GPUs are the hardware of choice for mining Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies in 2022. Learn about the most profitable AMD and Nvidia graphics cards.
Graphics cards (GPUs) continue to be the hardware of choice for many to mine cryptocurrencies in 2023. The high processing speed of video cards, as this type of hardware is also known, paved the way for them in cryptocurrency mining. , despite not having been created for this purpose initially.
One advantage of GPUs over other equipment used for mining, such as ASICs, is that they can work with a wide range of cryptocurrencies . Unlike graphics cards, ASIC devices are designed to work exclusively with one algorithm, a factor that limits your mining options .
Despite the disadvantage they present compared to GPUs, ASICs have in their favor that they are very powerful in the algorithm they mine. This factor has threatened the permanence of video cards in the mining niche and managed to put them out of the game in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, which were GPU mined for a while.
However, graphics cards have managed to remain the preferred hardware for mining cryptocurrencies such as ether (from Ethereum), ethereum classic, zcash, monero, bitcoin gold, beam, ravencoin, among others.
The top GPUs for mining cryptocurrencies in 2023
Currently, AMD and Nvidia are the main manufacturers of graphics cards or GPUs in the world. This 2022, there are many GPU models on the market, but not all of them are suitable for mining cryptocurrencies profitably .
The more computing power of a network grows, the more powerful the hardware used to mine it must be. This is making the most modest hardware obsolete, while the most powerful and modern equipment is the one that manages to stay active in the mines.
The GPUs on the list below are among those that offer the best profitability for mining cryptocurrencies this 2023. To obtain these estimates, an average electricity price of USD 0.20 was estimated, which would be similar to its cost in countries such as Chile, Argentina , Colombia and Spain (according to some distributors).
High-end GPUs for mining in 2022
High-end graphics cards or GPUs for mining cryptocurrencies are usually equipped with a high hashrate capacity and memories greater than 16 VRAM. These hardware allow you to mine most cryptocurrencies very well, such as ether (ETH), grin (GRIN), ravecoin (RVN) or swap (XWP).
These GPUs have against the fact that their high performance is matched by their high prices, which are between USD 1,500 and USD 4,500, due to the fact that it is more modern hardware, whose market is in high demand by bitcoin miners and video game gamers . This factor makes its ROI (return on investment) slower than other GPUs.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090
Release Date: December, 2020
Frequency: 1400 MHz to 1700 MHz
VRAM: GDDR6X – 24 GB
Power Consumption: 290 W
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 is the most powerful model of the latest generation of green brand graphics cards, built with Ampere architecture. Its 24GB VRAM, 10,496 CUDA cores, along with 1.9x performance per watt over the GeForce RTX 2080 ti make it a spaceship. Its electricity consumption is one of the highest and its price in the current market is astronomical. This makes it an option with a high ROI (return on investment), of more than 360 days.
In any case, this GPU for mining cryptocurrencies has capabilities that are very difficult to compete against, which place it at the top of the hashrate charts. In fact, it reaches up to 121 Mh/s mining cryptocurrencies such as ether (ETH) and generates USD 4.86 daily. The ROI of this GPU would be 14 months.
Other GPUs in the same RTX 3000 series possess features that make them serious contenders in cryptocurrency mining. For example, the GeForce RTX 3080, which achieves a hashrate of 97 Mh/s on Ethereum, at a lower price than the RTX 2080 Ti. Another option is the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, which achieves a hashrate of 60 Mh/s for mining cryptocurrencies such as ether (ETH).
At the end of March 2022, Nvidia announced the arrival of the highly anticipated GeForce RTX 3090 Ti . While there are no public tests done by miners showing the hashrate and efficiency of this GPU, it is estimated that it can reach 135 MH/s with 450W power consumption. This does not take it away from being the most optimal graphics card for mining cryptocurrencies such as ether, although whoever mines occasionally or enjoys low electricity rates can take advantage of a GPU like this.
Nvidia GeForce RTX A5000 (new)
Release Date: April 2021
Frequency: 1170 MHz – 1695 MHz
VRAM: GDDR6 – 24 GB
Power Consumption: 222W
This graphics card belongs to the family of Nvidia Quadro models, which can be seen from its physical presentation. Like the RTX 3090, the GeForce RTX A5000 features Ampere architecture and 24GB of VRAM. Its 8nm GA102 model processor and its 28,300 transistors allow it to achieve optimal performance, both in graphics processing and in mining. To this is added that its memory can work at a speed of 2000 MHz, which further favors mining on networks such as Ethereum.
The RTX A5000 is capable of reaching a hashrate of 105 MH/s mining on Ethereum. This allows him to earn a daily income of around USD 4.45 . Due to its high cost, the ROI of this GPU is one and a half years.
