The Ethereum mining software Windows allows you to manage the mining process, making it more efficient. There is a large selection of such software, almost all options are free. The difference lies in the nuances, like an operating system, algorithm, interface features, and so on.
So, let us cast a glance at the most popular options for NVIDIA and AMD.
PhoenixMiner
PhoenixMiner was developed by a team of anonymous programmers and has already proven itself to be an excellent application for mining Ethereum and other altcoins on Ethash.
Talking about the PhoenixMiner system requirements, they are as the following:
- AMD or Nvidia cards
- Windows x64 (Windows 7 is better suited for GTX 9 × 0 cards)
- For AMD, use the latest drivers (18.1.1 or 18.2.1)
- If you plan to use third-party monitoring software, GPU-Z and MSI Afterburner are the best choices.
PhoenixMiner can be run with or without command line parameters using a configuration file.
An additional configuration file called “epools” serves as a list of ethash pools for the miner in use. This makes PhoenixMiner a good choice for users of the large mining farms. In addition to the fact that you can run a separate instance of the miner on each separate card in the installation, you can also copy your configuration files to other installations.
PhoenixMiner supports remote control. Nonetheless, you cannot use Windows Remote Desktop (RDP) in this case, so just use VNC or TeamViewer instead. Both configuration files can be updated remotely in real time.
PhoenixMiner fully supports the command line syntax and configuration file.
The miner is characterized by the following advantages:
- Low commission to developers (it is equal to just 0.65%)
- Easy transition from Claymore to Phoenix and back
- Supports older GPUs with little memory.
However, one may easily discover some slight disadvantages like:
- Dual mining is not supported (yet)
- No version for Linux (yet).
One is recommended to try this miner and appreciate its work, perhaps you can squeeze more out of it. Unfortunately, the most serious drawback of the mining software Ethereum AMD and NVIDA (PhoenixMiner) to date is the lack of a dual mining function, but the developers have promised to add it in the near future.
TeamRedMiner
TeamRedMiner—similarly to the vast majority of applications of this type—does not possess any graphical interface. It is a regular folder, containing a program script, instructions in .txt and .md formats, and sample batch files for launching one or another mining option. The operating process at TeamRedMiner is displayed on the command line.
Graphical shell miners are more convenient for beginners, but significantly less efficient than console applications. And therefore, they are practically not used.
The TeamRedMiner application does not require any installation. What you need to do is just as follows:
- Download the latest version of TeamRedMiner
- Unpack the archive to a location convenient for you on your hard drive
- Open the miner folder
- Start setting up the executable file for the algorithm you are interested in.
If your antivirus program reports that the download is potentially dangerous, ignore it. Almost all miners are classified as malicious files, so you need to add the files to the exclusion list.
Moreover, you need to pay for the program, so the miner periodically switches to mining in the developer’s wallet. The size of the fees depends on the working algorithm, and in some cases, on the equipment. Ethash (0.75 / 1%) and KawPow (2%) charges the most negligible fees.
LolMiner
LolMiner is known to represent a console miner for Equihash / Beam&Grin algorithms focused on AMD graphics cards (OpenCL).
It will work the same on Nvidia graphics cards, but performance and stability may vary. The source code is closed.
As for the developer commission for green algorithms, it is 2%. And for all other ones, it is equal to 1%.
The latest version of the software is characterized by the following aspects:
- LHR performance for 3060 V1 (GA106-300-A1)
- Ergo kernels for RX 6700XT and RX 6600 (XT)
- Ethash performance is up to 1% with improvement
- Ethash performance on Turing based graphic cards (GTX 16 series, RTX 20 series, lower-tier CMP cards) by about 0.4 to 0.7%.
All these improvements stimulated more interest in the miners, and, as a result, the productivity level of the software got higher. It means that the efficiency of mining is improved.&nbsnbsp;
NBMiner
Before the update of NBMiner was released, the mining software did not have a lot of fame because of the drawbacks and low-efficiency level.
Nonetheless, the latest NBMiner 27.7 comes with improvements for Handshake (HNS) and HNS + ETH Dual. It assumes that mining on Nvidia GPUs is more efficient and lacks the NVML initialization bug.
With the latest performance improvements, the 6 × 1080 Ti mining rig is getting closer to those HNS-enabled Blackminer FPGAs, although GPUs are still slightly slower and draw a little more power.
According to the latest changes in NBMiner mining software, there has been an increase in performance when mining Ethereum.
The version 39.0 is known for the capacity to unlock up to 70% of the original performance of the “green” graphics card from the Lite Hash Rate line.
Full unlocking is out of the question at the moment. However, a 40% increase in productivity (from 50 to 70%) will certainly delight cryptocurrency miners.
