December 27th 2021| Mike Humphrey

Mining Profits

No matter the size of your mining farm, you should be thinking of it as a business.  Whether you are running a single GPU, or 1,000 ASICs, you need to track your profit.  Thinking about your revenue and expenses will help you to maximize your returns.  Businesses also have the added benefit of writing off some of their expenses come tax season (this means subtracting expenses from your income before the tax man takes a percentage).  Think like a business, pay taxes on profits not revenue.  Employees pay taxes and then cover expenses, businesses do the opposite.

Profit = Revenue – Expenses

Mining Revenue

Revenue is the cryptocurrency deposited in your wallet from mining.  This is relatively straightforward, and can often be tracked manually, or exported directly from the mining pool(s) you have used.  If however, you switch pools or coins often, this can become much more complex.

Mine Pool Deposits

For tax purposes, cryptocurrency is considered and asset and a taxable transaction occurs any time an asset is bought or sold.  This includes when a deposit is made to your wallet.  This means for you must record the value of the asset at the time of the transaction (you will need to use the coin price at the time of the deposit).  Even for small scale crypto miners this can become a challenge to track.

Trades and Withdrawals

Any time you sell or trade your cryptocurrency, you are selling an asset.  This is a capital gain or a capital loss that must be recorded.  The price difference between when you mined the cryptocurrency, and when it was sold is considered revenue.  You must keep a record of all transaction, and the gains or losses that resulted.

Mining Expenses

For a business, an expense is any cost that was required to run the business.  This means any cost paid to run your farm could be an expense, and could be subtracted from your revenue prior to paying taxes.  This is the beauty of thinking of your farm as a business.  Expenses can be split into 2 general categories operating expenses, and capital expenses. Operating expenses are ongoing costs required to run your farm, for example electricity.  Capital expenses on the other hand are expenses that are paid upfront, but will generate revenue in the future.  An example of this is a video card that has a large upfront cost, but will make you money for several years.  The goal with accounting and taxes is to match the time of your expenses with the time it made you money.  Capital expenses allow you to store costs for future write-offs.

Operating Expenses

For a mine your primary operating expense is electricity.  You may also be able to claim smaller purchases as expenses as well.  This depends on the tax laws in your jurisdiction.  Be sure to speak with an account about what expenses can be claimed as capital vs. operating.

Example Operating Expenses

• Electricity
• Rent/Mortgage – If you rent space for your farm this may be considered an operating expense.  You may also be able to write off a portion of your mortgage payment, based on the space that your farm takes up in your home.
• Miscellaneous one-off expenses

How to Track Your Electricity

1. Measure at the wall – Use a smart plug or meter to track and record your power usage
2. Estimate using whattomine and your power costs

Capital Expense

Capital expenses are usually larger expenses, that will generate revenue across multiple tax time windows.  Video cards are a good example, but check with your accountant.

Examples

• Video Cards
• Cases
• Fans
• Power Supplies

You may not be able to claim all of the above as capital expenses depending on the laws that regulate your jurisdiction.

How to Track You Mining Profits

1. Manually

   Manual tracking of your revenue and expenses is very possible.  Many small businesses use Excel or Google sheets to manage their books.  If you are manually tracking your profits, it is recommend that you update your mining revenue on a monthly basis.  Take one day a month to record (or download) all of your mining payouts.  Record them in an Excel sheet, with the daily price in your currency of the mining payout.  On a second sheet, record all of your expenses; the date the expense was incurred, what the expense was, the vendor it was purchased from and how the expense was paid (credit card, cash etc).  Make sure to keep your receipts as you may need them later for your accountant, or if you get audited.  If you take the time once a month to record your revenue and your expenses you can track how well your farm is performing.  When tax season arrives, you will have the whole year recorded and save yourself the headache.

   We have created a simple spreadsheet to help you track your income and expenses.  Your accountant may also have a better template that they prefer you use.  The key is to make sure you are recording as much information as possible.  It’s very easy to loose track of a receipt, or to forget why you made a purchase.  If you record everything as it happens, you have the option of removing something if it cannot be claimed, it is much harder to get something back if it hasn’t been recorded.

   Mining revenue and expense tracking sheet

2. Software

   One of the great things about the blockchain is the ability to track transactions.  Doing this manually is possible, but it requires you to use API’s to import information, and it can be quite daunting.  Luckily however, this is a recognized issues and several software solutions have been developed to make this easier.  Note, even when using software to track your revenue, it will not track your expenses.  Expense tracking will need to be done manually through Excel or through tracking software like Quickbooks. Set up a business account and business credit card, and you will be able to differentiate personal and business purchases.  You will still need to keep all of your receipts in order to justify the expenses in the case of an audit.  Below is a list of several online tools that can be used to both track your profits and taxable income from your mining operation.

   • • Cointracking.info

       CoinTracking.info is an online software tool that will analyze your portfolio, and generate real-time reports on profits, loss and total value.  It supports over 14,600 coins and has more than 12 years of historical data.

       Benefits

       • 25 customizable reports
       • Easily import from 110+ exchanges or directly from the blockchain
       • Export data to Excel
       • Tax reports & laws for 100+ countries
       • Track capital gains, income, mining returns and more

     • Koinly.io

       

       Koinly is cryptocurrency tracking software for taxes.  It will import your transaction history from over 300+ exchanges and wallets, and will create tax documents for reporting.  It supports tax reporting for over 20+ countries.

       Benefits

       • Easy import from 300+ exchanges and wallets
       • Track your portfolio and ROI
       • Create and download tax documents directly to your accounting software
       • Supports 20+ Tax jurisdictions

   • • Coinledger.io

       

       Coinledger.io is tracking software developed to save you time and headache when doing your taxes.  It is a trusted TurboTax partner and can easily import all of your historical data.

       Benefits

     • Easily import from a wallet, a DeFi protocol, or an exchanges
     • International tax reporting
     • Export to Turbo Tax
     • Cryptocurrency tax guides

FAQ

Do I have to pay taxes on cryptocurrency?

Yes, cryptocurrency profits are considered income, and you will be required to pay taxes on them.

Can I track my profits manually?

Yes, manual tracking is possible.  If however, you are running a larger operation and/or take part in trading/DeFi, it is probably worth your time to consider using software.

Do I need an accountant?

For a small mining operation you may be able to manage your taxes without an accountant.  However, a good accountant who is familiar with the tax laws governing cryptocurrency can be well worth the cost.  The complexity of filing taxes for a business, versus an individual make an accountant a good investment.  FYI, you may be able to write-off the cost of the accountant against your revenue.

Do you use tracking software to manage your crypto farm?  Let us know in the comments.

Mike Humphrey

Hi I’m Mike, an active crypto investor DeFi enthusiast and crypto miner. I have been involved in crypto since March of 2021 and in DeFi since May 2021.

I’m also an avid outdoor adventurer!

