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The best video cards for cryptocurrency mining: foreign experience

Making money on video cards is becoming more and more popular among those. Who owns Internet assets passive income and iron with enough power. This way of earning is called mining, and the users involved in this are called miners. In general, the term mining originated from the mining industry, where it is used to refer to the extraction of minerals. AT this case we are talking about the extraction of cryptocurrency with the help of computing power of computers.

To start activities in this direction, you will need a suitable video card for mining. However, before starting the process, it is required to calculate all the points in order to determine the profitability of such an investment. Mining success is influenced by several factors:

  • Iron - the productivity and efficiency of work depends on the amount of power of mining equipment;
  • Electrical energy is consumed in large volume, so you should remember about the full cooling of the equipment;
  • The bitcoin exchange rate is constantly changing, and when deciding to mine it, this factor should be taken into account.

After a thorough analysis of these factors, you can decide how profitable mining will be for you.

The best graphics cards for mining

When deciding to invest in mining equipment, you need to determine which equipment will be the best option. The rating of video cards for mining is led by chips ATI Radeon HD from 5xxx and higher series. Nvidia also has suitable graphics cards, but in terms of computing power, they are noticeably weaker.

Professional miners use own experience to assemble suitable mining equipment, for this they purchase processors, the best video cards and powerful systems cooling. The speed of its payback and the profit of the miner depend on how powerful such a mining farm will be.

At first, bitcoins were mined using special mining processors, which overheated a lot, demonstrating noticeably less power compared to video cards. The latter can even be overclocked, but experienced miners do not recommend doing this, because:

  • The service life of the equipment is greatly reduced;
  • The performance gain is not too great;
  • There is a risk of saying goodbye to equipment that is overclocked.

Iron care is also very important point. You need to clean the dust, update the thermal paste and increase the processing power as needed.

Choosing a video card for mining

In 2017, many miners are thinking about upgrading their hardware for many reasons. Some video cards are outdated, partially out of order, and some want to purchase something more energy efficient, which will demonstrate better performance.

You can consider offers of video cards latest generations from AMD and NVIDIA. In 2017, you can purchase video cards for mining, presented in the following list: AMD Radeon RX 470, AMD Radeon RX 480, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060, Nvidia Geforce GTX 1070 and AMD Fury X. For each of them, it is worth considering the technical characteristics described in the form of a table for ease of perception.

Specifications:

GPUMemory capacityMemory typeshader processorsGPU frequencyMemory frequencyTPTDPNutrition
Radeon RX 4704-8 GB (256 bit)GDDR52048 926MHz1650 Mhz14 nm120W1x6Pin
Radeon RX 4804-8 GB (256 bit)GDDR52304 1120 Mhz2000 Mhz14 nm150W1x6Pin
Geforce GTX 10603-6 GB (192 bit)GDDR51152-1280 1506 Mhz2002 Mhz16 nm120W1x6Pin
Geforce GTX 10708 GB (256 bit)GDDR51152-1280 1506 Mhz2002 Mhz16 nm150W1x8Pin
Geforce GTX 10704 GB (4096 bit)HBM4096 1050 Mhz500 Mhz28 nm275W2x8Pin

Based on the data on the price of video cards, you can make an approximate calculation of payback, which helps to make the right choice.

GPUPaybackElectricity not included
Radeon RX 470183 days. (16% per month)145 days. (20.6% per month)
Radeon RX 480193 days (15.5% per month)156 days (19.2% per month)
Geforce GTX 1060193 days (15.5% per month)130 days (23% per month)
Geforce GTX 1070185 days (16.2% per month)162 days (18.5% per month)
Radeon Fury X278 days (10.7% per month)213 days (14% per month)

On the this moment The most profitable for mining can be called Nvidia Geforce GTX 1060 3gb and Radeon RX 470 4gb video cards. This is true for the Equihash algorithm, which is currently used, and in the future other algorithms may appear in which the behavior of video cards may change.


Choosing a video card for mining in 2017

When assembling a mining rig, the configuration with 4 identical video cards is most often used. These are the most stable systems that bring a minimum of problems during operation and configuration, and motherboards with 4 PCI slots are cheaper and more often appear on sale.

