r/EtherMining

r/EtherMining review guide (Reddit): everything you need to know + FAQ

Still wondering if ETH mining is worth it, what to do with your old GPUs, or whether that “secret setting” on YouTube is legit? Keep reading—I’ll give you the quick reality check and a smarter way to use r/EtherMining so you stop guessing and get straight answers faster.

Got questions about mining, your old GPUs, or what the ETH Merge means for your rig? You’re in the right place. This is my practical, no‑nonsense guide to r/EtherMining—built so you can skip noisy threads, avoid risky advice, and focus on what still works post‑Merge.

Quick fact: Ethereum switched to proof‑of‑stake on September 15, 2022—ETH on mainnet can’t be mined anymore. Source: Ethereum Foundation.

Describe problems or pain

Here’s the honest mess most people run into:

• “Is ETH mining still profitable?” This question still floods Reddit even though ETH mining ended with the Merge. Confusion wastes time and leads to bad decisions.
• Outdated YouTube content. Old “best settings” videos keep circulating. Many were recorded at different power prices, different network difficulty, and for a coin you can’t mine today. That context matters.
• Noisy profitability takes. Screenshots of calculators taken at a lucky hour are not a plan. Profit swings daily, and calculators don’t include your time, heat, noise, or hardware wear.
• Risky tuning tips that kill cards. Cranking memory to the edge, skipping thermal pad swaps, or pushing fans to 100% 24/7 is a quick way to degrade hardware. I still see posts like “3090 throttling at 110°C mem” followed by a surprise electric bill.
• Power bills creeping up. If you’re paying typical residential rates (the U.S. average was ~16–17¢/kWh in 2024 per EIA), that alone can wipe out altcoin experiments unless you’re running ultra‑efficient cards and settings.
• Posts getting removed or ignored. New users often forget to include full rig details—GPU model, memory brand, miner version, temps, power at the wall—which means fewer helpful replies and more guesswork.

If any of that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. It’s easy to waste hours chasing someone else’s settings, only to end up with throttling, crashes, or higher costs than you expected.

Promise solution

Here’s what I’m going to do for you: map out how r/EtherMining actually works today—post‑Merge. I’ll point you to the high‑signal threads, the pinned posts worth your attention, and the posting format that gets veterans to respond. I’ll also cut through the noise on the questions everyone asks, like profitability and phone mining, with straight answers and zero fluff.

Think of this as your shortcut: you’ll know where to look, what to ignore, and how to ask for help the right way—so you don’t burn money or hardware.

What you’ll get from this guide

• A clear view of r/EtherMining’s strengths post‑Merge. What’s still valuable and what’s just nostalgia.
• Search tricks to find tested settings and real fixes for your exact GPU and environment.
• A posting checklist that increases your chances of getting solid replies (and keeps mods happy).
• Safety reminders that protect your hardware and your wallet.
• A reality check on profitability, forks, and altcoins so you stop guessing.
• Quick‑hit answers to the recurring questions that clog the subreddit and DMs.

Ready to use the subreddit like a pro and stop scrolling aimlessly? Up next, I’ll break down what r/EtherMining actually is today and who gets the most out of it—want to see if you’re in that group?

What r/EtherMining is today (post‑Merge) and who it actually helps

Think of r/EtherMining as a live, organized memory of the ETH mining era that still pays off for anyone running GPUs today. Even after the Merge, the sub stays active because the fundamentals didn’t vanish: cooling, efficiency, noise control, power math, and smart troubleshooting. The ETH hashrate moved, but the skills didn’t.

I use it as a practical hub for three things: keeping hardware stable, comparing altcoin options without the hype, and figuring out whether to keep a rig, repurpose it, or power it down. You’ll see fewer “moon” threads and more posts like “3080 mem at 98°C—pad swap or curve tweak?” or “KAS better than ETC on 6600 XT at 12¢/kWh?” That’s the useful signal.

“Heat is the enemy; watts are the tax.” If you feel that in your power bill, you’re in the right neighborhood.

