Quite recently, I wrote an article revealing the disadvantages to Bitcoin mining What Disadvantages Are There To Bitcoin Mining?What Disadvantages Are There To Bitcoin Mining?Several times since the beginning of this decade, Bitcoins have been slowly but surely been causing a (good) disturbance in the way people think about currency.If you don't know yet what Bitcoins are, then... Read More .More precisely, a major disadvantage to the actual Bitcoin mining process is the cost vs.revenue battle, where you may be spending more money on generating bitcoins than you are earning with the bitcoins you have mined.This can vary based on the hardware you use for mining as well as the current value of a bitcoin.However, even if you have read about the disadvantages to the process and have read our Bitcoin guide, you may have still decided to go for it and build yourself one or more Bitcoin mining rigs.The CPU What Is A CPU and What Does It Do?[Technology Explained] What Is A CPU and What Does It Do?

[Technology Explained] Read More does not matter for any bitcoin mining machines as the GPU(s) will do all of the work.As this page explains, GPUs can do a lot more number-crunching than CPUs can, which leads to faster mining.We also wrote another article which highlights differences between CPUs and GPUs What Is the Difference Between An APU, A CPU And A GPU?[MakeUseOf Explains] What Is the Difference Between An APU, A CPU And A GPU?[MakeUseOf Explains] Over the last five or more years, there have been a number of different terms swirling around to describe computer hardware.Some of those terms include but aren’t limited to APU, CPU, and GPU.But... Read More without a focus on bitcoin mining.Therefore, even the cheapest AMD CPU will do just fine, as you will want to save the most amount of money.Choosing the best GPU, however, is a bit more difficult, so you will have to look at a number of different stats about them.There are three different numbers about a GPU which will be of major interest to you, namely MHash/s, MHash/j, and MHash/s/$.

Respectively, these are hashes per second, hashes per joule, and hashes per second per dollar spent on the GPU.MHash/s describes to you the amount of number-crunching the device can do while bitcoin mining.If the number is higher, than the faster it will go through hashes.The more hashes you can process, the less time it will take before you come across a 50 Bitcoin chunk.bitcoin node js serverWith better hardware, your chances do not necessarily increase, but you will be able to go through more hashes in less time.Advertisement This can often be seen as a pure power statistic, although it does not indicate efficiency.bitcoin brain walletMHash/j describes the amount of hashes the GPU can process with 1 joule of energy.virus in bitcoin blockchain

This is a good statistic for the amount of work it can do with a certain amount of electricity, so a higher number indicates that it is more efficient at number-crunching.If you plan to keep your mining operation running for a long time, then you will want to find a GPU with a really high number in this category.Usually, the high upfront cost will be worth all the savings later on.bitcoin armory keyPlus, if you are building many of these rigs, it will help prevent fuses from blowing.bitcointalk 8 bitLast but not least there is MHash/s/$.raspberry pi bitcoin generatorThis is a good indicator of how well the GPU crunches numbers based on the cost of buying it — this does not include costs related to electricity for running the GPU (see MHash/j).build bitcoin-qt linux

A high number in this statistic means that dollar for dollar the GPU is better at crunching numbers.If you choose a GPU that has a high number for both the MHash/j and MHash/s/$ statistics, then you will be running a very cost-effective card for what it is capable of doing.However, do not forget to at least look at the MHash/s statistic, because it can ultimately still be a very weak card.buy bitcoin ach transferYou are never going to find the perfect card that boasts the highest values in all three statistics, but you can mix and match to find the card that seems best for you.bitcoin canada quadIf you are a fan of nVidia, then I’m sorry to say that you will need to go with an AMD GPU for your mining rig.nVidia cards do not have MHash/s values even close to as high as AMD cards.You can find these statistics on this page, which gets continually updated as new GPUs come out.

If you are still completely unsure about which would be a good card, may I recommend the AMD Radeon HD 5970 or AMD Radeon HD 5850?The 5970 has a very high MHash/s value as well as a decent MHash/j value, and the 5850 is decent at the MHash/j statistic and does fantastic with its MHash/s/$ value.Do you have bitcoin mining rigs, or have you considered building one?Do you have any tips for aspiring miners?Any recommended graphics cards?Let us know in the comments!Image Credits: hegemonx, Ron Dauphin, Mukumbura, Forrestal_PLYou can head back to our homepage, or check out some great posts.Bitcoin, the digital currency, is making headlines these days as it continues to increase in value and is accepted in an increasing number of retailers and other businesses.So how can you get in on this exciting new form of virtual cash?And is it worth the effort?Most importantly from our point of view, can Mac users get involved?In this article we explain how to mine Bitcoin on Mac, and discuss whether that's a good idea.

Read next: Apple predictions 2017 Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that can be used to buy a variety of things, including online services, products... maybe even a house.It's akin to digital cash, in that it allows users to remain (mostly) anonymous in their transactions.The currency has no central bank and no hierarchical overseers.There are no actual coins, either.Instead, Bitcoins are created by people using the computational power of their computers to 'mine' them.While the whole thing might sound a bit wacky, in the last few years the value of Bitcoins has increased at a phenomenal rate.Just recently a Bitcoin become worth more than an ounce of gold; at time of writing it's over £2,000.For more information on Bitcoin mining, take a look at this article by our colleagues at Tech Advisor.Creating a Bitcoin requires the solving of complex computational problems.This is done through software that uses the GPU of a PC (or Mac) to essentially keep chipping away at answers until it finds the right one.

While this might sound easy - and when Bitcoin first appeared back in 2008 it was certainly easier - these days the complexity of the problems are such that the power needed to crack them is substantial.Because of this it's now virtually impossible to create Bitcoin without serious, dedicated hardware, or through people joining together in pools to share their resources and rewards.Before you delve too far into the Bitcoin scene it's worth considering the fact that's it's very difficult to make money creating Bitcoin.In fact, due to the cost of electricity and any additional hardware you might purchase (not to mention replacing Macs whose GPUs burn out due to excessive use) you could make a net loss.To have any chance of making a profit you'll need a powerful machine, along the lines of a MacBook Pro or a higher-end iMac such as the iMac with 5K display.You could theoretically use a MacBook Air or Mac mini but due to the lower-powered GPUs found in those devices it's not advisable.

For more advice, read our best Mac buying guide and best Mac deals.If your curiosity can't be abated, and you're still eager to proceed, we'll show you how to get involved.The first thing you'll need to do is create a Bitcoin wallet.This is necessary as it will be where you store any Bitcoin that you create, buy, or receive. website, alongside further details of how the process works.One very important thing is to ensure that you have offline backups of your wallet, and that you keep the details of your account somewhere safe.If you lose your password or your account is hacked, then your money is gone.It's the same as losing your wallet or purse in real life.Cash just doesn't come back. provides a comprehensive guide to securing your wallet, and we suggest you read it fully.Once you've set up your wallet you'll want to join a pool.Again there are a wide range to choose from; the biggest ones are almost exclusively in China.Ones to consider are F2Pool, Slushpool and BTCC.Each pool will have different transaction costs (or possibly none at all), so be sure to check out a few before you commit.