When calculating the costs for the selected configurations, such moments as the cost of the video cards themselves and an additional 15 thousand rubles for motherboard, processor, HDD and a power supply, as well as a case in which everything will be placed. On the basis of calculations and expenditure data, it can be seen that the most profitable video card for mining Ethereum and other forks based on the Ethash algorithm in 2017 is AMD graphics card Radeon RX 470 4Gb. In the case of mining Zcash or Zcash clacssic based on the Equihash algorithm, the most profitable option will use the GPU from Nvidia Geforce GTX 1060.

mining sites

To use a video card for mining, you need to register on the site, download the program from it, install it and configure it. Further, it will begin to give the system computational tasks that are solved by the power of the video cards used. Everything related to installing and configuring the software needs to be studied on the corresponding site for mining.

At the moment, you can encounter scammers in this area, so you should use only proven resources.

WmZona.com is a fairly reliable bitcoin mining site. The service has been proven over the years since it started its work in 2004, it has a high trust, positive reviews and good administration. This is a fairly extensive service, which not only makes it possible for miners to earn money, but also for other users.

The advantages of mining on the video card

Mining on a video card using different quantity chips is great way earnings, if you are not afraid of the initial investment.

First, it is a source of passive income. If you calculate everything, purchase equipment and successfully configure it, then this will be a great asset. It can be 1, 2, 3 or 4 video cards, which are paired with other devices and provide excellent performance and processing power.

Secondly, the time costs when using similar way earnings will be minimal, since it is not required to constantly monitor the equipment, it only needs to be periodically checked for performance, temperature and general condition.

Thirdly, this method gives a stable income, because you can mine not only bitcoins, but also other cryptocurrencies, which gives a winning position for the user in any case.

Disadvantages of GPU Mining

While the profitability of such a business is quite high, there are several factors that make such an undertaking difficult and problematic.

Even if you choose the right equipment, the degree of dependence on uninterrupted Internet and electricity is high. in the latter case, the solution to the problem is to install batteries and uninterruptible power supplies, and the stability and reliability of the Internet depends on the provider.

It is impossible to make money on old, weak and cheap computers. If the computer is weak, then bitcoin mining is not able to bring tangible results. Equipment power is important. And if you decide to order it from China, then you should follow necessary rules selection to get the desired result.

Mining equipment publishes loud noise and also heats up during operation. Because of high heat coolers rotate more strongly, which causes a lot of noise. The best option is the use of an air-conditioned room.

findings

You can increase your chances of earning fast if you use rigs for 5, 6, 7 or 8 video cards. In this case, you will need several motherboards, more powerful power supplies and cooling systems, but at all costs, the payback of the equipment will be higher than in simpler options.

Mining is now constantly before your eyes, thoughts haunt you and you ask questions- “how to mine on video cards”, “what income do they bring”, “and when will they pay off”, “is it worth it”? In any case, we will consider video cards for mining 2017 in this article and determine the best!

Video cards for mining for June 2017

Most recently, I already wrote that, and therefore we will consider only cards that are relevant today, which can still be found on the shelves of online stores or in stores in your city.

Now to the question in the store " do you have video cards?"They answer you -" you for mining?". If you don’t believe me, then go to any store in your city, that’s exactly what will happen. So, what is relevant and still on the shelves?

GTX 1060 6 GB

If you're lucky, you'll find the GTX 1060, it's still in some stores, but the price tag has risen to 25000 . I want to note that at the beginning of May its price was 15000-17000 rubles. Feel the difference? An approximate estimate of the income from the card can be viewed on Nicehash, it is from there that we will take data for each card.

We will not take electricity into account, so we are counting dirty profits. As you can see, the monthly income is 6515 rubles. Its payback is 66 days.

BUT! ATTENTION! Let's go a little higher into the profitability calculator and see its approximate cost.

Price tag in 14241 do you see the ruble? Me too, and today it costs an average of 25,000 rubles. From here, you can immediately increase the payback by 2 times, or maybe 3 times, because in addition there are also electricity costs.



GTX 1070

I did not find this video card in online stores, although there are such ads on OLX, for example, we sell it for 33000 rubles.



