Which GPU to buy for crypto currency mining?

There are a number of ways of setting up a rig for crypto-currency mining. But if you have decided to use a GPU for this purpose (which is a very popular choice), then the next step perhaps is to find the optimum (if not the best) GPU for this purpose.

But before we do so, let’s introduce you to the world of GPUs.

Table of Contents

• Major Types of GPUs
• Parameters to keep in mind while selecting GPUs for Crypto Currency Mining
• What are the best GPUs for Crypto Currency Mining?
• What are LHR and Non-LHR Graphics cards?

Major Types of GPUs

There are three major types of cards available in the market:

• GTX (NVIDIA)
• RTX (NVIDIA)
• AMD

In GTX and RTX graphic cards:

• First two numbers: generation of card
• Last two numbers: model number of card (higher the better). So, GTX1660 is better than GTX1650; RTX2080 is better than RTX2060.

In AMD graphic cards:

• First number: generation of card
• Last three numbers: model number of card (higher the better). For example, in 5700, 5 is the card generation, and 700 is the model number.

Note

Earlier versions of AMD graphics cards were named VEGA, e.g. VEGA 7, VEGA 64, etc. One of their oldest cards, that can still be bought today is RX 590 (RX just being the product name, 5 is the generation, and 90 the model number). RX 590 is almost the same as RX 580 and RX 480.

Note

In GTX and RTX world, Ti means a slightly better card. So, 1070Ti is a little faster than 1070, but slower than 1080. (They also use the term “Super”, instead of Ti in some models).

In AMD world, they use the term “XT” (instead of Ti). For example, AMD Radeon 5700XT will be better than AMD Radeon 5700.

Parameters to keep in mind while selecting GPUs for Crypto Currency Mining

Well, GPUs are used for a variety of purposes, including gaming. But our focus in this article will specifically be on their use in a crypto-currency mining rig.

While selecting a GPU for mining rig, keep the following points in mind:

• For crypto-currency mining rig, we should opt for a GPU that has the best mining efficiency. Mining efficiency is the ratio of the hash rate we get to the power consumed by the GPU.
• We also need to keep in mind the hash rate we are getting for the money we paid for the GPU, i.e. hash rate per rupee or dollar spent.
• If you have reselling in mind, then you should opt for current generation gaming GPUs (In 2022 that would be RTX 30 series, GTX 16 series from NVIDIA, and RX 6000 series from AMD). They will fetch you good resale amount. They are easier to sell to gamers, software developers, etc. Some of the dedicated GPUs for mining offered by NVIDIA, such as CMP GPUs, RTX A2000, and RTX A4000, may have very good mining efficiency, but their resale value may be very low as they are not as popular in non-mining world.

Note

The same GPU may give us different hash rates for different crypto coins. That’s because different crypto coins use different algorithms.

Well, enough beating about the bush. Now, let’s bell the cat.

What are the best GPUs for Crypto Currency Mining?

There’s no straight forward answer to this. The best GPUs may differ from one crypto currency to another. That’s because different crypto currencies use different algorithms.

So, we will keep it short and list down the top five-six GPUs for the main crypto currencies (still worth mining) one by one. While doing so we will keep two parameters in mind:

• Mining efficiency, i.e. which GPU provides us the most hash rate while consuming the least power (This parameter will be more important for those people who live in an area wherein electricity costs are high)
• Hash rate we get per dollar/rupee we spend on GPU.

Note

Though costs of GPUS may differ in different parts of the world, or even a country, the relative costs of various GPUs will probably be the same anywhere in the world. That is, if GPU A is more expensive than GPU B in USA, then most probably it will be almost as expensive than GPU B in India, China, or UK too. So, the parameter of relative hash rate we get per dollar/rupee should remain almost unchanged throughout the world.

Silicon lottery

Even the exact same GPUs (i.e. those belonging to the same generation and model) may vary a bit in their performance. So, fingers crossed!

Best GPU for mining Ether

AMD GPUs have been dominating the Ethereum mining since long, and our list suggests the same. Though there are some good Nvidia GPUs too.

