Video card overclocking for mining

Parameters of the graphics card for overclocking

The graphics gas pedal (GPU) is a complex device that serves for calculations. The video card includes such components:

• Processor.
• RAM.
• Cooling system.

These are the basic elements that are present in the video board, regardless of the purpose and characteristics. The performance of the equipment is evaluated by such parameters:

• Power.
• Core voltage.
• RAM frequency.
• Temperature.
• Core frequency.

For power and temperature parameters, an additional value of the consumption limit (Power or Temperature Limit) is applied.

How to use video adapter resources more efficiently? It depends on the type of task and coin. In one case, memory is loaded, in another – the core. The requirements for the parameters also differ. From the peculiarities of mining depends on the choice of the direction of overclocking – CPU or RAM.

Beginners may worry about the board not to fail from changes in operating parameters. There is no need to worry, because the voltage in the network does not increase. In the worst case, the GPU will independently return the changed indicator to the factory value, reset the frequency.

Algorithm of actions when overclocking a video card for mining

Extraction of digital assets that use PoW can be performed on different devices. These are ASIC equipment or video cards. The choice of cryptocurrency depends on the device. In early 2023, it is more profitable to mine Ethereum on a video card. Mining of the second most capitalized cryptocurrency is carried out with the help of the Ethash or Dagger Hashimoto encryption algorithm.

A block of data is loaded into the memory of a graphics gas pedal, which is used for calculations. In February 2022, the Ethereum DAG file exceeds 4.7 GB in size. At the same time, the algorithm provides for in-memory calculations. For ETH, it is the speed of this partition that matters. The parameters of the graphics card are changed by increasing the frequency of RAM. Core parameters do not affect the hash rate, so they are not touched, sometimes they are even lowered.

Theoretically, the algorithm includes 3 operations:

1. Frequency increase.
2. Synthetic stress test.
3. Stress test.

Frequency increase is performed in small increments. You should not increase the index at once. Professional miners use a step of 50 MHz.

Frequency selection

Determining the parameter of the graphics system of the PC in order to change depends on the cryptocurrency. For the Dagger Hashimoto algorithm used in Ethereum and other coins, adjusting the frequency of video memory will be effective. Core settings do not affect the hash rate – to reduce power consumption, the indicators can be lowered.

Video memory manufacturer

At the beginning of 2023, there are 3 graphics gas pedal developers leading the digital market:

However, different companies (ASUS, MSI, GIGABYTE, etc.) can directly produce them. Some vendors cooperate with all developers, others represent a certain brand.

To customize, you need to find out the manufacturer of the equipment. From this depends on how many MHz it is allowed to raise the frequency value.

For such purposes, you can use regular Windows tools, such as Device Manager or third-party programs. Popular utilities for viewing information:

• AIDA64 (PC monitoring).
• GPU-Z (software specializes only on video adapters).

There are also other programs. But the capabilities of the above utilities are enough. They work in the Windows operating system. For Linux, there are also special programs. Console methods of viewing parameters are available using the utilities lspci, lshw, glxinfo and others, depending on the distribution.

Stress test

The next stage is to check the graphics board performance under maximum load conditions. There are special programs for stress tests. They artificially create a high load and check the efficiency of the board with specified parameters.

Popular programs for testing:

• FurMark.
• OCCT.
• 3DMark.
• SiSoftware Sandra and others.

The choice of utility depends on the manufacturer and user preferences. Each program provides the necessary result.

Frequency boost

At this stage, the parameters of the graphics card are changed. Frequency raising is performed gradually. It is recommended to raise the frequency 50 MHz at a time. After each step of raising the frequency you need to adjust the settings.

Different programs are used for overclocking. As an example, you can call MSI Afterburner. The program from the manufacturer of computer hardware supports 2 main boards:

The results of each stage will be displayed on the stress test. You can see that the equipment is unstable. The main signs of overclocking:

• Clear artifacts on the screen of the stress test program.
• Automatic termination of the software by the operating system.
• Problems with access to the video driver – it will stop responding to OS requests, the corresponding message will appear on the screen.
• The PC display may change color to white or black.
• The “blue screen of death” will appear – this is a critical error of the Windows operating system.

The problems are of a one-time nature. Rebooting the PC will help to get rid of them. After turning on the video board of the computer will work at the original frequency, the changes will not be saved. It is necessary to make the adjustment again. A new attempt should be stopped at a frequency lower by 50 MHz.

