How to mine Bitcoin on PC: a detailed guide, options
Bitcoin mining remains highly popular. Therefore, many people wonder how to mine Bitcoin on a PC. This possibility does exist and any device can be turned into a mining center. There are several ways to mine Bitcoin on your PC. TU analysts prepared a detailed guide for you. We will share with you the key methods of cryptocurrency mining using your personal computer and about how it works.
Start trading crypto right now with Paxful!What is mining?
In order to understand how to mine Bitcoin on your computer, first you need to understand what mining is. Mining is a process of producing cryptocurrency that involves the solution of certain tasks on a blockchain.
Blockchain is a decentralized, digitally distributed data ledger, where the entire information is stored as blocks, which follow each other in a chain. As there is no single control center, the operation of the system is ensured by miners. Miners are people that provide computing capacities of their devices for solving the tasks in the network.
The key tasks are as follows:
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Generation of blocks in a blockchain.
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Adding blocks to the chain.
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Verifying transactions.
However, every miner incurs costs and they are rather significant. In order to motivate the people, the system rewards them with cryptocurrency. This is how miners earn their money. As of 2022, the reward for each mined block in the Bitcoin network is 6.25 BTC. In the 2024 halving, the reward will drop from 6.25 BTC per block to 3.125 BTC. However, halving traditionally leads to an increase of the value of cryptocurrency at the exchanges. Therefore, mining might still remain profitable.
How to mine Bitcoin on your home PC: is it possible?
There are two main types of devices that allow you to mine cryptocurrencies. They include:
ASIC miners;
Mining farms.
Application-Specific Integration Circuit device or ASIC miner is a professional hardware for mining designed only for mining cryptocurrencies. A mining farm is the device made by the use of your home PC. It is a more powerful PC. A farm can provide capacities through:
Processors (CPU).
Graphic Processors (GPU).
The second option is more common, which is why we will focus on mining with graphic processors or graphics cards as they are often called. Graphics cards produce a hashrate. A hashrate is the measurement unit of the computing capacity. They are measured in hashes per second (H/S). Both hashrates of a specific device and the general indicator are measured. The latter is measured per day. On the chart below, you can see that after July 3, 2022, the daily hashrate is rising. As of May 1, 2022, hashrate was 221.883 TH/s (terahashes per second).
Daily hashrate chart
How to mine Bitcoin on your personal computer: key components
A mining farm is a high-powered computer; therefore, if you are planning to mine cryptocurrency on your own PC, you need to upgrade it.
A mining farm includes the following components:
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Box. As a mining farm is much bigger in volume than a regular PC, you will need a bigger box, or a frame.
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Motherboards. Their number also needs to be increased in correspondence with the number of graphics cards you plan to use.
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Graphics (video) cards. You will need a lot of graphics cards and they must be very powerful in order to ensure the hashrate. You need at least 6-8 graphics cards, but the more the better.
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Memory. On mining farms, you need to increase both computer memory and RAM. Therefore, you will need additional RAM modules, as well as an SSD drive that will provide enough memory. The recommended memory volume is 120 Gb, RAM -–8 Gb.
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Power unit. Mining requires power units of increased capacity, since the equipment requires an increased power supply. The recommended capacity of such a power unit is 1200-1400 watts.
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Cooling system. Cooling graphics cards is a critical task, because they generate a large amount of heat. For cooling, standard coolers can be used in quantities from 2 or more, to liquid cooling systems.
Therefore, a computer requires a considerable and costly update for cryptocurrency mining. You will need to consider all pros and cons before starting to mine.
How to choose a GPU for mining?
Assembling mining farms with graphics cards (GPU) is the most common option. These chips generate a high hashrate and ensure effective operation. However, not only graphics cards are suitable for solving such tasks.
The best options for mining are:
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GeForce RTX 3080. This is a graphics card with 8 Gb VRAM, which uses high-end technologies. It is built on the 8 nm process and has a memory speed of up to 14000 Hz. This is a quiet and compact graphics card that provides a high hashrate.
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Radeon RX 580 4Gb. This is a cheaper option for mining cryptocurrencies. With a rather big memory, it boasts low energy consumption. The graphics card is built on the 14 nm process and has a memory speed up to 7800 Hz.
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GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB. This is a rather productive graphics card with a memory speed of 7008 Hz and GDDR5 memory standard. The important advantage of this card is effective cooling, because even the standard cooler of this card can protect against overheating.
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Radeon RX 5700 XT. This is a powerful graphics processor assembled from quality components. The card is built on the 7 nm process and has a memory of 8 Gb. This type of card has the GDDR6 memory standard.
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Radeon VII. This is a high quality graphics card with a memory of 4 Gb. The chip is built on the 7 nm process. It has a comparatively low energy consumption at high efficiency.
We selected five graphics cards that can be considered for mining. There are also other options, and it is advisable to study each of them closely before making a decision.
