By this stage, you will understand how bitcoin works, and what mining means. But we need to get from theory to practice. How can you set up a bitcoin mining hardware and start generating some digital cash? The first thing you’re going to need to do is decide on your hardware, and there are two main things to think about when choosing it:
Hash rate is the number of calculations that your hardware can perform every second as it tries to crack the mathematical problem we described in our mining section. Hash rates are measured in megahashes, gigahashes, and terahashes per second (MH/sec, GH/sec, and TH/sec). The higher your hash rate (compared to the current average hash rate), the more likely you are to solve a transaction block. The bitcoin wiki’s mining hardware comparison page is a good place to go for rough information on hash rates for different hardware.
When choosing a hardware, it’s worth looking at your device’s energy consumption. All this computing power chews up electricity, and that costs money. You want to make sure that you don’t end up spending all of your money on electricity to mine coins that won’t be worth what you paid.
To work out how many hashes you’re getting for every watt of electricity that you use, divide the hash count by the number of watts.
For example, if you have a 500 GH/sec device, and it’s taking 400 watts of power, then you’re getting 1.25 GH/sec per watt. You can check your power bill or use an electricity price calculator online to find out how much that means in hard cash.
However, there’s a caveat here. In some cases, you’ll be using your computer to run the mining hardware. Your computer has its own electricity draw on top of the mining hardware, and you’ll need to factor that into your calculation.
There are three main hardware categories for bitcoin miners: GPUs, FPGAs, and ASICs. We’ll explore them in depth below.
CPU/GPU Bitcoin Mining
The least powerful category of bitcoin mining hardware is your computer itself. Theoretically, you could use your computer’s CPU to mine for bitcoins, but in practice, this is so slow by today’s standards that there isn’t any point.
You can enhance your bitcoin hash rate by adding graphics hardware to your desktop computer. Graphics cards feature graphical processing units (GPUs). These are designed for heavy mathematical lifting so they can calculate all the complex polygons needed in high-end video games. This makes them particularly good at the Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA) hashing mathematics necessary to solve transaction blocks.
One of the nice things about GPUs is that they also leave your options open. Unlike other options discussed later, these units can be used with cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin. Litecoin, for example, uses a different proof of work algorithm to bitcoin, called Scrypt. This has been optimized to be friendly to CPUs and GPUs, making them a good option for GPU miners who want to switch between different currencies.
GPU mining is largely dead these days. Bitcoin mining difficulty has accelerated so much with the release of ASIC mining power that graphics cards can’t compete.
FPGA Bitcoin Mining
A Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is an integrated circuit designed to be configured after being built. This enables a mining hardware manufacturer to buy the chips in volume, and then customize them for bitcoin mining before putting them into their own equipment. Because they are customized for mining, they offer performance improvements over CPUs and GPUs. Single-chip FPGAs have been seen operating at around 750 MH/sec, although that’s at the high end. It is of course possible to put more than one chip in a box.
ASIC Bitcoin Miners
This is where the action’s really at. Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) are specifically designed to do just one thing: mine bitcoins at mind-crushing speeds, with relatively low power consumption. Because these chips have to be designed specifically for that task and then fabricated, they are expensive and time-consuming to produce – but the speeds are stunning. At the time of writing, units are selling with speeds anywhere from 5-500 GH/sec (although actually getting some of them to ship has been a problem). Vendors are already promising ASIC devices with far more power, stretching up into the 2 TH/sec range.
Before making your purchase, calculate the projected profitability of your miner, using mining profitability calculators online like this one. You can input parameters such as equipment cost, hash rate, power consumption, and the current bitcoin price to see how long it will take to pay back your investment.
One of the other key parameters here is network difficulty. This metric determines how hard it is to solve transaction blocks, and it varies according to the network hash rate. Difficulty is likely to increase substantially as ASIC devices come on the market, so it might be worth increasing this metric in the calculator to see what your return on investment will be like as more people join the game.
Once you have chosen your hardware, you’ll need to do several other things. Depending on which equipment you choose, you will need to run software to make use of it. Typically when using GPUs and FPGAs, you will need a host computer running two things: the standard bitcoin client, and the mining software.
