Previously we tried unlocking Nvidia's LHR graphics cards using T-Rex. You can read about this experiment and its results in the dedicated article. And if you want to learn how to unlock LHR cards with Gminer, follow this link.
Contents
The Origins of LHR Graphics Cards. Nvidia RTX 3060
At CES in January 2021, NVIDIA announced the GeForce RTX 3060. This newest GeForce RTX graphics card was supposed to be released at the end of February 2021.
NVIDIA published the takeaways of the presentation on the official website on January 12, 2021, in the article titled “NVIDIA Ampere Architecture for Every Gamer: GeForce RTX 3060 Available Late February, At $329.”
You can read the full article by following the link.
Since the announcement of the GeForce RTX 3060, some media outlets published rumors about these GPUs being potentially limited in hash rate. In mid-February 2021, this information still hadn’t been confirmed.
On February 18, 2021, NVIDIA officially announced that they would halve the hash rate for the GeForce RTX 3060 in the article titled "GeForce Is Made for Gaming, CMP Is Made to Mine".
Exactly three months later, on May 18, 2021, NVIDIA published another article in their blog titled “A Further Step to Getting GeForce Cards into the Hands of Gamers.” The article talks about decreasing the hash rate on Ethash for the newly built GPUs: GeForce RTX 3080, 3070, and 3060 Ti, to make them less appealing for miners. These models became available at the end of May 2021 and were marked with a “Lite Hash Rate” or “LHR” identifier.
Right after this post, experts started actively discussing the term "LHR". You can read the full article here.
On May 31, 2021, NVIDIA announced the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti and GeForce RTX 3070 Ti. You can read the full announcement here.
NVIDIA didn’t make any official statement regarding LHR in these GPUs. However, rumors about their limited hash rate on Ethash started circulating even before the announcement. After the official release and testing, it was confirmed that the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti and GeForce RTX 3070 Ti had limited hash rate.
Test Rig Specs
The test rig consisted of the following parts:
- Motherboard: BIOSTAR Hi-Fi B85S2
- CPU: Intel Pentium G3220
- Display: Intel HD Graphics
- Memory: DDR3 SDRAM Kingston 4GB
- HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 160Gb
- PSU: EVGA 1000 GQ 80+ GOLD 1000W
- GPU: EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti FTW3 ULTRA GAMING (1800 MHz Boost Clock, Memory Clock 19000 MHz (effective), TPD: 350 Watts)
- Two GPUs were connected to the motherboard, each through the riser PCI-E X16-X1.
- OS: Windows 10
- Nvidia’s driver: 471.68, 472.12
- Overclocking: MSI Afterburner 4.6.4 Beta 3
- Monitoring: GPU-Z
Testing was held indoors with the room temperature at +15 °C (59 °F).
We used PhoenixMiner to estimate the max hash rate for the RTX 3080 Ti on Ethash and Etchash algorithms. We launched the mining program on our rig with the following GPU settings: PL(%): 70, CC(MHz): +0, MC(MHz): +1000.
Right after the launch, the program estimated a hash rate on Ethash at ~116 Mh/s, but after two minutes it settled at ~64 Mh/s.
Thanks to pretesting, we estimated a potential hash rate, without LHR lock, on Ethash and Etchash and confirmed that LHR lock leads to a ~45% hash rate decrease.
Testing lolMiner on Nvidia LHR
lolMiner is a popular mining program created by the developer known as Lolliedieb. lolMiner’s first version was released on October 28, 2018, and it supported only AMD graphics cards and a limited number of mining algorithms. Today the miner is being actively developed, and it supports a lot of algorithms: Ethash, Etchash, ZelHash, Equihash, Cuckoo, Cuckaroo, Cuckatoo, Autolykos, and BeamHash.
The miner supports NVIDIA and AMD and works on Windows and Linux.
lolMiner’s developers constantly keep in touch with their users on popular platforms and through social media channels.
Github: https://github.com/Lolliedieb/lolMiner-releases/releases
Telegram: 2Miners pool chat
We used lolMiner 1.32a to estimate the max hash rate for the RTX 3080 Ti with LHR lock on Ethash. Then we launched the mining program on our rig with the following GPU settings: PL(%): 55, CC (MHz): +0, MC (MHz): +1000.
The miner estimated a hash rate on Ethash at ~63 Mh/s. Memory Controller Load, GPU Load, and Board Power Draw charts were stable, without significant leaps. Memory Controller Load was 66%.
Then we launched the mining program on our rig with the following GPU settings: PL(%): 55, CC (MHz): +0, MC (MHz): +1300.
The miner estimated a hash rate on Ethash at ~65 Mh/s. Memory Controller Load, GPU Load, and Board Power Draw charts were stable, without significant leaps. Memory Controller Load was 66%.
As a result, we estimated the hash rate and confirmed that the GPU hash rate with LHR lock is ~64–66 Mh/s.
