The release of the RTX 3060 graphics card has become one of the most memorable among other Nvidia devices. The fact is that the «green» manufacturer specifically limited the performance of the new product when mining Ethereum to combat the shortage of video cards.
At first, the protection did work, but now the restrictions have been lifted. We tested the RTX 3060 and measured the hash rates it produces.
By tradition, let’s start with the background. In the second half of February, it became known that Nvidia would limit the efficiency of mining ETH for the RTX 3060 video card, which was then just preparing for the start of sales. There were two reasons for this. The first and more obvious is an attempt to overcome the shortage of video cards from the new RTX 30 series, formed immediately after the start of sales. The second reason was the promotion of the company’s new device for the extraction of ethers called Nvidia CMP.
The blocking worked really well. In the first seconds, the RTX 3060 produced about 42 MH / s during Ethereum mining, but then the indicator dropped to 24-26 MH / s, that is, almost twice. Naturally, this made the new product not so attractive to miners, so in theory it was possible to cope with the deficit.
However, in early March, everything changed. Sources reported the release of a special mod that returned the hash rate of the video card to normal numbers. And although at first the information seemed fake, in the end the author shared additional screenshots and proved the truthfulness of the data.
Now – a week later – the situation is completely different. The new driver for the RTX 3060 allows you to mine Ethereum without any restrictions, and it is available for everyone. We have tested the update and confirm that it works. And here are the results of the experiment in the form of numbers.
How much does Nvidia RTX 3060 produce in Ethereum mining
It’s funny, but the company itself helped to get around Nvidia’s restrictions. It has released the Nvidia Dev 470.05 Beta drivers, which are aimed at developers. Miners tested the new software and noticed that thanks to it, the RTX 3060 can mine Ethereum in full performance mode.
Initially, the drivers were located at this link on the official Nvidia website. However, when the company representatives saw what the update was doing, they removed it. This is confirmed by the inscription about “temporary unavailability of the driver”.
Remote driver on Nvidia website
Fortunately, the miners uploaded the required file to the file hosting service. Download Nvidia Dev 470.05 Beta here.
The 2Miners mining pool team tested the necessary drivers on the MSI RTX Gaming X 3060 12 GB graphics card. The test was carried out on a Windows 10 system, the video card itself was connected to an external X16 riser. The duration of testing on the Ethash algorithm was approximately 40 minutes, during which there were no problems with the hash rate. In addition, the computer monitor was turned off all this time.
This is an important clarification, since sources confirmed the mining performance only with a connected monitor. It turned out, in fact, things are different, and the monitor is not a prerequisite.
At the same time, as it turned out later, the RTX 3060 12 GB can work without a drop in the hash rate only in the PCI-E x16 slot . Accordingly, mining with more than one card will require a motherboard with a large number of x16 connectors. Most often these are server motherboards.
However, the test results were excellent. The RTX 3060 delivered 48 MH / s on 120 watts, based on GPU-Z v.2.37.0 data. T-Rex v.0.19.12 was used as a miner.
Hashrate RTX 3060 on Ethereum
Overclocking is configured through MSI AfterBurner v.4.6.3 Final, the core and power are fixed by Curve at 1150 Mhz and 850 mv. Memory +1150.
We have published a detailed material on the basics of overclocking video cards for mining on different algorithms. We recommend that you familiarize yourself with it at the link. The material is suitable for both beginners and experienced miners.
There are other measurements as well. With a consumption of 105 watts, the RTX 3060 video card produces a hash rate of 44 MH / s, and the card temperature does not exceed 50-55 degrees.
On other algorithms, a slight drop in the hash rate is noticeable. In particular, the mining performance of Ravencoin and Zcoin lags about 1-2 percent behind the results of the Nvidia driver v.461.72.
How much does Nvidia RTX 3060 bring
Taking into account the situation, the 2Miners team updated the data in the mining profitability calculator 2CryptoCalc so that the information corresponds to the correct hash rate. Today, a single Nvidia RTX 3060 can generate $ 5.55 in Ethereum mining.
Nvidia RTX 3060 profitability
Due to the cost of electricity, the cost of which is different for each miner, the total amount will be slightly less.
Here are the results of mining Ethereum with RTX 3060 over different time periods. For a month, the graphics card can generate income of $ 166.
RTX 3060 Ethereum Mining Profitability
We think the situation is comical. Representatives of Nvidia have repeatedly stated about the reliability of blocking the RTX 3060, but in the end they themselves made it possible for miners to bypass all restrictions. This means that the market situation is unlikely to change. New video cards will continue to be in short supply, and models in stock will be sold at a significantly higher price.
