Bfgminer For Mac
In my previous in this series I introduced two easy-to-use bitcoin miners for OS X:. However, while these miners are relatively easy to install and use, they do not offer the best performance when it comes to hash rates. For that you’ll want to look at cgminer and bfgminer. These are native C miners and, paired with the right kernels, their performance exceeds the other two miners by quite a wide margin. Cgminer & bfgminer The project is a fork of the project. Now, I have no dog in this fight, but my understanding is that the teams aren’t on great terms.
However, I have had good luck with both tools and have worked with both authors in order to fix a crash (, ) related to multiple GPU’s on OS X and have no complaints whatsoever. Both miners offer similar performance in my experience. Installation 1. Xcode To get started, you will need to install the.
Xcode is a free download from the Apple App Store. Command Line Tools Next you’ll need the Xcode Command Line Tools.
Launch Xcode and then click the XcodePreferences menu item. Click the Downloads tab and then click Install next to Command Line Tools. If the text next to Xcode Command Line Tools says Installed, carry on to the next step. Homebrew Next you’ll need to install. Homebrew is a package manager for OS X that provides a sane way of installing.nix tools, libraries, and their dependencies. It is similar to MacPorts for OS X or apt for Linux.
Installing Homebrew is super-easy. Open up Terminal.app and run the following command (from the Homebrew ): ruby -e '$(curl -fsSL )' After you install Homebrew, make sure you run the following command (as the installer should instruct you): brew doctor Make sure you address any errors or warnings before proceeding as they may prevent the miners from installing. Miners In my I indicated that it was necessary to compile cgminer and bfgminer from their source code in order to install them on OS X. While that was necessary at the time, after some reading and experimenting with Homebrew I was able to create packages (called with Homebrew) for installing cgminer and bfgminer on OS X 10.8. Once Homebrew is successfully installed, you can run the following commands to install cgminer and bfgminer: brew tap nwoolls/xgminer brew install cgminer or: brew tap nwoolls/xgminer brew install bfgminer If you specify the –HEAD (two dashes) parameter for brew install then the latest source-code will be pulled for the miner from Github rather than using the latest official release. You can visit the Github to view the package contents. If you run into errors installing the above formulas you can try running brew install with the –debug –verbose parameters to find where things went wrong.
I’d also recommend using brew doctor to diagnose any issues. Usage Both cgminer and bfgminer are command-line utilities. You can either run them without any command line parameters and fill in the prompts for mining pool URL and credentials or you can use the following format to specify your pool: cgminer -o -u username -p password or: bfgminer -o -u password -p password If you have multiple graphics cards you’ll want to use the –no-opencl-binaries parameter with bfgminer to avoid a crash on startup. This is not necessary with cgminer as it detects OS X and applies the same workaround automatically. Other notable command line parameters are -I (for intensity) and -k (for kernel).
If you pass in -I d then the miner will use less resources so you can use your PC (think D for Desktop). Passing in -I 9 is a safe value for having the miner use as much of your graphics resources as possible to mine. Your PC will be much less responsive.
Finally, -k lets you specify a kernel. I find on OS X that using -k diablo gives the best performance. So, my command-line using cgminer with the BitMinter pool would look something like this: cgminer -k diablo -o -u usernameworkername -p password -I 9 And for bfgminer: bfgminer -k diablo -o -u usernameworkername -p password -I 9 -no-opencl-binaries Refer to the projects on Github for full documentation of the available command-line parameters. As you can see from the average in the upper-left of each miner’s output, with cgminer and bfgminer I average 460 Mh/s. Compare that to 400 Mh/s with GUIMiner and 370 Mh/s with BitMinter and you can see why these command-line miners are preferred over their GUI counterparts.
Bfgminer Macbook
Conclusion These are exciting times for crypto currency, whether you’re a geek or a speculator or merely a bystander. And, while OS X is pulling up the rear when it comes to supported OS’s for bitcoin mining, hopefully I’ve demonstrated some viable options for getting your feet wet with mining on OS X. BitMinter is a great option for getting started, as it gives you both a bitcoin mining pool with low fees and ready-to-use mining software. GUIMiner is a nice option for improved performance and flexibility in mining pool choice. And, if you’ve decided mining is your thing and you want the absolute best performance out of your rig, you can’t go wrong with cgminer or bfgminer. UPDATE: Since my original post I’ve had some great help from Bitcoin community member and blogger on how to get binaries such as cgminer and bfgminer packaged in a self-contained way.