Power costs are the anchor that makes the subreddit’s advice grounded. For context, the average U.S. residential rate has hovered around the mid‑teens (¢/kWh) in recent data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That’s why r/EtherMining leans hard into undervolting, airflow, and “measure at the wall” — the community optimizes for reality, not screenshots.

Who should still use it

• GPU owners deciding their next move: Keep mining an alt, sell, or repurpose for rendering, AI tinkering, homelab tasks, or gaming resale.
• People chasing stability over bragging rights: If you care about cooler temps, quieter rigs, and fewer crashes, you’ll find your people.
• Miners testing coins cautiously: ETC, RVN, ERGO, FLUX, KAS and friends—good for side‑by‑side comparisons with power at the wall, not just software numbers.
• Hands‑on learners: If you like methodical tweaks (pad thickness, fan curves, PSU rails, BIOS sanity checks), the comment sections are worth gold.

Topics that still get quality replies

• Rig stability and crash hunting: Spotting bad risers, flaky cables, or driver quirks. Expect “try one change at a time” and “log your watts/temps.”
• Undervolt/underclock settings: Real‑world baselines by GPU model and memory type. Example: safe GDDR6X temps on a 3080 with modest fan duty and a power limit that slashes 20–30% watts with a tiny hashrate loss.
• Thermal pad swaps and cleaning: When VRAM is cooking past comfort, you’ll see exact pad thickness suggestions, paste types, and case airflow fixes that actually hold steady.
• PSU sizing and cabling sanity: Matching PSUs to rigs, avoiding sketchy splitters, and balancing rails—often the quiet fix for random reboots.
• Noise control: Ducting, case orientation, and fan curve tricks to keep rigs liveable without throttling.
• Altcoin “where it makes sense” talk: ETC for older 8GB cards, KAS for efficiency on certain architectures, FLUX/ERGO/RVN for specific setups. No hype—just numbers and trade‑offs.

One thing I appreciate: the sub often prioritizes sustained numbers—hashrate with 24‑hour stability, hotspot temps under control, and power measured at the wall. That consistency is worth more than any one‑time “record” screenshot.

Community vibe and rules at a glance

• Straight talk: If your plan is risky or your math is off, people will tell you—fast.
• Proof beats opinions: The best replies include full rig specs, temps, watts, and uptime. Save those comments.
• Rules matter: Mods keep noise low. If you don’t include key details, expect removal or silence. It’s not personal—it’s how they keep quality high.
• No secret sauce: “DM for paid help” and “magic settings” are red flags. Keep it public so others can sanity‑check advice.

If this feels like the kind of community you wish you found sooner, good—because the next step is squeezing the most value out of it. Want to see how I search, which flairs I track, and the exact post format that gets answers in minutes instead of days?

How to use r/EtherMining like a pro: search, flairs, and sticky threads

Don’t scroll and hope. The best answers on r/EtherMining live in pinned posts, weekly help megathreads, and targeted searches—plus the right flair so your post lands in front of the right eyes.

Quick start:

• Check the pinned “Read this first” and weekly “Quick Questions/Help” threads. If your question is basic (temps, a single card crashing, miner version), drop it there for faster, less filtered help.
• Use the correct flair when posting (Help/Question, Troubleshooting, How‑To, etc.). Mods and regulars triage by flair; the wrong one can get your post buried or removed.
• Sort by Top → This Year or Past Month to avoid pre‑Merge noise and find stable, battle‑tested answers.

“Specific beats vague. In mining, precision cuts your troubleshooting time in half.”

Smart search that actually works

Reddit’s built‑in search is fine, but pairing it with Google makes it surgical. I start with Google and then refine on Reddit.

