The mining industry is in a state of flux with ASICs and GPUs both dominating the market. There are many factors that go into deciding which hardware will be most profitable, but ultimately it comes down to what you’re willing to invest.
In the gpu vs asic mining article, it was stated that ASIC miners are more profitable than GPU miners. However, this is not always true.
With the publication of the bitcoin white paper in 2009, the age of cryptocurrencies began. Cryptocurrency mining and miners, whose only purpose is to add correct blocks of transactions to the blockchain, arrived with the cryptocurrency. Powerful computers are required to mine bitcoin.
Central Processing Units (CPU) were employed at first. Graphics Processing Units (GPU) and Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) have to take their place (ASICs). The majority of miners are undecided on which mining gear to utilize. ASIC versus GPU mining is a struggle for dominance. The advantages, disadvantages, and profitability of ASICs and GPUs will be revealed in this study.
A Quick Overview of the Mining Process
Traditional mining, such as coal, diamond, and gold mining, comes to mind when we think about mining. Mining, on the other hand, is a different story when it comes to cryptocurrencies. The process of capturing and immutably storing transactions on the Blockchain is referred to as mining. The mining procedure is carried out using computers. They would first gather bitcoin transactions into a block, which they would then add to the blockchain when it reached its maximum capacity.
A miner would have to solve a cryptographic algorithm using a CPU, GPU, or ASIC to generate these blocks of transactions. A specific number of BTC is awarded to the miner who solves the issue first (12BTC). In addition to the reward, the miner is paid a fee for processing the block’s transactions.
What is the benefit of GPU mining?
Miners had to utilize CPUs to verify the blockchain before mining got sophisticated. Miners eventually found that GPUs and ASICs were superior at processing the bitcoin proof of work algorithm, commonly known as SHA256. As a result, the profitability of GPU mining made it more attractive than CPU mining.
When it comes to GPU mining, Graphic cards are used to mine crypto currencies, verify transactions, and generate new crypto coins. GPUs provide a number of advantages over CPU technology. A typical GPU can process 3200 32-bit instructions per clock, which is 800 times faster than a CPU that can only process 4 32-bit instructions per cycle.
GPUs are similarly intended to do comparable duties as the CPU, if not better. GPUs outperform CPUs in terms of computation speed. This is due to the fact that it has a high number of Arithmetic Logic Units (ALU) that allow GPU mathematical calculations. Because of the ALU, GPUs may perform better throughout the crypto mining process.
This review, however, is not about CPUs; rather, it is about ASIC versus GPU mining. GPUs have a resaleable value when compared to ASICs. Consider this: GPUs were originally designed for the gaming sector. The cards were designed to produce and improve picture rendering on computers. Unlike ASICs, your GPU still has a market worth if you decide to stop mining.
The GPU mining gear may be used to mine Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, BitTube, Bitcoin Gold, and Monero. You should also think about NVIDIA and AMD when looking for a gadget to help you with GPU mining.
The All-Powerful ASIC Mining
Although GPU mining has been around for a long time, it is now up against ASIC mining. When it comes to hash computations, Application Specific Integrated Circuits outperform both CPUs and GPUs. With the introduction of ASIC miners, GPU mining profitability suffered a setback since ASIC processors were better at solving the SHA256 algorithm.
Unlike CPUs and GPUs, ASIC mining uses professional mining machines that are specifically built to run a single algorithm. ASICs, on the other hand, are intended to be space-efficient and powerful. One advantage they have over the GPU is that they use less energy. Although ASICs are more costly, they generate more revenue than GPUs.
One advantage the hardware has over the GPU is ASIC-quality performance. For example, since ASIC gear only mines single currencies, it will outperform all other hardware while mining Bitcoin or Litecoin. The computations needed by a particular cryptographic hash algorithm are specifically integrated into ASIC crypto mining gear. They’re designed for a select few coins and are effective at providing a high “hashrate.” Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dash, and Zcash are some of the currencies that can be mined using an ASIC device like the Dragonmint 16t.
The Advantages and Disadvantages of ASIC vs. GPU Mining
We’ll weigh in on the advantages and disadvantages of both ASICs and GPUs.
Mining Hardware with ASICs
Pros:
- When mining a particular currency, ASICs provide high performance and hash rates.
- ASICs use a fraction of the power that GPUs do. It also has a high H/W efficiency.
- ASICs have a lower physical footprint than GPUs. This implies they take up less room.
- ASICs also pay more than their non-ASIC equivalents.
Cons:
- The exorbitant cost of ASIC hardware is one of the most significant deterrents. The price of buying one may be very high.
