Ways to Mine Monero
The most important part of mining is to have the correct Monero mining hardware. Along with the hardware, you also need Monero mining software to help you connect with a Monero mining pool.
Monero mining: a Monero coin on a CPU.
As I mentioned earlier, you don’t need specialized ASICs for mining Monero. It can be done using a CPU or a GPU. But before proceeding, you need to know the two most important factors when selecting your hardware.
You should look for:
High hash rate - You can think of hash rate as the processing power of the hardware.
Low electricity consumption - Electricity is the biggest cost of mining.
I will now describe the three most popular hardware and software options.
Central Processing Unit (CPU) Mining
You can choose to use your current CPU, or you could purchase a new one. If you are planning to buy a new CPU, then AMD Opteron and Intel Xeon CPUs are two that I would recommend.
AMD Opteron 627:
Cost - $50
Hash Rate- 415 H/s
Xeon L5640:
Cost - $150
Hash Rate- 130 H/s
Once you have your desired CPU, you will then need to download Monero mining software. You could consider using XMR-STAK-CPU as it is one of the most popular Monero mining software — you can download it here.
If you are using Windows, then you should download xmr-stak-cpu-win64.zip (shown in the snapshot below). XMR Stak charges a development fee of 2%, unless you can compile the source code yourself.
Monero mining: source code.
If you already have a CPU, then it only takes a few minutes to start mining! Just install the software, join a mining pool, and you’re ready to go.
Mining With an AMD Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)
If you are serious about Monero mining, then using a GPU is a better option. Even though it requires a larger investment, it offers a significantly higher hash rate.
AMD graphics cards are a great option to consider for GPU Monero mining. Consider purchasing an AMD R9 280x or go for the more recent AMD Radeon Rx 580.
AMD R9 280x:
Cost - $140
Hash Rate- 500 H/s
AMD Radeon Rx 580:
Cost - $300 - 400
Hash Rate- 575 H/s
Once you have installed the graphics card into your PC or laptop, follow the same steps as you would if you were CPU mining.
The best Monero mining software when using AMD GPU hardware is also XMR-STAK-AMD. You can download their latest release here.
Monero Mining: Full Guide on How to Mine Monero
After you have installed the software onto your computer, you will need to change the pool settings so that you can join the pool of your choice.
Mining With an Nvidia GPU
Using an Nvidia graphics card is another popular way to mine Monero. There are several models that you can choose from, it all depends on your budget. You should consider using one of the following:
Nvidia GTX 1070:
Cost - $400 - 500
Hash Rate- 505 H/s
Nvidia GTX 1080:
Cost - $550 - 650
Hash Rate- 600 H/s
As far as software is concerned, XMR-STAK-NVIDIA can be used, but CCMiner is considered a better option. You can download the latest CCMiner release here. Make sure you choose the ccminer-x64-2.2.4-cuda9.7z, if you’re using a Windows operating system.
Downloading Monero Mining binaries
These are some of the best methods for mining Monero using a combination of Monero mining hardware and Monero mining software. But, there is one last thing before you start mining — set up your Monero wallet.
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