MykHumphrey.com

mykhumphrey.com

December 13th 2021| Mike Humphrey

What is Hive OS

If you haven’t heard of Hive OS, it’s a linux based operating system with one purpose, crypto mining.  If you have a dedicated crypto mining machine, then Hive OS is the way to go.  It automatically updates GPU drivers and mining software, and can be controlled remotely.  It’s scalable, which means it works on a single rig or a large farm.  You can grow your operation from one mining rig to a whole farm with one piece of software.  Read our Comparison of Hive OS vs Windows.

How To Set Up Hive OS

The following is a step by step guide on how to install and set up Hive OS for the first time.  Before starting you will need to connect an SSD or USB to your computer.  The SSD/USB will be used for the Hive OS disk image.  We will be using Windows to install the operating system.  Your SSD should be a minimum of 8GB, but we recommend 12GB or more.  A USB is also an option, but they are slower, and you may run into memory errors.  An SSD is your best bet.

1. Sign-Up For Hive OS

   Go to the Hive OS website, and click on Start For Free.

   
   You will be taken to a new page. Enter your email address, and create a login and password.  Click Register and follow the instructions.  We recommend setting up 2 factor authentication for security purposes.

   

2. Download Hive OS

   To download Hive OS, go to the Hive OS install page, beside GPU click on zip.

3. Install Hive OS on SSD/USB

   1. Initialize SSD in Windows (SSD ONLY)

      If using a USB, you can skip directly to step B.  Before you can install the disk image on your SSD drive, you need to initialize it in Windows Disk Manager.  This will allow Windows to see the drive.  If you don’t have the drive connected yet you will need to shut the computer off, and connect the SATA power and data cables to the SSD.

      Type disk management in the Windows task bar and open the application.
      

      Windows Disk Manager may take some time to load. Once loaded you should see an unknown disk.  To initialize the new volume, right click beside the disk name and select initialize disk.  You will be asked to select a partition type, choose GPT and click OK.

      

      The status will change to online and it will be unallocated, as seen in the picture below.

      

      Windows will now recognize the new SSD and it is now ready for the Hive OS install.

   2. Install Hive OS on SSD/USB (USB USERS START HERE)

      Now that the drive is a recognizable volume in Windows we can flash the drive with the Hive OS disk image.  To do this we first need to download software that will allow us to install the image. We use Balena Etcher. Go to their site, download, and install the software.

      

      The program is relatively easy to use. First we select the disk image to install on the drive.  To do this, select Flash from file .

      

      Choose the Hive OS image we downloaded in step 2.  There is no need to extract the file, the program will do that for us.

      

      The next step is to select where we want the disk image to be installed.  Click Select target.

      

      Choose the SSD or USB you want to install Hive OS on.  Make sure you are selecting the correct drive.  When the drive is flashed it will erase everything that was previously installed on the drive.  DO NOT SELECT the source drive (this is where Windows is installed).

      

      Now that the image and destination are selected, click Flash.

      

      A warning will pop up letting you know that you are about to erase the selected drive.  This is not a problem as long as you selected the correct drive.  Once you have confirmed your choices, click Yes, I’m sure.

      

      Balena Etcher will now begin flashing the drive.

      

      Hive OS is now installed on the USB/SSD.  If Windows does not recognize the new drive, you may need to manually assign it a drive path.  You can do this by open Windows Disk Manager again, finding the Hive OS drive, right clicking on it and assigning it a drive letter.

      

   3. Set Up Hive OS Config File

      Before installing the USB/SSD into your new system, the Hive OS config file must be set up.  The config file tells Hive OS which account the new rig belongs to and the name of the rig.  Before editing the config file, you will need to copy your farm hash from the hive dashboard.  Go to https://the.hiveos.farm/ and log into your account and select your farm.

      
      Select the settings tab and copy the farm hash to the clipboard.  You can put this in a text file until you need.
      
      In Windows File Explorer, open the Hive disk image.  This should be the drive path you assigned in step 2B.  Find the rig-config-example.txt file and open it in a text editor.
      
      In the text editor, the file will look as follows.  We will be adding a farm hash and worker name to the file.  Paste the farm hash you copied from the Hive OS dashboard, and create a worker name for your rig.
      
      Once updated, save the file as rig.conf (it must be saved with this exact name or Hive OS will not load the information on start up).  Sometimes the file is saved as a .txt extension.  Be sure to double check in file explorer and modify the extension to .conf if required.
      
      The USB/SSD can now be safely removed and installed into the new rig.  The remainder of the set-up will be done through the Hive OS web interface.  Your new rig will need to be fully built, with the drive installed and connected to the internet.  It is recommended to connect a monitor when you first start the rig up.  If there are any issues, you will be able to diagnose them much easier with a monitor.  If the SSD/USB has been set-up properly and there are no hardware issues, your system should run without problems.

4. Hive OS Settings

   Before setting up Hive OS, we should discuss how the program organizes your mining rigs. There are three main levels:

   • Farm level – A farm is defined as a group of one or more rigs
   • Rig  level – A rig is a single mining machine, a rig may have multiple GPU’s on it
   • Worker level – An individual ASIC or GPU

   When setting up Hive OS, you can decide whether you want settings to be applied at the farm level, rig level or the worker level. For example, when adding a wallet, it can be created at the farm or rig level.  If set up at the farm level, it can be applied across multiple farms.  At the rig level, it can be applied across multiple rigs in the same farm.  This allows you to decide which settings you want to be applied globally across multiple farms or multiple rigs.  The settings can be applied in bulk to your mining operation for ease of use.  In this guide we will be creating wallets and flight sheets at the farm level and applying overclock settings at the worker level.

   

   When logged into the Hive OS Web Interface, the top left bar serves as navigation for the three levels.  The Hive OS icon takes you to the farm management level, the first drop down menu allows you to select a farm and the last drop down menu allows you to select rigs.  These menus will tell you which farm, and rig you are managing at all times.

1. 1. Update Hive OS

      When downloaded, Hive OS is often not the most up-to-date version.  The first step after getting the software up and running is to update it to the most current version.  This is done at the rig level. Log into the Hive OS web interface and select your farm.

      

      Choose the new rig.

      

      In the top bar, the fourth icon from the left will be an upward pointing arrow in a circle.  If there is a newer version of Hive OS, it will be orange.  Click on it, it will turn blue and a new window will pop-up.  Click on upgrade.
      

   2. Add Wallet

      Now that Hive OS is running the most up to date version, lets set up a wallet.  Select your farm using the navigation menu at the top and select the wallet tab.  Any wallets added here, will be accessible to any rig on this farm.
      
      In the wallet tab, choose add wallet.  As you can see, we already have 2 wallets set up for this farm an ETH wallet and an Ergo wallet.  Read our cryptocurrency wallet article if you are need more information on how to choose and set up a new wallet.
      In the pop-up window select a coin, paste in your wallet address and create a name to identify the wallet.  You can also choose a source (an exchange etc.) if this is applicable.  The two toggles will allow you to make the wallet global, and have Hive OS fetch your wallet balance (this is a beta feature).