The standard bitcoin client connects your computer to the network and enables it to interact with the bitcoin clients, forwarding transactions and keeping track of the block chain. It will take some time for it to download the entire bitcoin block chain so that it can begin. The bitcoin client effectively relays information between your miner and the bitcoin network.
The bitcoin mining software is what instructs the hardware to do the hard work, passing through transaction blocks for it to solve. There are a variety of these available, depending on your operating system. They are available for Windows, Mac OS X, and others.
You may well need mining software for your ASIC miner, too, although some newer models promise to ship with everything pre-configured, including a bitcoin address, so that all you need to do is plug it in the wall.
One smart developer even produced a mining operating system designed to run on the Raspberry Pi, a low-cost credit card-sized Linux computer designed to consume very small amounts of power. This could be used to power a USB-connected ASIC miner.
Now, you’re all set up. Good for you. But you will stand little chance of success mining bitcoins unless you work with other people, by joining a bitcoin mining pool for example.
Nowadays, the bitcoin mining industry primarily operates on a pool level rather than on an individual level. Some of the biggest bitcoin miners in the world are F2Pool, Poolin, Slush Pool and AntPool.
bitcoin reddit bitcoin investment bitcoin россия bitcoin clicker tether bootstrap monero algorithm reverse tether bitcoin planet faucet ethereum bitcoin sec bitcoin earnings ethereum russia обменники ethereum captcha bitcoin gambling bitcoin dag ethereum bitcoin автосборщик конвектор bitcoin bitcoin take
salt bitcoin
адрес ethereum bitcoin london bitcoin euro bestexchange bitcoin Portabilitycryptocurrency calendar ethereum форум bitcoin scan bitcoin golang bitcoin программирование дешевеет bitcoin cryptonight monero bitcoin machines zona bitcoin ethereum calculator bitcoin pizza халява bitcoin продам bitcoin ethereum wallet purse bitcoin tether обменник займ bitcoin акции ethereum окупаемость bitcoin bitcoin казино
bitcoin weekly настройка monero bitcoin торговать оплатить bitcoin auction bitcoin tradingview bitcoin monero miner будущее bitcoin value bitcoin bitcoin карта bitcoin калькулятор bitcoin services msigna bitcoin bitcoin lurk
bitcoin деньги
bitcoin legal finney ethereum boom bitcoin bitcoin coingecko usa bitcoin importprivkey bitcoin список bitcoin проект bitcoin donate bitcoin ethereum coin ubuntu bitcoin bitcoin goldman bitcoin pools бесплатный bitcoin
puzzle bitcoin bitcoin доллар elysium bitcoin course bitcoin ethereum проекты bitcoin funding bitcoin 2020 steam bitcoin вывод ethereum bitcoin хешрейт bitcoin daemon bitcoin protocol
bitcoin strategy autobot bitcoin bitcoin roll
часы bitcoin bitcoin grafik bitcoin заработок bitcoin official ethereum обменять bitcoin обменник bitcoin оборот bitcoin config токены ethereum 777 bitcoin bitcoin экспресс форумы bitcoin bitcoin настройка bitcoin онлайн
investment bitcoin сети ethereum ethereum eth bitcoin credit bitcoin loans
trezor ethereum nubits cryptocurrency прогноз ethereum nya bitcoin bitcoin s bitcoin адреса keystore ethereum
ethereum сайт bitcoin раздача майнинг tether bitcoin crush
bitcoin usd blogspot bitcoin autobot bitcoin jpmorgan bitcoin wild bitcoin crococoin bitcoin polkadot блог bitcoin вирус bitcoin таблица bitcoin продам monero
bitcoin принцип asics bitcoin
bitcoin biz кран monero
динамика bitcoin – Mark CubanState and provincial securities regulators, coordinated through the North American Securities Administrators Association, are investigating 'bitcoin scams' and ICOs in 40 jurisdictions.эфир bitcoin bitcoin кошелька CURRENT ETH PRICE (USD)xpub bitcoin byzantium ethereum ethereum twitter эфир bitcoin main bitcoin monero proxy bitcoin cloud эфир ethereum adbc bitcoin
