Behind The LHR Label For Mining

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#lhr
:المحدّث مؤخرا 01/08/2022
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LHR is now fully unlocked!! Anything mentioned in this article about the lock is no longer applicable. Use any popular miners such as Lolminer or T-Rex then you will be set.

What Is LHR - Lite Hashrate?

Lite Hashrate, also known as LHR, is a new limitation through hardware and software applied by NVIDIA to the RTX 3000 Series. It detects attributes related to the Ethash algorithm such as Ethereum and then drastically reduces the hashrate by up to 70%.

This limitation has been quite effective, it initially reduced only the Ethash hashrate. Hence, other algorithms such as KawPow for Ravencoin and Autolykos for Ergo were not primarily targeted, but over time there have been reports of limitations in these other algorithms due to LHR which we will talk more about later in the article.

There is no way around the LHR label as of now, so it is a stubborn limitation that miners will have to deal with. One of the reasons it was implemented is to “stop” miners from buying up all the RTX 3000 series GPUs and leaving nothing behind for the gamers.

NVIDIA RTX 3000 Series

Figuring out which GPU is LHR can be very confusing, so in this article, we will clarify all you need to know about LHR Graphic Cards so you can identify which are LHR, and we will also talk about what may the future hold for LHR GPUs and whether we recommend buying them for mining or not.

Which GPUs Are LHR?

Not all RTX 3000s are affected by LHR, some are partially affected while others are fully affected so in this section, we will go over all the RTX 3000s and tell you which are limited by LHR. In the next section, we will give you tips on identifying LHR if you are planning to buy some new GPUs.

GPUs Affected By LHR

The table below will have three options:

  • FHR: Full Hashrate – This means that it is not affected by LHR.
  • LHR: Lite Hashrate – This means they are all limited by LHR.
  • Semi-LHR: This means that some of the GPUs are limited and some are not, due to being produced before LHR was implemented.
GPU LHR STATUS
RTX 3090 FHR
RTX 3080 TI LHR
RTX 3080 Semi-LHR
RTX 3070 TI LHR
RTX 3070 Semi-LHR
RTX 3060 TI Semi-LHR
RTX 3060 Semi-LHR
RTX 3050 LHR

The reason that some GPUs are semi-LHR is that there were a lot of them produced before LHR became a thing, so in the midst of the supplies of Graphic Cards, there might be some FHR GPUs but it is very less likely to find them new. To have a better chance on FHR GPUs, you will have to buy them through local markets from people selling their used GPUs.

Now let’s talk about how to Identify LHR GPUs.

How To Identify LHR GPUs

Identifying LHR GPUs is very inconvenient, there are some manufacturers that make the process hard to identify if a GPU is LHR and there are others that make it fairly simple. Just know that it will vary from brand to brand and you will have to test the GPU for some brands if we don’t include information about it here.

This article will be updated with the latest details every time a new update about LHR happens. Now let’s start with the GPUs.Amazon Associate. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Thank you for the support!×Dismiss alert

FHR: RTX 3090

RTX 3090s are not hashrate limited by any means. So feel free to grab any RTX 3090 and mine with it freely. The reason they did not limit them is that these are expensive cards that miners tend to not approach, but NVIDIA is also doing this so they can force sell the 3090s to us miners.

Here is a link for an RTX 3090 on a couple of different stores: Amazon(1), Amazon(2), ParallelMiner.

LHR: RTX 3080 TI, RTX 3070 TI

The RTX 3080 TI and RTX 3070 TI are both fully LHR. So do expect lower performance whilst mining on the Ethash algorithm.

These GPUs still do perform fairly well with other algorithms but there are no guarantees. If you are looking to buy any of them for either mining or your own personal PC, feel free to use these links: RTX 3080 TI Amazon, RTX 3070 TI Amazon.

