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Cryptocurrency Mining has become extremely popular again lately, with many people looking to optimize their existing GPUs for mining or looking to buy the best GPUs for mining. Some are even wondering how to mine on a Raspberry Pi. No matter what currency you go for, the market is extremely volatile and the costs of electricity and hardware are prohibitive for many people. You could end up losing a lot of money while dramatically expanding your carbon footprint.
But if you’ve made the decision to mine with your PC, you need a powerful and robust power supply to keep the current flowing to your graphics card(s). While we maintain a list of the best PSUs for gaming, the qualities you should look for in a mining power supply are a little different.
What to Look For in the Best Mining Power Supply?
When evaluating power supplies to see whether they are good for mining, consider the following requirements:
- Capacity 2x higher than you need. Ideally, you’ll run at 50 – 60% capacity.
- 80 PLUS Gold or Cybenetics Gold for higher efficiency.
- Lower than 50mV ripple at +12V under full load at increased operating temperatures (>40°C).
- Quality fan (FDB or Rifle bearing; ideally, it should use ball or magnetic bearings).
- Enough 6+2 pin PCIe connectors to handle the graphics card(s) that you plan to use. You should not use any adapters, in any case! 4-pin Molex connectors are not meant for high loads.
- Enough 4-pin Molex or SATA connectors for the PCIe riser cards that you will use.
- All cables should use 18AWG wires (lower is better) maximum. For PCIe cables, 16-gauge wires are ideal.
- For 1.4kW (better still, 1kW) and stronger PSUs, a C19 coupler is required. An AC power cord with 14AWG wires should be used. For lower-capacity PSUs, an AC power cord with at least 16AWG wires is required.
- Support the essential protection features (SCP, OPP), including over-temperature protection.
- Over 12ms hold-up time (17ms+ is ideal) and an accurate power-good signal. The power-good signal has to have at least a 1ms delay, dropping at least 1ms before the rails go out of spec.
- Complete EMI filtering stage (minimum components: 4x Y caps, 2x X caps, two CM chokes, an MOV), along with inrush current protection (an NTC thermistor is required, which ideally should be supported by a bypass relay).
- Impeccable build quality, including quality MOSFETs and high-quality bulk/filtering capacitors (105°C rating and a majority of filtering caps on the secondary side must have >4000h lifetime). The use of polymer caps on the secondary side is preferred.
- 15cm distance between peripheral connectors to allow PCIe risers to be installed further away
While it’s not required, it’s good to have a PSU that comes with a minimum one-year warranty that covers 24/7 operation under full load at 30-35°C. That way, if your PSU gives out within the first 12 months, you can recoup your investment.
The most important requirements involve efficiency and build quality. For maximum endurance and performance, we recommend using your PSU with 230V input whenever possible. Besides 1-2%-higher efficiency, this also reduces the amperage passing through the AC power cord by half, reducing stress on the cable. If you live in a region with 115V mains and can afford the installation of 230V sockets in your home, use them for your mining ventures.
Best Power Supplies For Mining
The Fractal Design Ion+ 560P has good performance, silent operation, and high efficiency. It is among the very few units in this wattage category, having four PCIe connectors to support up to two graphics cards with double PCIe sockets. Finally, the Ion+ 560P is one of the quietest PSUs that we have evaluated so far; its overall noise output is lower than 12 dB(A)!
Read: Fractal Design Ion+ 560 Review
Alternative Mining PSUs in the 550W range:
- Seasonic Focus 550 (GX, PX) Gold, Platinum Connectors: 2x EPS, 2x PCIe
- Super Flower Leadex III 550 Gold Connectors: 2x EPS, 2x PCIe
- Cooler Master V550 Gold V2 Connectors: 2x EPS, 2x PCIe
- Corsair RM550x Gold Connectors: 1x EPS, 2x PCIe
- Be quiet! Straight Power 11 550 Gold Connectors: 1x EPS, 2x PCIe
- Corsair TX550M Gold Connectors: 1x EPS, 2x PCIe
The Seasonic Focus Plus Platinum (PX) with 650W max power is a high-performance PSU offering impressive efficiency and quiet operation. It stays really cool and uses a fully-modular design that helps you avoid using extra cables. Seasonic backs it with a 10-year warranty.
Read: Seasonic Focus 650 Platinum Review
Best Alternative Options:
- Seasonic Prime 650 (GX, PX, TX) Gold, Platinum, Titanium Connectors: 2x EPS, 4x PCIe
- XPG Core Reactor 650 Gold Connectors: 2x EPS, 4x PCIe
- Seasonic Focus 650 (GX) Gold, Connectors: 2x EPS, 4x PCIe
- Super Flower Leadex III or V 650 Gold Connectors: 2x EPS, 4x PCIe
- Cooler Master V650 Gold V2 Connectors: 2x EPS, 4x PCIe
- Asus Rog Strix 650 Gold Connectors: 2x EPS, 4x PCIe
- Corsair RM650x Gold Connectors: 1x EPS, 4x PCIe
The XPG Core Reactor is a high-performance power supply with good build quality and high efficiency levels. It is among the few PSUs in this category offering six PCIe connectors, so it is ideal for mining use.