It's important to note that MSI Afterburner indexes GPUs starting from GPU 1, whereas in the log file and mining program GPUs are indexed starting from GPU 0. In this article we indicate graphics cards as GPU 1 and GPU 2 most of the time, apart from a few occasions when we mention the data from the log file or the mining program.
LHR Unlock with lolMiner 1.32a
On September 12, 2021, the developers announced lolMiner 1.32a. This was the first version with the partial LHR unlock. It featured new miner parameters and operating modes.
You can download the miner and learn more about it here.
Click here to open the setup guide for different operating modes: “Nvidia Mode Switch & LHR Semi Unlock”.
The description of this miner version says that the developers ran most pre-release tests on Linux systems with specific video drivers. However, we decided to test the miner on Windows.
After reading the Nvidia Mode Switch & LHR Semi Unlock guide, we chose the best modes for our test rig: LHR2 and LHRLP.
mode LHR2
We launched the mining program on our rig with the following GPU settings: PL(%): 70, CC(MHz): +0, MC(MHz): +1200.
Bat file:
lolMiner.exe --algo ETHASH --pool eth.2miners.com:2020 --user WALLET_ADDRESS.RIG_3080Ti --mode LHR2 --tstop 70 --tstart 50 --log on --logfile log_lolMiner_RIG_3080Ti_mode_LHR2.txt --timeprint on --longstats 30 --statsformat gpuName,speed,poolHr,shares,sharesPerMin,bestShares,power,hrPerWatt,coreT,juncT,memT,coreClk,memClk,fanPct
pause
The miner estimated a hash rate on Ethash at ~50 Mh/s. The hash rate didn’t grow. Memory Controller Load, GPU Load, and Board Power Draw charts, as well as other Power charts, showed slight parameter instability. Memory Controller Load was 66%.
After reviewing the log file, we established that LHR lock got activated at the DAG generation stage:
GPU 0: detected mining lock - attempting to improve performance...
GPU 1: DAG build complete 100%
GPU 1: DAG generation completed (3446 ms)
GPU 1: DAG verification passed
GPU 1: detected mining lock - attempting to improve performance...
The text of the log file didn’t contain ‘Unlock’.
Then we ran a few more tests in LHR2 mode fixing the frequency and voltage. We used the Voltage/Frequency Curve Editor in MSI Afterburner. We failed to unlock LHR with Nvidia’s drivers 471.68, so we decided to install Nvidia’s drivers 472.12 to the rig.
During most tests the miner remained unstable, but we managed to get decent results by trial and error. Here is how we did it.
We launched the mining program on the rig with the following GPU settings: PL(%): 80, CC (MHz): -502 fix Voltage(mV) 825, MC (MHz): +1000.
Bat file:
lolMiner.exe --algo ETHASH --pool eth.2miners.com:2020 --user WALLET_ADDRESS.RIG_3080Ti --mode LHR2 --tstop 70 --tstart 50 --log on --logfile log_lolMiner_RIG_3080Ti_mode_LHR2.txt --timeprint on --longstats 30 --statsformat gpuName,speed,poolHr,shares,sharesPerMin,bestShares,power,hrPerWatt,coreT,juncT,memT,coreClk,memClk,fanPct
pause
GPU1: CC value settled at 1050 MHz. Two minutes after the miner launch the hash rate was ~82 Mh/s.
GPU2: CC value settled at 1095 MHz. Two minutes after the miner launch the hash rate was ~82 Mh/s.
After one hour of operation the miner showed a hash rate of ~76–78 Mh/s.
mode LHRLP
After reviewing the log file, we established that LHR lock got activated 7 times for each GPU in the first 25 minutes of operation. Then the hash rate settled.
Memory Controller Load, GPU Load, and Board Power Draw charts, as well as other Power charts, showed slight parameter instability. Memory Controller load was 88–100%.
Then we ran a few tests in LHRLP mode both fixing and not fixing the frequency and voltage. We used the Voltage/Frequency Curve Editor in MSI Afterburner. During most tests the miner remained unstable, but we managed to get decent results.
We launched the mining program on the rig with the following GPU settings: PL(%): 80, CC (MHz): -502 fix Voltage(mV) 825, MC (MHz): +1000.
Bat file:
lolMiner.exe --algo ETHASH --pool eth.2miners.com:2020 --user WALLET_ADDRESS.RIG_3080Ti --mode LHRLP --tstop 70 --tstart 50 --log on --logfile log_lolMiner_RIG_3080Ti_mode_LHRLP.txt --timeprint on --longstats 30 --statsformat gpuName,speed,poolHr,shares,sharesPerMin,bestShares,power,hrPerWatt,coreT,juncT,memT,coreClk,memClk,fanPct
pause
GPU1: CC value settled at 1050 MHz. Two minutes after the miner launch the hash rate was ~82 Mh/s.
