and appear to appease their market. I'm all for corporations making money, but I completely reserve the right to vote with my wallet.

Nobody looks at the big picture.
 
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You say that, but I'm the first person to tell you that I'm not paying that kind of money for a card "just" to play games. Case in point, the overpriced Turing generation. I never bought one of them new. I have 5 Ampere cards that I bought all new, so that's 5 lost sales from Nvidia following your advice. There are more people out there like me than you'd think. That's why Nvidia prices things the way they do.
I think you're... basically irrelevant in the current situation? So you don't buy those 5 cards. 5 other people would and they would still be sold out.

Worst case, you're right and they release a ti card a few months down the line at a better price / performance ratio.

The ideal price to sell the cards at, is a price high enough that there is generally 1 or 2 available on new egg / other online store at MSRP. That would be maximizing profit, where they are perpetually on the verge of almost being sold out, but not quite there.

Currently NVidia is leaving way too much money on the table.
 
This. Very much this.

As a NVidia share holder, I want them to charge more for their cards given the scalped prices right now, to hell with me actually being able to buy a card as a gamer. Given that to miners, card price is basically just determined by ROI, I want NVidia to: 1) add even more mining limiations to gaming cards. Maybe they can get the 4000 series to only output 10Mh/s for the gaming cards - that would be fantastic. Why? So that way they can charge 4x or more for the Mining series of cards. If a miner will pay $4000 for a 4080 that does 200Mh/sec (or whatever it will do), then I want nvidia to charge that. While they are at it, hopefully they raise the price on the 4000 series of gaming cards too, given the backlog of demand. 1199 for the 4080 LHR seems about right, as it's obvious the cards will sell at that price anyway. Worst case, if the 4080 LHR doesn't sell well at 1199, in 6 months release a slightly lower spec'd 4070ti for 599 using the same chip.

As a share holder you shouldn't give a toss who buys the cards as long as they buy them. lol

Miners are NEVER going to buy the mining cards NV is pushing for what NV wants them to pay for them. They have ZERO resale value making buying them over just investing in a dedicated ASIC a bad proposition. If you want to spend a ton on hardware your going to toss after you buy a ASIC not a GPU with no video output and zero mining value once your done with it. If mid and larger size mining operations decide Nvidia GPUs are a PITA or a bad value they will either buy AMD... perhaps Intel when they launch or just invest in ASIC hardware which hurts Nvidias bottom line.

This move is going to HURT investors. If you really are holding stock with any say; what you should be saying is PRODUCE more cards. :)
 
As a share holder you shouldn't give a toss who buys the cards as long as they buy them. lol

Miners are NEVER going to buy the mining cards NV is pushing for what NV wants them to pay for them. They have ZERO resale value making buying them over just investing in a dedicated ASIC a bad proposition. If you want to spend a ton on hardware your going to toss after you buy a ASIC not a GPU with no video output and zero mining value once your done with it. If mid and larger size mining operations decide Nvidia GPUs are a PITA or a bad value they will either buy AMD... perhaps Intel when they launch or just invest in ASIC hardware which hurts Nvidias bottom line.

This move is going to HURT investors. If you really are holding stock with any say; what you should be saying is PRODUCE more cards. :)
I wouldn't be so sure on that, Gigabyte and MSI have supposedly been getting direct orders for the CMP cards by the tens of thousands from the bigger operations so for better or worse they are selling which technically means that what NVidia is doing is working because they are moving more product.
 
I wouldn't be so sure on that, Gigabyte and MSI have supposedly been getting direct orders for the CMP cards by the tens of thousands from the bigger operations so for better or worse they are selling which technically means that what NVidia is doing is working because they are moving more product.
Right now just about everything is selling... that situation won't last forever. We also have a ton of shithole countries like NK buying up a lot of that stuff via cutouts. Basically any country the US currently has sanctioned is mining like crazy. Something is going to change in that dynamic sooner or later.
 
As a share holder you shouldn't give a toss who buys the cards as long as they buy them. lol

Miners are NEVER going to buy the mining cards NV is pushing for what NV wants them to pay for them. They have ZERO resale value making buying them over just investing in a dedicated ASIC a bad proposition. If you want to spend a ton on hardware your going to toss after you buy a ASIC not a GPU with no video output and zero mining value once your done with it. If mid and larger size mining operations decide Nvidia GPUs are a PITA or a bad value they will either buy AMD... perhaps Intel when they launch or just invest in ASIC hardware which hurts Nvidias bottom line.

This move is going to HURT investors. If you really are holding stock with any say; what you should be saying is PRODUCE more cards. :)
They are selling everything they make, and they are on eBay well above msrp. That means msrp is way too low, so simply NVidia should be charging more. Since there is no ASIC for a large number of coins, and there is a chip shortage, Nvidia can basically print money if they can force miners to pay more by directing them to higher margin CMP cards and gimping less expensive gaming cards.
 
Right now just about everything is selling... that situation won't last forever. We also have a ton of shithole countries like NK buying up a lot of that stuff via cutouts. Basically any country the US currently has sanctioned is mining like crazy. Something is going to change in that dynamic sooner or later.
Yeah, no way this is going to last forever but 2-3 years most likely, the estimates for the shortages only grow longer, not shorter until new fabs come online which are 2023 onwards for Intel and TSMC, there are some new silicon recycling facilities coming up in Europe and Asia that will help alleviate the raw material shortage around then too. This problem has been a long time coming and due to large costs nobody has been wanting to actually tackle a solution.
 
