Profitable ERGO mining on old Nvidia and AMD video cards

The ERGO cryptocurrency is currently one of the most profitable for mining on video cards, competing in profitability with the well-known Ethereum. ERGO, unlike ETH, has significantly lower hardware requirements, since even 2 GB of video memory is enough for mining ERGO. To mine Ethereum, let us remind you that your video card must have at least 5 GB of built-in fast memory. If you are the owner of old video cards with 4 GB of video memory or less, then you should pay attention to the ERGO cryptocurrency. ERGO is worth a closer look especially for those miners who still have AMD Radeon HD 7970, R9 280X, R9 380X, Fury, R9 290X video cards, which cannot mine Ethereum due to a small video buffer, but at the same time have quite powerful graphics cards. processors, which will allow them to receive quite a large income when mining ERG.

In addition to the small size of the video buffer, owners of old AMD video cards (Fiji, Baffin, Hawaii, Tonga) are faced with the problem that almost all modern versions of miners do not support AMD video cards older than RX480 (Polaris core).

To start mining ERGO cryptocurrency on old AMD video cards, SRBMiner Multi is best suited. You can also use Teamredminer and Nanominer miners, but the hashrate for older AMD graphics cards will be lower when using these miners. For modern video cards, all miners show almost the same results.

In addition to good optimization for legacy graphics cards, SRBMiner Multi has a few more nice features that will also increase your mining income:

• GPU and CPU mining. For example, you started mining ERGO (autolykos) on a video card, and mining cryptocurrency Monero (RandomX) on a processor.
• Simultaneous graphical mining of ARGO and Zilliqa (ZIL) cryptocurrencies.

For Nvidia and ERGO mining video cards using the Autolykos 2 algorithm, use NBMiner

To trade ERGO, use the Kucoin exchange, where the maximum trading volumes for this cryptocurrency are currently located

Is it possible to mine with an integrated video card?

The capabilities of the GPU, which is built into the central processor, are sufficient to perform parallel multi-threaded calculations necessary for successful drilling. Yes, the built-in video card does not have as many cores as a discrete one. Therefore, it does not attract much attention from developers of mining programs. After all, with the help of a discrete card you can achieve greater productivity, profitability, and accelerate payback.

But this does not mean that you cannot use the built-in one. After all, mining is carried out using much less powerful devices.

Benchmark tests

3DMark Cloud Gate GPU: 20847.5

Better than NVIDIA GeForce MX330, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M.

3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score: 14579

Better than AMD Radeon Pro 450, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770M.

3DMark Fire Strike Graphics: 3494

Better than NVIDIA GeForce MX150, but worse than NVIDIA Quadro M1000M.

3DMark Fire Strike Score: 3038.5

Better than AMD Radeon Pro 450, but worse than AMD Radeon RX Vega 7.

3DMark Ice Storm GPU: 157382

Better than NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, but worse than Intel Iris Plus Graphics 650.

3DMark Time Spy Graphics: 935.5

Better than AMD Radeon RX Vega 9, but worse than AMD Radeon Pro 450.

3DMark Time Spy Score: 1126.5

Better than AMD Radeon RX 640, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce MX150.

3DMark06: 20608

Better than NVIDIA Quadro M600M, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570.

3DMark11P: 5350

Better than NVIDIA Quadro K4100M, but worse than AMD Radeon RX 640.

3DMark11P GPU: 5482.75

Better than AMD Radeon Pro 455, but worse than AMD Radeon R9 M385X.

Cinebench R10 32Bit OpenGL: 11001

Better than AMD Radeon HD 6870, but worse than AMD FirePro M6100.

Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64Bit: 80.12

Better than Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M.

ComputeMark v2.1 Normal, Score: 3425

Better than AMD FirePro M6100, but worse than AMD Radeon RX 560X Mobile.

LuxMark v2.0 64Bit Sala GPUs-only: 1074

Better than NVIDIA GeForce MX230, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M.

Passmark: 2137

Better than AMD FirePro M5100, but worse than NVIDIA Quadro M600M.