If you are interested in the shell scripts that make this possible you can check them out on Github. I have submitted these scripts to the authors of both cgminer and bfgminer so, in the future, we may see official OS X binary distributions. In the meantime, if you’d like to try these out instead of following the instructions above, you can download them from the Releases page. ↓. first off thank you for the great tutorials for mining LTC and BTC.been consumed the past week figuring it out and still running into errors on osx Lion when trying to install Cgminer and BFGMiner. ↓. pete Hi, i have a mid 2010 iMac with ATI Radeon HD 5750 1024 MB, running Mac OSX 10.8.3 with 16GB ram i have successfully installed from your brew package as instructed, and i get the same error that i was getting when i compiled cgminer from source.
As far as I can tell it is something to do with the OpenCl Framework Library I have – unusually. I have an older iMac using the same version of OSX, and the same version of XCode at home, and i can get that to run! Uname -a Darwin 12.3.0 Darwin Kernel Version 12.3.0: Sun Jan 6 22:37:10 PST 2013; root:xnu-2050.22.131/RELEASEX8664 x8664 here is the relevant error message: 2013-05-20 15:45:08 Probing for an alive pool 2013-05-20 15:45:09 Error -11: Building Program (clBuildProgram) 2013-05-20 15:45:09:51:16: error: attribute requires exactly 3 arguments attribute((reqdworkgroupsize(WORKSIZE, 1, 1))) ^ 2013-05-20 15:45:09 Failed to init GPU thread 0, disabling device 0 2013-05-20 15:45:09 Restarting the GPU from the menu will not fix this. 2013-05-20 15:45:09 Try restarting BFGMiner. Press enter to continue: Thanks! ↓. thehwood Pete, From reading the error message it sounds like you’re not using all the the “arguments” needed to execute the “attribute” “You can either run them without any command line parameters and fill in the prompts for mining pool URL and credentials or you can use the following format to specify your pool: cgminer -o -u username -p password bfgminer -o -u password -p password If you have multiple graphics cards you’ll want to use the –no-opencl-binaries parameter with bfgminer to avoid a crash on startup.
This is not necessary with cgminer as it detects OS X and applies the same workaround automatically.” Either just put in “cgminer” or if you’re using attributes you need “cgminer -o -u -p ”. ↓. Al I read this in the cgminer README: Any thoughts? Is this reality for OSX? Q: Can I mine with cgminer on a MAC?
A: cgminer will compile on OSX, but the performance of GPU mining is compromised due to the opencl implementation on OSX, there is no temperature or fanspeed monitoring, and the cooling design of most MACs, despite having powerful GPUs, will usually not cope with constant usage leading to a high risk of thermal damage. It is highly recommended not to mine on a MAC unless it is to a USB device.
↓. Post author Here are my thoughts. First of all, I have used the same Mac Pro to mine under both Windows and OS X. There is no speed difference with the Open CL implementations. It is true that there is no temperature monitoring and that you cannot overclock and tweak the GPUs under OS X. If you get into mining and like it, I’d suggest building a dedicated Windows mining rig.
As far as the cooling design, it really depends on the model you are using. I have a Mac Pro with a regular case design so that’s not an issue for me. I wouldn’t personally GPU mine on a Mac laptop 24×7. Finally, with ASICs becoming more popular, these can be used on a Mac just like on a Windows PC without any of the above limitations or considerations. ↓. nOOn Hello Nathan, I thought I had missed some something with the newest installation of cgminer I made, because I got only errors: AMU 0 TIME OUT So I reinstalled my OSX.
Nothing better. But 3.3.1 was working! So I finally ended on the main forum talking about Mr. Olivas ‘ program, I found this from himself: “Request from me to anyone having trouble with ICA or AMU devices on linux with the latest cgminer. Firstly, I’ve written a standalone program, that’s all the necessary code from cgminer (with lots of changes and added code) to test libusb on anyone’s linux It’s here: It has instructions in the top how to compile it.