      

   3. Create a Flight Sheet

      Flight sheets are used to tell your workers which algorithm to use, which mining software to use and what pool to mine to.  They can also be modified, similar to a Bat file in Windows.  In this example, we are going to create a flight sheet to mine ETH to the Ethermine pool using NBminer.  If you want to learn more about adding additional arguments, take a look at our article about setting up Dual Mining with T-Rex Miner.

      First select your Farm and then choose the flight sheets tab.

      
      Select a coin, your wallet, the pool and the mining software you wish to use.  You can click on the configure links, to modify the pool and the miner.  For the pool, choose the location closest to you (see our articles about pool latency, pool payouts and mining websites for more information about choosing the right pool for you).  Click on Setup Miner Config, and double check that the miner is set to the latest version.  Save the settings and create the flight sheet.
      
      Now we must apply the flight sheet to the mining rig.  To do this, use the top navigation bar to select the new mining rig.  Choose the flight sheet tab and find the one you just created.  Click on the spaceship icon to the right and apply the settings to your rig.
      
      The flight sheet tab should now look like the image below, with your selected sheet at the top.
      

   4. Overclocking

      One of the nice features about Hive OS is it’s overclock settings.  Hive OS stores the the overclock settings 0f all its users in a database.  You can then sort these based on the mining algorithm and popularity, and apply the same settings to your cards.  This is a broad method of overclocking your cards. If you want a step-by-step guide on how to overclock your cards for maximum profit and efficiency read our Windows GPU Overclocking article. The same method can be used for your cards in Hive OS.

      With your rig selected in the top menu choose the overview tab.  It will list all of the workers you have in that rig.  Overclock settings are applied to each worker individually, this allows for different cards to have different settings.  On the right hand side of each worker there is a speedometer icon.  Click the icon and a new window will pop-up
      

      In the new window select the Popular Presets tab, choose the coin/algorithm you are mining.  A list of presets ranked by the number of people currently using them will be generated.  You can select from these presets by double clicking them and selecting apply.  Repeat this for all the cards in your new rig.
      Note: this is the fast and dirty method of overclocking.  Every card, coin and sometimes even miner, may require slightly different overclock settings to be optimal.  This is a great way to get started, but it is worthwhile going through each card and finding the optimal overclock settings.  This is a much longer process that involves incrementally changing your settings and comparing your mining rates.  Read our guide on overclocking (Using Windows) for how to perform this process, and an excel template you can use to track your results.

Conclusion

You have now successfully added your first rig to Hive OS.  The next step is to monitor, optimize and get more comfortable with the program.  Have fun Mining.

Mike Humphrey

Hi I’m Mike, an active crypto investor DeFi enthusiast and crypto miner. I have been involved in crypto since March of 2021 and in DeFi since May 2021.

I’m also an avid outdoor adventurer!

MykHumphrey.com

mykhumphrey.com

November 29th 2021| Mike Humphrey

What is overclocking?

Overclocking is when you change the base settings of your GPU in order to increase how fast it performs calculations.  By modifying the core clock, memory clock, power limit, and fan speed, you can increase the GPU output.  Overclocking will squeeze more performance out of your GPU but it will also produce additional heat.  In exchange for increased performance the graphics card will require additional cooling and care.

Is it worth overclocking your GPU?

The benefit of overclocking is additional speed.  Gamers and crypto miners who are looking for more out of their hardware take advantage of overclocking to boost performance.  For a gamers, overclocking can be a way to extend your budget, allowing you to get higher performance out of a lower end card.  With the current GPU shortage and scalpers prices, overclocking may allow you to play that next level game without having to upgrade your current GPU.  For crypto miners, overclocking is critical to maximizing card performance while reducing operating costs.  It is essential to getting the highest return on your investment and well worth it for any crypto miner.

Is overclocking a graphics card safe?

If done properly overclocking your GPU is safe.  When you overclock the GPU you are running it beyond its factory settings, it may void the warranty, and if the additional heat is not managed, it could burn out your GPU.  However, if you monitor your graphics card and ensure that it does not overheat, your card will be fine.

Overclocking Software

In order to modify your settings, you will need graphics card overclocking software.  Many manufacturers provide proprietary software that comes with the card when you purchase.  For windows users, we recommend MSI Afterburner.

MSI Afterburner

MSI afterburner is free software offered by MSI. It works on both Nvidia and AMD graphics cards and is the industry standard. It’s highly functional giving you complete control and the ability to monitor changes in real-time.

• NVidia and AMD graphics cards
• Full control of your cards settings
• Monitor in real-time
• Free

Overclock GPU for Mining

Every card and every coin will require different settings for optimal mining.  The good news is there is a standard method to follow in order to find the best settings.  In the guide below we find the optimal settings for an NVidia 3070Ti (LHR), mining Ergo, using NBMiner.  You can follow this exact process for your card with any coin and any miner.  If you are new to mining find out how to start mining with Windows.

Note: Overclocking your GPU may void your warranty. If the card overheats, this could also cause damage, please proceed at your own risk.

When you overclock, you will need to make a decision whether you want to optimize for efficiency (hashes per Watt) or if you want to maximize your hash rate. Personally I prefer to maximize my hash rates and then drop the power settings to optimize power usage at maximum rates.  The method below will find both and then you can decide which you prefer.

1. Download & Install MSI Afterburner

   MSI afterburner is the most popular GPU overclocking software and it’s free. Click on the link above, download and install.

   

2. Run MSI Afterburner & Miner

   Now that MSI is installed, open it, and start up your mining software. You will need to reference the mining software as you change your the settings in Afterburner.

   

3. Set Fan Speed To Maximum

   The first thing we want to do is set our fan speed to maximum. We do this to make sure that the GPU is properly cooled throughout the overclocking process. Some cards may become quite hot when overclocked and maximizing the fan speed will reduce the chances of damage.

   

4. Record Stock Hash Rate

   Before making any changes, we want to stop and record the stock hash rate, power, and efficiency numbers. When we overclock, we like to open a spreadsheet and record all the results. Download Our Excel Template.

   

5. Optimal Efficiency (No Overclock)

   There are some cards that actually mine better with stock settings. Our first step will be to check what impact decreasing the power has on base hash rates and efficiency.  Later, we will compare this to the efficiency at our maximum hash rate.  To do this we decrease the power by increments of 10%. Between each decrease be sure to wait for the hash rate to settle before recording it.

   

   The table below shows the results for our 3070Ti.  We excluded the results between 80% and 50% as they were redundant.

   % Power	Core Clock	Mem Clock	Hashrate	Power (Watts)	Eff/Watt (Kh/Watt)
   100%	0	0	147.6	204	723.4
   90%	0	0	145.3	198	733.8
   80%	0	0	147.5	198	744.8
   50%	0	0	149.5	144	1038
   55%	0	0	152.1	159	956.4
   51%	0	0	152.5	147	1037

   As the power was decreased, hash rates actually started to slowly increase until we hit 60% power. Between 60% and 50% hash rates and efficiency started to drop off.  After some trial and error we found a maximum efficiency and mining rate at a power setting of 51%. Make sure to record your efficiency and hash rates before moving to the next step.