What miners can be used on an integrated video card?

Modern miners for the most part are not useful for running drilling using the built-in GPU on laptops with an Intel CPU. They will display error messages and incompatibility. If you decide to achieve success, then it will only be achieved by rewriting the program code so that it supports the graphics of your integrated video card.

It is possible to use old programs like cgminer or wolf-xmr miner, but it is pointless. This will only lead to increased wear and tear of equipment and energy consumption.

Using an old miner on a laptop with a built-in video card will lead to a sharp increase in electricity bills and the equipment will stop working prematurely.

Of the modern programs, only VerthashMiner turned out to be compatible.

After installing a compatible miner, you can start drilling. You will need to create a cryptocurrency wallet and select an exchanger where you will exchange cryptocurrencies for fiat money and vice versa, as well as with each other. You should take the time to choose a crypto exchanger so that you can carry out operations comfortably and not worry that you will encounter fraud or deception. What parameters are used to choose an online exchanger:

• When did you start providing services? The longer it works, without allowing breaks, the more reliable it seems;
• What is the amount of exchange transactions carried out during the day? If the indicator is high and maintained for a long time, this is an indicator of customer confidence;
• How convenient is the interface to use? Such sites require laconic functionality and intuitive clarity of the logic of internal transitions;
• You will find in the list of supported cryptocurrency pairs, bank cards, electronic payment systems those that you need or not;
• Are the current restrictions on the number of transactions per day, minimum/maximum amounts, commission levels acceptable to you, or do they prevent profitable transactions;
• How profitable is it to participate in a multi-level affiliate program? An active participant in social networks is quite capable of attracting clients to a crypto exchange by forming his own referral network.

Mining on laptops with a built-in video card

Most often, cryptocurrencies are drilled on budget and ultra-thin laptops that have an integrated mobile version of the GPU. This is because it requires:

• More space for placement;
• Use a high-capacity battery;
• Install additional cooling.

Considerations of ergonomics and economy lead to this choice, which reduces drilling productivity. However, some laptops are equipped with GPU chips, which are used in older models.

Mining on laptops with integrated graphics

Almost any laptop that has integrated graphics with an AMD processor can be used for drilling. You can use any drilling program created for AMD video cards.

Products from Intel are subject to the restrictions that were mentioned above in the paragraph “Which miners can be used on an integrated video card?”

How high-performance AMD graphics will be, you need to see in advance using a calculator. You will most likely get far from the most inspiring numbers.

Drill Ethereum with a hashrate of 2 MH/s and get $0.04 per day. It’s hardly worth driving a laptop around the clock for that amount of money.

About the new Ryzen

Very soon the “red” will completely update the line of Ryzen central processors. The Ryzen 5 2400G and Ryzen 3 2200G models, as mentioned earlier, are the first signs among desktop solutions based on the Zen architecture, equipped with integrated graphics.

Last year, we already explored the capabilities of Ryzen chips with high-frequency RAM. As it turned out, “ryazhenka” (as enthusiasts affectionately called AMD products) with slow and fast RAM are two completely different systems in terms of performance. It was determined which DDR4 memory is best suited for gaming PCs based on “red” processors. With the release of Raven Ridge processors (Ryzen 5 2400G and Ryzen 3 2200G), the situation has not changed at all.

As you know, Ryzen processors without integrated graphics, without exception, consist of two CCX (Core Complex) modules, as well as all the necessary hardware in the form of an Infinity Fabric bus, a memory controller and other elements. Each such module contained four cores. Depending on the model (Ryzen 3 - quad-core, Ryzen 5 - quad-core and six-core, Ryzen 7 - eight-core), the number of cores in the CCX module varied. In order for the Ryzen 5 2400G and Ryzen 3 2200G to come into being, we had to abandon one such module and place an iGPU on the chip. As a result, the Raven Ridge die area remained almost the same - 210 versus 218 mm2, but at the same time the transistor budget increased from 4.8 to 4.94 billion. At the same time, the same 14-nanometer process technology is used. As you know, second-generation Ryzen chips will be produced using a thinner 12nm process technology.

