Beginner's Guide to ZCash Mining: A Step-by-Step Walkthrough

Zcash ZCash, a cryptocurrency with a strong emphasis on privacy, can be mined using either CPU or GPU. Many miners lean towards NVIDIA GPUs, especially the GTX series, as they perform more efficiently with ZCash's algorithm compared to AMD alternatives.

While there are other Equihash-based coins like Bitcoin Gold that you could mine, we’ll focus specifically on setting up your gear for ZCash mining. Always ensure you’ve got up-to-date drivers to keep things smooth and crash-free. Keep in mind, most antivirus programs might flag mining software as malicious.

To estimate your potential earnings from mining, you can calculate the results. visiting WhattoMine .

The first step is downloading the necessary mining software. Here are some options for mining ZCash:

• CPU: Nicehash or Minergate
• AMD GPU’s: Claymore’s Miner
• nVidia GPU’s: EWBF’s CUDA Zcash Miner

CPU Mining

You might consider tools like Nicehash or Minergate. Nicehash offers a user-friendly setup, but your hash rate may be about 30% lower than what you’d achieve with your own setup using software like Claymore or EWBF. This guide will therefore delve into GPU mining.

AMD GPU Mining

If your rig includes an AMD GPU, you'll be setting up Claymore’s Miner. Simply click the link, download link and unzip the contents to any folder you prefer.

With the extraction complete, it's time to tweak the miner by adjusting the configuration file to include your ZCash address and to choose your mining pool. Here are some pool options for ZCash mining:

• Nanopool (1% fee)
• Flypool (1% fee, 0.001 min. payout)
• Dwarfpool (0.01 min. payout)

For clarity, we'll be using Flypool in this tutorial. Ensure your server address is the one that’s closest to you for optimal performance.

Speaking personally, I’ll be opting for the US server as indicated. Remember to insert the port number too. In the config.txt file, you should add '-zpool us1-zcash.flypool.org:3333'. Enter your ZCash wallet by including ‘-zwal YOUR_WALLET_ADDRESS’.

A couple more tweaks are necessary before the miner is operational. For starters, add this particular string of code into the config.txt, especially if you’re using a 1-2GB video card. Doing this ensures a smooth operation. Insert this line into your config.txt file:

GPU_FORCE_64BIT_PTR 1
GPU_MAX_HEAP_SIZE 100
GPU_USE_SYNC_OBJECTS 1
GPU_MAX_ALLOC_PERCENT 100
GPU_SINGLE_ALLOC_PERCENT 100

Here's how your config file ought to appear once everything's set up.

Additionally, you’ll need to make sure that your virtual memory settings are properly adjusted (at least 16GB). To achieve this, type 'system' into your start menu, open it up, and click ‘Advanced System Settings’ on the left. Under the Advanced tab, find performance settings, go advanced again, then select ‘Change’ under virtual memory. Deselect the option for automatic management of paging file sizes, and manually enter 16384 (or whatever max is allowed up to 16GB) in both the Initial and Maximum size slots. This step can help you steer clear of virtual memory errors.

Congratulations, you’re all set to start mining ZCash! Just double-click the Start.bat file to begin. To monitor your mining progress, check your chosen pool’s website by entering your public wallet address.

nVidia GPU Mining

If you’re using a nVidia GPU, download EWBF’s miner as shown , and unzip to a preferable location.

Following extraction, configure the miner by editing the start.bat file to input your ZCash address and mining pool. The following are some pool options for mining ZCash:

• Nanopool (1% fee)
• Flypool (1% fee, 0.001 min. payout)
• Dwarfpool (0.01 min. payout)

For clarity, we'll be using Flypool in this tutorial. Ensure your server address is the one that’s closest to you for optimal performance.

When configuring software for NVIDIA, edit the start.bat file by right-clicking it and opening it in Notepad. Once there, you can set your server and ZCash addresses. In this guide, we use the ‘us1-zcash.flypool.org’ server, but pick one that’s geographically close to you. Your Start.bat file should be set up in a manner akin to mine, as demonstrated below.

Additionally, you’ll need to make sure that your virtual memory settings are properly adjusted (at least 16GB). To achieve this, type 'system' into your start menu, open it up, and click ‘Advanced System Settings’ on the left. Under the Advanced tab, find performance settings, go advanced again, then select ‘Change’ under virtual memory. Deselect the option for automatic management of paging file sizes, and manually enter 16384 (or whatever max is allowed up to 16GB) in both the Initial and Maximum size slots. This step can help you steer clear of virtual memory errors.

Congratulations, you’re all set to start mining ZCash! Just double-click the Start.bat file to begin. To monitor your mining progress, check your chosen pool’s website by entering your public wallet address.

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