Running it will simply show you if the version of libusb on your linux is problematic but of course only if you have 2 or more ICA or AMUs If anyone does this could they report 4 things in a pastebin or similar link (pastebin is here: ) Report their hardware (e.g. An intel/amd desktop, an RPi, or some other such description) Report their linux verion with uname -srvmpio Report their libusb version e.g. RPM based system: rpm -qva grep libusb APT based system: apt-cache policy libusb-1.0 egrep “^l Install” Pacman system: pacman -Q grep libusb Report their libusb libraries e.g. Maybe something like: ls -las /lib./libusb. /usr/lib./libusb.
and finally the output of running./usbfail You may need to run it a few times – basically what’s of interest is the most common result running it. Categories.
(9). (28). (66). (20). (35). (11).
Bfgminer Mac Config
(8). (55). (7). (4). (13).
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. Bitcoin mining is one of the most economically satisfying activities when it comes to the crypto space.
It involves two parts depending on your mining strategy. Mining can be done through cloud mining or through setting up a mining rig. If you prefer to get the mining rig route then you get to choose your hardware and your bitcoin mining software. The hardware is the tangible tools that include the cables, graphics cards, ASICs, motherboards etc. If you have that then you move on to the next step which is choosing the best bitcoin mining software that will not only be compatible with your hardware but also, in your opinion, the best software to make your mining more rewarding. What is Bitcoin mining software?
There are a further two more choices to make if you prefer to go the ‘own-setup’ route. You can either join a mining pool and contribute hashing power or mine directly and independently. Either way, you will need more of the same components for. Once you have set up your mining rig you will need to communicate with the blockchain directly if you are mining independently or communicate with the mining pool that you are contributing hashing power to. The piece of software that enables you to do this called the bitcoin mining software.
Bitcoin, being the original cryptocurrency, was first mined in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto. Back then it was possible to mine using a CPU or normal laptop at home without many expenses. However, with time, as more nodes started joining the bitcoin network, the difficulty increased and soon developers found out that graphics cards could mine bitcoin faster than a CPU could and this ushered the proliferation of graphics cards. As the cryptocurrency became more valuable more competition was imminent and more money was pumped into the mining scene and soon the ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits) was introduced.
ASCIs are very expensive but more powerful than graphics cards. Therefore, since small-scale and retail miners could not compete with individuals who could afford to run mining rigs using ASICs, less and less mining is done through GPUs. Basically, by now, it is economically unfeasible to mine bitcoin using GPUs.
This scenario has led to more centralization. Software that could be used to mine bitcoin using GPUs has become obsolete as well. This article presents five of the best bitcoin mining software that can be used with ASICs. How does bitcoin mining software work? Bitcoin mining software has several functions.
The main as mentioned previously is communicating with the bitcoin network. It serves to relay the input of your mining rig to the network while also receiving metadata about the network from other nodes. Not only that, but it also monitors the rest of the network for consensus.
If you are part of a pool, the software will relay the same information to the rest of the participants within the pool. The software also works by collecting vital information from the mining rig such as mining input and output, fan speed, the speed of your miner, temperature and the hash rate. Some software goes an extra mile and controls some of these parameters such as fan speed to regulate the temperature of the rig.
All these factors should be taken into consideration when choosing a bitcoin mining software. However, the final decision depends on an individual’s preference. The following list of bitcoin mining software features not just the best software for the job but also the most popular in the market.
So without further ado, let’s dig in The Best Bitcoin Mining Software for Windows / MAC / Linux The list below is by no means conclusive and neither is it presented in an orderly way. It is a selection of the best bitcoin mining software according to Crypto-economy.net. CGMiner CGMiner is, no doubt, the most popular piece of software to mine bitcoins. It supports all GPUs as well as FPGA and ASIC miners.
CGMiner has a very active community of supporters and a plethora of features. It includes support for mining pools and solo mining. The software is open-source and available for download through the repository.