- ASICs, unlike GPUs, mine particular currencies. You can’t mine any other currencies with a Litecoin mining ASIC, for example. This renders the gadget worthless for mining other cryptocurrencies.
- While you can resell your GPUs, ASICs are a different matter. ASICS is a brand with a low resale value. ASICs are also nothing to write home about, despite being updated on a regular basis. They’ve already updated to the 9th version.
Mining Hardware for GPUs
Pros:
- GPUs are built in such a manner that they may be utilized for a variety of tasks. It also has a high resale value, and when it is no longer utilized for mining, it may be used for other purposes like gaming or artificial intelligence.
- GPUs are also extremely good at doing complicated calculations.
- GPUs may be upgraded. Because it’s ordinary hardware, it can be readily updated and resold at a greater price than an ASIC.
Cons:
- The GPU’s excessive power consumption is one of its main flaws. The GPU, unlike the ASIC, uses more power, increasing the miner’s expenses.
- While the GPU is an excellent piece of hardware, it lacks the power and efficiency of the ASIC.
- Furthermore, GPU mining gear may be heavy, big, and inconvenient. The ASIC hardware, on the other hand, is smaller and can do twice as many functions.
- When it comes to mining specific currencies like Bitcoin and Litecoin, miners will discover that ASIC gear provides more in terms of profitability.
What’s the difference between ASIC and GPU mining in terms of profitability?
The lengthy bear market of 2018 had such a negative impact on mining that Bitmain, one of the world’s biggest mining firms, laid off nearly half of its employees. Bitcoin trading became more lucrative than mining, and the majority of miners moved to trade. However, the issue today is whether mining bitcoin using ASICs or GPUs is more lucrative.
Because you have less resources as a retail investor, mining is more costly. However, there are additional reasons that make mining unpleasant, such as the fact that the difficulty of mining has risen. The difficulty is distributed depending on the network’s processing capacity. As more machines are added to the network, the difficulty of mining increases.
On the other side, we may use the mining calculator NiceHash to figure out if mining bitcoin using an ASIC or a GPU is profitable. We can observe how each mining gear ranks in terms of profits each day based on the results on NiceHash. The following are the earnings on ASIC versus GPU mining as of this writing.
| GPU | EARNINGS/DAY | ASIC | EARNINGS/DAY |
| Radeon VII from AMD | 0.00015600 BTC (Bitcoin)
(1.26USD) |
Whatsminer M1OS by MicroBT | 0.00107900 BTC (Bitcoin) (Bitcoin)
(8.70USD) |
| TITAN V by NVIDIA | 0.00014400 BTC (Bitcoin)
(USD 1.16) |
Antminer S16 by BITMAIN (56Th) | 0.00107600 BTC (Bitcoin)
(8.67USD) |
| NVIDIA RTX 2080 is a graphics card from NVIDIA. Ti is a high-end graphics card from NVIDIA. | 0.00013800 BTC (Bitcoin)
(1.11 dollars) |
Antminer S17 by BITMAIN (53Th) | 0.00107900 BTC
(8.20USD) |
| Super NVIDIA RTX 2070 | 0.00010400 BTC (Bitcoin) (Bitcoin)
(USD 0.84) |
Antminer S17 Pro by BITMAIN (53Th) | 0.00101800 BTC (Bitcoin)
(8.20USD) |
| NVIDIA RTX 2080 | 0.00010400 BTC
(USD 0.84) |
B8 BITFURY | 0.0098100 BTC (Bitcoin)
(7.91USD) |
Conclusion
Finally, every would-be miner should keep in mind that the hardware they choose is based on the currencies they wish to mine. GPUs are welcome hardware for many cryptocurrency miners since they enable you to mine several currencies at once. Miners are cautioned, however, to consider a variety of considerations while mining altcoins. While a GPU is a more cost-effective way to mine altcoins, you must first determine if the currency has been listed on exchanges, as well as the coin’s power consumption, market price, trading volume, mining algorithm, and hashrate charts. All of these variables will aid in GPU mining profitability.
ASIC mining, on the other hand, is better suited to miners who are just interested in mining a single crypto currency. It also has a low power usage, which is appealing to miners in nations where energy is expensive. In the end, the miner’s decision determines whether ASIC or GPU mining is superior.
ASIC mining profitability is a question that has been asked many times. The asic mining profitability is the best hardware to use for ASIC mining.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most profitable GPU for mining?
The most profitable GPU for mining is Nvidias GTX 1070.
What is the most profitable ASIC miner?
The most profitable ASIC miner is the Antminer S9.
Which is the best mining hardware for ethereum * ASIC GPU?
The best mining hardware for ethereum is ASIC GPU.
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