Ethereum is the second largest world cryptocurrency, going right after the Father of crypto, Bitcoin. The uniqueness of the Ethereum blockchain in terms of tokenization became a new serious step towards blockchain and crypto mass adoption. Hundreds of digital startups got the chance to issue their tokens and build entire ecosystems around them. Starting with marketplaces and ending with gaming and gambling platforms, the list of businesses that started or continued their development by using the key feature of the Ethereum blockchain keeps growing every other day. What is this feature?
The underlying technology of Ethereum blockchain lies in creating decentralized applications (dApps) based on so-called smart contracts. Simply put, developers can build their dApps in exchange for the Ethereum blockchain’s native cryptocurrency – ETH. But the cool features of Ethereum don’t stop here. The full package of the Ethereum-based application comes with a token. To date, there are thousands of tokens based on the Ethereum blockchain. They are mainly known as ERC-standard tokens.
In this article, you will find out how to mine Ethereum, overview the best Ether miners to date, and will count the approximate Ethereum revenue (those numbers are impressive!). So make yourself comfortable and enjoy the read. Before that, however, find a minute to subscribe to Changelly blog to get full access to dozens of crypto articles, and to weekly Changelly giveaways and promotions!
Table of Contents
- How to Mine Ethereum
- How to Choose Hardware
- AMD and Nvidia Cards
- Best Ethereum Mining GPU
- AMD Radeon RX 480 8GB
- AMD R9 390
- NVIDIA Geforce GTX 1080 Ti
- NVIDIA Titan V
- What ETH Miner Software to Use
- Ethereum Cloud Mining
- Is It Profitable to Mine Ethereum
- Buy ETH at Changelly with USD, EURO or GBP
- Summary
- About Changelly
How to Mine Ethereum
Before we get to the process of Ethereum mining, let’s clarify what crypto mining is about and how does one go about executing it:
- A blockchain consists of blocks which consist of verified transactions;
- Miners are people who verify transactions on the blockchain, and get cryptocurrency rewards for doing that;
- To verify transactions on the blockchain a miner needs special equipment that must meet serious technical requirements to be able to solve very complex mathematical equations;
- Not all the miners get a reward, but only those who succeed in solving the final eq of the block. Such organizing of the Ether mining process is known as the proof-of-work algorithm;
- All transaction data is available to the public. Verified transactions can be tracked via blockchain explorers.
Now that we know the definition of mining, it’s time to get into what Ethereum mining is. As we have already mentioned, the Ethereum blockchain is based on PoW or proof-of-work mechanism, or, more specifically, the underlying technology of the Ethereum blockchain is using the Ethash PoW algorithm.
Unlike Bitcoin mining that uses the widely-used SHA-256 algorithm, the process of mining ETH is based on the Ethash algorithm. While SHA-256 takes incoming data and modifies it into the 256-bit hash, the Ethash proof-of-work algorithm lies in resolving crypto puzzles with the help of graphic processing units (GPU) power. Unlike Bitcoin mining, there’s no need to use expensive asic miners for Ethereum. Ethereum miners use the processing power of their graphical processing units (GPUs) to solve the cryptographic puzzles instead of the much more expensive ASIC miners that are used for Bitcoin mining.
To solve a complex puzzle one would need powerful GPUs. There is a hash rate definition that is needed for the assessment of the puzzle complexity. The probability of getting ETH miner reward is directly related to the hash rate (the algorithm works on the principle “the bigger – the better”).
Though Ethereum miners don’t need ridiculously expensive equipment to start the mining process, the complexity of the puzzles solved is configured dynamically. This is needed to prevent inflation caused by ETH over-mining. Hence, the more miners take part in block creation, the more difficult it is to resolve the conundrums.
How to Choose Hardware
When choosing Ethereum mining hardware you should take into account several factors:
- Firstly, before buying an Ether miner, you need to compare the cost and the eventual profit. Also, don’t forget to take into account the time period you’ll need to turn a profit.
- Since the process of cryptocurrency mining requires a lot of energy, you might want to take a look at energy-efficient GPUs.
- You should also take into account that the system’s RAM (random-access memory) must be at least 4 GB.
- Worth mentioning that apart from GPU you’ll need all general computer components such as a hard disk, a motherboard, a central processing unit (CPU), a monitor, a power supply, a RAM, and last but not least – the Internet connection;
- If you’re planning to use several GPUs, you need to consider that all computer components mentioned above should be more powerful, also additional computer ventilation must be provided.
Now that we’ve outlined the Ethereum mining proceeding, it’s time to move to the most interesting part of choosing the best ethereum mining GPU.
AMD and Nvidia Cards
There are two headliners in the graphics processing units design, which are: AMD (Advanced micro devices), and Nvidia. Both brands represent the highest quality of computer hardware development. Below we’ll compare the top Ethereum mining hardware produced by these two companies. Hope that our little overview will help you to make the final decision.
While reviewing the top Ether mining GPUs, we will point out four key characteristics for each model:
- The power draw. It is critical to assess this indicator, thus having at least a crude estimate of the value and the cost of power usage.
- The hash rate. This is the key indicator, because the bigger the hash rate, the more blocks you will mine, and the more reward you can get.