6. Core Clock Speed

   To check the core clock, first reset power to 100% (we don’t want to limit the card in any way). We then want to set the core clock to the lowest setting possible. (Some cards mine better at low clock rates). If you see a spike in hash rates when you decrease the clock, slowly increase it by increments of 100 until you find the maximum hash rate. If there is no change in hash rate at low clock settings, you can start incrementing from 0 clock speed.

   

   For our 3070Ti, there was no increase to hash rates at a low clock speed. So we proceeded to increase from 0 by increments of 100. Some cards are more sensitive to changes in clock speed, and you may need to go by increments of 50.  The table below shows the results of our tests.

   % Power	Core Clock	Mem Clock	Hashrate	Power (Watts)	Eff/Watt (Kh/Watt)
   100%	-502	0	143.8	193	745.2
   100%	0	0	147.6	204	723.4
   100%	50	0	149.6	202	740.6
   100%	200	0	150.2	201	743.7
   100%	300	Crash

   

   Our card showed a small increase in mining rate as we increased the core clock and then crashed at 300. We pulled the core clock back to 200 which seemed to stabilize the card.

7. Memory Clock Speed

   Now that we’ve determined the optimal clock speed, we can focus on the memory speed.  Starting from zero, incrementally increase the clock speed by 50 or 100 until the hash rate start to drop off or the miner crashes.

   

   % Power	Core Clock	Mem Clock	Hashrate	Power (Watts)	Eff/Watt (Kh/Watt)
   100%	200	0	147.7	204	724.2
   100%	200	50	147.6	205	720.2
   100%	200	100	148.7	205	725.4
   100%	200	200	153.1	208	735.9
   100%	200	300	155.8	211	738.6
   100%	200	400	157.7	205	769
   100%	200	500	159.3	206	773.4
   100%	200	600	162	208	779
   100%	200	700	164.1	210	781.2
   100%	200	800	166.2	213	780
   100%	200	900	168.1	213	789.3
   100%	200	1000	169.1	216	783.1
   100%	200	1100	170.2	214	795.3
   100%	200	1200	173.3	218	795.2
   100%	200	1300	175.2	223	785.7
   100%	200	1350	176.9	222	796.6
   100%	200	1375	178.1	222	802.4
   100%	200	1400	178.5	223	800.5
   100%	200	1425	178.7	224	797.9

   Our 3070Ti maxed out its hash rate at a memory clock speed of 1425.

8. Reduce Power

   Now that we have optimized the core and memory clock for mining rates, we can look at reducing the power usage to optimize efficiency. To do this, we incrementally decrease power by 10%. When the mining rate starts to drop off, pull the power back up and decrease the size of the increments until you find the optimal power settings. We usually find the lowest optimal setting and then bump the power up by a couple of percent to ensure that the card has some room and will not be power limited.

   

   % Power	Core Clock	Mem Clock	Hashrate	Power (Watts)	Eff/Watt (Kh/Watt)
   100%	200	1425	178.7	224	797.9
   90%	200	1425	176.1	224	786.1
   80%	200	1425	177.7	222	778.1
   70%	200	1425	177.6	202	879.1
   60%	200	1425	139.4	173	805.7
   65%	200	1425	135.9	167	813.9
   70%	200	1425	179.5	202	888.4
   68%	200	1425	180.2	196	919.6

   As you can see from the table the hash rate dropped off significantly at 60%.  We pulled the power back up to 65%, but hash rates didn’t increase.  The power was reset to 70% and decreased by 1% increments until 68% was identified as the optimal power setting.

9. Results

   Overclocking the card increased hash rates by 30 MH/s and efficiency by 200 Kh/Watt from factory settings.

   	% Power	Core Clock	Mem Clock	Hashrate	Power (Watts)	Eff/Watt (Kh/Watt)
   Stock Settings	100%	0	0	147.6	204	723.4
   Stock Max Eff	51%	0	0	152.5	147	1037
   Max Hash Rate	68%	200	1425	180.2	196	919.6

   Here you must make a descion which settings you prefer, maximum efficiency or maximum hash rate. We chose maximum hash rate settings.

10. Save Your settings

    Now that we have the optimal overclock settings, you can return the fan setting to auto and save the presets in Afterburner. To save the settings click on the disk icon in the bottom middle and then click on a number on the right hand side. Each number can save different settings.

    

    You can also add MSI Afterburner to the Windows startup folder so that your overclock settings will take effect automatically when Windows restarts.

11. Check Stability

    When you overclock a GPU, it pushes it beyond its factory limits and can cause the card to become unstable. Make sure to check the stability of your card over the next couple of days. Watch out for the mining software crashing, or an increase in the number of invalid shares. If there are signs of instability, you can dial back the settings and let the card run again. Repeat the process until you find the best stable settings.

Have you overclocked your GPU? Tell us your GPU, coin, overclock settings, and hash rate in the comments.

Mike Humphrey

Hi I’m Mike, an active crypto investor DeFi enthusiast and crypto miner. I have been involved in crypto since March of 2021 and in DeFi since May 2021.

I’m also an avid outdoor adventurer!

MykHumphrey.com

mykhumphrey.com

November 15th, 2021| Mike Humphrey

Mining with HiveOS

HiveOS is a Linux based operating system designed for one thing, crypto mining.  It allows users to setup and control mining rigs more effectively and hassle-free.  You can manage thousands of miners all from a single place.  Monitor all your rigs remotely from a desktop log in, update GPU drivers easily, and change mining software, algorithms, and coins with the click of a button and more.

Pros

• Ease of Use
• Free for your first rig
• Free if you mine on Hiveon pool
• Remote monitoring and control
• Automated resets for hash rate drops etc.
• Easily switch between miners and algorithms
• Automated notifications through discord and telegram
• GPU and ASICs
• Pre-set overclock settings available

Cons

• Not Free for 2nd rig and beyond (unless you mine to Hiveon pool)
• Mining rig must be a fully separate set-up (cannot run concurrently on Windows)
  • It can be installed on a second partition, but requires a reboot to run

Who is it For

HiveOS has a ton of great features, the ease of use, and ability to manage your rigs remotely is a huge plus.  Realistically though HiveOS is only meant for miners with at least one dedicated mining rig.  If you are mining from a single PC, even with multiple GPU’s, it doesn’t make much sense to run HiveOS.  Until you have multiple miners (GPUs or ASICs) then there isn’t any reason to go through the hassle of running dedicated software on your PC.  HiveOS is not an application, but an operating system.  It should be used to manage a mining rig, not a card.