In particular, this is why the Ryzen 5 2400G and Ryzen 3 2200G have only 8 MB of L3 cache. We know that Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7 chips are equipped with twice as much memory. On the other hand, simplifying the operation algorithms of the CCX module made it possible to reduce the latency of the L3 cache in Raven Ridge by approximately 5 cycles. In tasks for which 8 MB is enough, the Ryzen 5 2400G chip will perform better than the same Ryzen 5 1500X, for example. At the same time, the operation of the second level memory cache was noticeably accelerated: latencies were reduced from 17 to 13 clock cycles. As you can see, the integrated graphics in the Raven Ridge hybrid CPU is far from the only innovation. AMD engineers have done a good job over the allotted year.

Above is a screenshot of the main specifications of the Ryzen 5 2400G and Ryzen 3 2200G. The older model not only operates at a higher frequency, but also supports SMT technology, that is, the user can count on data processing with eight threads. The Ryzen 3 2200G does not support SMT.

The Ryzen 5 2400G is the ultimate model, as it uses Radeon Vega 11 graphics. As the name suggests, the iGPU in this chip has all 11 CUs (that's 704 stream processors). In terms of performance in games, this hybrid processor will outperform even the Ryzen 7 2700U model with its 10 computing units. The Ryzen 3 2200G model is equipped with eight CU units and 512 computing threads, respectively. The iGPU clock speed also varies between chips. Thus, the graphics of the older model operate at a frequency of 1.25 GHz, and the younger one - 1.1 GHz.

Mining on laptop CPUs

It is still possible to drill individual coins using the CPU, but whether it is worth using your own laptop for this is up to its owner. Mining on the processor allows you to mine those coins that are based on the CryptonightV7 and CryptonightHavy algorithms. ASICs have been created for other algorithms, delivering performance several orders of magnitude higher than that available to central and graphic processors. When calculating profitability, we must not forget how much electricity bills will bring.

AMD Radeon RX Vega 64: Ethereum mining. How many megahashes does the GPU produce and the main characteristics of the card?

What is different about Vega 64, how many megahashes does it produce? To do this, it’s worth taking a closer look at the card’s characteristics.

• Memory capacity: 8 GB, HBM2;
• GPU frequency 1247 MHz
• Resolution: 7680×4320;
• HDMI input: 1 pc.
• Number of interfaces: 3 pcs.

RX Vega 64 entered the market on August 14, 2022, when cryptocurrency mining was already in full swing, which is why the characteristics of this device were initially intended not only as gaming, one of the decisive aspects, as the scope of application of the device, was mining, for which quite a lot was done emphasis when creating. This video card was originally intended by Radeon as a competitor to the top-end GTX 1080Ti at that time.

One of the features of this device, which is definitely a disadvantage of the Sapphire Nitro + model, is the need for three 8-pin connectors.

Of course, everyone is interested in the hashrate of the RX Vega 64 video card on air. The card is capable of delivering 45 Mh/s using the Ethash algorithm in stock. When overclocked, the RX Vega 64 hashrate rises to 50 MH/s.

Which manufacturer's card is better to choose?

As a mining device, the RX Vega 64 already has its own, time-tested top models from various manufacturers. In March 2022, you can buy this model in Russia mainly on the secondary market.

If you have this video adapter, work with what you have; it is unlikely that you will be able to assemble a larger farm. Buying used video cards is quite a risky business and in this case you will need to pay attention not only to the name of the assembly plant, but also to age, degree of wear and many other nuances.

There are quite a lot of cards on the secondary market that have been in mining for three or even four years. It is difficult to say how long they will live. Typically, the owner of a mining farm tries not to wait until the graphics adapter fails, but, having returned the invested money with profit, sells the worn-out components at the highest possible price in order to purchase new ones. Therefore, we will simply list the most popular models of past years:

• Sapphire Nitro+ Vega 64.
• Powercolor Vega 64 Red Devil.
• Gigabyte Vega 64.
• Asus ROG-Strix Vega 64.
• MSI Armor vega 64.

