GUIminer Mining Guide and Others Ways to Mine Bitcoin in 2019

Mining in recent years has become an everyday occurrence. Someone sets up a home PC, someone opens farms or buys specialized expensive devices such as ASIC-miners.

Today, lots of mining programs exist with extensive functionality. In addition to their direct responsibilities, which includes mining of coins, many of them also allow monitoring the status of the equipment, in particular, using temperature indicators and acceleration of video cards. There are both universal programs with the help of which different types of cryptocurrencies are mined. Some of them are intended for beginner-miners and have an intuitive interface, others are more for professionals – first of all, these are console versions.

In general, while choosing the way of mining, it is necessary to take into account the following factors:

• Equipment for mining: GPU, CPU, ASIC

  Advertisement

• Choose the coin you are going to mine

• A cryptocurrency wallet

Experienced miners prefer to use sophisticated software with much more nodes and functions. Such programs can be better adapted to a specific computer, which allows you to use its computing power to the maximum. Complex mining programs for Bitcoin mining include CGMiner, Phoenix, DiabloMiner, Ufasoft Miner, BFGMiner. Working with them requires knowledge of MS-DOS commands.

For beginners, it is better to use software with a simple graphic design and minimal additional options. They require less setup time and immediately focus on mining of cryptocurrency. In this case, you can use the next programs: GUI Miner, 50Miner, Easyminer, Bitminter. They have an intuitive interface and do not require special skills.

In this article, we will analyze the best ways for Bitcoin mining in 2019.

GUIMiner Guide

To facilitate the process of cryptocurrency mining, many applications have been created with a simple graphical interface, which are add-ons for more complex mining programs. One of the first such applications is GUIMiner. This is one of the mining programs which you can use for Bitcoin mining and it is especially popular among beginners.

GUIMiner features:

• Free open source application

• Designed for cryptocurrency mining on NVIDIA, AMD video cards, and processors

• Solo mining is supported using the PoW algorithm with the SHA-256 hash function

An important advantage is the automatic detection of PC components. In addition, there is the possibility of a high-speed transition of calculations to the integrated into the processor core.

Setting GUIMiner

Before you start mining, you need to install the latest drivers for Nvidia video cards with support for CUDA technology, and for AMD video accelerators, the Stream SDK package or drivers with OpenCL support.

To start the program, you need to double-click the application icon in the folder where it is located.

To mine cryptocurrency with GUIMiner, you need to register on the pool, where the wallet address is indicated for the calculation of the mined coins.

Then, in the main application window, select the required pool by clicking the “Server” drop-down menu, or select the Other line and enter your host information (network address and port for connection). In addition, one should enter the username and password specified during registration on the pool.

After that, the mining rate is selected by selecting the CPU Affinity value (from 0 to 3 in our case). If you wish to use several devices at once, you can launch several miner windows and choose the necessary hardware in each of them.

Manual settings made by Guiminer can be saved for future use via the file menu by selecting ‘save settings’. Then press the start button, after which the mining process begins.

A properly working GUIMiner should look like this.

Overall, GUIMiner can immediately launch a large number of mining processes, which helps to significantly increase profit. Statistics are shown in one window for all users. In addition, it can be used to learn the basics of mining on old hardware.

Besides GUIMiner, there are many other alternatives. So, let's analyze popular programs for Bitcoin mining.

Bitminter

This is one of the most used and profitable mining programs with a fairly simple interface. The Bitminter Mining Pool exists since 2011. Its founder, Geir Hansen, is also the creator of one of the best graphics clients for Bitcoin mining. In addition, the Bitminter client can work with any GPU.

The dial on the left displays the hash power. A user only needs to press the “Start Engine’’ to start mining.

You can track the progress 24/7 by analyzing the statistics in the appropriate section, for example, the amount of evidence of work accepted and rejected by the server and the time spent on work.

The Bitminter client also has a text console at the bottom of the window that provides information about the time and type of activated hardware, as well as connection to the mining pool.

Positive aspects of the mining program:

• Preset pool settings

• Cross-platform work

The software only operates with the Bitminter mining pool. This means that you need to create an account on the website. The company's servers are located in the USA and Europe, and the company generously shares remuneration with miners.

CGMiner

CGMiner is one of the first applications developed by Con Kolivas and Andrew Smith for mining cryptocurrency. This is an open source application that has several versions for mining with GPU, CPU, ASICs on Windows, OSX, and Linux.

The latest version of CGMiner was released on August 16, 2018, and is intended to work solely on FPGA and ASICs.

CGMiner is especially popular with professional miners. There are a lot of different settings that help optimize the performance of the entire mining system. As a result, everyone gets a very high performance.

The main advantages of CGMiner:

• Many parameters for settings. They optimize the operation of the system so that cryptocurrency mining becomes as efficient as possible.