Mining with Windows

Mining on Windows is relatively simple to do.  Select a coin to mine, choose and set-up the mining software, pick your pool and you are off to the races.  You can run the miner in the background when you aren’t using the GPU, and shut it off if you want to game or edit videos.  You will need to learn how to edit batch files, but with the proper Windows mining guide you can be up and mining in less than an hour.  The challenge with Windows is when you start add multiple GPUs or begin building a dedicated mining rig.  Multiple GPUs may require you to edit your motherboard bios settings, and Windows will not recognize a rig more than 12 GPU’s and getting them to all function is another story.  When you reach this stage of mining, Windows becomes more of a challenge and you should consider moving to a dedicate operating system.

Pros

• Simple to set up on your current PC
• Easy to switch on and off
• Great for a small number of GPU’s

Cons

• No remote access
• Cannot manage multiple rigs from one interface
• Windows has a maximum of 12GPUs (this can be challenging to achieve)
• Must manually download mining software updates
• Must manually update GPU drivers
• No ASIC support

Who is it For

Windows is used by many miners, it can function well, but it is best used for smaller scale operators looking to mine crypto on the side.  If you are looking to expand your operation or manage multiple rigs then nothing beats the ease of use of HiveOS.

Alternatives

NiceHash

NiceHash is a marketplace that allows you to purchase or sell your mining hash power.  Buyers select a cryptocurrency, a mining pool, and set the price they are willing to pay.  NiceHash forwards the order to all the connected miners, who then fulfill the order.  In return the miner gets paid for allowing buyers to rent their hash power.

RaveOS

RaveOS is similar to HiveOS and is considered its main competitor.  Like HiveOS you can control your rigs through both the web interface and a mobile application. You can access hash rates, errors, power consumption, and much more regardless of your location.

• Easy to use
• Mobile app
• Free tier available

Mining OS (by Minerstat)

Mining OS is a fairly simple Linux OS by Minerstat. You can monitor and manage your rigs remotely with the help of unique features, such as ClockTune, profit switch, control room, and more.  The mining OS has a Windows compatible companion software that is used to manage your farm remotely.

• Great Tools
• Free tier available

I highly recommend checking out there additional software page where they have some great calculators and software that can be used to optimize your mining rigs.

What OS do you use to mine? Let us know in the comments below

Mike Humphrey

Hi I’m Mike, an active crypto investor DeFi enthusiast and crypto miner. I have been involved in crypto since March of 2021 and in DeFi since May 2021.

I’m also an avid outdoor adventurer!

MykHumphrey.com

mykhumphrey.com

November 8th 2021| Mike Humphrey

Definition of Latency

Latency is the time it takes for data to be sent from one point in a network to another.  Imagine yourself standing in the mountains and you decide its time to let everyone know you’re there.  You let out a loud yodel.  The sound travels to the mountains across from you and bounces back.  The delay between you yodeling and the echo coming back is latency.  Most people think of latency when talking about video game lag.  The delay between you telling your character to move and it actually moving, is caused by the time required to send the information to the game server and back.  Latency or ping is a measure in milliseconds of the time required to send and receive the information.  A lower ping is better than a higher ping.

Mining Pool Latency

Latency is important for crypto miners because it can negatively impact your revenue.  Pool latency affects how quickly you will send and receive hashes to and from the pool.  As a miner your goal is to solve as many hashes as possible as fast as possible.  Any added delays due to latency will impact every hash you attempt to solve.  This means small differences in latency affect every hash and can therefore add up very quickly.

Below is an example of the impact of latency.  The blue bars represent the time required to transmit information to and from the server (the latency).  The grey bars represent the time required for the computers to solve a given hash (computer hash rate).

In the above diagram computer 1 and computer 2 have the exact same hash solve time, but computer 2 has double the latency of computer 1.  By the time computer 1 has solved and submitted 3 hashes, computer 2 has only just started to solve hash #3.  Despite both computers having the same solve time, computer 1 will have a significantly faster hash rate on the pool.

Mining Latency Tester

Before mining to any pool you should check the latency between your rig and the pool.  The 2miners stratum-ping tool is a program that will test your latency.  Download the software from Github and extract it to a folder to your desktop.

Open the folder you just created, right click on a Bat file and choose edit.

The Bat file will open in a text editor and should look something like this.

You can edit the file by replacing the mining pool address with whichever pool you want to ping.  Save the file and double click to open.  A command window will open and run a ping test on the pool you entered.  Below is a sample of two tests.  The first was to the Ethermine US1 pool and the second was to a Binance pool.

At the bottom of each window there are two lines that summarizing the results.

• 5 packets transmitted, 5 received, 0% packet loss, time 6.0744563s —> 5 packets were sent during the test and none were lost, the test took a total of 6.07 seconds to complete
• min/avg/max = 195.7273ms, 197.2036ms, 199.7427ms —> min avg and max time to send an receive a packet listed in milliseconds

The average ping was 67ms for Ethermine and 197ms for Binance.  Based on these results I should mine to Ethermine instead of Binance.

What is a Good Ping

• As a guideline, a good ping is anything less than 100ms.

Finding the Best Mining Pool

When considering a mining pool there are 3 main factors you need to consider – latency, pool fees and payout method.  Pool fees can range from 0%-2%, and pools will claim their fee from your rewards.  Our top 3 crypto mining websites article has some great information about how to compare different pools.  Pool payout methods can impact what rewards you receive and how they are distributed between miners.  Read our detailed article about pool payouts to learn more.  Ultimately the pool that is best for you is the one that gets you the highest payout.  The two articles linked above will give you some tools to figure out which is the best pool for you.

Have you ever used a mining pool latency tester before? Let us know in the comments below.

Mike Humphrey

Hi I’m Mike, an active crypto investor DeFi enthusiast and crypto miner. I have been involved in crypto since March of 2021 and in DeFi since May 2021.

I’m also an avid outdoor adventurer!

MykHumphrey.com

mykhumphrey.com

November 1st, 2021| Mike Humphrey

What is Crypto Mining?

Crypto mining is a proof of work (PoW) method of verifying transactions on a block chain.  Whenever a transaction is submitted, a cryptographic hash equation is sent to miners. Computers are then used to find a solution to the equation.  When a computer successfully solves an equation a data block is “verified” and can then be added to the block chain.

Solving hash equations is similar to rolling a set of dice and trying to hit a specific number.  Computers must randomly attempt to find the correct inputs for the hash equation that will result in a given output.  The computer tries different inputs over and over again until it gets the correct solution.  The faster and more often a computer can input and solve the cryptographic hash equation the more likely the computer will land on the correct number.  How fast your computer can “roll the dice” is called your hash rate.

How To Make Money Mining Crypto

There are two ways to make money while mining crypto, through block rewards and transaction fees.

Block Rewards

Block rewards are set by the blockchain.  When a transaction is performed a new block is created and it is sent to miners to solve. Every time a new block is solved and added to the blockchain new coins are minted and rewarded to the miner who successfully solved the block.   The reward pays miners for allowing the blockchain to use their processing power to verify and secure the blockchain.