• Google site search: use operators to zero in on your exact hardware and symptoms.

site:reddit.com/r/EtherMining "RTX 3080" "thermal pads" "hotspot 110"
site:reddit.com/r/EtherMining "RX 5700 XT" undervolt "HiveOS" "W at the wall"
site:reddit.com/r/EtherMining "3060 Ti" "Hynix" "ETC" "rejected shares"
site:reddit.com/r/EtherMining "4070" "Kaspa" "watts" OR "W" "MH/s"

• Filter by time: add “Past year” in Google tools, then on Reddit sort by Top → This Year. This trims pre‑Merge ETH settings that don’t translate 1:1 to current coins.
• Add the right keywords: “bios”, “strap”, “undervolt/UV”, “OC”, “thermal pads”, “hotspot”, “rejected”, “stability”, “W at the wall”. For AMD memory vendors, try “Samsung/Micron/Hynix”.
• Exclude junk: subtract terms with a minus. Example:
  site:reddit.com/r/EtherMining 3080 "thermal pads" -giveaway -meme
• Find stickies fast: on Reddit, click the pinned posts at the top or search for posts by AutoModerator to surface weekly megathreads.
• Flair filtering: on the subreddit, click a flair like Help or Troubleshooting to narrow to high‑signal problem/solution threads.

Why this works: community Q&A thrives on pattern matching. When you search the exact card + memory vendor + coin + “watts” or “hotspot,” you’re effectively reusing proven fixes. You’ll see full settings, accepted/rejected share ratios, and what actually stayed stable longer than a screenshot.

Post format that gets real help

Give people enough to reproduce your issue. Short posts and mystery screenshots get ghosted or removed. Use this checklist and you’ll attract the experienced builders:

• Hardware: exact GPU models and counts (e.g., 3x RTX 3080 LHR + 2x RX 5700 XT), memory brands if known (Samsung/Micron/Hynix), motherboard, CPU, RAM, risers (model/version), PSUs (brand/wattage/number).
• Software: OS (Windows/Hive OS/Linux), driver versions (NVIDIA 552.xx / AMD Adrenalin xx.x), miner and version (lolMiner/T‑Rex/GMiner/TeamRedMiner) and the coin/pool.
• Numbers: hashrate in the coin’s unit (MH/s, Sol/s), power at the wall, software‑reported power, temps (core/memory junction/hotspot), fan %, accepted vs rejected shares, uptime.
• Settings: core clock/offset, memory clock/offset, voltage/PL, straps or BIOS mods if any.
• Environment: ambient temperature, case/rig airflow, recent changes (thermal pads, new risers, moved to a new room).
• Evidence: clear photo if cabling/spacing/airflow could be the issue, plus a small miner log snippet if you’re hitting a specific error.
• What you tried: two or three bullet points (e.g., “lowered mem by 100, swapped riser, rolled back to driver 535.98”).
• Title: include GPU + coin + symptom + watts. Example: “3060 Ti Hynix on ETC throttling after 20 min at 140W—hotspot spikes to 104C.”

Example post body:

• Rig: 2x RTX 3080 (Micron), 1x 3060 Ti (Hynix); ASRock H110 Pro BTC+, 8GB RAM, 2x EVGA 850W GQ; PCIe 009S risers
• OS/Drivers: HiveOS 0.6‑xxx; NVIDIA 550.54.14; lolMiner 1.88; Pool: Ethermine ETC
• Settings: 3080s at PL 210, Core +150, Mem +900; 3060 Ti PL 135, Core +0, Mem +1200
• Numbers: 3080s ~63 MH/s each at 205W (wall), hotspot 96–100C; 3060 Ti 31 MH/s at 125W (wall), hotspot 84C; uptime 6h; 1.2% rejects
• Tried: cleaned heatsinks, replaced pads on one 3080 with 2.0mm Gelid, lowered mem by 200 on all cards
• Issue: one 3080 throttles after 30 minutes; hotspot spikes to 106C; fan 90% isn’t enough
• Photo: [attached]

That level of detail turns strangers into your remote diagnostics team. On Q&A communities, structured posts see faster, higher‑quality answers—because helpers don’t have to play 20 questions first.

What to ignore

• One‑liner profit hype: “XYZ at $0.20/kWh is super profitable right now!” with no rig specs or power costs. Snapshots aren’t strategy.
• “Secret settings” or “DM me, paid help”: keep it public. If it can’t stand in the sunlight, it’s not worth your cards.
• Random BIOS files, sketchy unlockers, or miners from unknown links: stick to official repos and devs you can verify.
• Screenshots with perfect hashrate and no watts/temps: you pay the power bill, not the screenshot.
• Claims without numbers: if there’s no watts at the wall, no temps, no uptime—treat it as a story, not data.

