So, you want to be a Cryptominer! In that case, you would want to read this article thoroughly to sought out which is best for you ASIC Mining Vs GPU Mining ? As you all know, Crypto-mining or Mining is one of the ways to actually earn Cryptocurrencies, be it Bitcoin or any Altcoin, besides other methods like trading or buying Crypto coins for fiat currency.With the current mining buzz going around and so many crypto millionaires popping around, you may also have wanted to be one among them. So, Mining is a less risky way to go for it as compared to investing in cryptomarket. In this article, we will compare the two best ways of mining that is ASIC Mining or GPU Mining. What should you buy Graphic card or ASIC?
Your graphic card or ASIC Rig will be on their way to finding new blockchain blocks while you will be making money by practically doing nothing.
By mining you can add more amount to your existing coin assets and thus more profit. This also makes you unafraid of the market fluctuations as in a way you will always get more coins if you incur losses.
ASIC Mining Vs GPU Mining
If you don’t have time to read this post in detail then here’s a brief summary of this post. This table explains in short what is the main difference between ASIC Mining Vs GPU Mining.
| ASIC MINING | GPU MINING |
|---|---|
| Compact Form Factor | Whole rig takes up space |
| Gigantic Hash Power | Incompetent against ASIC |
| Relatively Cheaper Base Price | Costly due to additional components price |
| High ROI | Low per day Earning |
| Easy Setup | Complicated to Configure and Setup |
| No Extra Components Needed(Except PSU) | Cannot Function Alone |
| Poor resale value | Good Resale Value |
| Poor Warranty and Support (180 Days) | Good Warranty and Support (3 Years) |
| Usually Dedicated to one Algorithm | Coin Flexibility |
| Very Limited Availability | Easy to Buy |
| No such option | Can be Tuned for less Electrical Composition |
| Not for Home Use, Very Noisy(70dB) | Relatively Quieter Home Friendly |
| Example - Antminer L3+, Antminer S9 | Example - Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti, AMD RX Vega 64 Liquid |
| Coins - SHA-256, Bitcoin(BTC), Scrypt, Litecoin(LTC) etc. | Coins - Ethash, Ethereum(ETH), Equihash, BitcoinGold(BTG) etc. |
What is Crypto Mining in Layman Terms?
So before we start with our main article let’s first understand What is Cryptocurrency Mining?
- Unlike trading or simply buying, Mining is a different process where specialized computers are used to find blocks by solving extremely complex math problems. The work done to solve the difficult math problem is also known as Proof of Work (PoW).
- By solving the problem, the miners receive the right to add a new Block to the existing Block-chain which in turn legitimizes the transactions. This confirmation of a transaction is needed to prevent problems like double spending etc.
- For this work done, you as a miner get the particular coin as a reward or incentive for your effort and hardware used. This way you end up mining/earning the coin for yourself.
- The mining difficulty becomes harder and harder as the number of miners increase. For some coins like Bitcoin, the block reward is halved after fixed intervals. For example – The next halving of Bitcoin block reward will happen in the mid-2020. In short, Mining becomes more difficult and less rewarding with time due to more miners joining and finite amount of coins left for mining, much like mining resources in the real world.
“So basically, Miners are nodes in a large peer to peer network whose sole aim is to solve a PoW Problem so that the transaction is processed effectively. This in turn earns the miner a reward in the form of coins.”
Now that you know about mining Let’s hop on to the very motive of this article and talk about the different types of mining based on Hardware used.
Types of Crypto Mining : A Classification
In the initial years of Bitcoin’s launch, mining could be easily done via any computer component that had processing power and memory. But with time – the need, speed and technology changed, resulting in a competitive race that ousted most of the incompetent mining hardware. As of today, you can still mine using older methods but the fact is there will be non-significant profitability and hence useless effort. You will get your electricity bills hiked but no profits will be there.
There was a time when home desktops were more than enough for Bitcoin Mining. With time people switched to GPU’s for more hashrate and desktop PC’s became obsolete for mining. As of now we have specially designed hardware available for Mining known as ASIC’s. Some coins are ASIC resistant and can be mined using GPU’s only. So, let’s classify the ways you can still mine at present.
According to us, the main types of Crypto Mining Techniques based on Hardware are
-
CPU Mining
-
GPU Mining
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FPGA Mining
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ASIC Mining
There are other two types of Mining that can be done but are not classified based on hardware
-
Cloud Mining
-
Staking
So, these were the various ways we can do crypto mining at present and for each type the Algorithm of a coin decides which type of mining is apt for it.