Semi-LHR: RTX 3080, RTX 3070, RTX 3060 TI, RTX 3060

So as we mentioned earlier, semi-LHR means that some in the supply are FHR and some are LHR. Figuring out which is which can be challenging so here is what the community knows so far based on brands. (if the example link does not take you to the right page, please try to check on amazon.com)

ASUS – LHR will be marked as version 2 (ex: ROG STRIX GeForce RTX™ 3070 V2)

MSI, ZOTAC, and PNY – LHR will be marked along with the SKU (ex: 3070 GAMING TRIO PLUS 8G LHR).

source = reddit post by crazykas

GPU Chip Number is also another way to identify LHR. Although it will be hard to tell from the box if non of the labels above are present. The only way you will figure out the GPU Chip Number is by turning it on in a system.

Old Chip number does not mean that it is an FHR GPU, it just means that there is a chance for FHR but if it has a New Chip number then it is 100% LHR.

GPU Old Chip New Chip
RTX 3080 GA102-200-A1 GA102-202-A1
RTX 3070 GA104-300-A1 GA104-302-A1
RTX 3060 TI GA104-200-A1 GA104-202-A1
RTX 3060 GA106-300-A1 GA106-302-A1

Founders Edition will also have LHR variants and you will be able to identify them through the Chip numbers above.

Here are more resources to find different LHR variations for specific GPUs on gpu-monkey. RTX 3080, RTX 3070, RTX 3060 TI, RTX 3060. The list of LHR variants will be like the attachment below.

RTX 3070 LHR List On GPU-Monkey.com
RTX 3070 LHR List On GPU-Monkey.com

RTX 3060 are a special condition because the regular version of them is Driver Limited while the new SKU ones are LHR limited. The Driver Limited ones will still be unlocked the same way through the NVIDIA 470.05 drivers, just as we demonstrated in our YouTube Video. Although, the LHR ones will not be unlockable.

Please keep in mind that all this is information found in the community, so some things can be accurate and some are not, don’t take it for granted. If you have any feedback feel free to let us know in our Discord server from the socials tab above!

Will LHR Ever Be Unlocked?

Now that we covered the specifics about LHR Graphic Cards and how this whole situation works. Let’s talk about the future for LHR and Miners.

As we know, LHR started off pretty badly for Miners. The hashrate limitations were drastic so it made it not worth buying any LHR GPUs at all. Here are some Hashrate numbers for Ethash to put in perspective.

GPU LHR Hashrate Aprox. Expected Hashrate
RTX 3080 43 MH/s 98 MH/s
RTX 3070 25 MH/s 60 MH/s
RTX 3060 TI 25 MH/s 60 MH/s

Hashrates are about halved so it does affect mining profits by a lot. As for the RTX 3070 TI LHR and RTX 3080 TI LHR, they were limited from the beginning so we don’t know their full potential, but we can say that the RTX 3080 TI can possibly do 120 MH/s and above if it is fully unlocked.

On the bright side, some mining software devs have been diligently working on a way to utilize the LHR GPUs in mining as much as possible, such as NBMiner.

NBMiner LHR Mode

NBMiner Devs implemented a new parameter -lhr<n> to unlock up to 70% of the LHR limitation. Which is great news for miners.

This command as of now unlocks up to 70%, over time we don’t know if NVIDIA will do something about it or if NBMiner and other mining software can reach 100%.

If you want a full tutorial for NBMiner, check out our tutorial!

T-Rex Miner LHR Mode

T-Rex miner has an autotune mode where it detects LHR GPUs and autotunes it for you.

If you want a full tutorial for T-Rex Miner, check out our tutorial!

Conclusion?

So to wrap up the LHR talk, we don’t know whether the future will be bright for miners or not. It all comes down to what will NVIDIA do when miners successfully unlock 100% of the GPU.

There are also reports of LHR GPUs being limited on other algorithms, now there are no words set in stone about it yet, but keep in mind if you do run into issues with an LHR GPU in other algorithms, then know you are not the only one.

Finally, We can’t give you financial advice, and don’t take this as one either, but we personally are going to grab some LHR GPUs since they do go for pretty decent prices. This is a gamble since the future is uncertain but we are willing to risk a rig or two.

If you enjoyed this article make sure to visit our YouTube channel and subscribe so you can be notified when the video on this article comes out if it is not out yet.

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