Updated on April 17, 2023
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Is it worthwhile to become involved in the bitcoin mania and what are the best mining GPUs? When it comes to Bitcoin and Ethereum, mining is once again generating news, as prices and profitability have increased significantly over the past few years. In hindsight, everyone who didn’t mine at the beginning of the mining boom is regretting it. It’s no surprise that the greatest graphics cards and the top-ranking chips in our GPU benchmarks are also excellent choices for mining. How great is this? What we’re here to talk about is exactly that; the performance, price, power, and many other factors of hashing are all quantifiable.
This page, or at least the main table that displays prospective profits and pricing, is updated on a regular basis. The most recent revision is based on January 2022 pricing data and current Ethereum prices.
Our goal isn’t to encourage people to start mining, and we’re certainly not recommending that you take out a large loan or mortgage your house to try to become the next great mining sensation. Based on current market conditions, we’re primarily analysing the data. Even more difficult than predicting the weather, politics, or the next big craze, predicting the future trajectory of cryptocurrencies is impossible. For those who haven’t already invested in the necessary hardware to begin mining, you’re a long way behind the curve. It’s the people who sell mining equipment to the miners, not the miners themselves, who stand to make the most money in the new gold rush.
A recent search for a new or pre-owned graphics card likely raised at least one eyebrow, if not more! Although our GPU pricing index provides further information, a combination of pandemic-induced shortages and rising demand exacerbated the problem. As a result, we’ve heard from users who have commented, ” “My old GTX 1070/1080 or RX Vega 56/64 was finally time to be retired with the advent of Ampere and RDNA2. That’s when I noticed that my old credit card was selling for the same price I bought three years earlier!” No, they aren’t off base. As recently as three or four years ago, Pascal and Vega cards were being sold for close to their original launch prices—and in some cases much more. Consider selling your old graphics card if it’s in good condition (though finding a replacement could prove difficult).
GPU prices have fallen, which is good news for individuals who aren’t interested in mining (to a lesser degree). We strongly discourage anyone from attempting to make a fortune through crypto mining at this time. Even with GPU prices falling, it will take more than a year of nonstop mining to break even, even with the current best-case scenario. In addition to environmental costs, Ethereum is expected to migrate to proof of stake sometime before July (maybe). In spite of this, many people are willing to put their money at risk now in the hopes of making a large profit in the future on the cryptocurrency market.
Our readers may be disappointed by the scarcity of graphics cards, but we cover many elements of PC technology, not simply that used in games and other computer-related activities. GPU mining has been the subject of several previous articles, most recently in 2011, 2014, and 2017. Those are the moments when Bitcoin’s value surged, resulting in a surge in demand and attention. As far as the cryptocurrency mining cycle goes, 2021 is only the most recent.
A beautiful tautology is the only prediction we can make: Bitcoin and Ethereum prices will fluctuate in the months and years to come. And, as we’ve seen time and time again, this will have an effect on the cost and availability of graphics cards. It’s important to keep in mind that some of us have had personal experience with burning out fans, VRMs, and other components on graphics cards by running them nonstop for extended periods of time. You’re taking this step at your own peril.
The Best Mining GPUs Benchmarked, Tested and Ranked
In the midst of this lengthy introduction, let’s get down to the business of determining which mining graphics cards are the finest. Despite the fact that you can’t buy the cards at retail for the most part, we have a solution for that as well. We’re going to use our GPU pricing index to calculate eBay prices for sold listings. For how long would a graphics card’s inflated eBay prices have to go up before it pays for itself in Ethereum mining profits? Look at that.
For this graph, we chose the current difficulty and the past week’s average price of Ethereum because no other cryptocurrency can compete with Ethereum for GPU mining profitability right now. All of these GPUs have been put through their paces on our regular test rig, which includes an Intel Core i9-9900K processor, an MSI MEG Z390 ACE motherboard, 2x16GB of Corsair DDR4-3600 RAM, a 2TB XPG M.2 SSD, and an 80 Plus Platinum-certified SeaSonic 850W power supply.
In order to maximise hash rates and minimise power usage, we’ve streamlined Ethereum mining. It’s also worth noting that we’re using Powenetics hardware and software to collect real-world power measurements for the GPUs, so our power figures are not based on software data, which can be incorrect by as much as 50% depending on the GPU model.