AMD Radeon RX 6800XT
Release Date: November, 2020
Frequency: up to 2015 MHz
VRAM: GDDR6 – 16 GB
Power Consumption: 140 W
The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT in a GPU that is on par with the most powerful on the market, even competing with several upper-middle-range Nvidia models, such as the GeForce RTX 3080 and RTX 3070. The chips of this graphics card They are produced by the Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer TSMC, in 7 nm. Compared to the previous generation, the RX 6800 XT features more stream processors (4068), compute units (72) and up to 26.8 billion GPU transistors, double that of the RX 5700.
As for its performance, it could be among the most interesting, since it has the capacity to mine cryptocurrencies such as ether (ETH) at 62 Mh/s. In one day, you can mine $2.48 on the Ethereum network.
The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT graphics card has a twin sister, the RX6900 XT, whose specs and price are very similar, albeit with slightly lower performance. These cryptocurrency mining GPUs have high power consumption, but due to their power they have an ROI of 440 days.
AMD Radeon VII
Release Date: February 2019
Frequency: 1400 MHz to 1800 MHz
VRAM: HBM2 – 16 GB
Power Consumption: 195 W
The feature of the Radeon VII that caught the most attention from techies when it came out was its 7nm processor. It was the first GPU to use this technology at the time. To this, AMD added a 16 GB graphics memory. The combination of both qualities makes it an extremely powerful video card, both for processing graphics and for mining cryptocurrencies.
The cryptocurrency that the Radeon VII can mine with a better win rate is ETH from Ethereum. On this network, the Radeon VII can reach 104 Mh/s of power and can generate about $4.41 a day, based on its price at time of review. Other cryptocurrencies that this GPU can profitably mine include Ellaism (ELLA), QuarkChain (QKC), ravencoin (RVN), grin (GRIN), and beam (BEAM). The latter are based on the Mimble Wimble privacy protocol .
The main con that the Radeon VII has is that its production has already been discontinued by AMD . The reason for such a decision by the manufacturer is that it was not profitable for them to continue producing this card to compete with Nvidia’s RTX 2080. In addition, AMD’s new RX 5000 and RX 6000 lines have managed to achieve similar and even higher levels of performance than the Radeon VII for a much lower cost of production. For this reason, it is currently difficult to get these GPUs to mine cryptocurrencies in places like Amazon or technological hardware stores.
Mid-range GPUs for mining cryptocurrencies in 2022
Mid-range GPUs for mining cryptocurrency are the most popular among miners. The reason is that, despite having a lower memory than the high-end ones (between 8 GB and 12 GB of VRAM), they can reach a high hashrate for different cryptocurrencies, with a moderate consumption of electrical energy.
hese graphics cards are also attractive for their ROI, which allows those who decide to invest in these equipment to recover their investment in a short time. Its prices are between USD 600 and USD 1500, but its mining capacities are among the highest of all GPUs.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 (new)
Release Date: September, 2020
Frequency: 1440 MHz – 1710 MHz
VRAM: GDDR6X – 10 GB
Power Consumption: 224W
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The RTX 3080 is so powerful that the only reason it is not classified as high-end is its VRAM capacity, which is 10 GB. Despite this, this graphics card is capable of mining Ethereum at 97 MH/s with a power consumption of 224W. Its processor is the same as the one used by the RTX A5000, which was discussed earlier, and its memory works at a base speed of 1188 MHz.
One of the disadvantages of the RTX 30 models is the limitation that Nvidia imposed on them at the factory. The purpose of these limitations is that miners would not be so interested in these models and would focus on those that are dedicated to this activity (such as the CMP series GPUs, which is mentioned later in this article); so that there would be more availability of these cards for gamers, graphic designers and architects.
The measures taken by Nvidia to limit the mining capacity of these GPUs did not have the expected effect. The miners found a way to bypass the Nvidia locks with different software and mine cryptocurrencies with dividends. The RTX 3080 can generate a daily profit of USD 4.02, which allows you to have an ROI that goes between 9 and 12 months.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (new)
Release Date: December, 2020
Frequency: 1410 MHz – 1665 MHz
VRAM: GDDR6 – 8 GB
Power Consumption: 120W
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The GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, like the entire RX 30 series of Nvidia graphics cards, has Ampere architecture and has an 8nm video processor, although in this case it is the GA104 model and not the GA102 that its sisters have greater. Its processing speed reaches 1665 MHz, while its memory is around 1750 MHz.
Like other GPUs of its generation designed by Nvidia, this one comes programmed to limit its mining power. Even so, the RTX 3060 Ti has the potential to hit 60.2 MH/s while consuming 120W of power ; which allows generating earnings of USD 2.56 per day. The ROI of this graphics card, depending on the characteristics of the Ethereum network and the current market, is 280 days or 9 months.