T-Rex Miner
T-Rex Miner is a software for mining Ethereum that supports more than 30 algorithms. The program was created for the “green” video cards.
Besides, it is a universal GPU miner for cryptocurrency mining. The first version of the T-Rex Miner was released in June 2018 and is actively developing and supporting popular algorithms such as:
- Ethash
- Octopus
- Autolykos2
- MTP
- Kawpow
- Firopow
- Progpow.
Only two of them are really popular: x16rv2, which is used by Ravencoin, and MTP, which is used by Zcoin.
The software is focused on the NVIDIA platform.
It supports Windows and Linux. On the project’s GitHub page, the developers note that they are trying to make T-Rex as fast and convenient as possible.
When using the “Dual mining LHR unlock” ETH + ERGO mode, we were unable to achieve acceptable stability at high speed. It is necessary to continue to select the optimal settings for video cards to obtain optimal results.
It is possible to use a watchdog that restarts the miner if the hash rate falls below a certain value.
GMiner
The GMiner Ethereum mining pool software is designed for mining cryptocurrencies on Nvidia and AMD video cards. However, maximum efficiency is achieved on “green” ones. And if you want to utilize this software, you need to pay for it. The developers charge a percentage for using GMiner.
For example, for Ethash, the commission is only 0.65%, while Cuckaroom29 is 3%. As you already understood, it all depends on the chosen algorithm.
Separately, it should be noted that 0.65% commission is an excellent indicator.
The modified version of the program received support for NeoScrypt technology, into which the latest AMD drivers are integrated. This improvement significantly increases the power of video cards in operation.
NeoScrypt allows you to achieve a higher hash rate of the farm and thereby increase mining profitability.
In addition to the main function, GMiner has several additional ones that help to increase the efficiency of the farm:
- Overclocking video cards
- Regulation of the rotation frequency of cooling coolers
- Automatic shutdown of idle workers
- Display of detailed statistics
- Configuring farm operation parameters.
This software is designed primarily for an experienced user who is used to working with scripts since it lacks a graphical interface. On the other side, it will be quite problematic for beginners to configure and connect the console client.
All parameters for connecting to the pool, setting production, and the degree of load will have to be entered manually into the configuration file.
Mining with NiceHash
The NiceHash service combines a cryptocurrency exchange and an online power market. This software is not a classic cryptocurrency mining pool. The essence of the service is to bring miners together with power buyers.
The NiceHash service makes this work much more manageable, so you can start mining within a frame of 5 minutes. The only difference is that you lease your facilities, but the bottom line is, the profit is almost the same as when you connect to the pool. And there are fewer settings and hassles.
The miner receives rewards in Bitcoin (BTC) and can immediately exchange coins on the NiceHash exchange. We will discuss the most profitable way to withdraw money from NiceHash further.
In this scheme, the miner leases his power to the buyer of this power and receives rewards for this. NiceHash is unique in that it does not offer cloud mining services but brings miners and power buyers directly together.
Therefore, NiceHash is a very convenient pool for beginner miners and those who mine on a home PC or laptop. This service is simply out of competition.
Mining Pools
A mining pool is a server that divides the large and complex task of computing a block signature into smaller and simpler tasks and distributes them to connected devices.
Accordingly, the computing power of the pool members is combined to solve this large problem, which significantly increases the chances of finding a block. Each miner, solving the assigned task, contributes to the solution of the overall task.
When miners jointly manage to find a block, they receive a reward, which is subsequently divided among all participants in the pool in accordance with their contribution to solving this difficult problem.
It is quite logical that mining in a pool will be effective only if its total hash rate is impressive because the probability of signing a block will be high in this case only. Accordingly, the chances of success for small mining pools will be quite modest, but the largest pools, as a rule, always find a block first.
One of the varieties of mining pools is a multi-pool or multi-coin mining pool. In fact, multipools are the same mining pools that allow you to switch from mining one cryptocurrency to mining another digital currency, depending on the profitability of mining a particular coin.
Such servers track the following parameters of cryptocurrencies:
- The difficulty of mining cryptocurrencies
- The rate of the mined cryptocurrency.
The server software analyzes the state of affairs in the market, finds the most promising coins in terms of mining, and switches to mining this particular cryptocurrency or portfolio, which includes several profitable cryptocurrencies.
In general, mining pools are a great option for passive earnings. Pool mining allows you to greatly increase your chances of success, which is especially important nowadays when the competition in the mining industry is incredibly competitive, and the complexity of the network is constantly growing.
Even solo mining on powerful hardware may not give the desired results, especially when it comes to mining top cryptocurrencies.
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