“Trust, but verify.” Upvotes are not a warranty. Numbers and uptime are.

How to read replies

• Prioritize evidence: full rig specs, watts at the wall, temps, 24‑hour stability. Save these replies—they’re your new baseline.
• Check for context: ambient temps, memory vendor, coin algorithm. A stable 3080 on ERGO ≠ stable settings on RVN.
• Look for repeatability: if two or three different users converge on similar volts/temps/watts for the same card, you’re probably on the right path.
• Beware silicon lottery claims: “My 3060 Ti does 36 MH/s at 90W” could be a unicorn. If you can’t reproduce it with safe temps, it’s not a target—just a data point.
• Ask for missing data: it’s fine to reply “What’s your hotspot and wall wattage?” You’ll often nudge the thread into useful territory.
• Save and catalog: use Reddit’s Save feature and keep a small doc of your favorite settings and links. When rigs act up at 2 a.m., you’ll thank yourself.

You’ve now got the map to find high‑signal threads and post in a way that attracts the helpers who actually fix things. Ready for the good stuff everyone returns for—cooling that stops throttling, PSU choices that don’t trip breakers, and undervolt settings that cut costs without killing hashrate? In the next part, I’ll share the recurring hardware and safety wins that keep VRAM happy and fans quiet. Which VRAM temps are “safe,” and what pad thickness solves most 3080 memory throttling—want the exact numbers?

Hardware, safety, and tuning: the recurring best advice you’ll see there

There’s a pattern to what actually works: cooler cards last longer, stable power stops mystery crashes, and smart undervolts save real money. The rest is noise. As one of my favorite lines goes,

“If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” — Lord Kelvin

Cooling and longevity first

Heat is the silent killer. It throttles performance, cooks pads, dries out fans, and cracks solder over time. I’ve watched “unfixable” rigs become rock‑solid with nothing more than cleaning, better spacing, and a sane fan curve.

• Target safe temps, not bragging rights. For modern GPUs:

  • Core: aim for 55–70°C under sustained load.
  • Hotspot/junction: keep under 90–95°C.
  • VRAM (GDDR6/GDDR6X): try to hold <100°C on memory junction. Many 30‑series throttle near ~110°C; staying below ~95°C materially improves longevity.

  Why it matters: reliability models like the Arrhenius rule suggest each 10°C drop can roughly double component life. See JEDEC/IEC reliability guidance and industry summaries of the “10‑degree rule.”

• Clean and space your cards. Dust insulates. A can of compressed air and repositioning for a finger’s width of airflow between GPUs can shave 5–10°C, easy.
• Thermal pad swaps, done right. Many 3080/3090 models shipped with weak VRAM pads. Pad replacement can drop memory temps by 10–25°C, but thickness is model‑specific:

  • Common ranges: 1.0–2.5 mm depending on front/backplate and brand.
  • Over‑thick pads bow the PCB and hurt core contact. Match proven community specs for your exact card revision, and confirm with calipers if you can.
  • Use quality pads (e.g., 6–12 W/m·K) and isopropyl alcohol to clean surfaces.

  Real example: I took a 3080 that sat at 106°C memory junction down to 91–94°C by cleaning the heatsink, replacing backplate pads (2.0 mm), and setting a smarter fan curve. Fans ran quieter, and stability returned.

• Fan curves that don’t eat bearings. Instead of 100% all day, run an S‑curve:

  • 40–50% up to 60°C, 60–70% at 65–70°C, and only spike above 75% if hotspot approaches 90°C.
  • Level out sawtoothing with a small hysteresis (1–2°C) so fans don’t constantly ramp.

• Case and room airflow count. Push hot air out, pull cool air in. Box fans moving heat away from open‑frame rigs are cheap wins. In tight spaces, negative pressure with proper exhaust beats recirculating warm air.

Power and PSUs

Bad power is the root of so many “random” crashes and burned connectors. Measure, size, and cable correctly—or pay for it later.

