Can Gaming PCs be used to mine Bitcoin (BTC)? Here are the facts in 2025

Updated

May 9, 2025

Gambar Can Gaming PCs be used to mine Bitcoin (BTC)? Here are the facts in 2025

Jakarta, Pintu News – With the price of Bitcoin hovering around Rp1.56 billion (equivalent to $95,000) and transaction fees increasing post-halving 2024, mining activities have once again caught the attention of crypto market participants. But amidst the development of mining technology, an important question arises: can modern gaming PCs still be used to mine Bitcoin? The short answer: they can, but not efficiently. Here’s the full review.

Understanding the Bitcoin Mining Process and Its Challenges

Mining is the process of verifying transactions while generating new Bitcoins. The system uses a proof of work (PoW) consensus mechanism, where miners compete to find a valid hash according to the current network difficulty. The first miner to find the hash will receive a reward of 3,125 BTC plus transaction fees.

However, the mining difficulty in 2025 is very high. It takes an average of 10³¹ hash attempts to generate one valid block. This process requires a lot of energy – enough to power a US household for more than 10 years. For this reason, the hardware used determines efficiency and profitability.

Also Read: Will Solana Reach $420 in 2025? Check out the Prediction!

Evolution of Mining Devices: From CPU to ASIC

At its inception in 2009, Bitcoin mining could be done with a regular CPU. As the number of miners increased, the use of GPUs became common due to their higher capabilities. However, when ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits) were introduced, efficiency standards changed drastically.

ASICs are specifically designed for mining Bitcoin and are much faster and energy efficient than GPUs. Since 2015, ASICs have dominated the mining ecosystem and remain the top choice today. While modern gaming PCs use GPUs such as the RTX 4090 which is very powerful for gaming, its performance in mining Bitcoin still lags far behind ASICs.

GPU vs. ASIC Performance: Unbalanced

For example, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 can generate hundreds of megahashes per second. However, ASICs such as the Antminer S21 Pro can generate up to 200 terahashes per second. This difference is equivalent to a million-fold difference. In addition, the GPU’s power consumption of 450 watts is not worth it.

In contrast, ASICs are more energy-intensive (around 3,500 watts) but much more efficient in power-to-yield ratio (around 17.5 joules per terahash). This means that even if you run non-stop mining with a gaming PC, the cost of electricity will far exceed the revenue generated.

Economic Factors: Investment Not Worth the Return

Taking into account the cost of electricity, maintenance, and possible hardware damage, mining Bitcoin with a gaming PC tends to be unprofitable. The chances of getting a block solo are almost zero. Joining a mining pool is possible, but the small contribution from the GPU means that the revenue received is also very low.

GPUs are also not designed to run 24/7 for long periods of time. Continuous mining can accelerate performance degradation, damage components, and void the device warranty.

Crypto Alternatives that Can Still Be Mined with a Gaming PC

While Bitcoin is not ideal for mining with a GPU, some other cryptocurrencies are still gaming PC-friendly:

Ethereum Classic (ETC): Still uses the Ethash algorithm. Each block rewards 3.2 ETC and is mined every 13 seconds.
Ravencoin : Uses the KAWPOW algorithm designed to be anti-ASIC. Provides 2,500 RVN per block and is mined every one minute.
Monero (XMR): Based on the CPU- and GPU-friendly RandomX algorithm. Although the yield is small, it is suitable for passive income at home.

To determine which crypto is suitable for your device, sites like WhatToMine can be used to simulate potential gains based on your GPU specifications.

Conclusion

Technically, a gaming PC can be used to mine Bitcoin, but economically and efficiently, it’s not a wise choice in 2025. With the dominance of ASICs and increasing network difficulty, gaming GPUs are better suited for mining altcoins like Ravencoin or Ethereum Classic. Understanding algorithm characteristics, device efficiency, and operational costs are key in determining whether crypto mining is still relevant for home users.

Also Read: Bitcoin Poised for a Big Spike Amid US Economic Chaos?

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*Disclaimer

This content aims to enrich readers’ information. Pintu collects this information from various relevant sources and is not influenced by outside parties. Note that an asset’s past performance does not determine its projected future performance. Crypto trading activities are subject to high risk and volatility, always do your own research and use cold hard cash before investing. All activities of buying andselling Bitcoin and other crypto asset investments are the responsibility of the reader.

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