Therefore, we look at her income:



And now the approximate cost:

Income, of course, increases and is 9729 rubles per month and when compared with the previous one, the markup is almost the same. Although the price is more expensive, the payback of the second will be faster, because it brings more than the first, and the markup is almost equal. For clarity, calculations for 4 months:

6515 * 4 = 26060 - 25000 = 1060 (received the name of the video card) 9730 * 4 = 38920 - 33000 = 5920 5920 - 1060 = 4860 9730 - 6515 = 3215

As a result, after working for 4 months, the second brings us to 4860 more rubles and will continue to bring on 3215 rubles plus monthly.

GTX 1050TI

Cheap ones followed the expensive ones. When we sorted out all the TOPs, we switched to buying cheap options, or rather medium ones. This one-year-old novelty also began to disappear from the shelves. Its income is 3912 rubles.



On the calculator, the approximate cost of the card 8000 , and in stores now whole 13500 . Their deficit also began to hurt, when they run out, I think everyone will switch to other cheaper options, because the hype continues to grow, and you need to take at least what you have, otherwise I won’t have time to hit the jackpot with everyone. And logic has been doing just that since the dawn of time.



Maps not included in the review

Cards such as the GTX 1080 and GTX 1080 TI do not see the point in considering the same as the Radeon RX480 or Radeon RX470. It has long been unrealistic to find them, and if from Nvidia a month ago, and even last week I found 1 piece in stock, then Radeon been gone for a few months now. The cost should not be announced, because it will be cosmic, and we are waiting for the announcement of new mining cards, I think the demand for them will be no less. You have already figured out the approximate income of those who are not on sale where to look, if you are interested in drooling. I prefer no risk.

Also, I did not mention cheaper options, but they also make a profit. But the demand for them is not great, because the income is small and does not attract attention. For example, I'm talking about the GTX 750 TI, whose monthly profit is 1600 rubles without an outlet.

Wait, something will happen!

In the last article, I already noted the planned new products from Nvidia specifically for the P104-100 and P106-100. According to my assumptions, the first one will give out about 10000 rubles, while the second - 7000 rubles. Is it worth waiting for them? It's up to you to decide, count only on the fact that you buy them forever, because I'm sure it will be unrealistic to sell them later (lack of video outputs, poor cooling and a limited warranty will play a role). And you will want to sell it only in one case - if it stops bringing money, and if that happens, then there is nothing more to do with it. This is the advantage ordinary cards that they can always be sold for a third of the price below gamers.

AT recent times, mining is gaining more and more popularity. This is due to the rise in the price of cryptocurrencies. Anyone can earn on this. The main thing is to have a good start-up capital and knowledge of the basics. The most important thing to know is “what is the best graphics card for mining ether”. Today we will look at the most profitable models in 2017.

Due to the rise in the rate of cryptocurrencies, many miners are probably thinking about updating their devices. Most of the old ones from AMD and NVIDIA consume too much power, or have already failed. In any case, you will be interested to know which models are the best for mining ether in 2017.

The main criterion for creating the rating was the payback of the video card. We took 5 of the most popular and powerful options at the moment, we have calculated the average payback without taking into account the cost of electricity (each model consumes approximately 120-150 W, only the Radeon Fury X consumes 275 W).

For calculations, we used actual prices from popular online stores. Due to the sharp rise in the popularity of this theme, some models may not be in stock.

5.Radeon Fury X


Price: 26,000 - 30,500 rubles.

This model has a water cooling system. This option pretty good for mining, because it has a modern energy effective memory HBM. During operation, it makes a minimum of noise, so it is convenient to create farms at home. The main disadvantage is the increased power consumption (275W).

  • Memory capacity - 4 GB (4096 bit)
  • Memory type - HBM
  • GPU frequency - 1050 Mhz
  • Memory frequency - 500 Mhz
  • TP - 28 nm.
  • Power – 2x8Pin

4.Radeon RX 480


Price: 14,300 - 17,730 rubles.

Pretty good option, but inferior in terms of payback to the 470th model. The amount and type of memory for these models are the same. The frequency of this model is slightly higher than 1120 Mhz, and, accordingly, the hashrate is higher - 25 Mh/s. In spite of best performance payback is much lower.

