Is mining crypto on a laptop worth it?

When diving into the crypto world, almost every newcomer gets obsessed with the idea of mining and faces the question: how to mine digital coins effortlessly and is it profitable. Actually, taking the first step into this field is pretty straightforward: you can start mining on a laptop without leaving home.
Is it worth mining on a laptop?
There is a range of devices that can offer profitable mining for beginners. But keep in mind that the more powerful equipment you buy, the more money you need to invest in to start. One of the most affordable ways of mining cryptocurrencies is to mine with your laptop.
The progress and spreading of crypto in the world stimulated the volatility of digital coin prices. This started the cryptocurrency era we are in today. The idea of mining went viral and created an enormous demand for hardware, including the most popular devices – graphics cards with high computing power. This led to a shortage on the market and caused a rise in buying laptops with high-performance video cards.
Before wondering how you can start mining on your laptop and whether it’s profitable or not, it’s worth studying the features, advantages, and disadvantages. Here are the more risky laptop components you should pay attention to:
- GPUs
- Cooling systems
Crypto mining requires a significant amount of computing power nonstop. If you want to start laptop mining at home, you need to examine the cooling system of your chosen device.
First of all, most laptops were designed for:
- Fulfilling daily tasks
- Playing games
Remember that your laptop cooling system will lag behind compared to desktop computers. Laptops have limited space and can’t accommodate a proper cooling system's powerful fans and radiators. In this case, beginners should make a compromise to be able to mine digital coins.
For the same reason, laptop miners can’t install graphics cards with higher performance. It’s worth noting that their price will immensely exceed the cost of their substitutes in desktop computers.
As a result, if you’re wondering whether it’s worth it and profitable to use your laptop for mining, you should set your budget and choose a video card model that matches it. Laptop mining is a good starting point for beginners and an excellent opportunity to try yourself in the crypto world without losses.
If you already have experience in mining on your laptop, move up to the next level and join the EMCD Mining Pool to start mining digital coins more profitably and safely with daily payouts. It’s easier to get returns in a pool, and EMCD is one of the top-10 Bitcoin mining pools.
How to choose a laptop for mining?
If you’re a beginner exploring the crypto world and are planning to buy the best laptop for mining, you should spend some time researching to make the right choice.
While figuring out how to mine crypto on your laptop and which device will be the best choice to start with, you need to pay attention to some key elements. Here are the most important features when choosing a mining laptop:
- Processor performance
- Graphics card power
- Cost of the chosen laptop model
- RAM capacity
- HDD capacity
These laptop components and their work affect profitability the most.
You should keep in mind that your computer must be plugged in to ensure efficient digital coin mining. Using battery power for laptop mining will lead to fast wear. However, there’s an advantage to your laptop running on battery power: it’ll be very useful in case of power outages.
When choosing a laptop for digital coin mining, you need to consider the CPU and GPU functioning specifics. CPU should have high performance, offered by the latest generation laptop models from Intel and AMD. The new Nvidia graphics cards will be perfect for mining on a laptop.
The key components for profitable mining are RAM capacity and HDD storage capacity. Future miners should pay attention to laptops with a hard disk volume of 512 GB or more and at least 8 GB RAM. However, laptops with 256 GB HDDs will be okay for beginner miners.
How to start mining on a laptop?
If you already studied all the crucial elements of the mining process and have a suitable laptop model, you need to consider the necessary rules to start mining digital coins. Here are the conditions you need to meet:
- High-speed and stable internet connection
- Cheap source of electricity
- Crypto mining software
With the information above, it’s time to consider which digital coin to mine. It’s worth mentioning that mining Bitcoin on your laptop now is a waste of time and effort since this process requires more powerful equipment. Mining altcoins is a better option for beginners.
While researching information about mining digital coins on your laptop, you should divide this process into CPU and GPU mining.
Setting up a laptop for CPU mining
If you’re already aware of all the perks of laptop mining, you should start setting up your device for profitable cryptocurrency mining.
It’s interesting to note that the popularity of laptop mining increased after Ethereum switched to an alternative consensus mechanism, PoS (Proof-of-Stake). This led to a decrease in graphics card demand. Subsequently, people became more interested in laptop mining and started researching how to make this process profitable.
