Ethereum solo mining in 2024

How to start solo mining

To mine etherium, you need to have broadband internet with two or more ISPs (insurance in case of outages). A solo miner works directly with the blockchain, so there should be enough hard disk space to store a copy of it.

In May 2022, the ETH network occupies 345.17 Gb. For mining, it is better to use SSD hard disks with higher speed. This will increase the performance of the hardware. To access the ETH blockchain directly, you can use the Geth program.

Wallet

Desktop storage for Ethereum can be generated using the Geth application running in command line mode. The program requires a minimum of 200 Gb of free hard disk space to work properly. To create a wallet, you need to follow these steps:

1. Download Geth on the developers’ website. The program is distributed for free.
2. Install the application.Leave the settings and the download folder as default.
3. Open the command line. To do this, enter cmd in the search.
4. Enter the command personal.newAccount(“Password”).The system will generate a wallet.
5. In the command line type eth.accounts. The address of the storage will appear on the screen. It should be saved. Later it will be needed to configure the program.

Installing the miner

The Geth application interacts directly with the etherium network and controls the mining equipment. For correct operation, you need to download the blockchain to your hard disk.

The download will begin immediately after installing the program and will take about a day. The Ethereum network is constantly growing. Therefore, it is better to leave more space on the disk. You will also need to install the Etherminer miner program. Download the utility for free from the official website.

Software settings

Profitability of mining depends on the uninterrupted operation of the equipment. In case of a power outage, you need to configure the autoloading of the computer, the Geth program and the miner. The function is available in the settings of the operating system. The algorithm of actions is as follows:

1. Open BIOS. To do this, press F2 or the Delete key when booting the operating system.
2. Go to the settings. To do this, press the Setting button in the main menu.
3. Select Restore after crash.
4. Save the changes and exit the BIOS.
5. In the operating system control panel, uncheck “Require user and password input”.
6. Enable autorun of the miner. To do this, place the shortcuts Geth and Etherminer in the autostart folder.

For solo ETH mining, you need to configure the programs. The order of actions is as follows:

1. Launch Geth in command line mode.
2. Enter geth -rpc -rpcaddr “address” – rpcport XXXX. In quotes specify localhost – for mining on the current PC, computer address – if you plan to mine cryptocurrency from another device from the local network, IP address of the PC – for remote access via the Internet.
3. In the XXXX field write the port number. The value can be any. The main thing is that there should be no conflict with other connections.

To configure the Etherminer miner program, you need to run it in command line mode:

1. Open the executable file and type cmd.
2. Type the command ethminer -G to start mining .
3. If you plan to run the program remotely (from another PC on a local network or via the Internet), you need to enter the command ethminer -G-F-“computer address”.

In order for the application to work correctly, you should stop the firewall or add Etherminer to exceptions. Otherwise, failures may occur when mining etherium.

Video card configuration

While mining cryptocurrencies, users face difficulties in optimizing the performance of GPUs. Each microchip in the GPU is unique. Therefore, it is impossible to copy the settings from the Internet.

A miner faces the task of achieving the maximum hash rate with minimal power consumption. You will have to customize each video card in the rig separately.

To optimize the parameters, the MSI Afterburner program is used. With its help you can change the characteristics of Nvidia and AMD cards. At the same time, you need to open the miner program. After each change, it is necessary to monitor the hashrate and voltage. You can control the temperature and stability of the video card in the GPU-Z program.

The table contains the parameters that can be optimized in MSI Afterburner.

The main parameter to pay attention to in Ethereum mining is the memory bus frequency. It can be optimized in this sequence:

1. Run MSI Afterburner, GPU-Z and the mining program. Record the initial hashrate and power consumption parameters.
2. In MSI Afterburner, move the Memory Clock slider (memory frequency) to the right step by step.
3. Monitor the video card temperature in GPU-Z program, and hashrate and power supply voltage in Ethminer.
4. Find the frequency at which failures start (video card overheating, screen flickering or PC reboot).
5. Roll the adjustment back to 50 MHz.

Once the adjustment is complete, you need to save your changes by clicking on the floppy disk on the right side of the screen. Proper optimization can increase video card performance by 25-40%.

Startup

To mine ether solo, you need to:

1. Buy and assemble the hardware.
2. Download and install the programs Geth and Etherminer.
3. Run and configure the utilities.
4. Optimize video cards.

After the start of mining it remains only to monitor the operation of the equipment and, if necessary, to carry out maintenance. With the help of special programs (TeamViewer), you can monitor mining remotely. There are also utilities that monitor mining and send alerts to your smartphone or email (AllMiner, Awesome Miner, Miner Monitor).

Solo mining through a pool

To mine Ethereum in solo mode, a miner needs:

• Broadband internet.
• Reliable protection from Dos-attacks.

Some users complain about failures of the Geth program – it crashes, or the connection with the miner is interrupted. These problems can be avoided if you use the services of pools that allow you to mine etherium solo (Solopool, 2Miners, Comining, Solo.ckpool.org).

Most services support the Ethminer program. To mine cryptocurrency through the pool, you need to edit the .bat file. It can be downloaded on the platform. For correct mining of etherium, you need to specify such data:

• The address and port of the server for mining (can be viewed on the pool’s website).
• ETH wallet details.

Working with the service frees you from the overhead associated with loading the Ethereum blockchain. For optimal performance, you need a large amount of memory and high bandwidth. For pool services, you will have to pay a commission of 0.5-2% of the reward received.

Conclusions

In 2023, due to the high complexity of the network, beginners with small computing power cannot mine etherium in solo mode. Deploying your own pool requires working with the command line. This can be difficult for beginners. Therefore, solo mining is interesting only for experienced miners with powerful farms (with a capacity of more than 22-33 GH/s).

With this hashrate, it is possible to confirm an average of 2-3 blocks per day on a long run. With lower performance there will be intervals when the miner does not find a solution for many weeks, and therefore no income. At the same time, you need to pay electricity bills and perform maintenance of the technique. In this case, it is better to mine cryptocurrency in a pool. Profit will decrease by 25-40%, but the payments will be stable.

Frequent questions from users