Best Alternative Options:
- Super Flower Leadex III or V 750 Gold Connectors: 2x EPS, 6x PCIe
- Seasonic Prime 750 (GX, PX, TX) Gold, Platinum, Titanium Connectors: 2x EPS, 4x PCIe
- Seasonic Focus 750 (GX, PX) Connectors: 2x EPS, 4x PCIe
- Corsair RM750x Gold Connectors: 2x EPS, 4x PCIe
- Cooler Master V750 Gold V2 Connectors: 2x EPS, 4x PCIe
- Asus Rog Strix 750 Gold Connectors: 2x EPS, 4x PCIe
It might not have the best overall performance in this category, but the FSP Hydro G PRO 850W Gold has good high build quality. And it is one of the few PSUs that use a 3,000h lifetime bulk cap. Its cooling fan is also top-notch since it is provided by Protechnic Electric and uses a fluid dynamic bearing.
Read: FSP Hydro G PRO 850W Review
Best Alternative Options:
- Corsair AX850 Titanium Connectors: 2x EPS, 8x PCIe
- Seasonic Prime 850 (GX, PX, TX) Gold, Platinum, Titanium Connectors: 2x EPS, 6x PCIe
- Seasonic Focus 850 (GX, PX) Gold, Platinum Connectors: 2x EPS, 6x PCIe
- Corsair RM850x Gold Connectors: 2x EPS, 6x PCIe
- XPG Core Reactor 850 Gold Connectors: 2x EPS, 6x PCIe
- Super Flower Leadex III or V 850 Gold Connectors: 2x EPS, 6x PCIe
- Cooler Master V850 Gold V2 Connectors: 2x EPS, 6x PCIe
- Super Flower Leadex Platinum 850 Connectors: 2x EPS, 6x PCIe
Corsair’s AX1000 is one of the best 1kW power supplies available. This beastly PSU offers tight load regulation on its rails, exceptional ripple suppression, and crazy-high efficiency levels. Its transient response is impressive, and this is what matters the most for energy-hungry parts (CPUs and GPUs).
Read: Corsair AX1000 Titanium Review
Best Alternative Options:
- Corsair RM1000x Gold Connectors: 2x EPS, 8x PCIe
- Corsair HX1000 Platinum Connectors: 2x EPS, 8x PCIe
- Thermaltake Toughpower DPS G RGB 1000W Titanium Connectors: 2x EPS, 8x PCIe
- EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 G5 Gold Connectors: 2x EPS, 8x PCIe
- Seasonic Prime 1000 (GX, PX, TX) Gold, Platinum, Titanium Connectors: 2x EPS, 6x PCIe
- Seasonic Focus 1000 (GX, PX) Gold, Platinum Connectors: 2x EPS, 6x PCIe
- Super Flower Leadex Platinum 1000 Connectors: 2x EPS, 6x PCIe
This PSU is made by Delta, one of the best and most expensive PSU manufacturers. It uses top-quality parts and a double-ball bearing fan which can withstand lots of abuse. It is loaded with cables and connectors, and a hefty warranty supports it.
Read: CoolerMaster V1300 Platinum Review
Best Alternative Options:
A super high-quality power supply from be quiet! with top efficiency and loads of connectors, the Dark Power Pro 1500 can handle harsh operating conditions without breaking a sweat. If it had a double-ball bearing fan, it would be even better for mining, but on the other hand, it would also make more noise and be quiet! is well known for its low-noise products.
Read: be quiet! Dark Power Pro 1500 Review
Best Alternative Options:
Notable mentions:
SilverStone Decathlon DA1650 Gold: Gets cut because it doesn’t have an accurate power-ok signal. That said, this is a great PSU overall: powerful, efficient, and with twelve PCIe connectors. Connectors: 2x EPS, 12x PCIe
Thermaltake Toughpower DPS G RGB 1500W Titanium: It doesn’t meet our requirements because of the inaccurate power ok signal. And this is a shame because it is a good PSU. It has eight PCIe connectors available, and its build quality is high. Connectors: 2x EPS, 10x PCIe
Thermaltake ToughPower PF1 ARGB 1200 Platinum: It doesn’t meet our requirements because of its inaccurate power ok signal. But it has high performance, good build quality, is efficient at normal loads, and has eight PCIe connectors. Connectors: 2x EPS, 8x PCIe
Thermaltake Toughpower Grand RGB 1200W Platinum: This is another PSU that fails to meet our expectations because of an inaccurate power ok signal. But it’s efficient, offers good overall performance and provides an HDB fan and eight PCIe connectors. Connectors: 2x EPS, 8x PCIe
Thermaltake Toughpower PF1 750W Platinum: This high-performance power supply from Thermaltake doesn’t make it to the list because it doesn’t have an MOV in its transient filter. If you combine it with a surge protector, you will solve this issue. Connectors: 2x EPS, 4x PCIe
How Much Power Does My GPU Need to Mine?
Based on our testing, we have a table of recent-generation GPUs and approximately how much power they use while mining. You might be surprised to learn that they don’t necessarily need to use their peak power while mining because they don’t need to maintain maximum clock speeds to get good mining performance.
Many miners underclock and undervolt their graphics cards to keep the stress and power consumption as low as possible. This allows even smaller-capacity PSUs to power a pair of high-power GPUs without any issues. For maximum efficiency, you should keep the load at around 50-60% of the PSU’s rated capacity so a 1,000W PSU should be using no more than 600W if possible. Keep in mind that the numbers below are only for the GPU and do not include other components such as the CPU, storage drives, RAM, cooling and motherboard.
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