So, your first step in mining crypto on your laptop processor is to find suitable mining software for efficient mining. Here are the most popular and easy-to-use programs:
- CudaMiner
- MinerGate
- Spelunker
Once you find the laptop to mine on, you need to take a few necessary steps to ensure the proper functioning of the mining software. Follow these instructions before installing:
- Turn off your antivirus
- Mark the chosen software as trusted
Here are the crucial points you should pay attention to if you’re going to mine on your laptop CPU:
- Correct software setup
If you’re a new miner, it’s vital to set up your new software correctly so that it can prevent you from running your equipment at full capacity. Otherwise, your device will wear out fast. So, it's better to use a particular program to avoid this situation. It controls your laptop's temperature and processor, preventing your equipment from overheating.
- Proper device handling
If you expect an extended laptop solo or pool mining session, you need to pay attention to its cooling system — fans have a short lifespan, and their replacement will be a big problem. Remember to be more careful with your device to mine cryptocurrencies on the laptop processor as long as possible and use appropriate software.
It’s crucial to note that you need to choose and set up a crypto wallet before you start mining on your laptop. You should look into the EMCD Wallet, which is always at your fingertips. It is a reliable service with fee-free withdrawals to external wallets. You can store, receive, and exchange coins fast with it.
Coins for mining on a laptop CPU
One of the first important things to do before mining is choosing a digital coin to mine. When calculating future income, you need to consider the price of cryptocurrency. However, it’s changing pretty fast, making the mining process more complicated. Subsequently, it’s worth checking the profitability with an online calculator for mining cryptocurrency before you start mining on the laptop CPU. Once you have checked the price of your coin, you can start mining on your laptop processor.
If you’re a new miner, it’s worth looking through the cryptocurrency rankings.
Monero (XMR)
While searching for the crypto that will make your mining profitable, it’s worth paying attention to the Monero coin. This altcoin takes one of the leading positions in the list of the most popular newest cryptocurrencies and offers confidential and untraceable transactions. Monero is considered to be one of the most profitable and liquid among many other digital coins, providing efficient CPU mining.
Monero has amazing features, setting it apart from other cryptocurrencies:
Hashing algorithm | RandomX |
Network hashrate | 2.6 GH/s |
Mining difficulty | 312,44 G |
Block time | 2 m 4 s |
Block reward | 0.60 XMR |
Current price | $ 152.69 |
Coin rank | #40 |
Market cap | $ 2.82B |
Daily trading volume | $ 70 749 945 |
Also, consider using an online mining calculator, which will be your lifesaver in this process. You should visit its website and calculate Monero’s profitability when mining on a laptop processor.
Verus Coin (VRSC)
There are less viral digital coins to mine in the crypto world. You should take a look at the new ambitious Verus Coin project. Its main perk is that it’s designed for mining cryptocurrencies on a laptop processor.
If you’re eager to learn more about this project, look through its main features:
Hashing algorithm | VerusHash |
Network hashrate | 551.69 GH/s |
Mining difficulty | 2268.48 B |
Block time | 1 m |
Block reward | 12 VRSC |
Current price | $37,25 |
Coin rank | #591 |
Market cap | $ 72,72M |
Daily trading volume | $ 13 147,86 |
However, it’s worth mentioning that Verus Coin mining is less profitable now, even in the pool, since it isn’t currently trading on the major exchanges.
Setting up a laptop for GPU mining
The number of new miners is increasing constantly. Many of them are willing to start mining on a laptop and earn mining rewards. In this case, GPU mining is a perfect solution.
There are several steps you need to take before mining on your graphics processor:
- Installing the software for cryptocurrency mining
- Setting the graphics card parameters to compute the hash of the chosen coin.
Before researching whether you can mine solo or in a pool on your laptop, you need to check whether the chosen laptop model is suitable for cryptocurrency mining.