How much can you earn on one video card?

When calculating what your income will be if you have to drill using a single GPU, don't limit yourself to using just the power factor of your equipment. If everything were that simple, the biggest winners would always be those with the highest-performance equipment. In practice, things are somewhat more complicated. The profitability of drilling using a laptop depends on several important factors:

• Electricity costs. If there is no access to cheap energy resources, then a weak video card will most likely not allow you to make a profit that was worth the effort;
• The amount of computing power that is used to mine the cryptocurrency of your choice. With excessive demand, your share of the total computing power will be negligible. Consequently, the profitability will be low.

With a Radeon RX Vega or Geforce GTX 1070, you can earn about 3,500–4,000 rubles from drilling with a laptop in a month. You are unlikely to earn more than 5,000 rubles. However, it is likely that during the warranty period provided for the video card, you will be able to save a little. Enough to set up a farm with at least 4 GPUs.

How to reduce energy consumption

A powerful 3D graphics accelerator is a fairly power-intensive device. The consumption of Vega 56 in mining is higher than that stated by the manufacturer in the technical parameters of the video card. To avoid excessively high electricity costs, undervolting (lowering the core voltage) is necessary. WattTool comes in handy again .

In the program window, you need to change the voltage indicators in points P6 and P7 (when controlled in manual mode, the voltage at lower frequencies will drop automatically). For rx 56 vega, the optimal reduction would be 12% (1.070 mV), which will reduce the consumption of vega 56 in mining by 50 W.

Also in the MSI Afterburner , you can conveniently adjust the voltage using the Power Limit line. The optimal value is 80%; some video cards are able to hold a lower voltage, which has a positive effect on the payback period of the video card.

Which video card to choose - performance on different algorithms

When choosing a GPU for drilling, it is customary to be guided by the principle that the more productive the better. This one-sided approach does not always work. When choosing a video card for drilling, pay attention to:

• Memory capacity. There is no point in considering options less than 3 GB;
• Frequency. Higher is better, because information will be processed faster, which is extremely important;
• Bus width. Start with 128 bits, no lower;
• Cooling system efficiency. The more reliable it is, the higher the productivity and longer the service life of the equipment;
• Overclocking capabilities. This will help increase productivity by 20–40%.

If you need a video card that pays for itself quickly, buy the GTX 1060, which is relatively inexpensive and economical in terms of energy costs. This allows you to recoup costs in 3–4 months. A representative of the Nvidia family such as the GTX 1080ti will allow you to earn the most money. If you prefer AMD, a good choice would be the Radeon RX 580Radeon RX 580 with 4GB of memory.

FPS in games

Apex Legends
(2019) Better than NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030, but worse than AMD Radeon RX Vega 8.

Metro Exodus
(2019) Better than NVIDIA GeForce MX230, but worse than AMD Radeon 540X.

Overwatch
(2016) Better than NVIDIA GeForce MX150, but worse than AMD Radeon RX Vega 8.

Grand Theft Auto V
(2015) Better than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M, but worse than AMD Radeon 530.

The Witcher 3
(2015) Better than AMD Radeon Pro 450, but worse than AMD Radeon RX Vega 9.

Borderlands 3
(2019) Better than NVIDIA GeForce MX330, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce MX150.

Control
(2019) Better than NVIDIA GeForce MX150, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce MX250.

Rage 2
(2019) Better than AMD Radeon RX Vega 7, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile.

Anno 1800
(2019) Better than AMD Radeon RX Vega 8, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q.

The Division 2
(2019) Better than AMD Radeon RX Vega M GH, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M.

Dirt Rally 2.0
(2019) Better than NVIDIA GeForce MX350, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Max-Q.

Far Cry New Dawn
(2019) Better than NVIDIA GeForce MX230, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce MX150.

Battlefield V
(2018) Better than AMD Radeon RX VEGA 8, but worse than AMD Radeon RX 540.