AMD Radeon RX 5700XT
Release Date: July 2019
Frequency: 1605 MHz to 1905 MHz
VRAM: GDDR6 – 8 GB
Power Consumption: 225 W
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The RX 50 series of AMD Radeon video cards is not the latest from the manufacturer. However, among them, the model that offers the best profitability in mining is the Radeon RX 5700 XT. Ether (ETH), from Ethereum , is the cryptocurrency this GPU works best with. Its mining power in this network reaches 54.2 Mh/s of power. At the time of analysis, his daily earnings from mining ETH averaged $2.39 . Other cryptocurrencies that the Radeon RX 5700 XT does well with include: ravencoin (RVN), grin (Grin), flux (ZEL), Heaven Protocol XHV, beam (BEAM), and ethereum classic (ETC).
Estimating the ROI of the RX 5700 XT is difficult since it is almost impossible to get it new on the market. In most cases they can be found repowered or repaired. The most modern version of this GPU, the RX 6700 XT, can be easily found in stores. The problem is that its mining performance is lower, due to the hashrate it reaches and the energy it consumes.
Low-end GPUs for mining cryptocurrencies in 2022
The cheapest of these GPUs are no less interesting than any other. Its prices are undoubtedly its greatest attraction, but also a lower ROI than those of the most expensive and modern models. They are usually only available second hand or as parts for low to mid-range computers.
Some of these low-end GPUs are still dominant in cryptocurrency mining due to their profitability. And, in some cases, they are teams that have been active for more than two or three years.
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super (new)
Release Date: October, 2019
Frequency: 1530 MHz – 1785 MHz
VRAM: GDDR6 – 6 GB
Power Consumption: 90W
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Of Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 16 series, the most powerful model is the GeForce GTX 1660 Super. This video card combines excellent power, low power consumption and a competitive price. All this contributes to a fast payback, compared to other GPU models.
On a daily basis, the GTX 1660 Super graphics card can generate about USD 1.21 , according to the current price of ETH in the market, when reaching 31 MH/s of power . The ROI for this graphics card is 10 months (297 days), one of the lowest of the GPUs on this list.
Despite being a graphics card with excellent features for its price, the GTX 1660 Super has a notable disadvantage compared to its peers: its VRAM. The video memory on this GPU is only 6 GB, while most other GPUs used for mining today provide 8 GB of VRAM. This means that the GTX 1660 Super will be the first to say goodbye to mining on networks like Ethereum, since the DAG files for mining ETH will continue to grow until they are larger than the VRAM of the graphics card.
AMD Radeon RX 580
Release Date: April 2017
Frequency: 1257 MHz to 1340 MHz
VRAM: GDDR5 – 8 GB
Power Consumption: 185 W
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AMD’s RX 500 series came as a follow-up to the legendary RX 400 series. In fact, both the architecture and the performance of both series are very similar. Of all of them, the Radeon RX 580 model with 8 GB VRAM is the one that offers the best value.
This video card is one of the favorites for mining cryptocurrencies whose network uses the Ethash algorithm, such as Ethereum Etehreum Classic or Expanse. When mining on Ethereum, the Radeon RX 580 can reach 32 Mh/s and generate about $1.30 a day , based on the market price of ETH , at the time of writing.
Those who, in the middle of 2022, still have rigs of RX 400 or RX 500 series graphics cards to mine, may have already completed four years of taking advantage of that hardware. Surprisingly, these GPUs still hold their own in the mining niche.
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64
Release Date: August, 2017
Frequency: 1247 MHz to 1546 MHz
VRAM: HBM2 – 8 GB
Power Consumption: 295 W
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The Radeon RX Vega 64 and its little sister, the RX Vega 56, have not been favorites among miners. Upon release, many miners criticized them on forums for their disappointing performance in the face of such high cost and power consumption. This was a relief for gamers at the end of 2017, who could no longer get graphics cards, since the best ones were hoarded by miners.
Despite initial criticism, RX Vega is currently used by many miners. The RX Vega 64 can reach 49 Ms/s on networks like Ethereum. At the time of this analysis, the hashrate provided by this GPU in ETH mining implies daily earnings that average $1.75 . This GPU model also performs well mining Swap (XWP), Aeternity (AE), and Flux (ZEL) which uses the ZelHash algorithm and Tent (TENT) which uses Zhash.
Nvidia CMP GPU dedicated exclusively to mining
In March 2022 Nvidia announced a line of dedicated video cards for cryptocurrency mining. Unlike conventional GPUs, these are not designed for the gaming market, graphic designers, and video editors. The Nvidia CMP (Cryptocurrency Mining Processors) seek to supply the miners’ market and end once and for all the old dispute between gamers and miners, who every year fight to get the fastest processors in a market scarce.