Transaction Fees

Transaction fees are paid by the person sending crypto currency, to move a waiting request higher up in the cue.  The higher the transaction fee the sooner the request will be completed.

Note: Not all mining pools share transaction fees with miners.  Read out article on mining pool payout methods to learn how pools distribute earnings to miners.

How Much Can you Make Mining Crypto

If you have a top of the line video card you could be earning $10-$15/day mining Ethereum (dependent on power and Eth price).  If you have a lower end card you could be looking at $2/day.  Many miners are focused on mining Ethereum because it is currently the most profitable coin (see our article on Top Websites for Cypto Miners).  Also if you mine Ethereum and learn about De-Fi you can take your mining profits and re-invest them to earn interest.

How To Mine Cryptocurrency On PC

1. Choose a Coin

   Choosing which coin to mine to is the first step. Different coins have different algorithms and also different blockchains. This means that different coins may require different miners, and different wallets. If you don’t have a wallet yet or are not sure which coin you want to mine read our article about crypto wallets. You can also check out the Whattomine website to find out which coin is the most profitable.

2. Choose a Mining Pool

   Mining pools allow miners to work together to verify blocks.  The difficulty level on most blockchains makes it unrealistic for a single miner to solve a block on their own.  By pooling your mining power with others, you can find blocks together and then split the rewards.  Each pool will have different payout types, fees, locations, and size; all of which should be taken into account when choosing. To make things easier until you get a handle on how everything works, select the pool closest to you, with the lowest fees and a PPLNS+ payout.  Read more about how mining pools work and how to choose a mining pool.

3. Choose a Miner

   A crypto miner is software that will allow your computer to receive, solve, and submit hash equations from a mining pool. Some mining software allows you to mine different types of coins and may also have additional features to optimize mining for your specific computer e.g. LHR card workarounds etc.

   1. Download Miner

      

      Below is a list of several miners to choose from with links to their download pages.

      • • • Ethminer
          • NBMiner
          • LOLMiner
          • Phoenix Miner
          • T-Rex Miner

   2. Install Miner

      1. Extract

         After downloading the miner file, the next step is to extract the miner. I usually extract the folder to the desktop so I can find it easily.

         

      2. Add Windows/Anti-Virus Exceptions

         Mining software is often identified as a virus by Windows defender and anti-virus software. You will need to create an exclusion for the new folder you have extracted.

         • • Open Virus & Threat Protection

             

           • Manage Virus & Threat Protection Settings

             

           • Scroll Down in To Exclusions and Click Add or Restore Exclusions

             

           • Click on Add an Exclusion and Choose Folder

             

           • Add the Folder You Just Extracted

   3. Update Bat file

      A Bat or Batch file is a list of instructions that will tell Windows to run the miner. It also tells the mining software which mining pool you wish to mine to, the wallet you want to deposit to, and, any other special instructions required for the miner.

      The easiest way to setup a batch file is to look at the example batch files included with the miner, and update them with your information.

      Information Needed

      • Crypto Wallet Address
      • Mining Pool Address and Port
      • Name For Your Rig

      For our example we will set up NBminer, mining Ethereum on the Ethermine US Pool. (Download NBMiner Here)

      Open the miner folder find the eth_start.bat file, right click and select edit.

      

      The file will open in a text editor and will look something like this.

      

      To modify this file we need to change the pool address, wallet address, and name your mining rig.  The syntax for batch files changes depending on the miner, but generally these are the 3 critical pieces of information you need to change regardless of which software you choose.

      • Replace —> cn.sparkpool.com:13333 —> us1.ethermine.org:4444
      • Replace —> 0x4296116d44a4a7259B52B1A756e19083e675062A —> YOUR_WALLET_ADDRESS
      • Replace —> default —> YOUR_RIG_NAME

       

      Additional NB Miner Commands

      • -lhr ## —> (## is % of full hashrate target)
      • -lhr-mode 2 —> (Default lhr mode, this is the low power mode)
      • -lhr-mode 1 —> (Original lhr version, NB miner 39.2)

   4. Add Bat File To Windows Start-up

      Now that the Bat file is set up, lets add a shortcut of the Bat file to the Windows startup folder so that whenever the computer starts it automatically run the mining software.

      Press Windows+r to open run command.

      

      In the window that pops-up type —> shell:startup
      This will open the start-up folder.

      Now go to the miner folder and find the Bat file you just edited.  Copy the file and paste a shortcut in the startup folder.

      

      

      The miner will now automatically run when Windows starts.

4. Run Miner

   Now lets run the miner by opening the Bat file you modified.  This should open a command prompt and you should see the miner load and begin to mine. You should see something that looks similar to this.

   

   Once the miner is up and running, make sure to check out the mining pool to confirm that you are connecting properly, and that your rates are as expected. To do this head to Ethermine and in the top search bar enter in your wallet address.

   

   

   It may take up to 10 minutes for Ethermine to update and recognize that you are connected.

5. Overclock Your GPU

   If you want to increase your profits, then you want to make sure your card is running at the highest hash rate and the lowest power. To do this you will need to overclock your GPU. Overclocking your GPU can add wear and tear on the device and can potentially damage the GPU. Please be aware of the risks before overclocking.

   1. Download MSI Afterburner

      Many miners will allow you to hard code GPU overclocks in the Bat file, but if your looking for a quick easy method, MSI Afterburner is a great option. Download and install the program.

      

   2. Modify Settings

      Optimizing your overclock settings is beyond the scope of this article, but the general process is.

      1. Set power to max
      2. Set core clock to lowest value
      3. Check the hash rate (it may take a little time for the hash rate settle)
      4. Incrementally increase your core clock until the hash rate stops increasing or the card crashes (if the card crashed reduce core clock by 50)
      5. Set memory clock to minimum
      6. Incrementally increases the core clock until the hash rate reaches a maximum or the card crashes
      7. Incrementally decrease power until the hash rate start to decrease.

      Once you have overclocked the card, let it run for a day or a week to see if its stable or if you are getting invalid shares. If the card is experiencing issues pull back the setting and let it run again. Different algorithms have different optimal overclock settings and even miner updates may require you to re-assess.

FAQ’s

Can crypto mining damage my GPU?

Mining does not do any more or less damage to your GPU than if you were gaming.  There is however more wear and tear because it runs continuously.  Also if you have overclocked the GPU this will put additional strain on it and reduce it’s life.

What is the best GPU for mining?

The best GPU for mining the one provides the highest return on investment (ROI).  Crypto mining is all about maximizing your revenue and decreasing your expenses.  Because of this which GPU is best often changes (esp. when prices fluctuations).  Take a look at our article the Top Crypto Mining Websites to find out some tools you can use to pick the best mining GPU for you.

What pool should I mine to?

Choosing a mining pool depends on the pool fee, location and payout method.  To learn more read our Mining Pool Payouts article and check the Top Crypto Mining Websites for some tools that will help you choose.

