High end desktop PCs on sale this year have originally been vetted for sale in the computer gaming market. However, these computers have been equipped with one of the most useful pieces of hardware that can be used in the world of cryptocurrency – their GPUs can also serve a second purpose: which is to be a processing engine that packs a lot of power.
That is really very useful for anyone’s mining activities. Now, we all know that not all graphics cards were created equal and some of them are truly better than others. Here are some of the best video cards ever produced in 2017 that can be quite useful for anyone mining for cryptocurrency.
NOTE that crypto mining can produce quite a huge workload. That means a video card can be pushed real hard thus drawing a lot of power. All the graphics cards included in this list are durable and they have a pretty high power efficiency rating. Now, without any further ado, here are the best video cards for mining in 2017.
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is regarded by a lot of techies out there as probably the best and most powerful GPU in the market this year. It also offers the highest level of hash rate. However, if you check how much power it draws, this one also draws the most power, which of course means that you will eventually have a higher power bill.
Fortunately, with a some power target tuning and some memory clock, then you can bet that the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 can be counted on performance wise. You can say that they provide the best performance per watt consumed.
Radeon RX Vega 64 and 56
When it comes to Ethereum mining, a lot of people are now looking to the latest release from AMD’s factory – the Radeon RX Vega 64 and Vega 56. When used with the NiceHash miner, the RX Vega 64 can produce 34.15 million hashes per second. On the other hand the Radeon RX Vega 56 can produce 36.48 million hashes per second, which is a slight up to the Vega 64.
Now, that sounds pretty good, which is why those in the crypto mining world have turned to these current PC gamer staples. So, what’s the catch? Well, if you check into the Vega’s current architecture, you’ll see that it is a truly power hungry beast. That means if you don’t mind the boost in your next power bill then these two GPUs are truly viable options.
GeForce GTX 1060 FE and GeForce GTX 1070 FE (Optimized)
These two GeForce cards come highly rated in this list of best video cards for mining in 2017. If you want to balance power consumption with overall hashing performance, then the GTX 1060 FE and the GTX 1070 FE (Optimized) are two good bets.
GeForce GTX 1060 FE has a rated power consumption of 177 watts of total system power when measured at the outlet. Compare that to the Radeon R9 Fury X with 298 watts then you’re looking at huge savings. The downside of course is in the field of production – the GeForce GTX 1060 FE produces 19.04 million hashes per second.
A close competitor is the GeForce GTX 1070 FE (Optimized) which produces 180 watts of total power measured at the outlet. It’s a slight jump in power consumption yes, but it pays out in the production end. This GPU produces 31.079 million hashes per second.
Radeon RX 580 and RX 480
These two graphics cards are also one of the most sold out items out there. They are in huge demand among crypto miners, which of course irritates the gamers as well – well, you can’t blame them.
So, what’s the big issue here? Well, if you care to check the benchmarks, these two graphics cards provide a lot of bang for buck. They are not huge beasts when it comes to power consumption – not as low as the GeForce cards out there but they’re pretty decent. They also produce a good amount of MH/s as well. Their biggest selling points of course is the price.
These bad boys are sold somewhere between $500 to $600. Well, the variances in price are simply due to the interplay between supply and demand. But hey, that is still one of the best price tags in the market in 2017.
Conclusion
All of the video cards mentioned in this list of the best video cards for mining in 2017 have been tested according to their overall system power draw – with load of course – as well as their raw hash rates, which were masured in MegaHashes per second. It should be remembered that in this business, having more processing power doesn’t necessarily mean a GPU is a lot better.
There is more to it than having a more powerful GPU. If you want crypto mining efficiency, then you need to balance that with the overall power draw. In addition to the total hash rate, it should be remembered that every watt consumed by your ASIC machine does count.
Comments (No)