If you are new to cryptocurrency, and looking to get a taste of mining without getting into the nuts and bolts of mining – Minergate’s GUI consule is the best option for you. It is by far the easiest way to get started with mining – easily downloaded and installed, quick setup and simple UI. Once installed, you are on your way with the click of a button – it’s so easy that your grandma could get it up and running in a few mins.
If you aren’t familiar with the process of mining (process of generating bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies) and want to get a quick intro to bitcoin, mining and cryptocurrencies in general, feel free to browse through my post by clicking here.
While the more established cryptocurrencies require miners to invest $1,000s into computing/specialised hardware, mining altcoins is still possible and potentially profitable if you missed the early arms race.
With that said, let’s take a look at if MinerGate is for you and how to get going.
What is Minergate
Minergate provides a software that allows you to mine a variety of cryptocurrencies as a part of a pool more on that here. Miners attach their hardware to the pool to collectively mine the coin(s) of their choice.
What you need to mine
You can get going with a CPU or GPU, minergate software and a steady connection to the internet.
- Hardware
You can get a reasonable taste of mining even with 3-4yr old hardware – any older and the returns may be low enough to demoralize you too soon. One of my rigs with an AMD FX-8300 CPU and MSI R9280x GPU is dedicated to Minergate and accumulating altcoins.
Needless to say, the latest GPU’s would give you a higher daily return.
CPU: Intel has a definite edge here over its AMD counterparts
GPU: While AMD had the edge in the early years, Nvidia has caught up in recent times.
Make sure to do your research before you begin. Mining will put additional stress on your equipment and potentially reduce its lifeSoftware
Minergate makes it easy to download and install the software which you can download from their website. The software is currently available across Windows, Mac, Ubuntu and Fedora.
Internet
If you are in the developing region of the world, quality internet access can be an issue. However, mining does not require superfast connection speeds or unlimited data – a basic, but steady connection that allows for constant connectivity is enough.
What coins can I mine
Minergate currently supports mining of 14 cryptocurrencies
Getting started
To begin with, you will need to sign up on MinerGate’s website
Step 1
Go to MinerGate’s website and sign up.
Step 2
Download the GUI Miner.
Step 3
Open the MinerGate application. You will be prompted to sign in – use the credentials you used in Step 1 earlier.Step 4
Once you are signed in you will land on the smart mining tab within the application. Click on the “Start smart mining button” and you are on your way – no command lines, no GPU settings required– as easy as that.
The smart mining feature within the GUI miner automatically chooses which coin is mined based on current difficulty and exchange rates of the coins. In theory, this allows you to mine the most profitable coin at the moment - however, due to constant variation in pricing and changes in difficulty, you should research which coin to mine.
If you feel that you are not happy with the smart mined coin or just prefer a different cryptocurrency, you can choose which coin to mine by going to the Miner tab
Note: Leaving one CPU core free while mining with your GPU or while working on your system simultaneously increases output
Who is MinerGate for
MinerGate is easily my first recommendation to anyone looking to get their hands dirty and experience mining for the first time.
It won’t satisfy the purists or the tinkerers, but it is a great way to get started. For those of you who want to play around with the setting and optimize your output/hardware performance, you can take a look at the Console miner MinerGate (and others) provide – more on that in another post.
- MinerGate Pros
- Easy to Setup
- Requires basic ability to operate a computer
- Can mine multiple coins simultaneosly
- Minergate Cons
- Cannot tweak the hardware settings
- Limited number of mineable coins
Hope this help smoothen your entry into mining and building your very own crypto fortune :).
Drop your questions/comments below or email me at himalayanhasher@gmail.com