CGMiner 3.7.2 is a classic, open-source GPU miner originally designed for Bitcoin-style SHA-256 mining that was later extended (in some forks) to support scrypt-based coins like Litecoin. It’s a command-line tool prized for stability, low resource overhead, and wide hardware compatibility in its era.
Extract CGMiner to a folder (e.g., C:\Miners\cgminer-3.7.2 ). Create a new text file and rename it to start_litecoin.bat . Right-click and edit.
To understand the significance of , you must understand the fork in mining history. Con Kolivas, the original developer, maintained CGMiner as the ultimate multi-purpose mining tool. However, around late 2013/early 2014, the Scrypt ASIC revolution began (Gridseed, Zeusminer, etc.).
Now, we will write the commands that control CGminer. CGMiner 3
. A standard configuration for a Litecoin pool might look like this:
setx GPU_MAX_ALLOC_PERCENT 100 setx GPU_USE_SYNC_OBJECTS 1 cgminer.exe --scrypt -o stratum+tcp://://example.com -u YourWorkerName -p YourPassword --intensity 13 --worksize 256 -g 1 --thread-concurrency 8192 Use code with caution.
This is a critical setting that defines how work is divided across the GPU. The wrong value can crash the miner or cause severe performance loss. A good starting point is to set --thread-concurrency to a multiple of the number of shaders your specific GPU has. For example, an AMD 7970 has 2048 shaders, so one might start with --thread-concurrency 8192 . Create a new text file and rename it to start_litecoin
8192 , 14208 , 15232 , or 21712 .
Before you even download CGminer, you must prepare your Windows environment to ensure the software can access your GPUs correctly.
The official CGminer README notes that "Scrypt mining... is completely different to sha256... it has very different requirements to bitcoin mining and is a lot more complicated to get working well." It also warns that if you "start scrypt mining with the --scrypt option, cgminer will fail IN RANDOM WAYS. They are all due to parameters being outside what the GPU can cope with." Con Kolivas, the original developer, maintained CGMiner as
Because the official download location now only offers source code or ASIC-only versions, finding a stable Windows executable of 3.7.2 requires navigating community hubs or Github mirrors. That said, the software remains the gold standard for legacy Scrypt mining rigs.
: Many antivirus programs flag cgminer.exe as a "Potentially Unwanted Application" (PUA) or Trojan because it is frequently used by malware. If you downloaded it from a reputable source, you will likely need to add an exception to your antivirus.
cgminer --scrypt -I 13 -g 2 -w 256 --thread-concurrency 15232 --gpu-engine 1131 --gpu-memclock 1500
: It offers granular control over hardware, allowing you to tweak thread-concurrency fan speeds directly from the command line. Open Source completely free and open-source means transparency and no hidden licensing fees. Key Features for Scrypt Mining