As per us, here are the best GPUs for Ethereum mining in 2022, in that order:

• GTX 1660 Super (Nvidia)
• GTX 1660 Ti (Nvidia)
• RX 6600 XT (AMD)
• RX 6600 (AMD)
• GTX 1660 (Nvidia)
• RX 6700 XT (AMD)

Note

Ethereum may soon become extremely difficult to mine (probably by the end of 2022). So, you may target other bitcoins such as Ravencoin and Flux.

Or most probably Ethereum may soon move from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake. Proof-of-Work needs GPUs to mine coins, while in case of Proof-of-Stake GPUs may even not be required.

Best GPU for mining Ravencoin/FIRO

Ravencoin and FIRO use almost the same algorithms, and so the mining efficiency and hash rate per dollar of various GPUs will almost be the same for both of these crypto coins.

Here are the best GPUs for Ravencoin/FIRO mining in 2022, in that order:

• RTX 3060 LHR
• RTX 3060 Ti LHR
• RTX 3080 LHR
• RTX 3070 LHR
• RTX 3070 Ti

Best GPU for mining ERGO

Here are the best GPUs for ERGO mining in 2022, in that order:

• RTX 3060 LHR
• RTX 3070 LHR
• RTX 3060 Ti LHR
• RTX 3080 LHR
• RTX 3070 Ti

Best GPU for mining Flux

Here are the best GPUs for Flux mining in 2022, in that order:

• RTX 3070 LHR
• RTX 3080 LHR
• RTX 3060 Ti LHR
• GTX 1660
• RTX 3070 Ti
• RTX 3060 LHR

Best GPU for mining all coins

Though we would suggest you to pre-decide the coin you want to mine before going out and buying a GPU. But just in case if you are looking for a jack-of-all-trades GPU, maybe because you are not sure which coin you want to mine or may want to have the liberty to switch at anytime in future, then here’s a list for you.

• RTX 3060 LHR
• RTX 3060 Ti LHR
• RTX 3080 LHR
• RTX 3070 LHR
• RTX 3070 Ti

Note

When prices of crypto coins go down, the number of coins that you can mine per day (yield) tends to go up. It’s logical – cheaper the coin, the more coins you get. So, the amount of money you make per day will remain somewhat constant. However, if you mine a lot of coins and hold on to them till their prices go up again, you may make huge profits.

Your mindset should be clear – do you want to earn daily/weekly/monthly profits, or do you want to mine a lot of coins and wait for the right time to sell them. Well, you may also do both – sell some and hold some for long term.

Warning

If you are buying a GPU from an online platform like Amazon, make sure that you are buying your card directly from the company and not from a third party. There’s a high chance that an unknown third party may give you a used graphics card, which has already been used in mining or gaming. It may bust within a few weeks or months.

Note

NVIDEA and AMD are the biggest companies in graphics card world. ASRock is a small company and so maybe not that reliable, though I have not done any research on ASRock cards (its cards are cheaper too).

But just to be a bit safer, I would rather buy a low configuration card from a leading company, than a high-specification card from a less known company. Longevity is a must for graphics cards, if you want to gain profit from your rig.

What are LHR and Non-LHR Graphics cards?

LHR stands for “Lite Hash Rate”. Due to excessive Ether mining, the price of GPUs were sky-rocketing and gamers were finding it hard to get it for themselves. To solve this problem of gamers and other users of GPUs, Nvidia came out with the concept of LHR GPUs.

Basically, LHR GPUs have lower hash rates, which makes them less suitable for mining. However, in case of most of the GPUs, this “lower hash rate” is only targeted for Ether mining. There’s no difference in performance of a LHR and non-LHR GPU if you are aiming to mine some other coin.

Even if you are mining Ether, you must consider that non-LHR GPUs are much costlier than LHR GPUs. And as per experiments conducted by many experts, the extra hash rate we get in non-LHR GPUs is not enough for us to justify paying extra money for them. The amount you will pay to buy two non-LHR GPUs will probably the same as three LHR GPUs, and in both the cases the total hash rate we get will almost be equivalent.

Moreover, with ether mining coming to an end, the difference between LHR and non-LHR GPUs will come to its natural end.

So, you should not buy used full hash rate graphics cards. They are not worth it. Rather go for new LHR cards if they fit your requirement.