Mac workstations are stable and include a powerful graphics processing unit or GPU. This begs the question, how can you mine Ethereum on a Mac, and is it a good idea? If Apple computers have high end GPU’s packed inside, what’s to keep you from using the GPU to mine Ethereum when you’re not using it to edit the latest blockbuster movie? There are several issues that make mining on a mac a bad idea.
- Mac workstations are small and limited to a maximum of 2 GPU’s
- Apple hardware is expensive compared to equivalent PC hardware. When mining Ethereum, you want the cheapest, most powerful hardware to maximize return on your investment
- There aren’t many mining software options for Mac
If you want to get started with Ethereum mining to make money, check out our popular Ethereum Mining Rig Build Guide.
If however, you have a Mac and want to just experiment with Ethereum mining for fun and no profit, here’s how to accomplish this.
How to Mine Ethereum on Mac
- Download the ethminer software.
- Check which GPU you have in your Mac by opening Terminal and typing:
$ ./ethminer -G –list-devices
Make a note of which GPU’s you have - Start mining using the following Terminal command:
$ ./ethminer -G -S YOUR_MINING_POOL_ADDRESS -O YOUR_MINING_POOL_WALLET_ADDRESS –opencl-device 1 (or whatever number was assigned to your GPU in step 2) - Press ‘Enter’ and your Mac should start mining immediately
- To get advanced help and support in the ethminer software, enter the following command:
$ ./ethminer –help
Sidenote: If mining isn’t your thing, and you are just interested in purchasing some cryptocurrency as part of your investment portfolio, I personally use and recommend FTX Global Crypto Exchange (Use FTX US if a US resident)
