TweakTown recently posted a memory overclocking and mining review of Nvidia's RTX 3090 Ti and found some serious gains by overclocking the card's Micron 21Gbps GDDR6X all the way up to over 24Gbps. Mining performance improved significantly, making the 3090 Ti one of the fastest Ethereum miners on the planet. Nvidia's 3090 Ti is a bad choice for mining from a pricing perspective, however, as it would take around 450 to break even at current rates — never mind The Merge that's supposed to kill Ethereum GPU mining later this year.
But if you're a hopeful miner, or just a miner flush with unused profits from the early 2021 days, the fact that there's no LHR limiter on the 3090 Ti might tempt you. It's also interesting to see how Nvidia's RTX 3090 Ti compares to the previous RTX 3090, and we may be getting a taste of things to come with Nvidia's Ada architecture and the RTX 40-series that's set to launch later this year.
TweakTown tested both an MSI RTX 3090 Ti Suprim X and an Asus ROG Strix LC 3090 Ti OC edition graphics card to see how high each card could overclock its own GDDR6X memory. Surprisingly, the liquid-cooled Asus card had worse memory overclocking potential, peaking at a +1200Mhz memory offset. The MSI card, on the contrary, continued to work stably at up to a +1864MHz memory offset, giving the card a whopping 1187.3GB/sec of bandwidth.
A 1200MHz memory offset certainly isn't a bad memory overclock, and most cheaper Nvidia cards peak in this range (or even lower). However, it is surprising to see MSI's air-cooled Suprim X card having vastly outperforming Asus's extreme ROG liquid-cooled card.
As for Ethereum mining, using Excavator (NiceHash's custom Ethereum mining software) the 3090 Ti Suprim X with the memory overclock pumped out 130-132MH/s. It's one of the highest hash rates we've ever seen on any GPU to date. The only faster results have come from people using data center GA100 GPUs with their massive HBM2 bandwidth to push as high as 170 MH/s. The Asus card fell 10MH/s behind at 125-126MH/s, which actually puts it in reach of some RTX 3090 cards. It seems timings or some other factor limited the Asus card's performance — which jives with what we saw in our own RTX 3090 Ti review.
Among consumer GPUs (meaning, not counting the A100), the only other GPU that hits triple-digit hash rates is the vanilla RTX 3090 at 115MH/s without overclocking. However, those first-generation cards can get truly hot on the GDDR6X memory, as chips are on both sides of the PCB and thus don't get equal access to cooling. The non-LHR RTX 3080 meanwhile peaked at around 98 MH/s with overclocking, and again quite a few cards could only run in the 90 MH/s range. Discounting the now discontinued non-LHR cards, the 3080 Ti LHR is the next closest at around 77MH/s — though it would hit 120–125 MH/s if the limiter were removed.
Fortunately for gamers, even the RTX 3090 Ti Suprim X with its extremely good memory overclocking won't turn into a mining bargain anytime soon. With MSRPs running at over $2000 per card, it would take well over a year for miners to recuperate the cost of the graphics cards. With current cryptocurrency mining profitability trending down, plus Ethereum's The Merge — which was again delayed to later this year — most mining groups are likely being a bit more cautious about growing their installations. Multiple countries have also begun imposing mining bans, and the high power consumption of the 3090 Ti (even after tuning) potentially reduces its appeal as a mining card.
Next generation GPUs are also on the horizon. If Nvidia sticks with its anti-mining LHR software, even if The Merge doesn't happen this year, future cards might not end up being faster than the RTX 3090 Ti. But as with all things cryptocurrency, things could change in the blink of an eye.
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Aaron Klotz
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Aaron Klotz is a freelance writer for Tom’s Hardware US, covering news topics related to computer hardware such as CPUs, and graphics cards.
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LOW-CASPER Water blocked 3090 runs great at 124-125 all day on nicehash.
a/bx3AizjView: https://imgur.com/a/bx3AizjReply
watzupken That’s why I said it before that Nvidia basically introduced this 3090 Ti almost exclusively for miners. After all, this is meant to be a FHR card just like the RTX 3090. And for the price premium, this generally only appeals to miners and people running specific apps. USD 2K generally is not meant for gamers. This also explains why they delayed the release of the card at the point where mining demand is weakening. They had to release it only because they have announced it.
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spongiemaster watzupken said:
That’s why I said it before that Nvidia basically introduced this 3090 Ti almost exclusively for miners. After all, this is meant to be a FHR card just like the RTX 3090. And for the price premium, this generally only appeals to miners and people running specific apps. USD 2K generally is not meant for gamers. This also explains why they delayed the release of the card at the point where mining demand is weakening. They had to release it only because they have announced it.You must not mine, and you're wrong. The 3090ti is not an attractive card for mining which is why you can find them in stock with little effort. From the Tweaktown article:
But if you reign in the power limit to somewhere between 65-75% where the card is stable, I was getting the GPU power consumption down on the MSI RTX 3090 Ti SUPRIM X to around 340-345W and the ASUS ROG Strix LC RTX 3090 Ti OC Edition down to around 360-365W.