As of this date the two most common and competitive ways of mining are the GPU Mining and ASIC Mining. These both are also the most profitable in terms of prominent coins that support them. So, in this post we will go in detail about ASIC Mining Vs GPU Mining and help you understand Which is the best for you?
Things to Remember
1. Hashrate :
A miner machine’s power is determined by it’s calculation ability also known as Hashrate.
2. Research :
Always Check the Developer Team behind the coins before mining or Trading. Not every coin is there to stay and some are just scams. Hence mine and trade only trust able coins. Also check their volume so that you know it’s popular enough. If you think coin is profitable to mine but doesn’t have a promising future then dump it immediately after mining.
3. Mining Algo :
Coin Mining Algorithms determine what ASIC can mine and what GPU’s can mine.
4. Mining Pool :
You will have to join one or other Mining Pool so that you can collectively act as a very powerful machine. The rewards can be then divided depending on the input you gave in terms of hash power. Solo Mining is only possible if you have a very large mining farm that can own around 10-20% of the total global hashrate. This will enable you to start your own pool.
5. Best Mining Hardware :
The two major factors that actually determine the best mining hardware are:
♦ ROI and ♦ Electricity Efficiency
6. Mining Profitability :
Mining Profitability can be calculated on some popular websites like :
♦ JKCrypto.com – GTX 1080Ti Mining
♦ https://whattomine.com
♦ https://www.cryptocompare.com
ASIC Mining : Everything you should know
ASIC stands for Application-Specific Integrated Circuit which is basically a machine specially built for the sole purpose of mining a certain Cryptocoin only. For example – A Bitcoin ASIC machine solves complex algorithms and receives an incentive in the form of a small fraction of bitcoin. Though there are ASIC’s that can mine more than one algorithms but mostly they are specific to one or other coins.
Some popular examples of Crypto Coins/Algorithms that can be mined using ASIC are
| ALGORITHM | COIN |
|---|---|
| SHA-256 | Bitcoin(BTC) |
| Scrypt | Litecoin(LTC) |
| X11 | Dash(DASH) |
| Qubit | DGB-Qubit(DGB) |
| Quark | Quark(QRK) |
Benefits of ASIC Mining:
1. Compact Form Factor :
ASIC miners are designed specifically for mining particular targeted coins and hence they have a smaller and compact form factor as compared to GPU Mining Rigs which takes up space. Instead of a full computer setup, they are compact devices ready to be used out of the box.
Gigantic Hash Power : Being an Application Specific Device the ASIC Mining machines have evolved very abruptly in Hash Power and are way faster than GPU’s. Out of the Box they provide around 14 TH (Tera Hash).
2. Easy To Use :
ASIC’s are already pre-built complete setups with no setup hassles. Instead ASIC is the nearest to what we can call Plug and Play. The only component you will need is a Power Supply Unit(PSU) which is an obvious thing.
3. Comparatively Cheaper :
As of today if the relative basic cost of ASIC is compared to GPU mining rigs then ASIC tends to be cheaper as GPU Mining rigs usually need a whole setup with a bunch of GPU’s to perform optimally which in turn makes them costlier. ASIC on the other hand is a single device which is not really cheap but relatively cheaper if you mange to pre-order one.
4. High ROI :
If you buy the latest ASIC available then you will get a High Return of Investment just way better than GPU’s. This is basically due to the fact that ASIC machine are mostly made for major coins that are in the market and the fact they have a significantly high hash power. The machine is simply made keeping in mind one particular coin/algorithm.
5. Bully :
If a coin can be mined using both GPU and ASIC then the ASIC will easily overpower the GPU. In-fact, ASIC destroys the GPU’s profitability completely because of the above mentioned advantages. GPU miners have to resort to ASIC resistant coins as winning in competition with an ASIC on the same ground is impractical.
Note : [ROI depends on the Antminer you choose but the major factor will always be the Market Fluctuations.]
Disadvantages of ASIC Mining
Poor Resale Value :
ASIC’s are coin specific machines and hence once they become obsolete they cannot be used for any other computational purposes. Due to this, they cannot be re-sold or re-used and end up becoming Electronic Junk.
Obsolete with New Iteration :
As the name suggests ASIC miners are specifically built for specific coins or algorithms only. In addition to this whenever an ASIC miner gets an upgrade that is a new version is released the older one becomes obsolete. This is due to the fact that the ASIC miners are dedicated machines and hence an improvement usually increases the hash power to more than 50% of the previous one. This in turn kills the profitability of the old miner.