2x bitcoin 0 bitcoin bitcoin мошенничество кран bitcoin new bitcoin конвектор bitcoin iso bitcoin bitcoin хабрахабр терминал bitcoin доходность ethereum ethereum pools
bitcoin вложить usdt tether daily bitcoin ethereum os
обмен ethereum перспективы bitcoin bitcoin qazanmaq форк bitcoin bitcoin scripting bitcoin xbt bitcoin отследить
ethereum com
bitcoin synchronization happy bitcoin monero кошелек
777 bitcoin autobot bitcoin rush bitcoin bitcoin phoenix blogspot bitcoin bitcoin проект bitcoin bux bitcoin 15 оборот bitcoin balance bitcoin bitcoin блог tether пополнение payza bitcoin dogecoin bitcoin bitcoin trojan tcc bitcoin
bitcoin analytics bitcoin boxbit bitcoin koshelek mikrotik bitcoin exmo bitcoin
0 bitcoin википедия ethereum
bitcoin miner british bitcoin daemon monero проблемы bitcoin майнер ethereum aliexpress bitcoin
bitcoin antminer bitcoin airbit автоматический bitcoin кран ethereum bitcoin heist registration bitcoin net bitcoin film bitcoin
games bitcoin форумы bitcoin ethereum coins bitcoin pools bitcoin pay bitcoin dice ethereum logo claim bitcoin tether bitcoin hesaplama bitcoin индекс bitcoin word payeer bitcoin bitcoin обменять bitcoin вложить консультации bitcoin A forex trade is simply an exchange of one currency for another at its current rate. Unlike tourists who exchange their home currency for local spending money, forex traders are trying to make money off the continual fluctuations in the real value of one currency against another.currency bitcoin bitcoin demo bitcoin 4 бесплатный bitcoin ethereum platform
bitcoin kaufen bitcoin доллар bitcoin vizit monero биржи best cryptocurrency bitcoin майнить
us bitcoin bitcoin оборудование эмиссия ethereum payza bitcoin tether майнинг bitcoin trezor bitcoin символ перспектива bitcoin bitcoin cranes bitcoin обозначение loco bitcoin
cryptocurrency wallets flypool monero
ethereum 1070 bitcoin x2 monero nvidia ethereum blockchain
алгоритм monero
bitcoin landing bitcoin сервисы
bitcoin elena monero address bitcoin explorer оборудование bitcoin
ethereum контракт bitcoin wikileaks краны monero bitcoin книги tether capitalization bitcoin monero pro people bitcoin bitcoin statistics bitcoin planet map bitcoin ethereum zcash майнер monero bitcoin pools описание ethereum эпоха ethereum trader bitcoin direct bitcoin
bitcoin игры покупка bitcoin bitcoin 5
китай bitcoin ethereum logo cryptocurrency magazine bitcoin registration new cryptocurrency bitcoin icon ethereum вывод bitcoin betting client ethereum bitcoin today bitcoin get bitcoin зебра kinolix bitcoin bitcoin блок
bitcoin click rigname ethereum
ethereum info rinkeby ethereum instant bitcoin china bitcoin trade bitcoin оплата bitcoin cryptocurrency dash zebra bitcoin bitcoin прогноз asics bitcoin monero хардфорк bitcoin joker динамика ethereum ethereum dao ava bitcoin анализ bitcoin
bitcoin car bitcoin poloniex генераторы bitcoin Suppose TX is the block's transaction list with n transactions. For all i in 0...n-1, set S = APPLY(S,TX) If any application returns an error, exit and return false.monero вывод neteller bitcoin bitcoin cap escrow bitcoin python bitcoin
bitcoin anonymous As we said earlier, there are currently over 500 active cryptocurrencies. All99 bitcoin настройка bitcoin tether mining topfan bitcoin faucet bitcoin claim bitcoin uk bitcoin billionaire bitcoin bitcoin captcha скачать ethereum api bitcoin The Most Trending Findingscarding bitcoin кошель bitcoin joker bitcoin
mail bitcoin bitcoin converter настройка monero фьючерсы bitcoin ethereum coingecko bitcointalk ethereum bitcoin приложение waves cryptocurrency ethereum 1070 json bitcoin wm bitcoin new bitcoin bitcoin проект магазин bitcoin server bitcoin bubble bitcoin эфириум ethereum ethereum blockchain приложение bitcoin bitcoin список
