Ian S. Hoover
Crypto mining remains an exciting venture in 2025, offering a chance to earn passive income while supporting decentralized networks. With a $5,000 budget, my team and I are planning to build an efficient mining farm. We currently have equipment to support up to 50 GPUs, though we only own 20 so far, meaning we’ll need to purchase more hardware. Our goal is to maximize profitability within our budget, considering GPU mining with 8GB+ cards, ASIC miners, CPU mining, and even a phone-based farm using the TLC A30. Here’s our breakdown of each option, including why we’re leaning toward certain choices, profitability estimates at $0.10/kWh, and full ROI calculations. Let’s dive in!
Why 8GB+ GPU Cards Are the Way to Go
GPU mining remains versatile and accessible, especially for altcoins like Ethereum Classic (ETC), Ravencoin (RVN), and Ergo (ERG). One key reason we’re focusing on GPUs with 8GB or more VRAM is the upcoming challenge with ETC. By mid-2025, ETC’s Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) file—a memory-intensive dataset required for mining—is expected to exceed 6GB. Cards with less than 8GB, like the popular NVIDIA GTX 1660 Super (6GB), will become obsolete for ETC mining as the DAG outgrows their memory capacity. This shift has already started phasing out 4GB cards, and 6GB cards are next.
Investing in 8GB+ cards, such as the NVIDIA RTX 3060 Ti (8GB) or AMD RX 6700 XT (12GB), ensures longevity and flexibility. These cards can mine ETC now (hash rate 28 MH/s for the 3060 Ti) and switch to other coins like RVN (22 MH/s) or ERG (~90 MH/s) if profitability shifts. With our $5,000 budget, we could buy around 10 RTX 3060 Ti cards at $350 each (used prices as of March 2025), totaling $3,500, leaving $1,500 for additional rig components (PSUs, motherboards, risers, etc.).
Profitability and ROI (GPUs at $0.10/kWh):
- Coin: Ethereum Classic (ETC)
- Hash Rate: 28 MH/s per RTX 3060 Ti
- Power Consumption: ~120W per card
- Daily Revenue: ~$0.90 per card (based on ETC price of $25 and network difficulty in March 2025)
- Daily Electricity Cost: $0.288 per card (120W × 24h × $0.10/kWh = $0.288)
- Daily Profit: $0.612 per card
- Total Daily Profit (10 cards): $6.12
- ROI: $3,500 ÷ $6.12 ≈ 572 days (~19 months)
Other coins like RVN or ERG may yield slightly different profits ($0.50–$0.80/day per card), but the flexibility of GPUs keeps them viable. Adding more cards later could scale our operation as prices drop or profits rise.
ASIC Miners: High Power, High Reward
ASIC miners are specialized machines built for specific algorithms, like SHA-256 for Bitcoin (BTC) or Scrypt for Litecoin (LTC). They offer unmatched efficiency but lack the flexibility of GPUs. With $5,000, we could buy a used Bitmain Antminer S19j Pro (100 TH/s) for around $2,500–$3,000, leaving room for a power supply and setup costs.
Profitability and ROI (ASIC at $0.10/kWh):
- Coin: Bitcoin (BTC)
- Hash Rate: 100 TH/s
- Power Consumption: 3,050W
- Daily Revenue: ~$8.50 (BTC price $60,000, March 2025 difficulty)
- Daily Electricity Cost: $7.32 (3,050W × 24h × $0.10/kWh)
- Daily Profit: $1.18
- ROI: $3,000 ÷ $1.18 ≈ 2,542 days (~7 years)
For LTC, a Bitmain Antminer L7 (9,500 MH/s, ~$4,000) yields:
- Daily Revenue: ~$12 (LTC price $80)
- Daily Electricity Cost: $7.80 (3,250W × $0.10/kWh)
- Daily Profit: $4.20
- ROI: $4,000 ÷ $4.20 ≈ 952 days (~2.6 years)
ASICs shine with low electricity costs, but at $0.10/kWh, profitability is slim for BTC unless prices surge. LTC offers a better ROI, and merge-mining with Dogecoin (DOGE) could boost earnings further.
CPU Mining: A Niche Option
CPU mining is less common but viable for coins like Monero (XMR), which uses the RandomX algorithm optimized for CPUs. With our existing equipment, we could repurpose a few high-end CPUs (e.g., AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, $600) or buy budget options like the Intel Pentium Gold G-6400 ($100).
Profitability and ROI (CPU at $0.10/kWh):
- Coin: Monero (XMR)
- Hash Rate: ~20 KH/s (Ryzen 9 7950X)
- Power Consumption: 170W
- Daily Revenue: ~$0.70 (XMR price $200)
- Daily Electricity Cost: $0.408 (170W × $0.10/kWh)
- Daily Profit: $0.292
- ROI: $600 ÷ $0.292 ≈ 2,055 days (~5.6 years)
For 5 budget CPUs (G-6400, 4 KH/s each, 58W):
- Total Daily Profit: ~$0.50
- ROI: $500 ÷ $0.50 ≈ 1,000 days (~2.7 years)
CPU mining is a low-profit, long-term play unless electricity is nearly free. It’s a niche we might explore with spare hardware.
Phone Mining Farm with TLC A30: A Wildcard
The TCL A30, a budget Android phone priced at $45, offers a quirky mining option. Using software like MinerGate or custom apps, phones can mine lightweight coins like Electroneum (ETN) or Bytecoin (BCN). With $5,000, we could buy ~111 phones ($4,995 total).
Profitability and ROI (Phones at $0.10/kWh):
- Coin: Electroneum (ETN)
- Hash Rate: ~50 H/s per phone
- Power Consumption: ~5W per phone
- Daily Revenue: ~$0.01 per phone (ETN price $0.003)
- Daily Electricity Cost: $0.012 (5W × $0.10/kWh)
- Daily Loss: -$0.002 per phone
- Total Daily Loss (111 phones): -$0.222
- ROI: Not profitable
Phone mining is more experimental than practical. Even with free electricity, profits are negligible, and managing 111 phones (charging, cooling, software) is a logistical nightmare. It’s a fun idea, but not a contender.
Adding Value: Tips and Resources
- Mining Pools: Join pools like Ethermine (ETC), F2Pool (BTC/LTC), or SupportXMR (XMR) to stabilize earnings.
- Calculators: Use NiceHash, WhatToMine, or ASIC Miner Value to track real-time profitability.
- Cooling: Invest in fans or AC ($200–$500) to prevent GPU/ASIC overheating.
- Scalability: Start with 10 GPUs or 1 ASIC, then reinvest profits to grow.
Our Plan and Future Update
With $5,000, we’re leaning toward GPUs for their balance of cost, flexibility, and shorter ROI mining ETC. ASICs tempt us with higher daily profits, but the longer ROI and lack of versatility hold us back. CPU mining might supplement with spare hardware, while phone mining stays a curiosity. We’ll finalize our setup soon and share a future update with our real-world results—profitability, challenges, and all. Stay tuned!