Choosing a laptop for mining
It’s easy to get confused by mining ads and looking through a wide range of devices. So, if it happens to you, paying attention to the list of the most powerful devices is better. For example, you can use one of these models:
Razer Blade 17
Screen size | 17.3" |
Screen Resolution | 2560x1440 |
Processor | Intel Core i7-12800H |
RAM | 32 GB DDR5 |
Hard Disk Size | 1 TB SSD |
Graphics Card | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080Ti |
This laptop model is a good option for mining. It’s a powerful device that can handle heavy workloads during the day. It’s worth using it for fast and efficient coin mining. Also, you should know that this laptop model is quite pricey. You’ll have to pay more than $3,199. In this case, you should consider whether it’s a reasonable price for you to pay or not.
MSI GS76 Stealth
Screen size | 17.3" |
Screen Resolution | 1920x1080 |
Processor | Intel Core i7 11800H |
RAM | 32 GB DDR4 |
Hard Disk Size | 1 TB SSD |
Graphics Card | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 |
This laptop model has pretty good parameters for mining. However, its price starts at $1,799, so you should consider whether this device is worth buying.
ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15
Screen size | 15.6" |
Screen Resolution | 1920x1080 |
Processor | 4.6 GHz ryzen_9 |
RAM | 16 GB DDR4 |
Hard Disk Size | 1 TB SSD |
Graphics Card | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 |
This model can surprise you with a unique cooling system, a powerful processor, and a graphics card, too. These components can ensure efficient and profitable mining for anyone. You will have to pay at least $1,999 for this laptop model.
Alienware M15 R6
Screen size | 15.6" |
Screen Resolution | 2560 x 1440 |
Processor | 4.6 GHz core_i7_family |
RAM | 16 GB DDR4 |
Hard Disk Size | 1 TB SSD |
Graphics Card | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 8 GDDR6 |
It can be considered a top-of-the-line laptop model. This device has a great cooling system and high-performance CPU and GPU, which are perfect for profitable mining. The price for this powerful device starts at $1,510.
AORUS 17G YD
Screen size | 17.3" |
Screen Resolution | 1920x1080 |
Processor | 4.6 GHz core_i7_family |
RAM | 16 GB DDR4 |
Hard Disk Size | 512 GB SSD |
Graphics Card | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 |
This device is one of the best options for mining, and it can make this process profitable and successful. It has an efficient cooling technology, setting it apart from similar devices.
All these laptop models can surprise you with high performance and can be suitable for other purposes as well. There’s also a great chance to use one of these devices to set up a mining farm.
Comparing laptops for mining
Here are the pros and cons of the laptop models suitable for mining:
Laptop model | Advantages | Disadvantages |
Razer Blade 17 | Powerful CPU and GPU Efficient cooling system | High price |
MSI GS76 Stealth | Powerful CPU and GPU | Overheating Loud laptop fan |
ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15 | Powerful CPU and GPU | Overheating |
Alienware M15 R6 | Powerful CPU and GPU Efficient cooling system/td> | Loud laptop fan High price |
AORUS 17G YD | Powerful CPU and GPU | High price |
Undoubtedly, you should choose one of these laptop models for your future efficient mining. Also, there’s a chance that this purchase will inspire you to set up a mining farm. Moreover, if it’s interesting to you, research some information on this subject and be ready to invest a large amount of money in high-performance equipment.
Conclusion
Before figuring out how to start mining on a laptop, you should weigh this process's pros and cons. This is very suitable for beginner miners since you don’t have to delve into the specifics of complex equipment functioning. But remember that these devices are unreasonably expensive and have limited functionality. Mining cryptocurrency on a laptop is a great option for beginners who want to try themselves in this field.
F.A.Q.
Is it possible to mine Bitcoin on a laptop?
This is possible only in theory, not in practice. Today, Bitcoin mining requires specialized high-performance equipment. Laptops just aren’t designed for this.
What do I need to mine on a laptop?
The first thing you need to do is set up your laptop for mining properly. Then, you need to choose a suitable altcoin and set up a cryptocurrency wallet. The EMCD Wallet is a perfect option, as it is always at your fingertips.
Is a PC or laptop better for mining?
In the battle between your PC and laptop, the first one is a total winner since it has higher performance and a better cooling system.
Is mining dangerous for my laptop?
Mining cryptocurrencies requires powerful devices that consume a lot of electricity. Accordingly, laptops can overheat during the mining process. The nonstop overheating will lead to quick wear and tear since they aren’t designed for this.