How to mine Bitcoin on your home PC: choosing software
In addition to hardware, it is also important to choose good software for mining. A mining farm operates using special software that is connected to the blockchain. This software allows you to direct computing capacities directly to mining and maintaining the operation of the blockchain. There are dozens of programs that allow users to mine cryptocurrencies. We selected the top 5 software designed specifically for mining BTC.
| Name | Supported devices | Mining algorithm | Which cryptocurrencies can be mined |
|---|---|---|---|
Easy Miner |
AMD, nVidia, CPU |
SHA256, Scrypt, Blake2b, Lyra2RE |
Bitcoin, Litecoin, Siacoin, DeepCloud AI, Quark, Vertcoin |
Nicehash Miner |
nVidia, AMD, CPU |
Upon the decision of the service |
Bitcoin, ETH, LTC, XRP, BCH, ZEC |
Minergate |
nVidia, AMD, CPU, ASIC |
Depends on the miner |
Bitcoin, Zcash, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Bytecoin, Monero, DigitalNote, Bitcoin Gold, Monero-Classic |
MultiMiner |
nVidia, AMD, CPU, ASIC, FPGA |
Aergo, anime, c11, dedal, exosis, kawpow, timetravel, tribus, wildkeccak and others |
Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Maxcoin and others |
Miner OS |
AMD, nVidia, CPU |
Depends on the miner |
Any, including Bitcoin |
Is it worth mining Bitcoin on my home PC?
Mining farms generally remain profitable, although they are quickly losing their popularity. Their capacity still allows you to earn a profit, if you mine in a pool. A mining pool is a group of miners, where their capacities are added to each other and directed at the common goals. After a block is mined, the reward is divided among all participants of the pool, proportional to the capacities each miner provided.
It is rather difficult to ensure enough capacity using a mining farm. The people indeed can earn a profit, but it won’t be very high. If you are still planning to mine cryptocurrency, it is better to choose an ASIC miner. It is a special device for mining, which is more powerful than a standard farm. However, an ASIC miner also costs a lot.
The key aspect for the calculation of the benefit from mining is the electricity. Cryptocurrency mining requires a lot of electricity, making electricity the key line of the expenses. If electricity does not cost a lot in your region, mining will be more profitable for you. This is the reason why many people, who want to mine cryptocurrencies, seek regions with cheap electricity and move there. Before you start mining, you need to develop a detailed business plan, which will include the cost of the equipment, electricity, investment return period, etc. Based on such a plan, you can make a conclusion whether it is worth it to get into mining or not. You can also use a special calculator in order to calculate the benefit of mining.
How to invest in cryptocurrency: are there alternatives to mining?
In order to invest in cryptocurrency, you don’t necessarily have to choose mining. You can simply buy digital assets, which is done at cryptocurrency exchanges – they are special trading platforms that offer cryptocurrency trading. It is not difficult to buy Bitcoin; you just need to follow the instructions on a specific exchange.
Cryptocurrency deposits are another way to invest in BTC. They follow the principles of bank deposits, but cryptocurrency is used instead. Some cryptocurrency exchanges offer this investment option. The rates, the terms and conditions vary, depending on the cryptocurrency exchange you choose for investing.
The best cryptocurrency exchange to invest in cryptocurrency
Binance is the best cryptocurrency exchange for investing in cryptocurrency. It is the largest trading platform in the world. Binance will be very useful for miners. Using this exchange, you can quickly and easily sell cryptocurrency you’ve mined. Even if you are not a miner, you can invest in Bitcoin through this cryptocurrency exchange. In addition to BTC, Binance offers access to more than 300 types of digital assets and over 1,300 markets.
Passive investing is another feature of Binance. The cryptocurrency exchange offers cryptocurrency deposits. For Bitcoin, the annual interest rate is 5%. Bitcoin miners can join the Binance pool, one of the world’s largest Bitcoin mining pools.
How to mine Bitcoin on a PC: summary
Bitcoin mining on your home computer is possible, but it requires substantial upgrading of your device. In order to turn your PC into a mining farm, you need to equip it with graphics cards, motherboards and also ensure the operation of auxiliary systems – power supply, cooling, memory, etc. This is a costly investment that can return at a profit. However, in order for mining with a home PC to be profitable, it is recommended to devise a business plan with the calculations of the investment amount, sources of financing, investment return period, etc.
You need to take into consideration that the investment return period of mining farms starts from six months. Depending on the conditions, it may be more than one year. Therefore, if you are not prepared to wait, you can choose alternative ways of investing, for example buy Bitcoin at an exchange and hold it until its price goes up. Or you can use a cryptocurrency deposit and earn a profit in the form of the interest rate.
FAQs
Is it difficult to buy the necessary components for mining?
Miners often experience problems, for example with buying graphics cards because of the high demand for the chips. Therefore, they have to look for the required devices at marketplaces of different countries, which requires a lot of time.
What kind of a computer can be turned into a farm?
Any personal computer. You will just have to buy many new parts to make your PC much more powerful.
Should I join a pool or is it better to mine on your own?
It is better to join a pool. In that case, your capacities will be more effective. Solo mining in the present situation is a very complicated thing, while the pools guarantee a certain profit.
How much can I earn from mining?
Your profit from mining depends on several important factors, such as the capacity of your farm, cost of electricity, cost of the components for the maintenance, etc.
