The "boom" that bitcoin has experienced in recent months has led to a general boom in the cryptocurrencies market that does not seem to end. Currencies such as Ethereum, Zcash and Monero have seen their value increase as a direct consequence of the upward trend in bitcoin. This boom however has generated high-end AMD graphics cards (such as the RX 580) literally disappearing from the market within weeks of its release. And is that unlike the bitcoin, the Ethereum can be mined profitably using a graphics card, as long as it meets basic requirements. But, with so many models available in the market, which graphics card should I choose to mine Ethereum?

To answer this question we have compiled a list with the best video cards to mine ethereum, zcash, monero and other altcoins.

AMD vs Nvidia: Which one should I choose?

There are several models of graphic cards recommended to mine altcoins such as Ethereum, Zcash and Monero, but the most important thing to keep in mind when choosing is the ratio of power consumption / processing power / price.

AMD Radeon Rx 500: Undoubtedly this new family of graphics cards has become the favorite of Ethereum's mining enthusiasts, for several reasons. Launched earlier this year, the AMD RX 500 series graphics card family incorporates the latest Polaris architecture based on the 14nm FinFET manufacturing process. They are the favorites of the Ethereum miners for several reasons: optimum efficiency, high hashrate, low power consumption, durability .. They are also quite easy to optimize for mining of cripto-currencies by means of an unofficial update of the BIOS. The most recommended cards to mine Ehereum belonging to this generation are the RX 580 and RX 570.

AMD Radeon RX 400: offer a performance similar to the RX 500, and consume almost the same. Both are based on Polaris, an architecture that has proven to be the most optimal for executing mining scripts. Recommended cards: RX 480 and RX 470.

AMD Radeon R9 200, R9 300, R9 Fury are graphic cards that already have some years in the market, but thanks to the architecture GCN (Graphics Core Next) used in its manufacture offer a high hashrate. Here we can highlight high-end cards such as Radeon R9 295X2, R9 390, R9 FURY X and R9 FURY NANO. They have remained at the top of the list.

Nvidia Geforce GTX 1000: The latest generation of NVIDIA GTX 1000 graphics cards is powered by the Pascal architecture, and is designed with the latest 16nm FinFET manufacturing process, providing you with optimal processing power with energy consumption Incredibly low. Recommended cards: GTX 1060, GTX 1070 and GTX 1080 Ti.

Unlike AMD, the Nvidia GTX do not require additional modifications in the BIOS to reach its maximum hashrate. It is enough to adjust the working frequencies of the GDDR5 memory within the configuration panel.

Top Best video cards to mine ethereum 2017

AMD R9 295X2 / Hashrate 57 MHs / Consumption 500W / Price 2000 USD

NVIDIA GTX 1080 TI / Hashrate 32 MHs /220W / Price 750 USD

AMD R9 390 / Hashrate 29 MHs / Consumption 275W / Price 500 USD

AMD R9 FURY X / Hashrate 29 MHs / Consumption 275W / Price 600 USD

NVIDIA GTX 1070 / Hashrate 27 MHs / Consumption 150W / Price 450 USD

AMD R9 NANO / Hashrate 27 MHs / Consumption 175W / Price 500 USD

AMD RX 580 / Hashrate 26 MHs / Consumption 150W / Price 600 USD

AMD RX 480 / Hashrate 24 MHs / Consumption 150W / Price 600 USD

AMD RX 570 / Hashrate 23 MHs / Consumption 120W / Price 450 USD

NVIDIA GTX 1080 / Hashrate 23 MHs / Consumption 180W / Price 500 USD

AMD RX 470 / Hashrate 22 MHs / Consumption 120W / Price 450 USD

NVIDIA GTX 1060 / Hashrate 19 MHs / Consumption 120W / Price 300 USD

Finally

At the moment it is almost impossible to acquire an AMD card of last generation due to the boom of Ethereum and other easy coins to mine through GPU. But, if you're willing to pay several hundred dollars extra, the Radeon RX 580 is the best choice today because of its high hashrate and low power consumption. So if you can buy a used RX 580 at a good price, it is very likely that you can recover your investment in a few months.

Another card that we can not ignore is the recently released GTX 1080 Ti market. This graphic beast is the latest addition to Nvidia and offers high performance. With Claymore, a specialized software to mine ETH, the Geforce GTX 1080 Ti reaches a hashrate of almost 32 MH / s. Its price is somewhat high: 750 dollars approximately.

Right now, and with the scarcity of AMD graphics cards, the GTX 1070 is one of the best mine options available, as they offer a high mineharing, have a low energy consumption and its price is not as exorbitant as one RX 580, without a doubt, is the best alternative available, at least until the solutions dedicated exclusively to ETH mining, announced days ago by AMD and Nvidia, arrive at the market.

Finally we have the GTX 1060, an Nvidia mid-range graphics that can reach up to 19 MH / s, and maybe up to 21 MHs overclocking. With a price of around 250 dollars, this card will be ideal to start you in the world of cryptomining

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