Mike Humphrey

Hi I’m Mike, an active crypto investor DeFi enthusiast and crypto miner. I have been involved in crypto since March of 2021 and in DeFi since May 2021.

I’m also an avid outdoor adventurer!

MykHumphrey.com

mykhumphrey.com

October 25th, 2021| Mike Humphrey

How Does Crypto Mining Work?

Crypto mining is very similar to gambling.  A crypto block is mined by entering random inputs into a hash equation until the correct solution is found.  Imagine you’re at a casino in front of a slot machine.  Every time you pull the arm is another chance of hitting the jackpot.  Similar to this, every time your computer tries to solve the equation is like one more spin of the slot machine.  The faster your computer can pull the lever the more attempts it makes to solve the equation and the more likely it is to hit a jackpot and earn block rewards.  The rate that your computer spins the wheel is called your hash rate. Because your computer cannot solve the equation logically and must try random inputs, luck is a big factor in solving a block.

What is a Mining Pool?

When a block is sent out to be verified it is sent out to all miners.  You must compete to solve the block first.  As a single miner, you have a limited amount of computer power available.  A mining pool allows you to combine your hash power with other miners to solve blocks faster.  Higher hash rates mean faster successes.  The rewards can then be split between all the miners in the pool.  Pools increase the consistency of your mining rewards and reduce the impact of luck.  With current block difficulties, the hash rates required to successfully mine blocks in a reasonable time-frame are quite high.  For most miners, mining pools are the only way to guarantee they will get rewards.

How Does a Mining Pool Work?

When you connect your mining rig to a mining pool, you combine your mining power with everyone else in the pool.  The pool sends you hashes to solve and you send those hashes back to the pool.  The pool tracks your hashes and when a block is solved successfully you are sent a portion of the reward.  Pools charge miners a small fee usually 1%-2% in order to mine on the pool.  Pool fees are taken directly from rewards before they are distributed to miners.

How Do Mining Pool Payouts Work?

Mining pools split block rewards differently depending on how the pool is set-up.  Pools will have different ways of splitting rewards between members.  Different fee structures may distribute a portion of the transaction fees (gas fees) paid by the accounts performing the transaction.  Below is a list of some of the most popular pool payout methods

Proportional (PROP)

Rewards are distributed to workers when a block is found, and are split proportionally by how many shares each worker found.

Pay Per Share (PPS)

Rewards are paid for each share submitted regardless of whether a block has been found or not.  This puts all the risk on the mining pool and for this reason pools with this payout type usually have the highest fees.

Full Pay Per Share(FPPS) or Pay Per Share + (PPS+)

Full pay per share is similar to pay per share, but miners also receive a portion of the transaction fees.

Pay Per Last N Shares (PPLNS)

Pay per last N shares is similar to proportional, but instead of looking at the number of shares in a given block, it takes into account the proportion of shares the miner has contributed to the last N number of shares.  PPLNS reduces the benefits of pool hopping.  Miners could mine to a pool until a block was solved and then shift over to a new pool that was close to solving a block.  This allows  miners to catch blocks just before they are solved across multiple pools.

Full Pay Per Last N Shares (PPLNS+)

Full pay per last N shares is the same as PPLNS, but with miners receiving additional transaction fees.

Solo Mining

With Solo mining a miner takes all the risk of luck on individually.  If you have a high hash power this could be a reasonable option.  For most miners however they don’t have sufficient hash rate power to be able to solve blocks in a reasonable time frame.

Recommended Mining Pool Payout

Of the mining pool payout methods, we recommend mining to a PPLNS+ pool. This payout method gives you both block rewards and transaction fees.  PPLNS+ also limits the risk to the mining pool, which benefits you as a miner as it means the pool is more likely to continue and you are less likely to be shorted on payments.  Make sure to consider the other mining factors listed below when choosing a pool.  For more on how to pick a specific mining pool read our article Top 3 Crypto Mining Websites.

Other Mining Pool Factors To Consider

When considering mining pool payout types you must also consider the additional costs transferred to the miner by the pool.   These can include transaction fees as well as the mining pool fee.

Mining Pool Fee

Mining pools make their money by charging a fee to the miners that operate on the pool.  Fees can range anywhere from 0% – 2% depending on the pool setup.  If you mine on Linux using HiveOS for example, the Hive Pool is free.  Be sure to take into consideration the pool costs when comparing different pools.

Transaction Fees

When the pool sends rewards to miners wallets, there is a fee for the transaction.  Each pool deals with transaction fees in different ways.  Some pools cover the costs while others charge transaction fees to the miners.  With the introduction of EIP 1559 on Ethereum, many Ethereum mining pools started transferring fees to the miners.

Pool Latency

Although pool latency does not directly relate to mining pool payouts, its an important factor to consider when choosing a pool to mine to.  Pool latency refers to the time it takes for you to communicate with a given pool.  Your ping, measured in milliseconds, determines how long it takes to send a data packet from your computer over the internet to the pool and then back again.  Latency determines how quickly you can send your solved hash back to the mining pool.  Since you are competing with thousands of other miners, any delay in sending info to the server can give someone else the chance to submit their hash first (this is called a stale share).  This means finding pools with low latency is critical to reducing your stale shares and will impact on your profitability.

Find Out More

We have compiled a list of the Top 3 Crypto Mining Websites.  These sites will let you determine the ROI of your mining rig, make decisions about purchasing new cards, and allow you to find the best mining pool for you.  Be sure to read the article to find out more.

Tell us which mining payout method you prefer and why in the comments below!

Mike Humphrey

Hi I’m Mike, an active crypto investor DeFi enthusiast and crypto miner. I have been involved in crypto since March of 2021 and in DeFi since May 2021.

I’m also an avid outdoor adventurer!

MykHumphrey.com

mykhumphrey.com

October 18th, 2021| Mike Humphrey

What to Mine

Whattomine.com is an invaluable website for any crypto miner.  The site has a database of both GPU and ASIC miner stats that will tell you the hash rate and power consumption for any mining rig configuration.  Simply select the number and type of GPU/ASIC, enter in your price of power, and click calculate.  The crypto calculator will tell you the daily profitability for your set-up based on current coin prices.  You can find out which crypto coin is the most profitable to mine, and which mining equipment will make you the most money.

How to Use What To Mine

1. Choose Which Coin to Mine

   • As coin prices fluctuate, and difficulty goes up and down it often makes sense to redeploy your miners to different coins.  Whattomine is a quick way to monitor your rig and make sure you are mining the most profitable coin.  When you enter your rig information into the calculator it will tell you which algorithm is the most profitable at any given time.  Checking this lets you know whether you are mining the best coin at any given moment.

2. Check your hash rates versus expected rates

   • The Whattomine database is great for comparing your hash rates versus what other miners are getting.  It’s a quick gut check on whether your cards are hashing within expected ranges.  When you select your GPU, you can compare the hash rate that you are getting on your miner to the hash rates in the database.  This lets you know whether your cards are performing as expected and can be an indicator of the quality of your overclock settings.

