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The hype cycles around cryptocurrencies are comparable in their ups and downs to the British climate. This is mainly due to high volatility, which can reduce a potential investor’s entire stock to almost zero.
Those who believe in the growth and prospects of cryptocurrencies are constantly looking for various ways to make a quick profit. There are various platforms, such as cryptocurrency exchanges, where you can make money on digital currencies without investing in equipment. This method is suitable for those who follow exchange rates and are good at predicting market volatility.
Others rely on mining, as interest in cryptocurrencies has returned to growth due to the positive price trend since early 2020. And mining with graphics cards is the easiest way to mine this digital treasure.
But it is necessary to take into account the various nuances of mining. That is, it is not enough to install the program on a PC for mining and immediately start receiving Bitcoin (BTC) or other cryptocurrencies. Not even the best graphics card on the market can guarantee a definite profit right away.
It is becoming more and more difficult to mine cryptocurrencies day by day and using just one graphics card is not enough. It has become necessary to use multiple cards – at least four to six – which will complement each other. Therefore, investing in video cards for cryptocurrency mining is a very expensive business.
Before buying any graphics card, everyone should pay attention to the main criteria:
The memory. The main principle here is the bigger the better. This is an important criterion for the extraction of Ether (ETH). For most cryptocurrencies, it is preferable to use video cards with at least 4GB of memory.
Speed. The best option would be to use standard DDR5 cards. They have a good balance between power consumption and power.
Cooling down. An important element in the mining process is the protection of the graphics card from overheating. After all, mining places a heavy load on paper and, therefore, is subject to wear and tear.
Overclocking capability. Cards that can be overclocked run 20-30% faster, which, of course, contributes to better efficiency.
Bus width. A card’s memory bus width is a channel that connects a card’s memory and graphics processor. The amount of data processed by the card per unit of time depends on the width of the memory bus. This is one of the key parameters that affects card performance. The best option would be to use a 256-bit configuration.
Complexity of operation. Many graphics cards require detailed BIOS settings. Others need to be grouped together in large numbers. Most of the crypto community believed it was best to combine four to six cards in one rig to form a single unit.
Potential. The main ability of a particular graphics card model is to remain relevant in the process of mining the most promising algorithms for as long as possible.
Price / amortization ratio. It is in everyone’s interest to recover equipment costs as soon as possible and then start earning with mining. Therefore, this is perhaps the most important criterion to keep in mind.
New video cards are being released constantly, so it’s essential to be aware of new releases. However, not all new video cards are capable of high-quality mining. Below are arguably the best graphics cards for cryptocurrency mining in 2020 from two major chip developers: Nvidia and AMD.
Nvidia cards
The graphics cards of the American company Nvidia are among the best for mining. They have a good balance between performance and price. Meanwhile, their architecture is at the highest level. Here are Nvidia’s most popular cards:
GTX 1050 Ti
This graphics card is the weakest on this list, however, it is in demand due to its low price – only $ 140– $ 170. These cards come with 4GB of RAM. Recommended overclocking levels are 150 MHz for the core and 500 MHz for the memory.
Despite its low cost, this model may not be suitable for everyone. The most profitable cryptocurrencies for this card are not well known. The card is also poorly suited for Ether. Also, in cases where users need to put multiple rigs together, the GTX 1050 Ti is quite suitable for its affordability.
GeForce GTX 1060
This card is rightfully considered one of the best. Memory ranges from 3GB to 6GB and prices start at $ 299.
However, the 3GB version of the card is not suitable for mining – the 6GB card looks a little prettier. The overclock settings are 150 MHz for the core and 500 MHz for the memory. Low memory capacity affects performance: the GTX 1060 produces a hash of only 20 MH / s.
GeForce GTX 1070 and 1070 Ti
Although this graphics card is superior to the GTX 1060 in terms of parameters, it cannot boast more successes in mining. The card comes with only 8GB of memory and has the highest output of all the cards mentioned above at 28MH / s. However, the $ 300 per card price, perhaps, makes it too expensive.
GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
This is one of the most powerful graphics cards at the moment. It’s no surprise because mining refunds also happen almost twice as fast as 1070 series video cards. Many would recommend buying such a card, but don’t forget that it costs $ 800. For a mining graphics card at this price, GeForce GTX 1080 Ti has a lot of power. It offers a hash rate of 32.2 MH / s, is subject to numerous changes and has the correct settings. However, GTX 1080 Ti requires 250W of electricity, making it one of the most demanding Nvidia cards.
RTX 2080 Ti
The flagship Nvidia card. According to the creators of this graphics card, it is six times ahead of its predecessors and has 11 GB of memory. But the payback period for the RTX 2080, during direct mining, depends on its price and the volatility of the cryptocurrency market.
The card works best for mining ZHash, Ethash and Equihash. Despite the improved features and a very high price tag of over $ 1,200, it has many advantages.
AMD cards
AMD graphics cards are also in high demand due to their similar performance but more affordable prices. Therefore, every time a new card is released, it runs out quickly.
AMD cards tend to have relatively short payback periods compared to other cards on the market and are capable of mining Ether.
Radeon RX 570 and Radeon RX 580
If users want to build a rig that is relatively good in terms of power, they should pay attention to the Radeon RX 570 graphics card. The Radeon RX 570 is one of the best for mining Ether. Using the latest Claymore dual miner software, it can overclock up to 30MH / s with the factory BIOS. This card only costs $ 120.
The Radeon RX 580, in terms of mining, is not much different from the RX 570 model. However, it is more popular with gamers, which increases the chances of selling it after an upgrade. It has pretty good overclocking potential and high-speed GDDR5 memory. Pricing for this card starts at $ 170, giving users good value for money.
RX Vega 56
For a long time, the Radeon Vega has been AMD’s flagship card. The card works at the highest level and is the most profitable by mining the Cryptonight algorithm. It has 8GB of video memory and prices start at $ 280. Overclock settings are 100 MHz for the core and 600 MHz for the memory.
RX Vega 64
Like the RX Vega 56, the RX Vega 64 gets the best profits by mining the Cryptonight algorithm. This algorithm is based, for example, on Monero (XMR), which is one of the best cryptocurrencies by capitalization. Ether comes in second, which makes this graphics card a good choice.
For mining, the Core Voltage parameter increases and the card overclocks gradually to 30 MHz. The important point is not to overclock the video card too much because it is very sensitive to overheating.
Unlike other AMD graphics cards running on the Polaris architecture, whose hash rate gradually decreases, the RX Vega 64 is pretty stable when mining. The card has 8GB of memory and costs around $ 380.
RX Radeon VII
As for Radeon VII, it’s pretty hard to find in stores. And the recovery period is quite long. The Radeon VII graphics card showed good results when mining, but users are unlikely to line up. For $ 750, users can purchase 5 Radeon RX 570 graphics cards, which will be more profitable.
So which card to choose?
It is quite difficult to objectively answer the question of which graphics card to choose for mining. The world of crypto mining is huge and has thousands of algorithms and is in a state of constant flux. Although new video card models appear all the time, there are special drivers for specific types of cards and the mining clients have been improved and modernized.
Prices of major cryptocurrencies also remain volatile, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. Due to the presence of such a large number of factors, it is simply impossible to select the best video card for every occasion. Therefore, buyers should choose a card set that suits their needs when drawing.