- The video RAM is another critical index of your future Ether miner. Since it enables you to execute more computing, thus increasing the chance of solving the last puzzle on the block.
- The price. If you are planning to mine Ethereum to make profit, you should carefully choose the ETH miner that provides value for money.
Best Ethereum Mining GPU
AMD Radeon RX 480 8GB
This model of AMD GPU provides one of the best values for money. Radeon RX 480 is considered to be budget hardware, meaning that you won’t have to deplete your savings to buy it. Nonetheless, when mining Ether with AMD Radeon RX 480 you can count on annual profit of almost $450. At the same time, RX 480 would cost very little to upkeep – daily power cost will be around $0,43.
Ether Mining GPU Model | AMD Radeon RX 480 |
Power draw | 150 W |
Hash rate | 25 Mh/s |
VRAM | 8 GB |
Price | $229 price at launch $100-$200 used on eBay |
AMD R9 390
The AMD R9 390 model is slightly more powerful than Radeon RX 480. This causes a higher price and bigger power consumption. Anyway, R9 390 offers better hash rate and is good value for money, and can be considered as a budget version of Nvidia cards with similar characteristics.
Ether Mining GPU Model | AMD R9 390 |
Power draw | 235 W |
Hash rate | 30 Mh/s |
VRAM | 8 GB |
Price | $329 price at launch ~$150 used on eBay |
NVIDIA Geforce GTX 1080 Ti
This model shows a good technical performance and still costs an adequately. Previously used cards are available on eBay for about $500. The video RAM of 11 GB and the hash rate of 45 Mh/s prove Nvidia Geforce GTX 1080 Ti worth.
Ether Mining GPU Model | NVIDIA Geforce GTX 1080 Ti |
Power draw | 265 W |
Hash rate | 45 Mh/s |
VRAM | 11 GB |
Price | $699 price at launch ~$400-$600 used on eBay |
NVIDIA Titan V
Nvidia Titan V is an expensive card that suits professional Ether mining. Chances are, you’ll find a good offer on eBay. If so, you’ll become a happy owner of perhaps the best ETH mining hardware device. The numbers speak for themselves. Titan V consumes around 250 W of power, which is even less than the cheaper models mentioned above. With the random access memory of 12 GB and the hash rate of 70 Mh/s, Nvidia Titan is perhaps the most powerful and worthy choice for those who consider Ethereum miners hardware as a source of steady income.
Ether Mining GPU Model | NVIDIA Titan V |
Power draw | 250 W |
Hash rate | 70 Mh/s |
VRAM | 12 GB |
Price | $3000 price at launch ~$2000 used on eBay |
What ETH Miner Software to Use
To start mining Ethereum you need to install specific ethereum miners software for your GPU. But before proceeding to eth miner software installation make sure you have a safe place for storing your ETH. In other words, download a crypto wallet such as MyEtherWallet, or buy yourself a hardware wallet if planning to hodl vast amounts of crypto.
As soon as the wallet is set up, go to https://geth.ethereum.org/ to install Geth – an original implementation of the Ethereum protocol. The installation guide is available via the link. Simply put, Geth is a bridge between you, your Ether miner, and the Ethereum network. It will connect you to the Ethereum blockchain and notify about the network updates.
The last thing to do is to install the mining software itself. Our choice fell on Ethminer. It is one of the oldest and most trustworthy software mining tools. Also, the mining software updates come pretty often, which is good.
Ethereum Cloud Mining
If you don’t want to spend lots of money on eth miners, Ethereum cloud mining is a good choice to mine Ethereum without buying expensive equipment. Instead of that, you pay rent to cryptocurrency mining farms, which provide all sorts of eth miners. The list of top ethereum cloud mining services 2019 includes:
Is It Profitable to Mine Ethereum
You can use the Ethash mining calculator and find out is it profitable to mine Ethereum with your equipment.
To answer this tricky question, let’s have a look at Ethereum rewards given to miners for successful block solving.
The miner of the winning block will receive 2 ETH (the current ETH price is estimated at ~$150). Taking into account that an Ethereum block execution takes around 15 seconds, we can do some simple arithmetic:
- Execution of 4 blocks of transactions in 1 minute will bring an Ethereum miner 8 ETH;
- 60 minutes or one hour of ETH mining will make the ETH miner profit of 480 ETH;
- To fantasize and calculate a little bit more, a full day of Ether mining would worth 11520 of ETH;
- There is another source of income for Ethereum miners: getting profit from transaction confirmations on the Ethereum blockchain.
Buy ETH at Changelly with USD, EURO or GBP
Summary
If you’re still deciding whether to buy an Ether miner for the upcoming New Year, take your time and read an Ethereum price prediction article. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to Changelly blog and follow us on social media to keep up with the latest crypto news, Changelly promotions and crypto giveaways! Have a nice swap, #Changellions!
About Changelly
Changelly is a secure instant crypto exchange that has 150+ cryptocurrencies available to be swapped and bought at market-best rates. Operating since 2015, the platform and its mobile application attract over a million visitors monthly, who all enjoy quick and simple exchanges, low transparent fees, and 24/7 live support.