Summary of "Hacking Nvidia's Drivers! - Rescuing crypto GPUs from becoming e-waste"

Summary of the Video (Tech Concepts, Features, and Analysis)

The creators aim to “rescue” inexpensive Nvidia P106 mining GPUs, which are often sold cheaply and lack video outputs, so they can be repurposed as gaming PCs rather than becoming e-waste.
Previously, they relied on third-party modified drivers (from a Chinese team). This time, they focus on making the process manual, verifiable, and also removing unwanted driver behavior/features.

Driver signing is disabled (as referenced from a prior video).
The mining GPU is installed, but the creators’ intended Nvidia drivers don’t load initially.
The system uses Intel integrated graphics for video output.

They want the P106 to function similarly to a GTX 1060, including support for:

gaming features
compute features
video encoding functionality (they reference “end bank video encoding support,” suggesting encoding pipeline support)
compatibility with newer driver releases

They also claim the cards are in the same family (P106 and GTX 1060 are essentially the same generation/platform).

The newest Nvidia driver versions produce Error Code 43, so they can’t use the latest drivers during testing.
Quick Sync / NVENC-style video features depend on their workaround setup:
- the system relies on integrated graphics for display output
- the workaround prevents certain functionality (they mention difficulty getting “mvvx” working)
- they fall back to Quick Sync and x264 as alternatives

They download a fresh Nvidia driver from the 416.xx series (their workable baseline).

They compare:
- the Chinese-modified driver
- against the official Nvidia driver
Using Notepad++ with a Compare plugin, they identify exact differences—especially in the device/compatibility mapping sections.

They modify the vanilla driver so the P106 is treated as compatible.
The key change is aligning device IDs / configuration sections so the P106 matches the GTX 1060 entries.

Instead of installing unknown binaries, they argue for a safer approach:
- only replicate the minimal compatibility/config changes discovered by diffing
They also note they’re not assuming the Chinese driver is malicious/clean—this comparison is why they can reproduce the minimal changes confidently.

After restoring compatibility, they additionally modify the driver to disable Nvidia telemetry (referred to as “nv telemetry”), which otherwise reports usage back to Nvidia.

With the rebuilt driver installed, they run a game benchmark (example: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided at 1080p), reporting >8 FPS.

They can’t fully confirm every modern feature (they mention possibilities like FreeSync depending on iGPU support), but the core result is:
- gaming works on the P106 using the manual compatibility-driver method.

They attempt to use the mining GPU alongside a real GTX 1060 to demonstrate SLI with a mining card as a proof of concept.

With the P106 present, they claim there is no SLI option in the driver UI.
They reference a forum approach (“Different SLI Auto”) which typically involves:
- editing/hex-editing driver store components
- searching for specific byte/string sequences
- modifying compatibility checks for SLI / motherboard / GPU pairing rules

Copy relevant driver files (e.g., nvldmkm) into the provided “different sli auto” workflow folder.
Use a hex editor (they mention HxD) to modify hex/string values to bypass SLI compatibility gating.
Restart into safe mode and run an install.cmd as admin to apply changes.

The SLI mod does not work with the P106 mining card.
They speculate possible causes such as:
- missing video output paths
- differences like having two different vBIOSes
Net result:
- SLI works with the GTX 1060, but not with the mining card as the pairing partner.

With GTX 1060 SLI enabled (and after moving HDMI to the correct GPU), they run a ~90-second benchmark.
They report a small FPS improvement, while emphasizing:
- scaling and behavior may be limited
- stutter/performance characteristics may not be favorable due to lack of modern proper bridging/support

The creators conclude that while it’s technically feasible to circumvent Nvidia driver locks via compatibility edits, the method has important caveats.
They also argue that SLI is not a generally good recommendation, compared to buying a single stronger GPU.
They discuss historical reasons Nvidia limited SLI on lower-end cards—such as PCIe bandwidth/interconnect limitations—and how Nvidia later evolved approaches (e.g., NVLink on some RTX cards).
They pose a question to viewers about why manufacturers lock features, suggesting a mix of technical constraints and product segmentation/policy decisions.

GlassWire: network monitoring + malware blocking (discount offer mentioned)
FreshBooks: invoicing/accounting for small businesses (trial offer mentioned)

Linus Tech Tips (video production brand / host team)
Anthony (named individual in the subtitles, introducing the scenario and steps)
External referenced source: pretentious (a TechPowerUp forum contributor who provides the SLI compatibility bypass script/method)