Checking the stability of mining

Testing the work of the computer in the conditions of maximum load of the program will not show the real picture. It is necessary to leave the PC in a working state for a day and check its behavior according to the checklist:

• Absence of arbitrary reboots and freezes of the computer.
• Graphics work without problems, jumps.
• Stable profitability without fluctuations.
• Calculated profit corresponds to the actual.

If any point is not fulfilled, you need to reduce the card frequency by another 50 MHz. Stability is more important than performance.

At any suspicions it is recommended to reduce the frequency. You can earn more on a stable graphics card with lower values than on an overclocked one with problems and freezes.

Reduce power consumption

Mining is a costly process. The graphics card in your computer consumes the most electricity. Increasing the parameters leads to an increase in the cost of mining coins. Electricity consumption increases.

This must be fought. It is possible to reduce energy consumption without a drop in performance and profitability of mining. In the MSI Afterburner program you are using, you need to reduce the Power Limit. This should be done until the profitability starts to drop. You can limit the power consumption at the maximum allowable level. The video board will work at the frequency and voltage that correspond to the set Power Limit.

You should not be afraid to change the Power Limit. The device will not receive additional load as the power, power and temperature figures will also be reduced. The hardware is running in safe mode by default.

Cooling System Optimization

Reduced power consumption has a positive effect on heating. Heat dissipation drops, so you can change the cooling system setting, reduce fan speed.

The MSI Afterburner software mentioned as an example provides flexible customization. You can change the speed of the cooling system fans, adjust the temperature. A graphical method is used for this purpose. On the diagram of matching speed and temperature you need to move the points to achieve the desired result.

Such optimization of the cooling system is a search for a compromise solution. The process of manually lowering the performance is called downclocking. A high load on the fan will cause it to fail. A gentle mode of cooling system operation is fraught with graphics board failure. It is necessary to find a compromise between fan intensity, component temperature and noise level. The last factor also matters. A fan constantly running at high speeds creates discomfort for people in the same room with the equipment.

Replacing or repairing a fan is cheaper than buying a new graphics card. To reduce discomfort from the noise of the cooling system, it is desirable to install the farm for mining in non-residential premises.

After performing all procedures, it is recommended to fix the changes made, adjust the overclocking of the graphics card for mining. Before doing this, it is necessary to ensure the stability of the farm with the specified parameters.

Special programs for overclocking video cards

Factory settings of the equipment use the optimal characteristics. This reduces performance, but increases the resource of the device and its lifetime. Users who care about maximum power try to bypass the basic settings. This process is called overclocking. It is of interest primarily to miners and gamers. Software from manufacturers is usually used for tuning. There are also third-party programs that optimize video cards from different vendors.

MSI Afterburner is one of the popular programs for overclocking a graphics card for mining. There are also other utilities:

• AMD Radeon Software.
• RivaTuner.
• ATIWinflash.
• Polaris Bios Editor.
• NVIDIA Inspector and others.

Example of overclocking video cards for mining

The general principle of increasing PC performance, which is used for mining, is the same for all types of graphics gas pedals. But each developer has its own peculiarities. Overclocking graphics cards is different for the products of such manufacturers:

• NVIDIA.
• AMD Radeon series.
• Intel.

NVIDIA

Miners use different company products. There is a System Management Interface (SMI) utility for NVIDIA. It has a console interface, the configuration must be done in command line mode.

The nvidia-smi utility is included in the driver set and is located in the corresponding folder on the C drive (if Windows is used). As an example, this operating system will be considered, since it is the one installed on 90% of users’ PCs.

To work with the utility, you need to enable the Windows command line and go to the directory where the program is stored. The default path looks like this: C:Program FilesNVIDIA CorporationNVSMI.

As an example of overclocking an Nvidia graphics card for mining Ether, you can consider the popular GTX 970 graphics gas pedal. Increasing the parameters is carried out step by step. It is necessary to go through the following steps:

1. Check the current value of the P parameter of the video card. Use the command nvidia-smi -q -d PERFORMANCE. Before checking it will be necessary to load the device, turn on the coin mining mode.
2. Check the value of the maximum frequency, which corresponds to the P0 parameter. Apply the command nvidia-smi -q -d SUPPORTED_CLOCKS | more. The list will be large, but the chip and memory frequencies are of interest.
3. Set the selected values for each component. For example, the frequency for the memory is 3505 MHz and the frequency for the chip is 1455 MHz. Enter nvidia-smi -ac 3505, 1455.
4. These frequencies will be set for all video cards installed in the system. If the farm is built on different components, you need to configure each of them separately using the command nvidia-smi -i 0 -ac 3505,1455 nvidia-smi -i 1 -ac 3550, 1390. Here the -i operator indicates the board number, in this case the system applies 2 graphics gas pedals.