Main characteristics for comparison:

  • Memory type - GDDR5
  • GPU frequency - 1120 Mhz
  • Memory frequency - 2000 Mhz
  • TP - 14 nm.
  • Power - 1x6Pin

3Geforce GTX 1070


Price: 23,500 - 27,030 rubles.

Despite all its power, the high price does not allow this model to pay off faster than the RX 470 and GTX 1060. Only the 8 GB version is available for sale, while developing a hash rate of up to 28 Mh / s. However, despite such characteristics, the payback will be more than 185 days, including electricity.

Main characteristics for comparison:

  • Memory capacity - 8 GB (256 bit)
  • Memory type - GDDR5
  • GPU frequency - 1506 Mhz
  • Memory frequency - 2002 Mhz
  • TP - 16 nm.
  • Power – 1x8Pin

2.Radeon RX 470


Price: 11,500 - 13,600 rubles.

Based on a preliminary analysis, we managed to find out that this card will be in second place in terms of payback. Unlike the newer 480 model, this one has a much lower frequency. The hashrate is also lower here (24 Mh/s). However, due to the low price, this is one of the best models for mining ether (Ethereum).

Main characteristics for comparison:

  • Memory capacity - 4-8 GB (256 bit)
  • Memory type - GDDR5
  • GPU frequency - 926 Mhz
  • Memory frequency - 1650 Mhz
  • TP - 14 nm.
  • Power - 1x6Pin

1Geforce GTX 1060


Price: 12,200 - 13,700 rubles.

This model comes with the lowest amount of memory (3 or 6 GB). Because of this, the video card produces a minimum hash rate of 20 Mh/s. Despite this, the frequency in this model is 1506 Mhz. Together with high reliability, Geforce GTX 1060 is the most the best option for mining in 2017.

Main characteristics for comparison:

  • Memory capacity - 3-6 GB (192 bit)
  • Memory type - GDDR5
  • GPU frequency - 1506 Mhz
  • Memory frequency - 2002 Mhz
  • TP - 16 nm.
  • Power - 1x6Pin

Conclusion

The table below should help in choosing a video card for mining.

Model Price Ethash hashrate Payback
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 about 12 500 r. 20 Mh/s 154 days
AMD Radeon RX 470 about 12 000 r. 24 Mh/s 183 days
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 about 25 500 r. 28 Mh/s 185 days
AMD Radeon RX 480 about 15 500 r. 25 Mh/s 193 days
AMD Radeon Fury X about 27 500 r. 27 Mh/s 278 days

As you can see, the Nvidia Geforce GTX 1060 pays off the fastest, so it is better to assemble mining rigs from this model.

In 2017, this type of earnings is very popular. Almost everyone can make a profit, the main thing is to properly distribute their financial capabilities and create a truly working farm.

The meteoric rise in the value of bitcoin, ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies in recent months has created a feverish demand for graphics cards, the main component in a computer that “mines” virtual coins. FO looked at popular foreign Internet resources and chose the best, according to foreign authors, video cards, and also noted key indicators, which should be looked at by the future "miner" when choosing a mining tool.


Why even people far from the world of cryptocurrencies are interested in mining and are ready to invest their money in this business?

Despite the fact that the fashion for mining is increasingly reminiscent of mass hysteria and inflating another soap bubble, nevertheless, for the time being, the extraction of some cryptocurrencies remains an occupation.

At the same time, for example, due to the ever-complicating structure of the bitcoin blockchain, it makes no sense to mine it at home - large industrial mining pools, in particular, Chinese ones, rule the show in this market.

Why is it that video cards are mainly used in cryptocurrency mining instead of central processors?


The graphics processor (from the English Graphics Processing Unit, GPU) of the video card can be configured exclusively for the extraction of cryptocurrencies, which is why it does it faster than CPU(Central Processing Unit, CPU). Even built into the motherboard graphics systems can mine hundreds of times faster than the CPU (from the answer to the question on the resource 99bitcoins.com).

What video cards are used for cryptocurrency mining?

By by and large The main players in the video card market are two public international companies– AMD and NVidia (tickers AMD and NVDA). They accumulate the lion's share of demand for mining equipment. Not surprisingly, over the past year and a half, the shares of the first have grown from $2.87 to $12 (that is, almost 4 times), and the second - from $33 to $160 (5 times). By the way, the papers of both companies are traded on the St. Petersburg Stock Exchange in Russia.