• Measure at the wall. Software can be off by 10–20%. Use a wall meter (Kill A Watt, Shelly Plug, smart PDU) to log true draw.
• Right‑size with headroom. Take your sustained wall draw and add 20–30% for a PSU target. Example: a rig pulling 950W at the wall is happier on a quality 1200W 80+ Platinum than a 1000W Bronze.
• Respect connector limits.

  • PCIe slot: ~75W. 6‑pin: ~75W. 8‑pin: ~150W (cable gauge matters).
  • Never power risers via SATA. The SATA power spec is ~54W and cheaply made cables melt. Use 6‑pin PCIe or Molex directly from the PSU.
  • Avoid daisy‑chaining dual 8‑pins from a single cable when a card can peak over 225W. Split loads across separate PSU leads.

• Single‑rail vs multi‑rail OCP. Multi‑rail units can trip if you dump too much on one rail. Spread GPUs across rails per the PSU manual. Single‑rail is simpler, but don’t use it as an excuse to overload a single cable.
• Know your circuit. A 15A 120V circuit is 1800W max, but continuous load should stay near 80% (~1440W). Label circuits, balance loads, and install a smoke detector in your rig room. A Class C extinguisher is cheap insurance.
• Two PSUs? Use a sync board (e.g., Add2PSU) or the motherboard’s PSU sync feature so both units start/stop together.

Undervolt and efficiency

Chasing max hashrate looks fun until your room turns into a toaster and you’re swapping fans every few months. Efficient rigs are quieter, cooler, and almost always more stable.

• One change at a time. Adjust core clock, memory clock, or voltage—then test for hours, not minutes. Log results so you can roll back fast.
• Undervolt targets that actually work.

  • NVIDIA 30‑series: many cards run happily around 700–775 mV for memory‑heavy algorithms, with core locked low and memory +600 to +1200 (varies by vendor, cooling, and algorithm).
  • Core‑heavy algorithms (e.g., KHeavyHash) often prefer moderate core clocks and modest memory. Don’t apply Ethash‑style memory boosts blindly.
  • AMD cards respond well to power limit and voltage trims; use official drivers and tools (e.g., Radeon Software, amdgpu‑utils) and keep an eye on hotspot.

• Watch the real math. It’s common to see 25–35% less power for 0–5% hashrate loss with a good undervolt, which is a huge net win for stability and noise.
• Thermal runaway is real. As VRAM crosses ~100°C, errors climb, shares stale, and fans scream. Undervolting cuts heat at the source and makes every other fix easier.
• Keep a tuning diary. Card model, memory brand, core/mem/volt, fan curve, wall watts, temps, and stability over 12–24 hours. I keep mine in a simple spreadsheet and color‑code “golden” settings per card.

Miners and firmware notes

There’s a long tail of software and BIOS tricks out there—some legit, some dangerous. The safest mindset I’ve seen pay off is “verify, then test on one card.”

• Stick to official sources. Download miners and tools from the developer’s GitHub or official site. Check SHA‑256 hashes when provided. Ignore random ZIPs on Telegram or shady mirrors—clipboard hijackers and RATs are still rampant.
• BIOS mods with a seatbelt. This is mostly an AMD thing (think Polaris/older RDNA) and still risky:

  • Always save the original ROM.
  • Flash one GPU first, validate stability for 24h, and only then proceed.
  • Have a recovery path: a second GPU for video out or a USB programmer if you brick it.

• OS hygiene. Dedicated mining OSes (HiveOS, RaveOS) or a clean Linux/Windows install reduce junkware and keep drivers tidy. Don’t stack unrelated software on your rig.
• Driver sanity. Newest isn’t always best. Many stable rigs sit on “known good” driver versions for months. If you must update, snapshot first and test on a single GPU.
• Algorithm‑aware tuning. Memory‑bound vs core‑bound behavior changes everything:

  • Memory‑bound: prioritize VRAM cooling, memory OC, and lower core voltage.
  • Core‑bound: ensure adequate core voltage, moderate core clock, and avoid pointless memory OC that only adds heat.