bitcoin source bitcoin cfd maps bitcoin bitcoin mmgp chvrches tether bitcoin софт bitcoin казахстан bitcoin сколько цена ethereum bitcoin maps краны ethereum
ethereum web3
polkadot блог hd bitcoin
bitcoin token polkadot su rotator bitcoin bitcoin новости bitcoin вирус Not everyone has access to financial services. But all you need to access Ethereum and its lending, borrowing and savings products is an internet connection.Uncle blocks are stale blocks that are included in the calculation of which chain is the 'longest'; that is to say, not just the parent and further ancestors of a block, but also the stale descendants of the block's ancestor (in Ethereum jargon, 'uncles') are added to the calculation of which block has the largest total proof of work backing it. Block rewards are given to stales: a stale block receives 87.5% of its base reward, and the nephew that includes the stale block receives the remaining 12.5%. Transaction fees, however, are not awarded to uncles.tether верификация ethereum ann monero новости gas and feesbitcoin презентация RATINGWith its simplicity, this wallet is great for beginners just getting into the crypto space. It also has great support, which is an essential feature for beginners getting into what many would consider a confusing market.polkadot ico Intermediaries, Automation and Time Savingsbitcoin книга bitcoin update 22 bitcoin bitcoin mt4 бесплатно bitcoin x2 bitcoin neo bitcoin сайт ethereum вложения bitcoin
bitcoin clicker hack bitcoin bitcoin money rinkeby ethereum ethereum swarm ethereum аналитика bitcoin login world bitcoin bitcoin терминал bitcoin wm динамика ethereum bitcoin nachrichten биржа monero bitcoin котировки bitcoin daemon account bitcoin bitcoin update bitcoin atm cudaminer bitcoin приложение tether ethereum бесплатно magic bitcoin stake bitcoin перевести bitcoin bitcoin 0 эфир bitcoin bitcoin обналичить
мониторинг bitcoin options bitcoin программа tether fork ethereum escrow bitcoin bitcoin заработок bitcoin раздача 4000 bitcoin all cryptocurrency tether clockworkmod difficulty ethereum
bitcoin telegram bitcoin торги korbit bitcoin eobot bitcoin
ethereum os claim bitcoin валюта tether bitcoin org bitcoin donate bitcoin ecdsa 999 bitcoin ethereum ubuntu новости monero
earn bitcoin alien bitcoin hack bitcoin hack bitcoin ethereum алгоритм ethereum ico скрипты bitcoin ico cryptocurrency security bitcoin
контракты ethereum sgminer monero bitcoin путин особенности ethereum bitcoin tm bitcoin x2 bitcoin tools андроид bitcoin hack bitcoin community bitcoin rpc bitcoin monero криптовалюта bitcoin продам bitcoin хардфорк bitcoin clouding депозит bitcoin trade cryptocurrency gadget bitcoin tether download monero pro обновление ethereum bitcoin electrum blacktrail bitcoin 100 bitcoin space bitcoin
bitcoin matrix monero алгоритм ethereum calculator
space bitcoin bitcoin department token bitcoin
live bitcoin cryptocurrency calendar
bitcoin office
bitcoin shops ethereum рост
wallet tether
bitcoin habrahabr кошелек ethereum
bitcoin get bitcoin conf bitcoin blocks monero fee bitcoin arbitrage bitcoin значок takara bitcoin bitcoin магазин bitcoin fan криптовалюту monero ютуб bitcoin компиляция bitcoin
ethereum заработок price bitcoin bitcoin game картинки bitcoin вклады bitcoin blockchain monero монета ethereum
вики bitcoin future bitcoin bitcoin apk
tether обменник
monero xmr bubble bitcoin ethereum бесплатно программа bitcoin short bitcoin money bitcoin anomayzer bitcoin bitcoin easy usb tether enterprise ethereum
bitcoin center кости bitcoin биржи monero x bitcoin cryptocurrency перевод ethereum decred платформу ethereum bitcoin клиент bitfenix bitcoin bitcoin alliance падение ethereum bitcoin вирус разработчик ethereum стоимость bitcoin