The most important features that are bundled with CGMiner include config files, logging, monitoring as well as overclocking capabilities and API monitoring. It also supports remote interface capabilities, multi-GPU support, self-detection of new blocks, fan speed control, CPU mining support among several other features. The CGMiner was created and improved upon the. Operating System Support CGMiner is available across all major operating systems. This includes Windows, Mac OSX and Linux operating systems. CGMiner is coded in C programming language for Linux and Windows with very low non-mining CPU and ram usage. BFGMiner One of the other more popular bitcoin mining software is the BFGMiner.
Full of customizable features and supports a wide array of miners including FPGA and ASIC machines. BFGMiner was a fork of CGMiner with added customizations and features that make it more appealing to a wider audience. However, the main difference between the two is the template that either of these software uses.
BFGMiner uses a more recent getblocktemplate as opposed to CGMiner’s getwork template. Some of the cool features that make BFGMiner very popular include integrated overclocking, automatic pool failure detection, support of multi-devices, fan control including automatic adjustment when configured, monitoring, remote interface capabilities and the option to work with a GUI as opposed to the default command line prompt. Several other features can be found in its official. Operating system support Similar to the CGMiner software, BFGMiner is also coded in C language. It supports several different types of operating systems including major operating systems such as Windows, Linux, and OSX.
EasyMiner EasyMiner is more of a GUI interface rather than a stand-alone bitcoin mining software. It works with other software and provides users the capability to use their favorite software through a more user-friendly interface. EasyMiner can integrate with CGMiner, minerd, and ccminer used through a normal PC computer, a GPU setup or an ASIC machine. EasyMiner is a great starting software for miners who care about the interface as much as the functionality. It presents a nice, clean, uncluttered and modern interface. Any user whether advanced or new to the mining world will immediately identify with the simplicity the interface provides. Some of its more utilitarian features include easy integration with the CGMiner, ccminer and minerd software.
Using EasyMiner allows you to configure your miners to view performance metrics and other bitcoin mining activities through a graphical interface. The software supports the mining of coins that are encrypted through the SHA-256 and Scrypt algorithms that includes Bitcoin and Litecoin. As an added addition, EasyMiner supports all coins that can be mined through the ccminer integrated software package.
EasyMiner has a really cool feature called the MoneyMaker mode that will allow you to start making money mining immediately whether you are an advanced or newbie user. Operating Systems Support EasyMiner supports mining on Windows, Android and Linux operating systems. Bitcoin Miner Bitcoin Miner is an open source software developed for the ZTEX FPGA Boards.
It only comes in a USB interface and can be used for programming and communication between the miners and the blockchain. Using the software, a user can create low-cost FPGA clusters with standard components, for instance, USB hubs and allow running large-scale mining operations through a single or minimal software instance. Other features that Bitcoin Miner presents include a ready-to-use Bitstream, which doesn’t require any Xilinx Software or a license and the ability to choose the frequency that has the highest rate of valid hashes. Operating System Support Bitcoin Miner only runs on Linux and Windows. RPC Miner As mentioned in the introductory section, bitcoin mining is more of a subjective activity with all sorts of biases and preferences. In this regard, some individuals are die-hard fans of the Mac OS platform and for these individuals, the preferred bitcoin mining software has to be compatible with OSX. The RPC Miner (also referred to as the puddinpop’s miner) works exclusively on the Mac OS as opposed to CGMiner or BFGMiner that support a range of operating systems.
This software supports Mac OS version 10.6 onwards. RPC Miner has a ton of features including performance metrics reporting, pool mining support and logging. Operating Systems Support The RPC Miner is exclusive to the Mac OS platform. Conclusions about the best Bitcoin Mining Software Bitcoin mining provides several different options starting with the option to cloud mine or install hardware and manage the rig independently. These options are both viable and you can argue for either case.
Similarly, if you chose to go the hardware installation route you can mine independently or join a. Not much difference in terms of returns because when mining independently, the rewards will be far in between but they will be huge returns. On the other hand, when mining in a pool, the rewards are more consistent but little. In the end, they add up to almost equal returns.
Therefore the option comes down to preference and so does the choice for the best bitcoin mining software. Most of these software has similar features and it’s hard to choose between any of them. The best recommendation is to take all for a spin and see which one fits your mining strategy then stick with it.