On top of that, we’ve set our electricity costs at $0.10 per kWh, which is lower than some countries but higher than others. The daily profit is calculated by deducting the power cost from the hash rate and the current difficulty. After that, we calculated how long it would take to recoup the graphics card’s cost by dividing the estimated eBay price by the current daily profit. Time to break even (assuming price and difficulty don’t change, which they will) is ranked in the following table.
| GPU | Avg. eBay Price (Jan 2022) | Mining Performance | Mining Power | Daily Profit | Days to Break Even |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GeForce GTX 1060 6GB | $300 | 25 | 90 | $0.76 | 393 |
| Radeon RX 570 8GB | $357 | 29.8 | 130 | $0.85 | 418 |
| GeForce GTX 1080 | $457 | 36.1 | 138 | $1.08 | 422 |
| GeForce GTX 1070 | $368 | 29.2 | 114 | $0.87 | 423 |
| Radeon RX 5600 XT | $543 | 39.6 | 115 | $1.27 | 426 |
| Radeon RX 5500 XT 8GB | $365 | 26.3 | 81 | $0.84 | 437 |
| GeForce RTX 3060 | $711 | 48.6 | 118 | $1.62 | 439 |
| GeForce RTX 3060 Ti | $923 | 60.6 | 116 | $2.09 | 441 |
| Radeon RX 5700 XT | $810 | 53.8 | 125 | $1.81 | 449 |
| Radeon RX 580 8GB | $389 | 30.3 | 135 | $0.86 | 451 |
| GeForce RTX 2060 Super | $640 | 43.7 | 129 | $1.40 | 457 |
| GeForce RTX 2070 | $643 | 43.8 | 130 | $1.40 | 458 |
| Radeon RX 5700 | $794 | 52.3 | 133 | $1.73 | 459 |
| GeForce GTX 1660 Ti | $459 | 29.7 | 73 | $0.99 | 465 |
| GeForce GTX 1070 Ti | $431 | 31.2 | 124 | $0.92 | 467 |
| Radeon RX 590 | $410 | 30.8 | 138 | $0.87 | 469 |
| GeForce GTX 1660 | $401 | 25.3 | 70 | $0.82 | 488 |
| GeForce GTX 1660 Super | $498 | 30.2 | 75 | $1.00 | 497 |
| GeForce RTX 2060 | $518 | 33 | 105 | $1.04 | 498 |
| GeForce RTX 2070 Super | $704 | 43.9 | 128 | $1.41 | 499 |
| GeForce GTX 1080 Ti | $658 | 44.7 | 187 | $1.30 | 506 |
| GeForce RTX 3080 | $1,613 | 94 | 220 | $3.15 | 512 |
| GeForce RTX 3070 | $1,086 | 61.3 | 123 | $2.10 | 516 |
| GeForce RTX 2080 | $751 | 43.8 | 119 | $1.43 | 526 |
| Radeon RX Vega 64 | $647 | 45.5 | 234 | $1.22 | 531 |
| Radeon RX 6800 | $1,150 | 64.5 | 166 | $2.13 | 541 |
| Radeon VII | $1,517 | 85.6 | 231 | $2.80 | 542 |
| Radeon RX 6700 XT | $847 | 47.1 | 120 | $1.56 | 544 |
| Radeon RX Vega 56 | $636 | 40.2 | 174 | $1.16 | 550 |
| Radeon RX 6600 | $516 | 28.5 | 75 | $0.94 | 552 |
| Radeon RX 6600 XT | $610 | 32.3 | 75 | $1.08 | 563 |
| GeForce RTX 2080 Super | $824 | 43.9 | 124 | $1.42 | 580 |
| GeForce RTX 2080 Ti | $1,127 | 60.1 | 180 | $1.92 | 587 |
| GeForce RTX 3060 Ti LHR | $844 | 42.4 | 114 | $1.39 | 609 |
| Radeon RX 6800 XT | $1,269 | 64.6 | 186 | $2.08 | 609 |
| GeForce RTX 3060 LHR | $657 | 34 | 110 | $1.07 | 616 |
| GeForce RTX 3090 | $2,609 | 115 | 285 | $3.82 | 683 |
| GeForce RTX 3070 LHR | $995 | 42.9 | 120 | $1.39 | 715 |
| GeForce RTX 3070 Ti LHR | $1,179 | 51 | 155 | $1.62 | 726 |
| Radeon RX 6900 XT | $1,528 | 64.6 | 183 | $2.09 | 731 |
| GeForce RTX 3080 LHR | $1,535 | 65.8 | 215 | $2.06 | 745 |
| GeForce RTX 3050 LHR | $539 | 23 | 75 | $0.72 | 748 |
| GeForce RTX 3080 Ti LHR | $1,874 | 77 | 220 | $2.49 | 754 |
