Mining on the processor VS graphic card mining

What can you read in this article:

• How can you mine?
• Comparison of mining on CPU and mining on GPU
• Speed
• Energy efficiency
• Maintenance level
• Difficulty
• What kind of process is better for you?

How can you mine?

Cryptocurrency mining is the process of creating digital currencies. But you shouldn’t compare it with the emission of money, because mining has certain functions and tasks for the performer. The fact is that most cryptocurrencies work on the principle of decentralization.

But not everything is as simple as it looks at first glance. Most cryptocurrencies operate on blockchain technology, i.e. each transaction contains information about all previous transactions in the network since the creation of the digital currency. Therefore, the complexity of processing transactions with cryptocurrency is constantly growing, in addition, only one miner who first processed the operation receives a reward. Thus, mining is not speculation and a game, but serious work that requires certain knowledge; an investment that can bring both profit and loss.

CPU mining

This kind of mining was very popular with all the cryptocurrency hype. Now it is almost forgotten and few people use it due to its low profitability.

GPU mining

This type of mining is probably considered the most popular due to the large number of home users who equip such farms in their homes. The fact is that these video adapters can be used not only for mining coins, but also for playing various video games, for example.

ASIC mining

This is a special piece of equipment created exclusively for mining and providing all the necessary elements and variables.

Comparison of mining on CPU and mining on GPU

Speed

The type of mining on the processor is considered only for cryptocurrencies – newcomers to the market who do not have a large history of operations, and, accordingly, with a high transaction processing speed. And also for some cryptocurrencies, the processing algorithm of which is more suited to mining on a processor, for example, Monero, Dash, Litecoin, etc. At the same time, according to experts, one powerful processor is unlikely to bring more than $ 30-50 per month for mining.

The point is that the processor core can only process four or eight 32-bit operations per cycle, depending on the processor frequency. For example, video cards designed to handle a lot of graphic data are already able to handle 3,150 pieces. 32-bit operations over the same period of time. It turns out that mining on a video card (GPU) is hundreds of times faster (and therefore more profitable) than on a processor.

Energy efficiency

But if you have already decided to mine on a CPU, we advise you to choose a powerful processor that has high characteristics: good frequency and number of cores, cache size, low power consumption, the ability to work with SSE2, AES encryption, etc. Processors from Xeon are now considered the best option. Also a good investment would be hardware from AMD or Intel:

• i3
• i5
• i7.

But, at the same time, do not be too lazy to look on the forums for the features of the operation of the purchased processor for mining the desired specific cryptocurrency.

Energy consumption is a very important parameter, because the payback of this process depends on it. As a rule, video cards spend more energy, but they also allow you to earn more, so everything is important to calculate. Processors, on the other hand, require much less power, but they also show fairly small numbers.

Maintenance level

The maintenance of both systems is quite simple and the most important thing is to sometimes check their condition. But even here, with the processor, everything is a little prose, because you don’t need to wash or clean it, but it is enough to change the thermal paste once at a certain time and this will really be enough for him for a long time.

With a video card, you can get confused and periodically wipe it with special wipes from dust, as well as use various additional useful substances to overclock it and get the best result when mining.

Difficulty

Mining in the process is much easier to arrange, not only because of the lower cost of equipment and low electricity consumption, but also due to the fact that, purely physically, such a farm will take up much less space. But even if you create several interconnected systems for mining on a processor, you will recoup the money spent earlier for a very long time and you will not be able to mine the most popular cryptocurrencies, but only new and cheap ones due to the ease of their production.

Video cards take up much more space and are expensive, but pay for themselves much faster. They also allow you to work with larger cryptocurrencies, but the video card will wear out much faster due to the difficulties of mining.

What kind of process is better for you?

To summarize the above, we can recommend investing in GPU hardware if you understand the hardware, software, and prices of cryptocurrencies. If you are not an IT specialist, but have an investment vein, invest in cloud mining. If you have neither the knowledge nor the extra money to invest in cryptocurrency, you can use browser mining, or use your PC, laptop or even smartphone for processor or GPU mining. And the sooner you make such a choice, the better, because every day the complexity of operations of most cryptocurrencies only grows, and alternative options for investing funds appear on the market.

But in fact, it’s up to you to choose, because you must proceed from the amount of money that you have for investment and how much time you are willing to devote to this process.