• Very simple setup. Every newcomer who runs the program for the first time will figure out the interface in 10 to 15 minutes. You can very easily and simply evaluate all the benefits of the program.

• The software has integrated special stop-signals. Their task: warn about the presence of any critical errors, such as overheating, crashes, etc. The main thing is to keep your hardware in order so that it works as efficiently in the future as it did at the beginning.

However, there are also some disadvantages:

• In recent versions, mining with GPU has been discontinued.

• Inexperienced users find it difficult to configure.

• Few mining algorithms available.

• Less mining efficiency compared to programs with closed code.

CGMiner used to be very popular among miners. Now it is not relevant for mining cryptocurrency with modern GPUs, but can be used on some ASICs. Developers can use this open source program to improve programming skills and create more advanced cryptocurrency applications.

NiceHash Miner

NiceHash is an open source software that allows users who do not have their own equipment to get Bitcoin. Everyone is able to rent computing power to earn BTC, LTC and other altcoins without buying hardware.

NiceHash Miner works on the principle of cloud mining sites; customers are offered short-term contracts for the rental of computing power. This format of cooperation is extremely convenient and is also characterized by the absence of any risks. You do not have to pay fabulous electricity bills.

Main features of the service:

• This is not the cloud mining in the traditional sense, under the terms of which users pay for computing power belonging to the service. Rather, it is a capacity exchange.

• In terms of profitability, NiceHash is absolutely not inferior to the popular cloud mining services but only provided that the user understands how everything is arranged here. The risk of losing your money is still present, short-term contracts are a lottery in the hands of a beginner, and for a professional, on the contrary, it is a tool for making money.

• NiceHash platform can be identified as an exchange platform, respectively, here you can not only acquire but also sell computing power.

• Users of this service are engaged in mining cryptocurrency. First, the equipment is selected, then the pool, and then the algorithm.

• The intuitive interface allows you to quickly understand the functionality of the software. After a brief acquaintance with the software, you can get to work.

Versions of NiceHash

Currently, there are only two versions of the program. Beginners should use Miner, designed to work with NVIDIA graphics cards. Compressed functionality allows you to quickly understand how the platform operates and start mining with GPU.

The second option is NiceHash Miner Legacy, which in contrast to the old version, has enhanced functionality. The software can be used to work with equipment from AMD and NVIDIA.

Inexperienced miners may encounter a huge number of different menus and buttons, as a result of which they will get confused and have difficulty setting up Miner Legacy, so it’s best to start with the first option.

Downloading and installing the program

To ensure that the software functions correctly, follow the instructions provided.

First, disable the antivirus, because it often becomes the cause of blocking the download of software. Also, antivirus can cause all sorts of errors in the program.

• It is necessary to download NiceHash from the official site or GitHub. Downloading software from the unknown sources is dangerous and the user exposes himself to the unjustified risk of installing malware. In the future, this may cause the loss of money earned by the miner.

• When the archive is downloaded, you need to extract its contents into a separate folder. Go to this directory and run the installation file (extension .exe). Once the installation menu opens, select the language and tick, confirming its agreement with all the rules of using NiceHash.

• Additional procedural norms are opened, they also need to be read and agreed.

• Wait till the download process finishes.

The system requirements of NiceHash Miner are minimal, so it is not necessary to have a powerful computer to work with this program. Installing and adjusting the miner takes relatively little time.

How to set up a NiceHash Miner

When the program is installed to start mining, you must select the nearest localization. After that, click on the “Benchmark” button.

As a result, the software will test the video card and select the most suitable cryptocurrency. The calculation process takes into account the power of the video card, the complexity of generating blocks and the current rate of cryptocurrency.

While checking is done, we create a Bitcoin wallet. You also need to register for NiceHash Miner. You can create a wallet by installing a mobile application, a desktop program, or by creating an account on one of the online services. Also, the wallet can be registered on the cryptocurrency exchange. Then, you need to insert the wallet address into the appropriate section of the program, but this can be done only after the end of the check.

How to mine with NiceHash Miner

To earn digital currency, you must first perform the steps described previously. After testing is complete, close the “Benchmark”. Then click the “Start” button, after which a special menu will open.

The command line displays the available video cards and computing power. Dual mining is possible, which significantly increases the productivity of cryptocurrency mining. The service offers both GPU graphics cards and CPU processors for rent.

The second window displays directly NiceHash Miner. Here you can see the daily yield. A little higher, namely in the tab “Bets / Groups / Device”, you can see the total speed of the hardware. The system will select the most profitable algorithm for your video card.

If you click “Check Statistic” button in the browser, a page with static indicators will open. Here you can explore the profitability and efficiency of workers.

BFGMiner

BFGMiner is one of the most popular software mining programs today. It was created specifically for ASIC-miners and it can work with some GPU, but you can hardly get a profit from them.