Difficult to Buy :
ASIC machines are very difficult to get hands on due to their limited availability. The ones that are commercially available are mass produced only in China and due to the high demand and low supply, they are usually on pre-orders. ASIC takes around anywhere from 2-3 months to actually ship back to you! If you want it delivered instantly then you may have to easily pay three times the original amount. This is a big factor to consider while planning on buying ASIC Miners as it effects your ROI planning.
Very Noisy Fans(70dB) :
ASIC works at a very high hashrate and hence the power consumption and thermals also shoot the sky. Better but noisier fans are used to keep the temperature at bay. Moreover miners keep on functioning 24*7 hence the noise problem is something to be considered. In Fact, it is advisable to not set up an ASIC mining Rig at home instead try warehouses or garages etc. where the sound won’t pose a problem for you especially during the silence of the night. In short it’s not Home friendly.
Poor Warranty (180 Days) :
ASIC miners come with an Official Warranty of either 3 or 6 months depending on the model you choose. This in comparison to the 3 or 5 Year warranty of a GPU seems minuscule. Moreover if in case hardware issues occur and you need to use the warranty or change/repair parts then it means you have to make a call to China or ship it to and fro from China.
Should you invest in ASIC Mining?
⇒ Yes, if you get the miner at the actual price. For example – Currently Antminer S9 has the basic price of around $2000 but if you want it instantly you can get it from Amazon.
⇒ If you can have separate dedicated room for mining. You can’t live on the same room due to ASIC heat and noise.
⇒ If you can afford to lose it all(investment) as we already mentioned, no knows about the Bitcoin is the next Bubble or still under valued. If the Bubble pops out then you are left with zero value as it happened in 2013 due to Mt. Gox Hack. Many Bitcoin Mining farms were shutdown that time as Bitcoin Prices plundered by 80 percent.
⇒ ASIC Mining is for a person who wants to run mining like a business as professionally as possible. The reason to act in such a way is due to the fact that you will be running a risk – as there will be a time when the ASIC that you purchased will have zero value. So manage it methodically as there will be a sure shot rapid influx of mining whenever a new ASIC is released. You will have to get your ROI back as soon as possible before this point.
Some popular ASIC’s that you can purchase as of today are
Hope this detailed info about ASIC Mining helps but before you decide let’s have a look at GPU mining too!
GPU Mining : Everything you should know
GPU stands for Graphics Processing Unit and yes it’s the same thing that gaming enthusiasts crave for. Similar to the above thing, In GPU Mining also, a complex Proof of Work Problem is solved to legitimize a transaction and add a new block to the original Block chain, only this time it’s done using GPU’s. Again similar to ASIC Mining you will get a reward in the form of the current crypto currency that your GPU Rig is mining. A GPU mining Rig consists of a bunch of GPU’s working in a computer setup. More the GPU’s more the hash power!
There are many different types of GPU mining currencies. Some of the popular ones are listed in the below table along with their algorithms.
| ALGORITHM | COINS |
|---|---|
| Ethash | Ethereum(ETH) |
| Equihash | BitcoinGold(BTG) |
| CryptoNight | Monero (XMR) |
| Lyra2V2 | MonaCoin (MONA) |
| LBRY | LBRY Credits (LBC) |
Note : [Some coins are mined better by AMD GPU and some are mined more profitably by the NVIDIA GPU depending on the Algorithm.]
Benefits of GPU Mining
Flexible Coin Options :
GPU mining rigs unlike ASIC ones can mine multiple coins and are not dedicated solo miners. It’s flexible to the extent that GPU rigs can even mine several coins at once. So if in case due to market fluctuation if one coin incurs loss then you will always have several options to choose from.
Easy to Buy :
GPU’s are manufactured by mainstream companies like Nvidia and AMD and hence easily available, that too at good reasonable prices. Because you are basically making a super powerful computer hence all the parts needed to make a GPU Mining Rig is easily and widely available. There are no availability hassles.
Good Resale Value :
Once you are done with Mining, the GPU Rig can be easily sold at good prices as it will still be usable for gaming, video editing and other GPU intensive tasks. Each and every component will still have a good resale value and are easy to sell as they are still useful for many other purposes. It’s similar to selling a perfectly fine second hand computer system.
Less Electrical Consumption :
As GPU’s can mine several coins hence the hash rate required to mine different coins is different depending on Miner numbers and amount of coins mined. Hence the mining rig won’t consume full power each time as power required depends on the coin. Also GPU’s usually perform the best at around 80% Power and not at 100% throttling. So, in a way video cards can always be tuned to consume less electricity.
