The Ultimate Guide to GPU Mining in 2023

Given the buzz around blockchain, you’ve probably heard of cryptocurrencies and the ability of everyday GPUs to mine them. GPU mining has been the source of much discussion in the media and has come under repeated fire, especially from gaming media, given the inflation in GPU prices.

While much of that particular furor has died down along with the demand for GPUs from Ethereum miners, GPU mining is still going strong. Ethereum isn’t the crypto of choice for miners now, but there are lots of alternatives out there if you’re thinking about putting your GPU to work.

So, what coins can you mine, and what is the magic of GPU mining? Read on to find out!

What is Cryptocurrency Mining?

Before jumping into the specifics of GPU mining, we need to start with what crypto mining is.

Crypto mining starts with blockchains, also known as distributed ledgers. This is because they’re essentially a network of multiple independent computers and serve as an immutable record of transactions.

You can imagine a blockchain as a list of transactions made on the network. If you send some coins to someone else, that transaction is grouped with many others like it and forged into a block.

The block also contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block’s contents. This makes blockchains immutable since going back and changing a transaction would make the block hash change and break the chain.

Blockchains that GPUs and other devices can mine use a consensus mechanism called “proof of work.” This system brings all network nodes into agreement about the validity of the transactions that took place on the network and are forged into a block.

This works because all of the blockchain’s miners devote their computing power to solving a cryptographic puzzle. Their devices are trying solutions one after the other, and, as you can imagine, a miner with more computing power (more and better GPUs) has a greater chance of winning.

The one who wins produces the block, and the others check their work, validating the block. If all’s well and good, the miner who produced the block is also paid out the block reward. This is the incentive for mining and how you’ll earn crypto with your GPU.

Mining is crucial for a blockchain since it establishes consensus and ensures nobody’s cheating. The more independent miners there are, the healthier the network.

What is GPU Mining?

If you know a little about computer hardware, you’ll know that GPUs, even those in average desktop computers, are excellent at processing mathematical problems. That’s what graphics processing is all about and was designed specifically for.

This, incidentally, also makes them good at computations such as those required in cryptocurrency mining. Granted, there are other devices better suited to the task, called ASICs, but GPUs are the best of the bunch if you take consumer-grade hardware.

The original cryptocurrency was Bitcoin. It was designed to be a peer-to-peer network run on the computers of its users. For a time, it actually was.

Bitcoin was originally mined on the CPUs of everyday PCs until someone had the epiphany that GPUs are much better at mining than poor old CPUs. The GPU mining era for Bitcoin was also temporary, though, because the price of Bitcoin got high enough that its difficulty began to warrant dedicated hardware. Hence, the ASIC.

Nevertheless, many crypto projects and blockchains stuck to Bitcoin’s vision of being mined by users at home. For this reason, you’ll find a lot of proof of work algorithms that are “ASIC resistant.” Ethereum was ASIC resistant as well, and the GPU mining boom in 2020 and 2021 was largely due to ETH’s profitability.

Ethereum is no longer an option for your GPU since it shifted to proof of stake, but many of the mineable coins remain.

How does GPU Mining Work?

As mentioned, crypto mining is simply the use of computers to solve mathematical puzzles via an encrypted algorithm. GPU mining is the use of your computer’s graphical processing unit to do so, thanks to the hardware’s particular effectiveness at mathematical tasks.

Generally, the mathematical functions at the heart of these proof-of-work blockchains are SHA-256 hash functions. When mining, your GPU takes the SHA-256 encrypted input and converts it into a 256-bit number as output.

Within these encrypted inputs are the details of all the transactions on the network. They also contain the various algorithms required for security. Solving these requires processing power, which is measured in hashes per second. A blockchain’s hash rate defines the speed at which miners find hashes.

GPU Mining Algorithms

The reason that some blockchains can be mined by ASICs and some can’t is that they use different mining algorithms. That doesn’t mean all GPU mineable blockchains use the same sort of mining algorithm, however. Here are some of the common ones:

• SHA-256. Used in Bitcoin, SHA-256 uses a 512-bit message block and a 256-bit intermediate hash value. It’s generally known for having a longer block time and is used by Bitcoin Cash.
• Scrypt. Easier to solve than SHA-256, Scrypt was first implemented in Tenebrix and Fairbrix. If you know your crypto, you might remember that these projects served as precursors to Litecoin, which, alongside Dogecoin, uses Scrypt.
• Ethash. This is one of the best-known proof-of-work consensus algorithms since it was designed by Vitalik Buterin and his team to mine Ethereum in an ASIC-resistant manner. Ethereum is now proof of stake, but Ethereum Classic still uses Ethash.
• X11. One of the most efficient mining algorithms out there, X11, is used in the Dash blockchain, among others.

