How to mine Zcash with GPU and CPU (Windows)

The Genoil miner is currently giving better results in GPU mining. We will soon create a guide on how to use this miner. You can download it here

Zcash mining is getting pretty popular but solo mining can get pretty lonely. Come test the waters on a Zcash pool! All you have to do is follow this guide! We are going to use the NiceHash open source miner, which allows us to mine for BTC or for ZCash. Since we want to keep our newly mined ZEC, we're using the second option.



This miner allows us to mine both with CPU and GPU and it was made using a Windows computer, but it will also work on Linux based machines.

You can also "mine" Zcash with a cloud mining contract with Genesis Mining or Hashflare.

Part 1 - Download
Step 1: Click here to download the Nicehash miner. Scroll down for the latest releases


Step 2: Extract the files within the .zip



Part 2 - Choose a mining pool

This miner only works with pool mining. If you're looking for a good zcash mining pool, you can check out zcash mining pools here.

Part 3 - Mine with your CPU

In order to use this miner, you must specify how many cores you have for maximum performance. You can check your CPU core count by opening the Task Manager and going to the performance section.

The NiceHash miner comes with 2 versions. one to get paid in Bitcoin (nheqminer), and another one to get paid directly in zcash (nheqminer_zcash).
Step 1: Open the "nheqminer_zcash" file
Step 2: In order to start mining with your CPU type or paste the following command with the required modifications:

nheqminer_zcash.exe -l eu -u ZEC-ADDRESS -t 8

Replace "eu" for your location, "ZEC-ADDRESS" for your zcash wallet address (transparent address) and lastly replace "-t 8" for the number of threads you want to use




Part 4 - Mine with your GPU

In order to use the nicehash miner to mine with your GPU, you need to specify the numbers of Graphic cards you're using (starting from 0)
Step 1: Open the "nheqminer_zcash" file


Step 2: In order to start mining with your GPU type or paste the following command with the required modifications:

nheqminer_zcash.exe -l eu -u ZEC-ADDRESS -t 0 -og 0

Replace "eu" for your location, "ZEC-ADDRESS" for your zcash wallet address (transparent address) and lastly replace "-og 0" for the number of GPUs you're using (as in -og 0 1 2 if you're using 3 GPUs)





Part 5 - Mine with CPU and GPU

That's right, you can use both! With most cryptos this would be wasteful, but since the Equihash algorithm is "CPU-friendly", mining with both GPU and CPU is currently profitable. All you need to do is keep both the CPU threads (-t) and the GPU numbers (-og)
Step 1: Open the "nheqminer_zcash" file


Step 2: In order to start mining with your GPU type or paste the following command with the required modifications:

nheqminer_zcash.exe -l eu -u ZEC-ADDRESS -t 0 -og 0

Replace "eu" for your location, "ZEC-ADDRESS" for your zcash wallet address (transparent address), replace "-t 8" for the number of threads you want to use, and lastly replace "-og 0" for the number of GPUs you're using (as in -og 0 1 2 if you're using 3 GPUs)





That's it! You are now a zcash miner! But no one needs to know about it though, that's the magic of zero knowledge proofs - learn more.