Multi-Purpose :
GPU’s were never specifically made for Mining instead they were always an integral part of the computer design and were used for Gaming, Video editing and other heavy processing purposes. This makes them multipurpose machines which along with mining can also be used for several other computational purposes. This makes them useful even if mining industry becomes obsolete.
Good Warranty :
If you buy a new GPU, you know that you are in good hands as the warranty you get is around 3 to 5 Years and that too from a trusted source. You don’t have to ship it into mainland China and can get the repairing done at your very city. GPU companies are generation old companies and cater to the needs of their customers as readily as possible.
Quieter Operating Environment :
One of the goals of the GPU companies is to make a more compact, silent and thermally efficient GPU because it’s a home use device. This results in low noise levels and better thermally optimized GPU Rigs that can be easily setup at home without any worries for the 24*7 operation.
Disadvantages of GPU Mining
Complicated to Configure :
For a Layman, assembling and setting up a GPU Mining Rig is fairly difficult task. You need to be a techie to be able to handle all the assembling and setting up of the rig. Of course, You can hire a techie to solve this problem but later while mining also you need to be able enough to troubleshoot major/minor problems. Hence you will need support in the start until you get trained enough for handling the rig yourself.
SetUp Hassle :
GPU’s cannot function on their own hence you will need to build a fully functional computer with a bunch of GPU’s attached to it. Components like CPU Case, Motherboard, RAM, SSD and PSU along with wiring has to be purchased separately. Only then can you start mining.
Costly Base Price :
The cost of the above mentioned components along with the GPU’s cost adds up to more than what an ASIC comes for. So GPU Mining Rig may be a long term option but one thing is for sure, It’s not cheap at all, even Pricier than ASIC Mining Rig.
Longer ROI Period :
GPU’s have comparatively low hash power and mine coins that are not exactly what we can call prominently mainstream. Due to this reason, the Return of Investment period is way longer than that of ASIC. Of course, as mentioned before this depends majorly on the market fluctuations but it’s practical to not expect the ROI for at-least six months or more. It has Low per day earning as compared to ASIC.
Incompetent to ASIC :
Compared to ASIC, GPU’s are far inferior in the field of mining hence it’s advisable to mine only the ASIC Resistant Coins using a GPU Mining Rig. It would be sheer foolishness to mine a coin that has an ASIC machine available for it using GPU. Profitability will be less hence never compete against ASIC instead choose those coins that cannot be mined using ASIC.
Takes up space :
A GPU itself alone is as compact as an Antminer but unlike Antminer it cannot function itself. You will need a bunch of GPU’s and other computer components to setup the rig. This takes up way more space than what a Antminer would. So it’s not portable or easy going regarding usage of space.
Should you invest in GPU Mining?
⇒ Yes, if you don’t want to get stuck with one single coin.
⇒ If you don’t have a dedicated room for mining as they are less noisy and produce less heat compared to ASIC’s.
⇒ If you don’t want warranty hassles. There are a lot of companies that manufacture the GPU and each of them is reputable and trusted. The multi million dollar business had been thriving since even the advent of Bitcoin itself.
⇒ GPU Mining is for a person who does not want a high risk factor. Of Course, he has to invest more than ASIC Mining but as explained above it is a much safer method. You can always be patient on the ROI as eventually it will come for sure. GPU Mining is for the common man who wants to make some extra bucks without taking a greater risk.
Some examples of the Best GPU Mining Cards from AMD and Nvidia are
Want to know Which is Best GPU For Mining Equihash Algo ? Read Here
Conclusion : Best Way to Go?
So these were the main differences between ASIC Mining and GPU Mining. Choice will always be yours which one to go for. You can choose keeping in mind which one is favorable for you according to circumstance like Electricity Cost. If you are looking for suggestions then here’s a piece of advice.
Don’t Keep all your eggs in one Basket. Start with GPU Mining and eventually when the ROI is done go for ASIC Mining.
Also if you still have any questions regarding ASIC Mining Vs. GPU Mining then do hit us a comment in the comment box down below and we will come up with a reply. For more Posts on Crypto Coin Mining and other Crypto Currency Updates, Don’t forget to Subscribe for Notifications from JKCrypto.com.
Thanks for Reading! Happy Mining to All…..!!!
I write about Crypto mining, trading, referral programs. I have been in the cryptocurrency industry for the last 4 years.