Quick reality check from the trenches: the rigs that “just run” are the ones with clean power, safe cabling, VRAM under ~95°C, and a patient, methodical undervolt. The ones that burn out? SATA risers, mystery splitters, and settings pushed to the ragged edge for screenshots.

Question for you: once your rig is cool, quiet, and efficient… does it still make financial sense to keep it humming after the Merge? I’ll break down the real‑world numbers next—what changes with altcoins, how power rates flip the math, and when it’s smarter to switch gears.

Post‑Merge reality: profitability, alternatives, and when to walk away

Let’s talk straight. Ethereum switched to proof‑of‑stake, so the old “point GPUs at ETH and print money” play is over. What matters now is your electricity rate, the efficiency of your hardware, and how much hassle you’re willing to tolerate. I’ve tested this the same way I recommend in r/EtherMining threads: measure at the wall, sanity‑check with a calculator, and treat any result as a snapshot, not a promise.

“Hope is not a hashrate.” Profit comes from watts you don’t waste and risks you don’t take.

The straight answer on ETH

You can’t mine ETH on mainnet anymore. Since the Merge (Sept 2022), Ethereum runs on proof‑of‑stake. If someone says they’re mining ETH, they mean a fork like ETHW—or they’re confused. Want a primary source? See Ethereum’s own explanation of the transition: ethereum.org/upgrades/merge.

Forks like ETHW are separate networks with smaller communities, liquidity, and security budgets. If you experiment there, understand that market risk and payout uncertainty are magnified.

When mining other coins might make sense

Mining altcoins can work if the stars line up—usually when you already own efficient GPUs and your cost per kWh is low. A few real‑world anchors help:

• Power price sensitivity is everything. The U.S. residential average has hovered around 16–17¢/kWh recently (EIA). Many EU countries pay €0.20–€0.40/kWh (Eurostat). If you’re on the high end, your margin for error is tiny.
• Efficient GPUs still have a role. Cards like RTX 3060 Ti, 3070, 4070, or AMD 6600/6700 XT undervolt well and can mine coins such as ETC (Etchash), RVN (KawPow), ERGO (Autolykos), FLUX (ZelHash), and KAS (kHeavyHash). r/EtherMining posts that include watts, temps, and stability over a week are your best benchmark—not one‑hour screenshots.
• Heat offset is real in winter—sometimes. If you use electric resistance heat, a mining rig’s “waste” heat offsets your heating bill nearly 1:1. If you heat with a heat pump (typical COP ~2–3, per energy.gov), mining is less efficient as heat unless your coin revenue makes up the difference.

Here’s how I sanity‑check a coin before wasting a weekend:

• Step 1: Measure power draw at the wall for your exact settings (e.g., RTX 3070 at 100 W).
• Step 2: Convert to daily cost: 100 W × 24 h = 2.4 kWh/day. At $0.12/kWh, that’s $0.29/day per GPU.
• Step 3: Open a calculator like WhatToMine or minerstat with your hashrate and power. If estimated daily revenue per GPU is $0.45 and power costs $0.29, your gross margin is ~$0.16/day before pool fees, stale shares, downtime, and hardware wear.
• Step 4: Stress‑test for 72 hours. If the rig stays stable and the calculator estimate isn’t way off, keep testing. If you’re babysitting crashes, your “profit” evaporates.

Small extra wins add up: quieter fans after a thermal pad swap, a smarter undervolt, or fixing a bad riser can turn a negative day into break‑even. But none of this beats a cheap electricity rate.

When to repurpose or sell

There’s no courage award for mining at a loss. If any of these resonate, step back:

• Your rate is $0.20+/kWh and you’re not heating the space with that same electricity.
• Noise and heat are ruining your setup (neighbors, apartment, summer AC load).
• You’re constantly fixing instability—risers, VRAM temps, driver crashes.
• Payback math looks like fiction (ROI measured in years, not months).