Top 5 Coins to Mine with GPUs

Now that you know what GPU mining is, how it works, and what some of the best-known PoW mining algorithms are, let’s look at some of the most popular coins that can be mined with GPUs.

#1. Bitcoin Gold

One of the first hard forks of Bitcoin, Bitcoin Gold (BTG), shares BTC’s hard supply cap but uses an ASIC-resistant consensus algorithm called Equihash BTG. The algorithm is alternatively known as Equihash (144,5) or Zhash.

BTG’s mining algorithm uses more memory than an ASIC can muster but works great on many common GPUs. If you want to try it, check out the official tutorial on how to get started.

#2. Ravencoin

Ravencoin caters to crypto users who believe in the original vision and ethos of blockchain, including that it should be upheld by individual users and not ASIC-wielding organizations.

More specifically, the ethos states that crypto mining shouldn’t be cost-prohibitive for the price to act as a barrier to entry. It’s a fair-launch cryptocurrency with no premine, and if the name sounds a little familiar, it was very much intended to be a reference to Game of Thrones.

#3. Ergo

Ergo is a smart contract capable proof-of-work blockchain that was also “fair launched,” with almost the entire coin supply in the hands of the public. It’s part of the greater Cardano ecosystem, so it’s research-led and grants ordinary users the same security benefits as miners via Non-Interactive Proofs of Proof-of-Work (NiPoPoW).

It uses an ASIC-resistant proof of work algorithm called Autolykos, and you can get a primer on mining Ergo in the project’s official platform documentation.

#4. Litecoin

Litecoin is a very old cryptocurrency in the grand scheme of things and is often compared to digital silver in the same breath as Bitcoin’s digital gold. It’s an attractive coin to mine, but the main problem is that you, as a GPU miner, will have to compete against ASIC miners.

#5. Grin

A lightweight, Mimblewimble-based blockchain, Grin has no addresses, amounts, or storage of spent output data. You’ll need GPUs with a minimum of 6 GB of VRAM to mine Grin. Check out the project’s documentation for more information.

Is GPU Mining Profitable?

The main cost that you will incur when you set up a GPU mining rig or simply download some mining software onto your PC is electricity. This vital utility is expensive in many countries, so your location may dictate whether GPU mining is profitable.

Your goals when getting into mining are important. Do you want to make a regular income with mining and sell the crypto that you make for fiat immediately? Or are you planning to mine to accumulate some crypto and hold it long-term?

These goals, along with the power consumption of your rig, should allow you to develop a plan. If you simply want to accumulate some crypto with your idle GPU as you work, you probably don’t mind too much if your electricity bill goes up a bit, for instance, and you may not mind too much if it isn’t profitable in the short term.

The other main decision you need to make is whether you want to play the solo mining lottery or earn regular payouts with mining pools.

Mining Pools

Mining pools collect the hash power of all the miners in the pool and give them shares that represent their relative contribution to the pool. When a block is found, the miners can then receive payouts based on how many shares they have.

Revenue generated from mining pools is, therefore, more regular. You can make a predictable amount through mining daily and, assuming the pool’s policies are reasonable, get paid out very frequently.

However, mining pools do centralize the hash power on a blockchain. Even Bitcoin is dominated by a small number of huge mining pools. This is great for the miners, as they get regular payouts, but it’s not ideal for the network itself, and mining pool collusion is arguably the greatest threat to Bitcoin out there.

It’s likely that you’ll also have to download a mining pool’s third-party software if you want to join up. This is not to be done lightly, so make sure to cover all of your bases before jumping in.

Solo Mining

This was the original intention for the proof of work blockchain operation, so it’s good. As a solo miner, you’re adding an independent node to the network and helping it decentralize further. If you care very strongly about the health and safety of the blockchain, then this is the way to go.

Unfortunately, profitability is where solo mining falls flat. As the difficulty of most blockchains rises higher and higher, mining pools tend to dominate the scene. From a probabilistic perspective, comparing your hash power to the total hash power of the network gives you an idea of how likely you are to win a block.

