Can Modern Gaming PCs Still Be Used to Mine Bitcoin?

The price of Bitcoin crypto has been a hot topic among market participants, especially with the recent surge to new all-time highs above $70,000. But amidst this development and the evolution of mining technology, an important question arises: can modern gaming PCs still be used to mine Bitcoin? The short answer is yes, they can, but not efficiently. Here’s a full review.

To understand why, let’s delve into the process of mining and the challenges it presents in 2025.

What is Bitcoin mining and what are the difficulties?

Essentially, mining is the procedure 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 consumes a lot of energy – enough to power a US household for more than 10 years. For this reason, the hardware used will determine efficiency and, ultimately, profitability.

From CPU to ASIC: A brief history of mining devices

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 more common due to their higher capabilities. But when ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits) were introduced, efficiency standards changed drastically.

ASICs are designed specifically for mining Bitcoin and are capable of performing tasks much faster and more energy-efficiently than GPUs. Since 2015, ASICs have dominated the mining ecosystem and remain the top choice today. Although 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.

Comparing GPU and ASIC performance: An unbalanced scenario

For example, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 can generate hundreds of megahashes per second. Meanwhile, ASICs like the Antminer S21 Pro can generate up to 200 terahashes per second. To put this difference in perspective, it’s a million-fold difference. In addition, the GPU’s power consumption of 450 watts is not economically viable.

In contrast, ASICs are more energy-intensive (around 3,500 watts) but offer much better 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 implications: Investment vs. return

Considering the cost of electricity, maintenance, and possible hardware damage, mining Bitcoin with a gaming PC in 2025 tends to be economically infeasible. The chances of getting a block solo are slim to none. Joining a mining pool is possible, but the small contribution from the GPU means that the revenue received is also minimal.

Moreover, GPUs are not designed to run continuously for long periods. Continuous mining can accelerate performance degradation, damage components, and void the device warranty.

Cryptocurrency alternatives that are still mineable with a gaming PC

While Bitcoin is not ideal for mining with a GPU in 2025, some other cryptocurrencies are still friendly to gaming PCs. These include:

To determine which crypto is suitable for your device, you can use sites like WhatToMine 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 is key in determining whether crypto mining is still relevant for home users in the current market landscape.