Better paths I’ve seen r/EtherMining users take—and I’ve done myself:

• Resell strategically: Check sold listings on eBay and local markets; time sales around new game releases or AI buzz. 12–24 GB cards (e.g., 3090/4090, 7900 XTX) often fetch premiums for AI and content work.
• Repurpose: Blender/Octane rendering, Stable Diffusion, local LLMs, homelab workloads, or a plex box. If the GPU earns more value in your main work or hobbies than it mines, that’s still a win.
• Match coins to VRAM reality: 4 GB cards are mostly out for ETC; 6 GB+ still work for many coins today. KAS is light on VRAM, but each algorithm has its own quirks—always check current epochs and DAG sizes.

Risk checklist

r/EtherMining is full of “I learned the hard way” posts. You don’t need to add yours to the pile:

• Firmware and BIOS: Only flash from official vendors or trusted archives. Test one GPU first. Keep a known‑good ROM backed up.
• Wallet safety: Verify addresses on a hardware wallet. Don’t paste from clipboards blindly. Beware fake wallets and phishing clones.
• Miner downloads: Use official links, check hashes, and run miners in a restricted user account. Random GitHub forks and Telegram zips are how rigs get backdoored.
• Pools and payouts: Watch payout thresholds, fees, and minimums. Don’t accumulate large unpaid balances on small pools.
• Power and fire safety: Measure at the wall (Kill‑A‑Watt/PDUs), respect circuit limits, avoid cheap splitters, and mount smoke detection near the rig.
• ROI claims: “ROI in weeks” usually means someone wants your money. If it sounds like 2021, it’s probably not 2025 reality.
• Taxes and tracking: Keep logs of mined amounts, timestamps, and conversions. Rules vary by region—records save headaches.

If you’re weighing ETC versus KAS, wondering whether phone “mining” is real, or asking which GPU to buy now, I’ve got the blunt answers queued up next. Which question do you want cleared up first?

FAQ: quick answers people keep asking (so you don’t have to)

Is Ethereum mining still worth it?

No. Ethereum moved to proof‑of‑stake. You can’t mine ETH on mainnet anymore, and anyone saying otherwise is confused or selling you something. After the Merge, the network’s energy use dropped by ~99.95%, which tells you everything about how GPU mining fits into ETH today.

If you already own GPUs and have cheap electricity, testing altcoins can be a fun experiment. Just keep it honest with the math:

• Step 1: Track your daily revenue from the pool (USD).
• Step 2: Measure power at the wall with a plug meter. Example: 210 W average x 24 h = 5.04 kWh/day.
• Step 3: Multiply by your rate. At $0.15/kWh, that’s $0.76/day in power.
• Step 4: Revenue minus power = reality. If you’re negative before fees, wear, and your time, it’s a hobby, not a business.

Quick gut check: If you need to buy new GPUs just to mine, it usually won’t pencil out. If you already own efficient cards and cheap power, you can tinker—just set expectations low and keep an exit plan.

Can I mine ETH on my phone?

No. Phone “mining” apps either fake it, mine tiny amounts of other coins, or push you to cloud services. The payoff is effectively zero, but the costs are very real:

• Heat and throttling: sustained load pushes temps up; phones throttle hard, so “hashrate” collapses fast.
• Battery wear: lithium cells age fast with heat and high discharge; running a miner accelerates capacity loss.
• Privacy risk: a lot of these apps ask for permissions they don’t need. That’s your red flag.

My rule: if a phone app promises crypto rewards for “mining,” assume you’re the product.

What about ETH forks or Ethereum Classic?

Forks like ETHW still exist, but they live on thin liquidity and mood‑swing price action. Treat them as speculative at best.

ETC (Ethereum Classic) is still GPU‑mineable. Profitability is brutally sensitive to your power rate and the coin’s price/difficulty on the week you test. Don’t trust screenshots or cherry‑picked days—run your own 72‑hour test:

• Point one card to ETC for 3 days (stable OC/UV).
• Record daily pool payouts, average power at the wall, temps, and any downtime.
• Calculate net after electricity. If you like the numbers, scale slowly, not all at once.

Same logic applies to RVN, ERGO, FLUX, KAS, and friends. Remember: calculators are snapshots, not guarantees. Network hash can flood in and crush your edge overnight.

What hardware should I buy now?