GPU2: CC value settled at 1095 MHz. Two minutes after the miner launch the hash rate was ~82 Mh/s.
After one hour of operation the miner showed a hash rate of ~78–80 Mh/s.
After reviewing the log file, we established that LHR lock got activated 4 times for each GPU in the first 19 minutes of operation. Then the hash rate settled.
Memory Controller Load, GPU Load, and Board Power Draw charts, as well as other Power charts, showed slight parameter instability. Memory Controller load was 88–100%.
With the release of the new miner version, we stopped further testing.
Conclusion: lolMiner 1.32a can partially unlock LHR. The miner shows a hash rate of ~78–80 Mh/s which is ~67–69% of the potential max hash rate.
The description of the release says the following: “Recommended drivers for LHR2 and LHRLP: 470.63.01 or 465.31 — others could be more unstable. Most tests were done in Linux.”
2Miners recommends Linux-based mining systems for this miner version to ensure stable operation.
LHR Unlock with lolMiner 1.33
On October 1, 2021, lolMiner 1.33 was announced. In this version the developers worked on LHR unlock. They improved LHR unlock performance and recommended specific drivers.
Click here to download the miner and read about its features.
We launched the mining program on our rig with the following GPU settings: PL(%): 70, CC(MHz): +0, MC(MHz): +1200.
Bat file:
lolMiner.exe --algo ETHASH --pool eth.2miners.com:2020 --user WALLET_ADDRESS.RIG_3080Ti --tstop 70 --tstart 50 --log on --logfile log_lolMiner_RIG_3080Ti.txt --timeprint on --longstats 30 --statsformat gpuName,speed,poolHr,shares,sharesPerMin,bestShares,power,hrPerWatt,coreT,juncT,memT,coreClk,memClk,fanPct
pause
In the first 4 minutes of operation, the miner was “calibrating to your exact core and memory clocks”. Here is what these notifications look like in the log file:
GPU 1: please wait LHR semi-unlock calibration is ongoing...
GPU 0: please wait LHR semi-unlock calibration is ongoing...
If LHR lock is activated during mining, the miner lowers the lhrtune parameter when unlocking LHR:
GPU 1: detected mining lock. Unlocking & reducing --lhrtune parameter...
GPU 1: GPU will be paused to make sure it is unlocked...
GPU 0: detected mining lock. Unlocking & reducing --lhrtune parameter...
GPU 0: GPU will be paused to make sure it is unlocked...
The duration of the test was 30 hours and 33 minutes.
After reviewing the log file, we established that LHR lock got activated 4 times for each GPU in 26 hours of operation.
GPU Load and Board Power Draw charts, as well as other Power charts, showed slight parameter instability. GPU1’s Memory Controller Load chart was stable, while GPU2’s Memory Controller Load chart was significantly unstable.
Below is the Stats page of the pool with the results of the miner operation.
Based on the number of shares sent to the pool, we estimated the hash rate after 30.55 hours of the miner operation. Initial data for two GPUs: 2051 shares in 30.55 hours, share difficulty is 8726 M. We multiplied the number of shares per second by share difficulty and got 162.7 Mh/s. This is a hash rate of two GPUs, so a hash rate of one GPU is ~81.36 Mh/s. We can also estimate the hash rate per GPU taking into account the number of shares solved by each GPU (GPU1: 1034, GPU2: 1017): GPU1 – ~82.04 Mh/s, GPU2 – ~80.69 Mh/s.
We recommend extending the testing period to get statistically correct results: each card should send over 5000 shares to the pool.
Conclusion: lolMiner 1.33 can partially unlock LHR. The miner shows a hash rate of ~81 Mh/s which is ~70% of the potential max hash rate. In the description of the release you can find specific video drivers recommended for each GPU for the optimal stability.
LHR Unlock with lolMiner 1.34
On October 18, 2021, lolMiner 1.34 was announced. In this version the developers improved the LHR unlock feature, recommended specific drivers, and fixed previously discovered errors. You can find the –lhrtune value and the number of LHR locks in the summary stats chart in the mining program or in the log file.
Click here to download the miner and read about its features.
We launched the mining program on our rig with the following GPU settings: PL(%): 70, CC (MHz): +0, MC (MHz): +1000.
Bat file.
lolMiner.exe --algo ETHASH --pool eth.2miners.com:2020 --user WALLET_ADDRESS.RIG_3080Ti --tstop 70 --tstart 50 --log on --logfile log_lolMiner_RIG_3080Ti.txt --timeprint on --longstats 30 --statsformat gpuName,speed,poolHr,shares,sharesPerMin,bestShares,power,hrPerWatt,coreT,juncT,memT,coreClk,memClk,fanPct
pause
The duration of the test was 2 hours and 33 minutes. In the first 4 minutes of operation, the miner was calibrating “LHR semi-unlock”. LHR lock got activated once. Board Power Draw charts, as well as other Power charts, were slightly unstable. GPU Load and Memory Controller Load charts were stable. The miner showed a hash rate of ~82 Mh/s.