If and when you do win a block, it’s great. It’s all of the jackpots, with no fees and no intermediaries. The problem is that you might have to wait a while before it happens.

How to Start GPU Mining

Now that you’ve got a detailed understanding of how GPU mining works and its pros and cons, here’s a step-by-step guide on how to get started.

#1. Pick a Cryptocurrency to Mine

Even though Ethereum is no longer an option, GPU mining is still a thing and a great way to accumulate crypto or earn an income, as long as energy isn’t too expensive. It’s a good idea to pick out what you want to mine first. Some blockchains need slightly different GPUs to mine, such as ones with more VRAM, so it’s good to make this decision first.

#2. Buy GPUs and Set Up Your Rig

You can skip this step if you decide to mine cryptocurrencies based on the hardware you already have. Note that GPU prices aren’t what they were a couple of years ago, so investing in a few more may not be that much of a barrier.

Choosing a GPU to mine with isn’t too hard, either. Some manufacturers have made a token effort to deter people from mining with card series like Nvidia’s LHR (Lite Hash Rate). Still, given the record profits that GPU mining contributed to their coffers, it’s easy to surmise that these restrictions only go so far.

One GPU seller even went so far as to take advantage of the mining boom by scalping its own products. Luckily, this sort of scalping is less prevalent now that the GPU market has somewhat normalized following Ethereum’s shift to proof of stake.

One of the main advantages of GPU mining is that a single computer can run a lot of GPUs. It’s not hard to build an efficient rig, but remember to think about sufficient power and cooling. Also, it may be worth reading up on how to best configure your GPUs for crypto mining—downclocking and undervolting tend to be common practices.

#3. Decide whether to Solo Mine or Join a Pool

Check out the mining pool stats on offer, what sort of hash power they have, and how they work. Ensure that the pool is transparent and that the payout schemes are in order.

If you’re connecting with a comparatively low-end amount of hash power or just your single GPU home PC, check the minimum payment threshold—you should be able to find a pool that’ll pay you every few days at the very least, even if you’re not mining 24/7.

There are pools such as Monero’s P2Pool that are decentralized and eliminate a lot of the risks that mining pools bring, so keep an eye out for these if you decide that you don’t want to play the lottery of solo mining.

#4. Get Mining

If you don’t have a crypto wallet at this point, remember to get one! You’ll have to configure the mining software that you download with your wallet address to receive any payouts.

Key Takeaways

Cryptocurrencies and their blockchains are secured and propagated by their nodes, and blockchains that use proof of work consensus see these nodes referred to as miners. Miners devote computing power to solving complex mathematical puzzles—a task GPUs are extremely well suited to.

Miners who solve the puzzle and win the right to produce a block are paid a block reward. This is what incentivizes mining, although it’s not terribly common to win one of these block rewards as a solo miner. For regular payouts, you may therefore choose to mine with a mining pool.

GPU mining can be done at whatever scale you choose. You could have row after row of GPUs hard at work or simply fire up your mining software on your home PC when your GPU is idling. Either way, it’s a fantastic way to accumulate cryptocurrency and help secure the blockchain.

GPU Mining FAQs

• Can I mine crypto with my current GPU?

  It depends on the coin you want to mine, but generally, yes! ASIC-resistant blockchains are meant to be mined by as many ordinary people as possible. Make sure your GPU has enough VRAM since some algorithms stress this particular component of the GPU.

• How do I get started with GPU mining?

  Pick a blockchain to mine, check that you have the hardware, then download and run mining software! Simple as that, but make sure you have a wallet for that coin as well, and research how best to configure your GPU for performance and longevity.

• Is GPU mining profitable?

  It depends on how much energy it costs where you are located. If, by some stroke of luck, you have free or very cheap energy, there’s no reason it can’t be a profitable enterprise.

• Which coin should I mine?

  If you’re mining to accumulate, it’s worth picking a coin that you really believe in. Ergo tends to be a very popular coin in this regard, and it has an optimistic following. If you just want to make a side income, look around for some mining calculators and be open to switching coins as difficulty fluctuates.

• What hardware do I need?

  Aside from the GPUs themselves, you’ll need basic PC components such as a CPU, RAM, hard drives, and peripherals. The main additional things required if you have multiple GPUs include a sufficient power supply via multiple high-efficiency PSUs, risers to hook all the GPUs up, a specialized mining motherboard with more GPU slots, and lots of cooling.