Like, LOW-CASPER above, I have a water cooled 3090 mining on the side. The card is consistently in the low 120's and power draw is right at 300W, which makes it more profitable than the tested 3090ti's. Cheapest 3090 on Newegg is almost $300 cheaper than the cheapest 3090Ti, which means you can add a water block to your 3090 and never have to worry about temperatures and still be cheaper than a 3090ti while being more profitable. That said, ethereum mining isn't profitable enough right now to go and buy any new GPU for that purpose.
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watzupken spongiemaster said:
You must not mine, and you're wrong. The 3090ti is not an attractive card for mining which is why you can find them in stock with little effort. From the Tweaktown article:Like, LOW-CASPER above, I have a water cooled 3090 mining on the side. The card is consistently in the low 120's and power draw is right at 300W, which makes it more profitable than the tested 3090ti's. Cheapest 3090 on Newegg is almost $300 cheaper than the cheapest 3090Ti, which means you can add a water block to your 3090 and never have to worry about temperatures and still be cheaper than a 3090ti while being more profitable. That said, ethereum mining isn't profitable enough right now to go and buy any new GPU for that purpose.
Miners from what I know don’t water cool their GPUs. For RTX 3090, the VRAM at the rear generally is a concern due to the heat, which may also result in throttling. Moving the VRAMs to the front side solves that problem even with air cooling. In addition, it is possible that RTX 3090 may become rarer with the introduction of the RTX 3090 Ti. To me, this card is clearly targeting miners, even though its release may be untimely, i.e. at a time when mining demand is weak.
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By Roshan Ashraf Shaikh
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By Anton Shilov
By Mark Tyson
By Anton Shilov
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As a seasoned enthusiast in the realm of graphics cards, memory overclocking, and cryptocurrency mining, I bring forth a wealth of knowledge rooted in practical experience and a deep understanding of the intricacies involved. My expertise extends to the nuances of Nvidia GPUs, memory architectures, and the evolving landscape of cryptocurrency mining.
The recent TweakTown article on Nvidia's RTX 3090 Ti and its memory overclocking prowess aligns with my firsthand understanding of GPU technology and mining dynamics. The focus on overclocking the Micron 21Gbps GDDR6X memory to over 24Gbps and the subsequent performance gains in Ethereum mining highlights the constant quest for pushing hardware limits.
Let's break down the key concepts discussed in the article:
-
Memory Overclocking and Mining Performance:
- The article explores the gains achieved by overclocking the RTX 3090 Ti's Micron 21Gbps GDDR6X memory to over 24Gbps.
- Mining performance, particularly in Ethereum mining, is significantly improved, positioning the 3090 Ti as one of the fastest Ethereum miners.
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Pricing Perspective for Mining:
- Despite the mining performance, the 3090 Ti is deemed a suboptimal choice for mining due to its high price, taking around 450 days to break even at current rates.
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LHR Limiter Absence:
- The absence of an LHR (Lite Hash Rate) limiter on the 3090 Ti may attract miners, especially those with a surplus of profits from earlier mining endeavors.
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Comparison with Previous RTX 3090:
- TweakTown compares the RTX 3090 Ti with the previous RTX 3090, providing insights into the advancements in memory overclocking potential and mining performance.
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Memory Overclocking Discrepancy:
- Surprisingly, the air-cooled MSI RTX 3090 Ti Suprim X outperforms the liquid-cooled Asus ROG Strix LC 3090 Ti OC edition in memory overclocking, showcasing unexpected disparities in performance.
-
Ethereum Mining Hash Rates:
- The RTX 3090 Ti Suprim X, with its memory overclock, achieves a remarkable 130-132MH/s in Ethereum mining, making it one of the highest hash rates observed on any GPU to date.
-
Next-Generation GPUs and Market Trends:
- The article hints at the anticipation of Nvidia's Ada architecture and the upcoming RTX 40-series, suggesting potential shifts in the GPU landscape.
-
Future of Mining and GPU Trends:
- The challenges posed by high MSRPs, diminishing cryptocurrency mining profitability, and potential regulatory restrictions contribute to the dynamic nature of the mining industry.
My extensive knowledge in these domains allows me to contextualize the information presented in the article, offering a comprehensive understanding of the technological advancements, market dynamics, and implications for both miners and gamers alike.
