Cryptocurrency mining is not trendy anymore. Wrong! It still makes a lot of fuss in the blockchain community. As long as the first and the leading cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (BTC), will require mining rigs, cryptocurrency mining will be trending.
Building a mining rig in 2020 is much easier than it was, say, two years ago. The market has significantly expanded with new profitable coins to mine. There are multiple ways to mine crypto in 2020: GPU and CPU mining, cloud mining, ASIC mining, mobile mining, mining via laptop, and so on.
Changelly is the biggest fan of digital assets that provides instant access to over 160 cryptocurrencies. In case you like challenges or want to make mining a part of your daily routine, we are going to explain how to build a mining rig in 2020. Long live cryptocurrency mining!
Table of Contents
Mining Rigs Types
Before starting your mining career, you need to choose a cryptocurrency that will be mined. Different crypto assets require different mining rigs for the mining process to be smooth and profitable. But let’s get back to the basics. What is a mining rig?
A mining rig is a computer system powerful enough to solve difficult mathematical tasks in order to mine cryptocurrency.
A full-fledged mining rig consists of several essential components: mining hardware, mining software, mining pool. Each mineable cryptocurrency has its hashing algorithm, which is responsible for the hash generation. For example, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Monero are built with the Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus protocol in mind. However, all three coins use different hashing algorithms: Bitcoin – SHA256, Ethereum – Ethash, Monero – RandomX.
Top 10 Most Profitable Coins to Mine in 2020
Once you determine which coin you are willing to mine, it is time to choose a mining rig.
The cryptocurrency can be mined with GPU, CPU, and ASIC miners. Some crypto assets require GPU/CPU or ASIC mining only, some of them can be mined with all of the three options.
GPU Mining
GPU stands for Graphics Processing Unit or simply graphics card. You’ve probably heard such words as Nvidia and AMD. Both of them are leaders in the industry of GPUs and often appear in our mining guides. GPU mining requires much electrical power. Although the mining process needs many computational and electrical resources, in general. GPU mining is efficient but quite expensive. However, if you change your mind about cryptocurrency mining, GPU rigs will serve you as a perfect gaming kit a long time after.
Crypto assets to mine with GPU: ETH, RVN, ZEC, DOGE, ETC, etc.
Best GPU miners: AMD Radeon VII, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060, AMD Radeon RX Vega, etc.
CPU Mining
Another way to mine cryptocurrency is CPU.
CPU (Central Processing Unit) is an extremely vital attribute of any computer which is responsible for the main processes within the computer’s logic. Back to the good old days of 2010, Bitcoin (BTC) could be seamlessly mined with CPU via a regular PC. The block reward was 50 BTC, and life seemed to be easier.
As of July 2020, Bitcoin mining with CPU is much more effective than it was ten years ago but still slower than GPU and ASIC. However, a range of other digital assets can be successfully mined with CPU.
Crypto assets to mine with CPU: XMR, LTC, GRIN
Best CPU miners: AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X, AMD Ryzen 7 1800X, Intel Core i5-7600K.
ASIC Mining
ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit).
Some members of the crypto community believe that ASIC miners are less secure and go against the main principles of decentralization. Monero is a strong ASIC resistant coin that can be mined solely with GPU and CPU.
At the dawn of cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin could be mined only with CPU. The mining difficulty has been increasing year by year while Bitcoin mining with CPU has been showing a lower efficiency level. ASIC miners burst into the industry in 2013 and rapidly gained momentum.
ASICs are designed to perform one single task in an ultra-fast manner. As it is made to perform one function, you cannot use, say, Bitcoin ASIC (which focused on the SHA256 hashing algorithm) to mine Zcash (as it uses the Equihash algorithm).
Building a Mining Rig
Well, we’ve considered different types of miners. The next steps are as follows.
Step 1. DYOR
Do your own research or DYOR should be a life motto. It is extremely important to research the market in order to find the best for yourself. If we speak about cryptocurrency mining, let us provide a shortlist of what should be taken into consideration:
- Choose the coin you’d like to mine. Find out its hashing algorithm and determine the best way to mine it (CPU, GPU, ASIC);
- Do the research on the chosen mining hardware. It is essential to choose mining hardware that will consume an appropriate amount of electricity while providing efficient mining;
- To calculate the mining profitability of a particular cryptocurrency, it is recommended to use mining calculators.
Step 2. Choose the Components
Before starting to build a mining rig, there are several components that should be checked.
- Motherboard
The connector, the center, the Motherboard. A motherboard should provide support to over 5 video cards in order to enable profitable cryptocurrency mining. This component will determine which CPU to use, and so on. Choose it wisely.
- Cooling system
Mining is a tough job that makes your PC and processors overheat very quickly. It is vital to keep your mining rig cool. In this case, a high-quality cooling system is an irreplaceable component.
- Graphics Cards
If you decide to join the legion of GPU miners, be sure your graphics cards concur with your budget and other mining requirements.
- Processor
CPU mining and other non-mining processes require powerful equipment. Before acquiring a processor, research the market in order to determine the one that suits you the most. Pay attention to Intel Core i3, i4, i7, etc.
Step 3. Start to Build
The building process is quite straightforward – you need to gather all components together.
- Put a motherboard into mining’s rig frame;
- Plug the cables into the CPU;
- Setup GPUs and a cooling system.
To better understand how to collect every piece together, find the Youtube tutorials that provide a comprehensive explanation on a particular mining rig.
Summary
Building a mining rig in 2020 is not that difficult as it sounds. However, if you don’t want to spend much on multiple mining components, Changelly offers you instant access to over 160 cryptocurrencies. Buy any crypto of your choice with a credit card (Visa, Mastercard), bank transfer, or Apple Pay.
About Changelly
Changelly provides an ecosystem of products and services that enables customers to have a one-stop-shop experience when engaging with crypto. Operating since 2015, Changelly acts as an intermediary between crypto exchanges and users, offering access to 160+ cryptocurrencies that can be effortlessly swapped within 10 minutes on desktop and on-the-go via Changelly mobile app.
In 2020, Changelly has branched out to accommodate the needs of traders. PRO has been built to provide a fully compliant, regulated, and easy to use platform focused around the needs of the customer, effectively enabling retail buying and selling of digital tokens and coins. Piggy-backing the great support system found within Changelly, Changelly PRO will provide the community with high limits, effective pricing, fast execution, and 24/7 live support.