BFG Miner is not difficult to set up. Using the instructions below, you can quickly configure everything correctly and start successful mining.

The most significant features of BFGMiner include:

• The possibility of mining not only on graphics accelerators but also on CPUs, as well as on specialized FPGA-systems.

• The user is given quite a few keys to start so you can make more detailed settings in the work.

• You can easily control and assign the fan speed in the cooling system.

• Slightly higher performance in comparison with many other mining programs.

• Work with many pools and quick switching between them.

To download  BFGMiner, go to the official project website.

You should not count on maximum performance unless the full potential of hardware is fully utilized. In this regard, not all miners can reveal the computer hardware to its full potential. However, BFGMiner is able to do it.

BFGMiner can be run even on Raspberry Pi minicomputers. It functions perfectly not only on Windows but also on Linux.

As a disadvantage, BFGMiner does not have a graphical shell. Any control actions are performed using the text command line. The user must keep in mind all the necessary keys and parameters. However, after some work with the program, everything seems quite simple and understandable.

BFGMiner has the following interesting features:

• Dynamic clocking

• Remote interface

• System monitoring in real time

• Vector support

• Fan control

How to configure BFGMiner

Before setting up the program, you need to select the cryptocurrency for mining (Bitcoin in our case). You will also need to open a cryptocurrency wallet and register on some pool.

After you registered on the pool and got the wallet address, you will need to download the program archive from the official site. Developers strongly recommend downloading BFGMiner only from official sources.

Having unpacked the archive in the right place, you need to create a bat-file to run the program. This is done, as a rule, with the help of a regular notebook. The name of the file can be given.

Conclusion about BFGMiner

BFGMiner will be an excellent choice in many cases. This software allows you to make numerous settings through the command line. This option will suit more experienced users. In the case of BFGMiner, a variety of hardware can be used, not just graphics cards.

Beginner miners can be recommended to run BFGMiner in a pair with the MultiMiner, which is more convenient with its graphical environment.

An additional advantage of BFGMiner can certainly be considered the ability to monitor the system and adjust the speed of rotation of coolers. Moreover, management can be carried out even through a remote interface, being at any distance from the workstation.

Even with the minimum necessary settings, the program will be able to work quite successfully. But here it is designed at most for AMD cards. Owners of Nvidia need to search for other applications.

MultiMiner

The mining program has a fairly simple interface, so it is very convenient for beginners. The client displays your daily expected profit when using current mining equipment.

During installation, the resource asks you to send 1% of the profits to the developer’s purse as a present for creating this unique resource.

MultiMiner is available on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. The application makes it easy to switch individual devices (GPU, ASIC, FPGA) between cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Litecoin. The program uses the basic engine (BFGMiner) to detect available hardware design tools and then provides an intuitive screen for selecting coins you would like to use.

MultiMiner is designed to serve both new miners and experienced users, and also has a simple installation and lots of features.

Opportunities for beginners:

• Getting Started Wizard - quick start

• An intuitive interface allows users to quickly master it

• Automatic updates

• Notifications of profitable coins for mining

Opportunities for advanced users:

• Ability to customize the strategy for the automatic launch of currencies

• Built proxy Stratum allows you to find other miners in MultiMiner

• Integration with online services ensures that information about available tokens is always relevant

• Availability of direct access to the main arguments of mining analysis and API settings

Features for coin holders:

• Automatic detection, monitoring, and control of autonomous miners (AntMiner, Avalon, and KnC)

• Remote monitoring, configuration, and management of any installation MultiMiner

• Mobile monitoring

Mining Software Comparison

The age of Bitcoin has already crossed the ten-year mark. In the beginning, almost no one knew about it, but over the past few years, the situation has changed.

In 2017, creators of ASICs, for example, Bitmain, obtained hyper-profit from their products. But in 2019 it is vice versa. The rate of BTC does not allow users to purchase new equipment and the cost of electricity negates all payback.

Hyper-profits are no longer discussed, and in many countries, the mining industry has completely disappeared.

If the price increases, then mining will be revived, and vice versa. In addition, it is believed that small miners will leave the industry altogether – the payback period is too long. If earlier the payback period was about six months, now it is impossible to beat off the cost of ASICs, even after a year.

New home miners do not come into the sphere. This means that only large players will remain on the market, which increases the risk of control and manipulation. As for investors, they need to keep their savings in hopes of improving the situation.

In the process of choosing the most appropriate way for Bitcoin mining, it is important to remember that this directly affects the efficiency of work. Moreover, the mining program is no less important than the purchase of expensive equipment.

Specific software allows devices to conduct complex calculations and only, in this case, can the user get a reward. At the same time, we must not forget that the program directly affects earnings. Regardless of the equipment, if you have quality software, the chances of success, as well as mining efficiency, are significantly increased.