Supposedly unhackable RTX 3060 allegedly hacked to improve crypto mining
Thanks to an alleged hack, the RTX 3060 could become one of the best graphics cards for crypto mining.
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What you need to know
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 competes with thebest graphics cardsyou can buy. It’s so good, in fact, that NVIDIA took several steps to try to get it into the hands of gamers rather than crypto miners. One of those steps was to limit the hash rate of the RTX 3060 graphic card in certain circumstances to make it less alluring to miners.
NVIDIA toldPC Gamerthat the card’s “software cannot be hacked to remove the limiter.” NVIDIA later clarified to PCGamer, stating, “End users cannot remove the hash limiter from the driver. There is a secure handshake between the driver, the RTX 3060 silicon, and the BIOS (firmware) that prevents removal of the hash rate limiter.”
Despite NVIDIA’s claims, it appears that people have managed to hack the supposedly unhackable. Only 14 days after the GPU launched, images have emerged that claim a modified driver can be installed to get around the Ethereum hash rate limiter.
Dammit Chinese mod 🤣🤣pic.twitter.com/dBNjpJQLMlDammit Chinese mod 🤣🤣pic.twitter.com/dBNjpJQLMl— I_Leak_VN (@I_Leak_VN)March 10, 2021March 10, 2021
These claims have to be taken with a grain of salt. A single Facebook group appears to be the only source of these images. They show RTX 3060 GPUs operating above 45MH/s.PCGamerpoints out that these images could be altered or taken before the hash limiter kicked in.
For comparison, you can expect theRTX 3060 Ti hash rateto be around 60MH/s.
If there is indeed a way to bypass the hash rate limiter by installing a modified driver, it would make the RTX 3060 one of thebest mining GPUs. Though, the RTX 3060 Ti would still deliver better value. If the pictured figures hold up in real-world testing, miners could choose to use the RTX 3060 over the RTX 3060 Ti or other more expensive graphics cards, depending on their budget and setup.
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Sean Endicott is a tech journalist at Windows Central, specializing in Windows, Microsoft software, AI, and PCs. He’s covered major launches, from Windows 10 and 11 to the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT. Sean’s journey began with the Lumia 740, leading to strong ties with app developers. Outside writing, he coaches American football, utilizing Microsoft services to manage his team. He studied broadcast journalism at Nottingham Trent University and is active on X @SeanEndicott_ and Threads @sean_endicott_.
