Most CPUs allow you to check running temperature directly in BIOS, but third-party software like HWMonitor can be handy for keeping an eye on it.
Here are some pro tips to mining safely with your CPU: Keep CPU Temperature Low
Drivers are smart, and they’ll use whatever means necessary to protect your PC from total meltdown.īut many CPUs don’t have extraneous drivers, and won't get upgraded as often as your GPU-so it's your job to protect your PCs brains from getting scrambled.
Unsafe temperatures in vital components (like your GPU and CPU) can result in immediate failure, and possibly inflict permanent damage on your rig.įor those of you breaking out in a nervous sweat, take comfort! The worst you'll typically encounter is a blue screen or shutdown. Your primary concern with any important piece of PC hardware should be overheating. While GPU mining is considered safe for long-term use, the jury's still out on CPU mining. You may have a badass CPU with 12 cores, hyperthreading, and the works-but you can't go the distance with 2GB of RAM. It relies entirely on the sticks in your motherboard for support. In plain English: unlike most consumer graphics cards, your CPU doesn’t have dedicated RAM. fewer arithmetic logic units (ALUs)- they do less math.elevated sensitivity to background processes and apps.relying on RAM instead of VRAM for hashrates.That's because CPU miners run up against notable hardware limitations, including: Outside of Bitcoin mining ( which is dominated by ASICs), the majority of blockchain hash power is derived from GPUs. A CPU can't output the same raw hash power that a GPU produces, and you may earn more slowly as a result. But when it comes to the highly parallelized computations required for mining, the GPU shines. The CPU's wide range of responsibilities benefit from its equally wide skill set. This makes CPU mining essentially ineffectual unless you’re truly AFK. The more background processes you have running, the less spare power your CPU will have to contribute to hashing. It's like your computer's brain, tasked with overseeing everything from your Excel spreadsheets to those 50 browser tabs you've got open for someday. Graphics cards generally perform specialized processes like rendering game graphics and particle effects, whereas the CPU is a jack-of-all-trades. If you’re unfamiliar with these topics, check out " A Gamer's Guide to Blockchain and Crypto." It might also be helpful to read about the most common mining pool payout schemes. Variable Earning RatesĬPU earning rates are affected by many of the same factors as GPU mining, such as: It’s one of the best known and most reliably profitable coins for CPU mining-though results aren't always guaranteed.
Salad uses your CPU to mine for Monero (XMR) via XMRig. Many coins are optimized to take advantage of both CPU and GPU power. There are a few key differences worth mentioning before you get started. The basics of CPU mining are similar to GPU mining, but the devil's in the details.