If your only goal is mining profits, probably none. If you want a GPU primarily for something else—and mining is a side quest—pick based on your main use and sanity‑check mining on the side:

• Gaming first: buy the card with the best frames per dollar for your titles and resolution. Treat mining as bonus pocket change.
• AI tinkering / local LLMs: prioritize VRAM. 12–24 GB is the sweet spot for hobby projects. Check CUDA/ROCm support for your stack.
• Rendering: pick what your renderer accelerates best (CUDA, OptiX, HIP). Stability and drivers matter more than peak hashrate.
• Efficiency mindset: undervolt first, brag later. A quiet 70–120 W card you can keep cool beats a space heater that eats your margin.

Whatever you choose, never flash firmware or download miners from random links. Stick to official sources and test changes on one GPU before you roll them out.

My verdict on r/EtherMining and how to get the most out of it

Short answer: it’s still worth your time. Treat it as a focused help desk for GPU hardware, stability, and power efficiency, plus an archive of battle‑tested fixes that still apply post‑Merge. If you expect clear answers, real numbers, and blunt feedback, you’ll feel right at home.

What makes it valuable now is the collective memory. You’ll see repeatable fixes for hot VRAM, riser issues, PSU headaches, and undervolt settings that cut watts without tanking performance. That knowledge translates well whether you’re testing altcoins, repurposing for local AI, or just trying to stop a 3080 from throttling.

When I recommend it

• You already own GPUs and want safer, cooler, quieter settings. Example: countless 3080/3090 owners reduce memory junction temps by 10–20°C with proper pad thickness and a gentler fan curve. Independent testing backs this up—check GamersNexus’ VRAM pad results for GDDR6X cards.
• You need troubleshooting with receipts (photos, temps, wattage at the wall). Typical win: a 5700 XT rig that crashes every few hours stabilizes after swapping a sketchy riser and isolating each GPU on its own PSU cable instead of daisy‑chaining.
• You’re optimizing for efficiency, not bragging rights. Undervolting works because dynamic power roughly scales with the square of voltage, so even small drops matter. That’s basic electronics, not forum magic.
• You’re deciding between mining some altcoins vs. selling or repurposing. The best threads lay out numbers: cents/kWh, hashrate per watt, thermals, and time to break even. No fluff—just trade‑offs you can actually act on.

If you’re chasing “secret” settings or quick riches, it’s not for you. The community filters hype fast, and that’s a feature.

Quick checklist before you post

• Search first and skim the pinned threads. You’ll save hours and get better replies.
• Share full rig specs: GPU models/count, memory brand (if known), motherboard/CPU/RAM, miner + version, OS + driver, BIOS mods, risers/PSU model, and your room/ambient temp.
• Post real numbers: hashrate, voltage/clock settings, power at the wall (not just software), and temps (core/memory/hotspot).
• Show what you tried: “Dropped core by 100 MHz, raised fan to 70%, swapped riser on GPU #3.” This earns faster, targeted help.
• Add a clear photo if cabling, spacing, or airflow might be the problem.
• Keep it public. Ignore DMs offering “paid help.” Good advice survives in the comments.
• Close the loop: thank helpers and report the fix. People remember—next time you’ll get answers even faster.

Good post template:
“3× RTX 3070 (Micron), H510 BTC Pro, 2× 750W Gold PSUs (separate cables per GPU), HiveOS 0.6-xxx, driver 525.xx, lolMiner 1.xx. ERGO: 174 MH/s total. Wall: 420W. Temps: 52C core / 82C mem / 68C hotspot. Issue: GPU #2 crashes after 2–4 hrs. Tried swapping riser, moving PCIe slot, reducing mem -100, core -50. Photo attached.”

Bottom line

Use r/EtherMining like a lab, not a lottery. Test one change at a time, measure at the wall, document everything, and keep your settings boring‑but‑stable. You’ll avoid dead cards, cut your bill, and make smarter calls on whether to keep mining, repurpose, or sell.

Want a clean starting point each time you research? I’m continually adding trusted tools and links here: cryptolinks.com. Bookmark it so you can focus on what matters—getting reliable results from the gear you already own.