We tried increasing the memory clock.
We launched the mining program on our rig with the following GPU settings: PL(%): 70, CC (MHz): +0, MC (MHz): +1200.
The bat file is the same.
It resulted in the constant activation of LHR lock for GPU2. GPU1’s GPU Load and Board Power Draw charts, as well as other Power charts, showed slight parameter instability. GPU1’s Memory Controller Load chart was stable. GPU2’s charts were significantly unstable.
We lowered GPU2’s memory clock. We launched the miner with the following GPU settings:
GPU1: PL(%): 70, CC (MHz): +0, MC (MHz): +1200.
GPU2: PL(%): 70, CC (MHz): +0, MC (MHz): +1000.
Bat file.
The duration of the test was 61 hours and 30 minutes.
After reviewing the log file, we established that LHR lock got activated 3 times. Board Power Draw charts, as well as other Power charts, were slightly unstable. GPU Load and Memory Controller Load charts were stable.
Below is the Stats page of the pool with the results of the miner operation.
Based on the number of shares sent to the pool, we estimated the hash rate after 61.5 hours of the miner operation. Initial data for two GPUs: 4089 shares in 61.5 hours, share difficulty is 8726 M. We multiplied the number of shares per second by share difficulty and got 161.2 Mh/s. This is a hash rate of two GPUs, so a hash rate of one GPU is ~80.58 Mh/s. We can also estimate the hash rate per GPU taking into account the number of shares solved by each GPU (GPU1: 2090, GPU2: 1999): GPU1 – ~82.37 Mh/s, GPU2 – ~78.79 Mh/s.
We recommend extending the testing period to get statistically correct results: each card should send over 5000 shares to the pool.
Conclusion: lolMiner 1.34 can partially unlock LHR. The miner shows a hash rate of ~80 Mh/s which is ~69% of the potential max hash rate.
In the description of the release you can find specific video drivers recommended for each GPU for the best stability.
LHR Unlock with lolMiner 1.36
On November 15, 2021, lolMiner 1.36 was announced. This version performs better on some GPUs, the developers modified auto-tuning and fixed previously discovered errors.
Click here to download the miner and read about its features.
We launched the mining program on our rig with the following GPU settings:
GPU1: PL(%): 70, CC (MHz): +0, MC (MHz): +1200.
GPU2: PL(%): 70, CC (MHz): +0, MC (MHz): +1000.
Bat file:
lolMiner.exe --algo ETHASH --pool eth.2miners.com:2020 --user WALLET_ADDRESS.RIG_3080Ti --tstop 70 --tstart 50 --log on --logfile log_lolMiner_RIG_3080Ti.txt --timeprint on --longstats 30 --statsformat gpuName,speed,poolHr,shares,sharesPerMin,bestShares,power,hrPerWatt,coreT,juncT,memT,lhrinfo,coreClk,memClk,fanPct
pause
The duration of the test was 27 hours and 23 minutes. After reviewing the log file, we established that LHR lock got activated 9 times. Board Power Draw charts, as well as other Power charts, were slightly unstable. GPU Load and Memory Controller Load charts were stable.
Below is the Stats page of the pool with the results of the miner operation.
Based on the number of shares sent to the pool, we estimated the hash rate after 27.38 hours of the miner operation. Initial data for two GPUs: 1860 shares in 27.38 hours, share difficulty is 8726 M. We multiplied the number of shares per second by share difficulty and got 164.6 Mh/s. This is a hash rate of two GPUs, so a hash rate of one GPU is ~82.32 Mh/s. We can also estimate the hash rate per GPU taking into account the number of shares solved by each GPU (GPU1: 973, GPU2: 887): GPU1 – ~86.13 Mh/s, GPU2 – ~78.51 Mh/s.
We recommend extending the testing period to get statistically correct results: each card should send over 5000 shares to the pool.
Conclusion: lolMiner 1.36 can partially unlock LHR. The miner shows a hash rate of ~82 Mh/s which is ~71% of the potential max hash rate.
Final Conclusions and Suggestions
lolMiner offers a working solution to unlock LHR graphics cards. Thanks to lolMiner, you can partially unlock LHR. Depending on the miner version, you can get a hash rate of ~78–82 Mh/s on Nvidia 3080 Ti LHR, which is ~67–71% of the potential max hash rate.
lolMiner 1.34 and lolMiner 1.36 produced the most stable results during tests giving out the highest hash rate.
Please note that we got different results when testing the same GPU models with the same settings. It means that each graphics card must be set up separately.
We didn’t test GPUs with extreme settings. For example, your GPUs might work well with higher clocks.
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