Then you can check the increase in mining performance. It is recommended to run the process before increasing the parameters and after to compare the data. For the GTX 970 card from GIGABYTE used in the example, the performance increase was 2 megahex per second. At the same time, power consumption increased by 10W.

AMD Radeon

To overclock video cards from Advanced Micro Devices, you need to change the firmware with the ATIWinflash program. This is the manufacturer’s software for working with BIOS on graphics with AMD (ATI) Radeon chips.

The flashing is performed only as a Windows administrator. For example, AMD RX 470 will be used. You need to perform the following operations:

1. Save the BIOS image.
2. Create backup copies of the bios in case of problems with flashing.
3. Use Polaris Bios Editor utility to change timings (values depend on the device and manufacturer).
4. Change core frequency up to 1150 MHz and power supply voltage.
5. Overclock the cooler, if necessary, by changing the system RPM value.
6. Save the file with .rom extension.
7. Use the ATIWinflash program to flash the BIOS.
8. To do this, select the Load Image option.
9. Specify the path to the modified file and the desired video card.

This completes the stage of flashing the bios. Now you need to overclock your AMD graphics card for mining with the MSI Afterburner program. There are tabular values of different parameters. They depend on the algorithm, manufacturer and other nuances. It is recommended to determine the optimal values by experience.

The parameters of cards of the same series are different, you should not take a formulaic approach to the choice of characteristics.

Intel

Video cards from AMD or NVIDIA are discrete devices with memory, processor and cooling system. They have high performance. Graphics cards are used when tasks require powerful hardware.

There are built-in Intel graphics gas pedals. They are also called integrated. Devices provide basic PC functions that do not require the power of a graphics gas pedal:

• Working in office applications.
• Surfing the Internet.
• Viewing video files and others.

Intel chips are too weak for mining or demanding games. Therefore, PCs with integrated graphics cards are not suitable for cryptocurrency mining. Even a forced change of parameters does not provide the performance required for mining.

Overclocking a graphics card on a laptop

Mobile devices are comparable to PCs in terms of capabilities and tasks. However, they use special components adapted to work in a limited space. In a laptop it is difficult to cool components with high heat generation. Therefore, manufacturers use versions with limited power consumption, other operating parameters.

There are programs for overclocking in laptops from different manufacturers. However, such optimization will not lead to the necessary increase in power. Mining with the help of a laptop is not profitable.

Advantages and risks when overclocking a video card

Manufacturers select the optimal parameters for each GPU model. Forcibly changing the factory characteristics can lead to the failure of the board. On the other hand, to increase profitability, you need to increase the performance of the device. A compromise must be made to ensure that the graphics card lasts a long time and generates revenue. Changing the factory settings has advantages and disadvantages. The main characteristics are reflected in the table.

Advantages	Risks
Performance is improved, which leads to an increase in hash rate	Video card failure is probable
Power consumption decreases. Given the constant operation of the farm, this is a significant part of the cost, which affects the profit.	Possible loss of warranty due to unauthorized interference in the operation of equipment
There are many programs for overclocking from manufacturers	The graphics adapter is unstable

Overclocking should be performed in stages, checking each increase in frequency. Otherwise, the operation of the device will be disrupted. This will lead to a drop in income from mining.

Summary

Mining cryptocurrency is a way to earn money on digital assets. For mining, PC CPUs, video cards, ASIC devices are used. You can use top products from AMD and NVIDIA. It is not possible to mine on integrated Intel video cards and laptops.

To increase productivity and profit, artificially change the performance characteristics of graphics gas pedals. There are programs for overclocking the card for mining from equipment manufacturers and third-party developers. The procedure depends on the cryptocurrency and the model of the graphics gas pedal.

Frequently Asked Questions

❗ What is Ethash?

Digital assets use different cryptographic encryption methods. Ethash is one such option. It is used in the Ethereum network and other tokens based on this blockchain.

❔ What is Hashrate?

A unit of power of mining equipment, measured in hashes per second. The higher the figure, the more operations the device can perform.

❕ What is the optimal amount of video memory for cryptocurrency mining?

At the beginning of 2023, the size of the Ethereum DAG file was about 4.7 GB. Accordingly, the amount of video memory should be at least 5 gigabytes.

💰 How much does MSI Afterburner cost?

The software is developed by the computer hardware manufacturer of the same name and the company Guru3D RivaTuner. Downloading, installing and using it is free.

❓ What is overclocking?

Overclock – increasing the factory parameters of the equipment. For mining customize the clock frequency.

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