What indicators compare video cards for mining?

Beyond purely specifications equipment (size and frequency random access memory, type of processor, etc.), miners also pay attention to the cost of electricity and the value of the so-called video card hashrate (a unit of computing power). They correlate these indicators with the current rate of cryptocurrencies in order to have an idea of ​​the payback period for investments in hardware.


For convenience, some enthusiasts have come up with online calculators for graphics cards, allowing you to analyze them in terms of the profitability of the acquisition for cryptocurrency mining. An example is the resource cryptowizzard.com.

For those who want to receive full information about the characteristics of today's video cards for mining, to help the site mininghwcomparison.com.

Which graphics cards are best for cryptocurrency mining?

Miner Keith Mei on the Internet resource wccftech.com prepared more than 10 video cards for mining etherium (Etherium) and tried to compile a kind of comparative list of them, taking into account a number of components: cost, performance, hash rate, etc. The review included the following models in basic configuration, that is, without artificial changes: NVIDIA GTX 1080 FE, NVIDIA GTX 1070 FE, NVIDIA GTX 1060 FE, EVGA GTX 1050 SSC, XFX RX 480, Sapphire RX 570, Visiontek RX 470, Sapphire RX 460 Nitro.

Ultimately, the main indicator for a video card is the profit that it can bring, taking into account all costs. At the time of writing this review (May 26), one Ether cost $169. If prices for it remained unchanged for the next 30 days, then taking into account the cost of electricity (the author took $0.12 per kWh), the tested video cards could earn the following approximate amounts:


In the second part of my review, the author decided to collect mining rigs (or sets) from cards: 1080+1070+1060, 1080+1070 and 570+470. On the one hand, it turned out that the 1080 + 1070 + 1060 set turned out to be 42.5% more profitable than the others (in terms of hashrate to energy costs), but its cost is 3 times higher than the 470 + 570 set, which is a significant factor in long-term mining, the author writes.


In conclusion, Keith May warns that with his tests he does not agitate anyone to join the ranks of virtual miners and did not set himself the goal of choosing best cards or combinations. However, his tests explain why miners are sweeping the Sapphire RX 570 and Visiontek RX 470 graphics card models off the shelves, and their prices are going up.

A more recent review of video cards for mining with an attempt to rank them was undertaken by Nathan Kirsch in his article on the site. Its results are presented in the table below.

The rapid growth of the cryptocurrency rate makes many people think about getting profit through mining. Mining digital coins is becoming more and more popular among people who have enough funds to carry out such operations. Mining is a way of accruing one or another electronic currency via computer equipment to the user's account.

Before starting work on the extraction of cryptocurrencies, it is worth answering such questions as truthfully as possible, because the whole process depends on it, in addition, mining is not a cheap pleasure and you can burn out here just like in any type of business.

  1. Will the house's electrical wiring allow it to hold powerful computer equipment running 24 hours a day?
  2. Where will the mining farm be built? Keeping a constantly ringing and hot machine in your room is a bad idea.
  3. Is it possible to assemble a computer on your own?
  4. Is there enough skill in installation operating system and additional software?
  5. Is it possible to correctly compare income and expenditure? Because mining requires a large investment of funds without insurance of their return.

If all these questions have a positive answer, then you can think about mining cryptocurrencies, but again, it’s worth starting work after a thorough study of the issue.

Types of cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrency is a cipher in the form program code. To date, such currencies include more than 200 items, not counting those that have non-working assets. Top three currencies virtual world as follows:

  • Bitcoin - the issue of this currency is declared at the level of 21 million and today it has not yet been reached.
  • Ethereum is a currency with a short history, but already consistently generating income.
  • Litecoin - this currency was invented as an analogue of silver in the world digital technologies. Unlike bitcoin, which is quoted as the equivalent of gold.


On virtual exchanges, the exchange rate of a particular currency is constantly changing, so if you want to get a stable income, then you need to carefully monitor the behavior of all currencies. In this case, it is necessary to carry out calculations and remove the “dummy” currencies. They may have a certain rate at the beginning of their journey, but eventually disappear without the possibility of restoring the miner's funds.