3. Determine Payback Rates on Card Purchases

   • If you’re wondering which card to purchase next, Whattomine is a great tool to help you estimate the payback time for any given card.  If you compare daily profitability versus equipment prices you can figure out whether the gear you are looking at is the best buy.  Using the number of days needed to pay back mining equipment you can rank potential purchases to determine which are the best deals.  The lower the number of days required to pay back the purchase price, the higher the return on investment.

Mining Pool Stats

Mining Pool Stats is a database of known proof of work(PoW) mining pool websites with real-time hash rates.  To use the site, first select your coin type, and then you will be taken to a page that lists pools by total hash rate.  The pool fee, payout type, and payout thresholds are all listed for each pool.

How to Use Mining Pool Stats

1. Find Out Which Mining Pool Has the Highest Hashrate

   • The higher the hash rate, the more blocks the pool will find and the more likely miners will get paid out more regularly.  Smaller pools are more subject to luck which means less consistent payouts.

2. Choose a Pool Based on Payout Type

   • The various payout types impact how much you earn from solved blocks.  This crypto-mining website lets you choose pools based on your preferred payment type. To find out more about the benefits of different payout options read our article about pool payout types.

3. Compare Mining Pool Fees

   • Each mining pool charges different fees.  Mining Pool Stats lists all the fees in one spot so you can compare different mining pool costs and decide which works best for you.
     • Note: Some pools charge network gas fees to transfer funds to your wallet.  Always check the pool itself to find out the additional costs.

Mining Pools Profits

Mining Pools Profits is a site for Etherium crypto miners.  It’s similar to  Mining Pools Stats, but with a few key differences.  It lists mining pools in order of profitability based on the average mining returns from the past 56 days.  Returns are listed for the last 24 hrs, last 3 days, 7 days, and all the way up to 56 days.  The mining returns can be modified to account for stale and invalid share rates that you may have experienced on a given pool. It also lists the average luck of the pool, aka how many block rewards were received versus expected.

How to Use Mining Pool Profits

This tool is a great way of checking pool returns including stale and invalid shares, making the rates more realistic.  This can be used to determine the profitability of mining to higher latency servers with higher stale shares versus low latency servers with fewer stale shares.  There are often serves with lower costs, but higher ping rates.  You can use this website to determine whether higher mining returns can compensate for losses due to stale shares on these pools.

This is our go-to list of the top 3 crypto mining websites.  With these resources, you can make decisions about future purchases, which coins to mine and which pools to mine to.

Let us know in the comments which crypto mining sites you use the most!

Mike Humphrey

Hi I’m Mike, an active crypto investor DeFi enthusiast and crypto miner. I have been involved in crypto since March of 2021 and in DeFi since May 2021.

I’m also an avid outdoor adventurer!

MykHumphrey.com

mykhumphrey.com

October 15th, 2021| Mike Humphrey

1. Open Hive OS

   Log in to Hive OS and select the rig you want to dual mine with
   

2. Set Up Flight Sheet

   After selecting the miner choose the flight sheet tab to set up T-Rex miner for dual mining
   
   Select Eth as the coin, choose your wallet and select and configure the mining pool you wish to mine to.  In my case I mine to Ethermine on Polygon due to the low  transaction costs which allows easy investment in DeFi.  Set the Miner to T-Rex miner.
   

3. T-Rex Miner Config

   Hive OS is now ready mine Ethereum using T-Rex, in order to set it up for dual mining we now have to make sure we configure the miner.  To do this click on Setup Miner Config.
   

   In the Miner Config settings make sure that the version is set to 0.24.0, higher or The latest.  Once the version is set properly, expand the Extra Config arguments.  This where we will enter in the additional commands to mine a second coin.
   

   “devices”: “0, 1, 2, 3” (IGNORE THIS LINE – This sets which workers the flight sheet will apply to, remove this line if you want it to apply to all GPU’s)
   “worker”: “%WORKERS_NAMES%” (DON’T CHANGE – This will pull the worker name you assigned to the rig in Hive OS)
   “coins”: ” %COIN%” (DON’T CHANGE – pulls the coin name from the Hive OS)

   “lhr-algo”:”CHOOSE_AN_ALGORITHM” ( octopus, autolykos2, kapow)
   “url2”: “YOUR_MINING_POOL_ADDRESS” (Enter your mining pool and IP)
   “user2”: “YOUR_WALLET_ADDRESS”  (Enter your wallet address here)
   “pass2”: “x” (Enter your mining pool password here, leave as x if you don’t have a password)

   Once entered, Click Apply Settings

   

    

4. Overclock GPU

   Now that the miner is set up we can set up the overclock settings to optimize mining.  Click on the workers tab and select the mining rig to see the GPU’s in your rig.  Click on the icon on the very right side of the miner
   

   In the window that pops up you can apply the recommended settings.

   T-Rex ETH+ERGO

   Requires 8GB+ VRAM

   Important: if your GPU is LHR-constrained on ERGO in single mode no matter what overclock you set, this dual mode is not for you as the miner will be constantly hitting LHR locks.

   GPU	ETH hashrate	ERGO hashrate	Power limit	Overclock settings
   3080Ti	35.4 MH/s	183.3 MH/s	PL 82% (287W)	mem +1000 (linux +2000), core 0
   3080	31.8 MH/s	153.0 MH/s	~240W (locked clock)	–lock-cclock 1580, mem +1525 (linux +3050), core 0
   3070Ti	23.1 MH/s	123.9 MH/s	~170W (locked clock)	–lock-cclock 1540, mem +1300 (linux +2600), core 0
   3060	12.5 MH/s	74.5 MH/s	~90W (locked clock)	–lock-cclock 1250, mem +1300 (linux +2600), core 0

   T-Rex ETH+RVN

   Requires 8GB+ VRAM on linux and 10GB+ on windows

   GPU	ETH hashrate	RVN hashrate	Power limit	Overclock settings
   3080Ti	35.7 MH/s	29.6 MH/s	PL 82% (287W)	mem +1000 (linux +2000), core 0
   3060	14.8 MH/s	13.9 MH/s	PL 60% (102W)	mem +1300 (linux +2600), core 0

   T-Rex ETH+CFX

   Requires 10GB+ VRAM.

   GPU	ETH hashrate	CFX hashrate	Power limit	Overclock settings
   3080Ti	36.4 MH/s	60.6 MH/s	PL 82% (287W)	mem +1000 (linux +2000), core 0
   3060	14.9 MH/s	26.7 MH/s	PL 60% (102W)	mem +1300 (linux +2600), core 0

5. Results

   

   

Expected Rates

T-Rex ETH+RVN

T-Rex ETH+RVN

Requires 8GB+ VRAM on linux and 10GB+ on windows.

T-Rex ETH+CFX

Requires 10GB+ VRAM.

See the T-Rex miner site for more updates

Pythia

cryptopythia.com