Hitman 2
(2018) Better than AMD Radeon RX Vega 7, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce MX330.

Assassin's Creed Odyssey
(2018) Better than AMD Radeon Pro 555, but worse than AMD Radeon RX Vega 7.

Forza Horizon 4
(2018) Better than AMD Radeon RX VEGA 8, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider
(2018) Better than AMD Radeon RX VEGA 8, but worse than AMD Radeon Pro 560X.

Strange Brigade
(2018) Better than AMD Radeon RX Vega 10, but worse than AMD Radeon RX Vega 6.

Far Cry 5
(2018) Better than AMD Radeon RX Vega 7, but worse than AMD Radeon RX Vega 8.

X-Plane 11.11
(2018) Better than AMD Radeon RX Vega 7, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce MX110.

Final Fantasy XV Benchmark
(2018) Better than AMD Radeon RX VEGA 6, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce MX150.

Dota 2 Reborn
(2015) Better than AMD Radeon RX VEGA 6, but worse than AMD Radeon Pro WX 3200.

F1 2019
(2019) Better than AMD Radeon RX Vega 8, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M.

Just Cause 4
(2018) Better than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M.

Darksiders III
(2018) Better than AMD Radeon 540X, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce MX250.

Farming Simulator 19
(2018) Better than NVIDIA GeForce MX230, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile.

Fallout 76
(2018) Better than AMD Radeon RX VEGA 8, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M.

Call of Duty Black Ops 4
(2018) Better than AMD Radeon RX VEGA 8, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce MX150.

FIFA 19
(2018) Better than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030.

F1 2018
(2018) Better than AMD Radeon RX Vega 8, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030.

Monster Hunter World
(2018) Better than NVIDIA GeForce MX330, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030.

The Crew 2
(2018) Better than AMD Radeon R9 M280X, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance
(2018) Better than NVIDIA GeForce MX250, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce MX250.

Fortnite
(2018) Better than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q, but worse than NVIDIA Quadro P620.

Destiny 2
(2017) Better than NVIDIA GeForce MX150, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M.

Middle-earth: Shadow of War
(2017) Better than NVIDIA GeForce MX230, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce MX150.

Team Fortress 2
(2017) Better than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile, but worse than AMD Radeon RX 560X Mobile.

Rocket League
(2017) Better than NVIDIA GeForce MX330, but worse than AMD Radeon RX 560X Mobile.

Deus Ex Mankind Divided
(2016) Better than AMD Radeon RX 540, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030.

World of Warships
(2015) Better than NVIDIA GeForce MX150, but worse than AMD Radeon Pro 455.

Assassin's Creed Origins
(2017) Better than AMD Radeon RX 560 Mobile, but worse than AMD Radeon Pro 555.

F1 2017
(2017) Better than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M, but worse than AMD Radeon Pro 555.

X-Plane 10.25
(2013) Better than NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M, but worse than AMD Radeon R9 M265X.

Overclocking video cards to increase hashrate during mining

If you want to get more out of your GPU when drilling, consider overclocking. Setting up the equipment can be divided into two blocks by doing:

1. Basic.
2. Thin.

For the basic one you will need to define the following parameters:

• Maximum memory operating frequency. Set 50 MHz below the frequency at which the video card driver is rebooted;
• Optimal core voltage. The relationship between power consumption and operating speed is not a matter of proportion;
• Optimal core frequency. It is set 25 MHz below the maximum.

Fine tuning is more difficult to work with. But you can raise it by at least 2%:

• Energy efficiency;
• Speed.

Specifications

Special video cards for mining from Nvidia

GPUs that can only be used for drilling have finally arrived on the market.

It’s difficult to say how much easier it will now become for gamers and ordinary users to purchase modern video cards. The demand from drilling farm owners is still not satisfied.

The new product for drilling Ethereum, Palit CMP 30HX, lacks a special connector for the display and has:

• GPU TU116-100;
• RAM – 6 GB;
• Clock frequency – 14 GHz;
• Hashrate – 26 MH/s;
• A couple of fans.