Types of earnings

There are several ways to earn digital currency. The main methods are:

  1. Acquisition and sale. All types of cryptocurrencies can be purchased for real money on certain exchanges or exchange sites. By purchasing coins at the beginning of the growth and watching the rate, if it rises, you can make good money on the sale.
  2. Investments. Earnings on the exchange rate. By investing your part of bitcoin in a common cause, you can earn a little more, again on exchange rate fluctuations.
  3. cloud mining. Payment for the outgoing capacities of large data centers that specialize in cryptocurrency mining. At the same time, earnings go automatically, the user is required to pay power on time. Prices similar services are quite high, but even having invested these funds, no one will give a 100% guarantee of obtaining a net income.
  4. Mining. How to mine currencies in an independent way using personal computer equipment. At the same time, mining requires modern and powerful hardware.


All types of income have both advantages and disadvantages. The choice for a novice miner is huge, and it is better to analyze everything possible ways before starting work. Also, with the investment method of earning, you can easily fall for scammers.

How to make money on mining in 2017

The organization of earnings on mining occurs in 2 ways:

  • Solo is a type of mining with the help of self-purchased equipment. In this case, all the funds obtained remain for themselves.
  • Mining in pools. This is a kind of work of several users united in a single chain. In this case, the division of income is according to the declared capacity.

Any organization of such earnings implies the presence of certain computer equipment. It includes processors, video cards and a special device called Asik.

The main advantage of asics is that it is a ready-made product for earning cryptocurrencies, they have not only a hardware component, but also a software one. Simply put, we are ready to mine currencies immediately after installation. The main disadvantage of such equipment is high price and as a consequence big time payback.


Overview of video cards for mining

Not all manufactured video cards are suitable for mining digital currencies. The main selection criterion is the lower degree of electricity consumed when round the clock work equipment, otherwise all earnings will go to the accounts of utility companies.

In addition, it makes sense to purchase up-to-date video cards. latest models. In case of refusal to work or the development of a map, such equipment can easily be sold and the investment returned.

The highest performance indicators were shown by cards released using AMD and Nvidia technology, precisely this GPUs will be dedicated this review. deliberately not included in the analysis. technical specifications and the price, because the world of electronic technologies is constantly changing and the profit from cryptocurrencies has a different income.

GeForce GTX 1050 Ti NVIDIA

The most available model, which copes with the extraction of electronic coins. On average, this map employs people who plan to mine currencies for long time. The speed of receiving bitcoins is small, but the card does an excellent job with other types of currencies. This is a kind of equipment for the business perspective than for real-time income.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060

Another low cost model. This card gained popularity long before the sharp increase in the rate of bitcoin. The power of the equipment is somewhat weaker than that of the GTX 1070 model, but due to its low price it is impossible to find it on the market, it is immediately bought up by miners to complete their own farms.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070

Thanks to the Pascal architecture, all 10-series cards deserve attention. Miners note high performance and economical energy consumption of this series, which is the most an important factor in the mining of digital coins.

GeForce GTX 1080 Ti NVIDIA

The GTX 1080 model, according to the information declared by the manufacturers, already has overclocking. This factor gives a performance of 40% more than that of analogues. But provided that the card has a prefix TI. Users often say that on this map, mining is faster, but at the same time, the cost of equipment is somewhat higher. Under the condition of working with this card, it is worth weighing the payback factors.

AMD Radeon RX580

Another rare model on the market due to miners' addiction to it. Has more low price and reasonable energy consumption, which ultimately leads to quick payback when mining cryptocurrencies.



According to the final payback, the choice of video cards can be represented as follows: 1st place GeForce GTX 1070, 2nd place GeForce GTX 1080 Ti., 3rd place - GeForce GTX 1060, 4th place GeForce GTX 1050 Ti., 5th place AMD Radeon RX580.

Detailed comparative analysis video card in video:

Under the condition of proper construction of farms, the full payback of equipment takes from six months to infinity. At the same time, the amount of 100 rubles a day is considered a fairly large income from the farm. For those who think that the income part will be higher and gold will flow like a river, this type of income as mining is not suitable.

What video card did you choose?

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