Cryptocurrencies are constantly becoming a new way of making a profit, but nowadays, due to the massive hype behind this world, more people always wish to earn cryptos without spending money.
Mining cryptocurrencies is the only way to do so.
What is crypto mining?
Mining is the process by which new tokens or coins are generated. The so-called miners use computers to solve cryptographic problems and receive a reward in the form of cryptocurrency. This process, also called Proof-of-Work (PoW), incentivizes miners to compete with each other in processing exchanges and receiving a reward in return.
In a few words, mining is performed using sophisticated hardware that solves a highly complex computational math puzzle thanks to the hashing power, which is the number of calculations a network can complete per second.
Only the first computer and miner that can find the problem's solution receives the reward, and the process begins again.
The first thing to consider if you're interested in mining is to learn which cryptocurrencies can be mined. The most known are bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH), but there are many more to be discovered. Since the birth of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, you can become a miner by participating in the mining process directly from your home. But today, mining tokens from home are not so competitive.
In some parts of the world, mining farms with unparalleled computational power are explicitly built for cryptocurrency mining. For this reason, we can say that the mining process has become much more complex than in the past.
What do you need to start mining?
Suppose you want to start mining alone, without being involved in any mining farm. In that case, you must first build your mining rig and consider the additional energy consumption cost and the fact that the whole mining system can be pretty noisy, build up a lot of heat, and needs to operate 24/7.
A mining rig is an arrangement of hardware elements to perform cryptocurrency mining. Among these are:
CPU (Central processing unit),
GPU (graphics processing unit),
FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) or ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits)
There are different types of mining rigs depending on the used mining hardware.
One of the most accessible mining rigs is the CPU rig; many computers are installed to mine a specific cryptocurrency. However, the arrival and use of GPU, FPGA, and ASIC have replaced them, although some cryptocurrencies such as Monero (XMR) still profit from CPU mining.
The GPU rigs are the most popular. They can be used to mine ether (ETH) or Zcash (ZEC). In a GPU mining rig, we have a computer to connect several graphic cards as mining accelerators. Each GPU acts as a mining node offering enormous power, multiplied by the GPUs installed in the rig. These are the favorite mining items.
The FPGA rig is a bit old ming tool. With the arrival of CPU and GPU rigs that are more powerful, it has become outdated.
The most used mining tool is the ASIC, a hardware device designed to perform a particular task.
Before start building your mining rig, you need to take into account these fundamental aspects:
GPU or ASIC selection. You need to study the models, the power delivered, the energy consumed, and the approximate profit by subtracting electrical and maintenance costs before choosing any equipment. Choosing the most expensive device does not guarantee higher profits.
Optimized Mining Software
Power supply.
Refrigeration. Avoid overheating by creating a proper cooling system.
Cabinet or Shelf. Pay attention: rigs should be installed in places with excellent ventilation and on a locked shelf to protect you from noise.
You can custom your mining rig or, if you prefer, purchase a pre-build.
The rig will require an OS, such as Linux, and a mining software. Once you have selected the casing for your mining rig, you can start looking for the motherboard. and the RAM, 4GB RAM is recommended. Of course, you also need a high-quality power supply, powerful enough to maintain your rig up and running at all times, and a stable internet connection.
We have seen how many factors must be considered before creating and setting up a mining rig. The initial investment is substantial, so you first must consider the costs/benefits ratio.
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