We must warn you right away that dual mining is not possible if you use Equihash algorithm (Zcash, Zen, or Zclassic). Please keep on reading if you prefer Ethash (Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Musicoin, Ubiq, or Expanse) and use Claymore’s miner.
First, choose the second cryptocurrency you want to mine. It may be Decred, Siacoin, Lbry or Pascal. Go to their official websites, read and make your own decision which one is the best for you.
Do not rely on profitability calculators only, use your brain. It is important to know the highest and lowest currency rates. Try to figure out why the world needs this crypto project.
We recommend Siacoin and Lbry because they are pretty straightforward about why they were created. But it’s just our personal preference. Decred and Pascal might be worth trying as well.
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How Does Dual Mining Work?
Let’s focus on Siacoin and assume the following: you already have a rig with 8x Nvidia GTX 1070 GPU’s, you mine Ethereum Classic on 2Miners.com, and your hashrate is 250 MH/s.
Important: it doesn’t matter which coin you use as your primary one! You could mine Ethereum, Expanse, Pirl, Ellaism, Dubaicoin, etc.
-mode 0 -dpool stratum+tcp://eu.siamining.com:7777 -dwal e713cacee7bb50a6034c11ddbb56d84194ef7553d6caed555f466ae8655a09298d455948280b.RIG1 -dcoin sc -dcri 45
Add the line above, without interruptions to the existing bat file, and start mining the second coin on siamining.com. To get a wallet address, download the official Sia app or use any exchange to create a wallet.
By the way, Siamining pool uses the PPS reward method (Pay Per Share), so you get a set payment regardless of the pool’s luck.
If you prefer PPLNS (Pay Per Last N Shares) pools – you could use them as well. PPLNS pools are usually better as they prevent the pool hopping.
Adjust your GPU’s settings:
- Go to MSI Afterburner and force set the fan speed to 80-90%.
- For Nvidia GPU the Power Limit should be set to 100%.
Setting up Dual Mining Settings at Your GPU
Here comes the most important step! While mining it’s possible to change -dcri setting using “+/-“ keys. Dcri determines the other coin’s mining intensity, so you must find the value that will keep the hashrate at 245-250 MH/s (as you remember, we had 250 MH/s without the other coin).
Once you find the right value, add it to the bat file for example -dcri 45.
Optimum values will differ for AMD and Nvidia cards. It could vary even for the same models of different brands, for example, GTX 1070, so take your time and find the right value.
Here are the average values we’ve got for SIA:
- 200 mh/s — GTX 1060
- 350 mh/s — AMD RX480-RX580
- 450 mh/s — GTX 1070
As you can see on the pool’s website, mining is running.
How Much Can You Earn With Dual Mining?
If the settings are right, one rig can give you $60 surplus, as opposed to the regular reward, while mining with just one coin.
This $60, for example, could cover your rig’s electricity bill. However, power consumption usually increases by ±20% while mining in dual.
Please note that dual mining makes graphics cards heat up, even more, their fans work at full capacity, which, in the long run, will probably reduce their lifespan. If graphics cards are still under warranty, you have no worries.
After all, it’s not like you are going to mine using these cards for five years! Another downside of dual mining is additional noise. It will be impossible to be around such rig for long, and, moreover, it will be pretty hot in the room.
