NVIDIA Reissues Ban: Chicken Graphics Is Forbidden for Mining

The recent surge in crypto mining has put pressure on GPU availability. While AMD hasn’t imposed strict controls on its graphics cards, allowing retailers to freely sell them, Nvidia is taking a more active role. The GTX 1060 6GB model has been heavily targeted by miners, leading to widespread shortages for gamers. Many internet cafes and retail stores have struggled to find stock, prompting Nvidia to issue a new ban: the GTX 1060 5GB will not be sold to the general public and will instead be directly supplied to internet cafes. If any diversion is detected, supply will be immediately halted.

In addition to reducing the video memory from 6GB to 5GB, the GTX 1060 5GB also features a narrower memory bus, dropping from 192 bits to 160 bits. Although this change may not significantly impact gaming performance, it drastically reduces the card’s mining efficiency. Some reports suggest that the 5GB model could even perform worse than the older 3GB version when used for mining. This move is clearly aimed at limiting the appeal of the GTX 1060 for crypto miners while ensuring that gamers and internet cafes get fair access to the product.