The first to join this race have been Asus, Gygabyte and MSI, who between April and May 2022 launched the cheapest models , the Nvidia CMP 30HX . These computers are equivalent to the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660, with frequencies ranging from 1530 MHz to 1785 MHz and 1408 CUDA cores, plus 6GB GDDR6 memory.
The still -powerful Nvidia CMP 40HX can mine up to 40 MH/s with a power consumption of 108 W, according to tests that have been done with this Asus cryptocurrency mining CMP video card model. The performance figures for this model are even better than those announced by the graphics processor manufacturer itself.
The most recent model of these GPUs is the CMP 170HX, which currently can be crowned as the most powerful graphics card for cryptocurrency mining. Its processor is a 7nm GA100 and has 54.2 million transistors (almost double the RTX A5000). The frequencies at which your processor works, between 1140 MHz and 1410 MHz, are not the highest; as well as those of its memory, which reaches 1458 MHz. Its VRAM is a 16 GB HBM2e. However, this mining beast is capable of mining Ethereum at 161 MH/s consuming 223W of power .
The tremendous mining power of the CMP 170HX allows it to earn daily profits of USD 7.33. As for the ROI of this graphics card, it has a complication to be able to calculate it and that is that it is not available on retail sites like Amazon. Other websites like Alibaba offer contacts with distributors to buy bulk quantities of these GPUs.
The most popular GPUs for mining cryptocurrencies in 2022
When choosing a video card, regardless of the purpose for which we want it, there are many brands and models, but only two manufacturers: AMD and Nvidia. Although it can be somewhat difficult to determine exactly which manufacturers and which GPU models are currently being used the most for cryptocurrency mining, the specialized mining platform Hive OS gives you an idea of how this competition is going, at least among its users. products.
According to the statistics presented by Hive OS, 59% of its clientele mine with red graphics cards (as AMD GPUs are called), while 41% are from the green team (the color that represents Nvidia GPUs). ).
Of the graphics cards made by AMD, the 8GB RX 580 maintains its title in 2022 as the favorite of Hive Os miners . In fact, it can be noted how almost 70% of those who miner with red video cards use models of the RX 500 series, RX 5000 and RX 6000 of 6 GB or more. This originated from the moment that mining with 4 GB VRAM models in cryptocurrencies such as ether and ethereum classic ceased to be an option due to the specification changes of these protocols. Even so, 13% of miners using AMD keep some RX 470, RX 570 and RX 580 4GB GPUs powered up when mining different cryptocurrencies.
When it comes to Nvidia graphics cards, the GPU that leads the list is the 6 GB GTX 1660 Super. This is how the Nvidia P106-100, which was the favorite of 2021, is displaced. This model is not widely recognized, since it is part of a series that was manufactured exclusively for mining and did not go on the retail market. The P106-100 were distributed among large mining farms and represent 5% of Nvidia GPUs used by Hive OS customers.
HiveOS is a specialized cryptocurrency mining operating system that focuses on making it easy to manage small and large-scale mining farms. In addition, they have mining pools for cryptocurrencies such as ether and ethereum classic. The recognition of this platform among the bitcoiner community is increasing and currently enjoys a vast number of users; which makes his stats relevant to this topic.
The ideal GPU for mining Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies
The choice of the best GPU to mine cryptocurrencies in 2022 can yield more than one winner. Different variables, such as the cost of electricity in each country and the prices in the cryptoactive market (among others), can affect the result of which model of graphics card is the best performing in mining.
The best performing video card in terms of revenue generated was Nvidia’s RTX 3090, at $4.86 per day. This is followed by the RTX A5000, also from Nvidia, which brings in $4.45 a day. However, when considering the price of these cards in the balance, their ROI (Return on Investment, in Spanish) is high. Recovering the money invested in the purchase of this equipment would take about a year and a half of uninterrupted mining, under current profit values.
To the surprise of many, the graphics card with the best ROI of all on this list is the Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti . Although it barely generates USD 2.56 a day, its low electricity consumption and its price allow the investment of your purchase to be recovered in about 280 days. It must be considered that the demand for GPUs for cryptocurrency mining has generated a certain shortage in the market, creating an important second-hand market.
Websites like WhatToMine and MinerStat are very useful for evaluating the profitability of mining using certain types of hardware. Likewise, these portals serve to know which cryptocurrencies to mine in order to obtain a better profit margin at a certain time. In addition to this, it is worth keeping abreast of the news and events that take place in the cryptocurrency ecosystem and, specifically, in the mining niche. For this, CriptoNoticias is the best option.
