10 Best Bitcoin Cryptocurrency Mining Hardware Options

Posted on August 15th, 2018 by Quertime Writer in Cryptocurrency

In order to mine cryptocurrency efficiently, you need to make sure you have the best hardware for the job. In the past, you could mine cryptocurrency like bitcoin using any PC because the computations involved were simple to work with. As more people got in on the game the mining work went to GPUs (graphics cards), which still meant that you could mine so long as your computer included a powerful video card. Now, most serious mining uses ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits). These are machines designed for the sole purpose of mining cryptocurrency, meaning they can perform the job much faster and more efficiently than the general purpose PC.

There are different types of hardware that mine different types of cryptocurrency. Many mining rig companies have disappeared or failed to produce the goods they promised, leaving the ASICs you should choose from coming from a select few companies that have proven themselves. Below we’ve outlined ten of the top mining hardware choices out there today.

1. Antminer S9 (from Bitmain)

The S9 is the second most popular ASIC from Bitmain. The S9 is pricier but it offers 300% the hashpower of the S7 with almost the same electricity use. The S9 has impressive efficiency. You might pay more for this one, but you will make your money back fairly quick.

The S9 is a standalone unit. You connect to the built-in web server. The hashrate is 13.5 TH/s and it has 189 chips. The pros are that it is energy efficient, is one of the fastest miners you can get, has great hashing power, and is easy to set up and use.

2. Antminer S7 (from Bitmain)

This particular miner was born in 2015 and has remained a bestseller ever since. It comes with a 1000W power supply unit, offers 4.73 TH/s of hashpower, and runs at 0.25 joules /GH/s.

This miner from Bitmain is affordable for all, is well supported, has a high hashrate, and it is energy efficient. The drawbacks are that it requires cheap electricity or it is not profitable, and is designed only for bitcoin mining so you can’t mine other cryptocurrencies with it.

3. AMD Radeon R9 295X2

If you want to mine crypto the old-fashioned way, this graphics card is one of the more popular miners for Ethereum mining. The X2 on the end of the name shows you that everything is doubled when it comes to this miner. It has a hashrate of 46.0 MH/s making it one of the most powerful Ethereum mining GPUs available. You will still need a PC to be able to mine with the R9, as it is not a standalone unit. However, it offers great performance, a reasonable price, the highest hashrate for Ethereum mining and it can be used for gaming when you’re not Ethereum mining. The R9 does, however, consume a lot of power.

4. Antminer L3/L3 + Scrypt Miner (from Bitmain)

If you are looking to mine Litecoin, then this is the miner for you. It has a hashrate of 255 MH/s and consumes a relatively small amount of electricity. The rig is powerful, efficient, and therefore more profitable. Notable features on the L3/L3 + are the MB1485 Litecoin ASIC chip, the dual fans, the exposed boards, and of course the 1.6 joules per MH. There is no built-in power supply, however. It is one of the best ASICs for the mining of Litecoin, it is more efficient than comparable Litecoin miners and it has built-in controllers. The pitfalls are that it only mines Litecoin and it can be hard to acquire since supplies are limited.

5. Avalon 741 (from Canaan)

The Avalon is a unique proposition because you usually have to order a larger number of machines at once. Because of this, the Avalon from Canaan is more popular with larger mining companies rather than miners that are doing it as a hobby. It includes a management system for controlling multiple miners at the same time, it is powerful as well as energy efficient, it’s stable, and it comes with many useful accessories. The only two cons listed are that it has to be purchased in batches and it is not cheap.

6. Antminer S1 (from Bitmain)

When it comes to the miners offered by Bitmain, the S1 is more basic and more affordable. It is also a miner that is popular for overclocking. When it is overclocked, it consumes 407-422W. It has a hashrate of 180GH/s to 200GH/s. You can connect to the S1 through Wi-Fi or Ethernet.

The pros of the S1 are that it is easy to use and set up, it is affordable, and it can be pushed to the limit through overclocking for a higher hashrate. The cons of the S1 are that the hashrate is lower than the above-listed miners, the power supply for this particular miner is sold separately, and there are minimal profits unless you have a cheap electricity provider.

7. Antminer S2 (from Bitmain)

The S2 is the successor to the S1. There are many upgrades – primarily to the hashrate and power consumption. The S2 is also a lot quieter than the S1.

The S2 and the S1 use the same hashing chip (BM1380) but the S2 was tweaked by Bitmain so that it uses power more efficiently. The rig can be used in a server rack and it comes with a PSU so you don’t have to purchase one separately. The pros of the S2 are the quietness of the unit, the power efficiency, and the price. The only drawback is that it is more expensive than the S1 and doesn’t include a ton of improvements over the S1.

8. DragonMint T1 Miner (from Halong Mining)

The DragonMint T1 Miner from Halong Mining is one of the highest-ranking hardware setups available. It includes an Ethernet connection as well as dual, nine-blade fans. The good things about the DragonMint T1 is that it is one of the most efficient miners out there, it has more hashrate than other available miners, it is easy to set up and is compatible with many different mining pools. There are a couple drawbacks – you are limited to AsicBoost mining pools most of the time and the cost is high while the availability is low.

9. Antminer T9 (from Bitmain)

The T9 has an 11.5 TH/s hashpower, but it doesn’t have the efficiency of the S9. It is usually purchased by people that are looking for reliability because it is perceived as the more reliable miner. It includes a 16nm chip and operates at temperatures from 0C to 40C. It is capable of mining many different currencies. A drawback of the T9 is that it is less powerful and less efficient than the S9 while it costs more.

10. Antminer R4 (from Bitmain)

The R4 is roughly as efficient as the S9. It has an 8.6 TH/s hashrate and is a SHA-256 ASIC rig. It performs better than the S7 and the power you get is comparable to the S9. Because it is so small, it is a popular miner for those who mine as a hobby. The R4 has a high hashrate but doesn’t consume a lot of power. The power consumption rate is about .098 joules per GH. The additional pros of the R4 are that it is ultra-silent, it has a user-friendly interface, and setup is simple. It is, however, expensive and only mines bitcoin.

Author: Mark Daniels

This article was a guest contribution provided by Mark Daniels with Credit Law Center. Mark is a versatile writer with extensive experience creating interesting, engaging, and unique articles in multiple industries.