Top Mining Software 2018
Once you took the plunge and bought your own Bitcoin (BTC) mining hardware or mining rig, you then need to think about connecting to a mining “pool,” which enables you to share your machine’s resources over the internet and receive a portion of the mining profits in return.
Among a huge number of programs available to assist your crypto-mining, the five followings are identified as the most popular. Experienced computer users may prefer to install the free operating system Linux and make use of one of the text-only programs such as CGminer.
Operating system Linux
For those who prefer to keep things simple and are sticking with Windows 10, mining clients with a GUI such as MultiMiner may be a better choice.
But before getting started, you’d better take a look at the
Bitcoin Wiki
to make sure that a mining program will work with your particular device or operating system.
- Bitminter
The Bitminter Mining Pool has been around since 2011, and as one of the longest-running and most reliable services out there, it's perhaps unsurprising that its creator Geir Hansen has also produced an excellent mining client too.
Bitminter client can work with GPUs and external ASIC device equally well. What is more, it has a remarkably clear graphical interface. You will easily notice a simple dial on the left that displays your hashrate in MH/s. To begin mining, you just need to click “Engine Start.”
Bitminter client also allows you to check progress at any time just by reviewing the “Stat” section which lists important information such as how many works accepted/rejected by the server, as well as how long the work took. It additionally allows you to reset these values at any time.
There is also a text console located at the bottom of the window. It displays updates such as when a device is connected, or when it has successfully connected to a mining pool.
The software has been designed to be used only with Bitminter's mining pool. Hence, you are required to create an account via the website. In addition, you also need to be satisfied with the location of Bitminter's servers (US, Canada and Europe), as well as the way in which the company shares mining rewards.
Pros:
• Preinstalled pool settings
• Cross-platform (Java)
Cons:
• Only works with Bitminter pool
- CGMiner
CGMiner is a mining-software that has appeared in the market for more than six years. It is coded in C, suggesting that it’s compatible with almost all operating systems. It works through a simple command line interface and supports multiple mining pools and devices. Though CGMiner is mainly designed to be used with hardware mining devices, it can still make use of any GPUs connected to your machine as well.
On the first run, you will need to enter the URL, username and password (if necessary) for your mining pool. After that CGMiner will automatically detect any hardware you have connected such as an ASIC device.
You have to work with CGMiner via the command line, but in turn, its layout is very clear to see on the top located mining devices and you can use simple keyboard commands to adjust your settings, for example, to enable verbose mode or detect new hardware.
In a test that uses CGMiner 4.9.2 on Windows 10, Windows Defender and antivirus software tried to block the download. This is possibly because hackers, who use their own versions of this program, secretly install CGMiner on someone else's machine to mine to benefit them. You can configure your system to make an exception for CGMiner if you wish, or use the Linux version.
Pros:
• Highly customizable
• Cross-platform
Cons:
• Windows version is difficult to install