NVIDIA’s crypto-oriented CMP 50HX GPU simply obtained transformed right into a gaming card however the efficiency ain’t that nice.
Restricted PCIe Lanes & Lack of Driver Help Makes NVIDIA’s CMP “Crypto” GPUs Unfit For Gaming
The NVIDIA CMP lineup was unveiled in 2021 when crypto-mining was at its peak. NVIDIA noticed a possibility to supply a crippled variant, which was focused at shoppers who did not need a lot out of their GPU aside from its mining efficiency. So whereas the lineup did supply respectable outcomes for its desired utility, changing it for gaming is a very completely different scenario.
YouTuber, Sfdx Present made the conversion, and the variant used right here was MSI’s NVIDIA CMP 50HX. Talking of specs, the GPU employs 3,584 CUDA cores and 10 GB of GDDR6 reminiscence. The reminiscence operates at a velocity of 14 Gbps with a 320-bit reminiscence interface, which places its specs on the same stage to NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, the Turing flagship.
Utilizing the CMP 50HX for gaming would possibly sound simple, however it’s a tough job to do primarily as a result of the GPU incorporates a distinctive BIOS together with no presence of a show connector. In case you handle to one way or the other run it, the subsequent massive hurdle is the GPU’s driver.
Because the NVIDIA CMP GPUs weren’t gaming-oriented, there have been no kind of drivers out there for them to run video games. The one means anybody can combine it’s by using an older model of a specific driver, together with utilizing a Home windows that does not carry out driver validation, and with this, you need to use “unofficial” drivers for the GPU.
Nevertheless, it is very important observe that such workarounds do end in considerably downgraded efficiency, therefore in any case, we advise to not go for such strategies, since finally it will end in an inferior output.
Coming to the crux, Sfdx Present examined out a bunch of titles utilizing the NVIDIA CMP 50HX GPU akin to Counter-Strike 2 and Cyberpunk 2077, however as anticipated, the gaming efficiency wasn’t on par with the RTX 2080 Ti nor does it supply the efficiency that it ought to based mostly on its {hardware} specs.
Regardless of comparatively respectable video reminiscence, the GPU was capable of ship solely a median of 25 FPS at Cyberpunk 2077. The explanation behind the drop in efficiency is that the CMP 50HX has restricted PCIe lane width, which mainly creates a bottleneck, leading to such numbers. Crypto Mining workloads solely put stress on the VRAM greater than the GPU itself whereas gaming workloads require each the GPU and VRAM horsepower on board the graphics card to ship optimum efficiency.
When NVIDIA launched its CMP lineup, the corporate was so busy with the “crypto hype” that it did not even attempt to discover some other use instances of the GPUs. Furthermore, the constraints positioned when it comes to PCIe lanes and driver help make issues tougher, since by no means the GPU may be tuned for any utility aside from mining.
However because the crypto hype ended, NVIDIA shifted its focus in the direction of AI and now we see consumer-level GPUs being utilized by information facilities, AI, and likewise workstations. Will we get to see AI-specific GPUs such because the PCIe H100/H800 or A100/A800 working video games too? Solely time will inform.
Information Sources: Sfdx Present, Videocardz
