When choosing a GPU to mine Ethereum there are a series of parameters that make some models better options than other models. Not because a graphics card is better for gaming does not make it better for mining, since they take into account a series of factors that are important that vary in each configuration.
Most of the information found on the network does not take into account certain elements to give your information, since it is presumed that we will give the correct information on the one hand, while on the other they do not take into account the cost of the energy in different parts of the world. That is why we have made a small “comparison” where we have standardized the information to the situation we have in Spain, where the cost of energy is different from that of the United States.
Power supply and energy cost
The first point to take into account is the power supply that we use in our PC, so getting a power supply with 80 Plus Titanium certification is essential. The reason for this is that a GeForce RTX 3090 consuming 400 W when using a power supply with 80% efficiency is not the same as when using an 80 Plus Titanium where the efficiency is 90%, where the consumption is 356 W.
Given that most of the public have sources of 80% efficiency, we have decided to normalize the energy consumption of each of the graphic cards in the table to said efficiency of the power supply, so in the tables that you will see later you will see energy consumption with this type of power supply.
The second point is the cost of energy, for this we have converted the energy consumption to KW / day, since we have taken into account that the GPU is mining the entire day without stopping. In Spain the average price per kW is € 0.1233 in the rates we have in Spain. For this reason, we have first calculated the amount of kW in a single day for each graphics card in the comparison.
The best NVIDIA GPUs for mining Ethereum
| Graphic card | MH / s | Consumption (80%) | KW / day | Cost / day | Profits / Gross | Profits / Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GeForce RTX 3090 | 114 | 400 watts | 9.6 | € 1.19 | 12.22 € | 11.03 € |
| GeForce RTX 3080 | 91.5 | 287.5 W | 6.9 | € 0.85 | € 9.76 | € 8.91 |
| GeForce RTX 3070 | 58.1 | 162.2 W | 3.9 | € 0..48 | € 6.30 | € 5.82 |
| GeForce RTX 3060 Ti | 58.1 | 162.5 W | 3.9 | € 0.48 | € 6.30 | € 5.82 |
| GeForce GTX 1080 | 3. 4 | 212.5 W | 5.1 | € 0.63 | 3.68 € | € 3.05 |
| GeForce GTX 1660 Super | 29.3 | 112.5 W | 2.7 | € 0.30 | € 3.18 | 2.88 € |
| GeForce GTX 1660 Ti | 28 | 100 W | 2.4 | € 0.33 | € 3.03 | € 2.70 |
| GeForce GTX 1060 | 22.5 | 112.5 W | 2.7 | € 0.30 | € 2.44 | € 2.08 |
| GeForce GTX 1050 Ti | 12.5 | 100 W | 2.4 | € 0.33 | € 1,356 | € 1.02 |
We have taken the information in the table regarding MH / s from whattomine, the way we have obtained the rest of the information we have explained in the previous section.
Observing the current table we can see, as is obvious, that the RTX 3090 is the graphics card that gives the most benefits with an average € 11.03 at the time of writing the article, while in the final part of the table is the GTX 1050 You where we are barely going to have one euro a day.
On the other hand, it does not make us say that low-cost graphics cards such as the GTX 1030, GTX 1010 and the equivalent do not give a good enough performance to be able to mine Ethereum. So if you have a graphics card of this power or similar, we do not recommend doing it, since it will be an absolute waste of time.
The best GPUs for mining Ethereum
| Graphic card | MH / s | Consumption (80%) | KW / day | Cost / day | Gross Profit | Net profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMD Radeon VII | 93 | 250 W | 6 | € 0.74 | € 10,248 | € 9.58 |
| AMD RX 6800 XT | 64 | 187.5 W | 4.5 | € 0.23 | € 7.05 | € 6.82 |
| AMD RX 5700 XT | 55 | 162.5 W | 3.9 | € 0..48 | € 6.06 | € 5.58 |
| AMD RX Vega 64 | 46 | 190 W | 4.56 | € 0.2112 | 5.18 € | 4.97 € |
| AMD RX Vega 64 | Four. Five | 212.5 W | 5.1 | € 0.63 | € 5,064 | € 4,434 |
| AMD RX 5600 XT | 40.5 | 137.5 W | 3.3 | € 0.41 | € 3.18 | 2.77 € |
| AMD RX 580 | 30.5 | 162.5 W | 3.9 | € 0.33 | € 4.56 | € 4.23 |
| AMD RX 480 | 30 | 175 W | 4.2 | € 0.48 | € 3.38 | 2.9 € |
| AMD RX 570 | 13 | 200 W | 4.8 | € 0.59 | € 1,464 | € 0.874 |
| AMD RX 470 | 12.5 | 187.5 W | 4.5 | € 0.23 | € 1.41 | € 1.18 |
The source of information for AMD graphics cards is the same as those of NVIDIA, so we have applied the same general rules.
The AMD graphics card with the best performance is the AMD Radeon VII, which is very difficult to find, since it was on sale for a very short time. Its efficiency is partly due to the use of an HBM2 bus close to 1 TB / s. In general, AMD GPUs tend to have a higher consumption than NVIDIA’s and therefore end up being somewhat worse under the same mining power.
The limit of the table is the RX 570, a graphics card with which we will not get even one euro a day on average, so its profitability is extremely low. To the point where we don’t recommend mining with this graphics card. We also do not recommend mining with the GPUs built into AMD SoCs, as they are much less powerful and the money you will get does not justify their energy cost.
The cost factor of the graphics card
Our recommendation is that if you are going to sacrifice your graphics card if you play great games or it is useful for your daily work, then: Don’t mine! We do not know how long it will take to see stock of graphics cards on the market, and there is nothing more annoying than seeing how your favorite game you cannot play due to the fact that your graphics card is undermining.
Who do we recommend it to? To people who have a graphics card that they do not use and is powerful enough to make a profit. There is also the possibility that you can buy them second-hand in places like eBay and the like. In those cases you have to be very careful when buying the graphics card, it may be that for reasons beyond your control you have to cut the performance of the graphics.
Before buying the second-hand graphics card, therefore, you must make sure that you are going to recover the cost of the investment and with a sufficiently large margin. It does not make sense, for example, to spend 2000 euros among all the costs so that in the end you earn just 50 euros after paying all the costs.