Right now just about everything is selling... that situation won't last forever. We also have a ton of shithole countries like NK buying up a lot of that stuff via cutouts. Basically any country the US currently has sanctioned is mining like crazy. Something is going to change in that dynamic sooner or later.
With no mining nerfs, or the current 50% one the resell value does make mining on GPUs vs dedicated mining cards attractive; which is why I'm expecting to see progressively larger nerfs with each new generation. If 5xxx series cards have a 90% reduction in mining speed vs the CMP line; the latter will look at lot more attractive even if crypto prices are high enough that gaming cards are still able to turn a modest profit over the cost of electricity.
 
If 5xxx series cards have a 90% reduction in mining speed vs the CMP line; the latter will look at lot more attractive even if crypto prices are high enough that gaming cards are still able to turn a modest profit over the cost of electricity.

A 50 percent drop means that medium to small mining firms will avoid these parts for now. A 90 percent drop means they will bribe, hack, or steal the keys to unlock these parts, and buy them anyway.
 
A 50 percent drop means that medium to small mining firms will avoid these parts for now. A 90 percent drop means they will bribe, hack, or steal the keys to unlock these parts, and buy them anyway.
Or they will be forced to suck it up and buy the cmp cards
 
A 50 percent drop means that medium to small mining firms will avoid these parts for now. A 90 percent drop means they will bribe, hack, or steal the keys to unlock these parts, and buy them anyway.
NVidia and AMD have managed to keep people from breaking the firmware locks limiting features to their pro level cards for many years. Barring another act of negligence like what happened shortly after the first generation of LHR cards were released - and that failure was probably caused by rushing things and not having QA gates in place to prevent an an accidental release - I am skeptical that anyone will be able to achieve an unlock.
 
I am skeptical that anyone will be able to achieve an unlock.

That's because pro-level feature users require manufacturer support. Mining firms hire their own driver developers.
 
NVidia and AMD have managed to keep people from breaking the firmware locks limiting features to their pro level cards for many years. Barring another act of negligence like what happened shortly after the first generation of LHR cards were released - and that failure was probably caused by rushing things and not having QA gates in place to prevent an an accidental release - I am skeptical that anyone will be able to achieve an unlock.
That is apples and oranges levels of desire to unlock. People that really want pro features are buying the pro stuff for the differences in the hardware... namely ECC memory which matters if your going to be doing professional stuff you would buy such cards for. No one is doing commercial video work on non workstation cards... and that has nothing to do with "features' its about the actual pro hardware being better.

Also does Nvidia actually lock away any features... other then their driver ? AMD hasn't actually locked any features.... their pro drivers can be installed and work on Radeon hardware. AMD pro cards have ECC memory and that is their biggest selling feature... its the actual hardware not the drivers. Their is no $$$$ reasons to push to force a system to recognize a gaming card as a pro card. If you need an actual pro card for pro reasons you buy the hardware cause ECC is the only option if your doing commercial work. Firepro cards and the like are not radeons... sure they have the same GPUs, but the ram is not the same. (point is Nvidia and AMD have no need to lock pro stuff away in those markets... as they actually require different hardware. The pro cards may seem the same to a gamer but ECC ram is what those markets are looking for... even with ECC its only recently GPUs have really been suitable for high end commercial stuff as they still are just far less accurate at doing math vs CPUs, its only been a couple years that the majors have really tried to do things like final production RT on GPUs)

In regards to mining.... there is a lot of money in the offer. Its all about the value of the target. The same lock that keeps people from bothering with a low profit thing... will get attacked hard if its protecting a high value target.
 
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That is apples and oranges levels of desire to unlock. People that really want pro features are buying the pro stuff for the differences in the hardware... namely ECC memory which matters if your going to be doing professional stuff you would buy such cards for. No one is doing commercial video work on non workstation cards... and that has nothing to do with "features' its about the actual pro hardware being better.

Also does Nvidia actually lock away any features... other then their driver ? AMD hasn't actually locked any features.... their pro drivers can be installed and work on Radeon hardware. AMD pro cards have ECC memory and that is their biggest selling feature... its the actual hardware not the drivers. Their is no $$$$ reasons to push to force a system to recognize a gaming card as a pro card. If you need an actual pro card for pro reasons you buy the hardware cause ECC is the only option if your doing commercial work. Firepro cards and the like are not radeons... sure they have the same GPUs, but the ram is not the same. (point is Nvidia and AMD have no need to lock pro stuff away in those markets... as they actually require different hardware. The pro cards may seem the same to a gamer but ECC ram is what those markets are looking for... even with ECC its only recently GPUs have really been suitable for high end commercial stuff as they still are just far less accurate at doing math vs CPUs, its only been a couple years that the majors have really tried to do things like final production RT on GPUs)

In regards to mining.... there is a lot of money in the offer. Its all about the value of the target. The same lock that keeps people from bothering with a low profit thing... will get attacked hard if its protecting a high value target.
You’ve never tried installing an AMD Radeon card in a server before. Drivers won’t install at all, just throws error about the OS not being supported with that hardware and kills the installer out the gate.
 
You’ve never tried installing an AMD Radeon card in a server before. Drivers won’t install at all, just throws error about the OS not being supported with that hardware and kills the installer out the gate.

I agree, It's been awhile since this was a thing (and still likely is). I haven't tested it in awhile.
 
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