GPU
Salad supports most dedicated graphics cards from recent product generations that possess at least 2 GB of VRAM. This means that GTX 1000-series NVIDIA GPUs (or greater) and R9 300-series AMD GPUs (or greater) should work, though some GPUs in either category may not be supported due to insufficient core power.

Examples of supported GPUs:
- GTX 1650
- RTX 3070
- Radeon RX 470
- Radeon RX 6700xt

CPU
Salad supports most 64-bit x86 CPUs produced within the past decade, provided that they meet our CPU cache requirements of 2 MB of CPU L3 cache per CPU core. If you are unsure about the size of your CPU cache, try looking up your CPU model online and reading the manufacturer's specs.In order to operate with CPU Mining mode enabled, Salad also requires a minimum of 3 GB of installed system RAM, with at least 2.3 GB of that RAM to be free at any given time. We recommend having at least 4-6 GB installed to use CPU Mining on Salad.

Examples of supported CPUs:
- Intel Core i5 8300H
- Intel Core i7 11700k
- AMD Ryzen 5 4600u
- AMD Ryzen 7 5800x

Salad won’t tax your hardware any more than playing your favorite AAA game title would. Consumer graphics processing units (a.k.a. "graphics cards" or GPUs) and central processing units (CPUs) are designed to run at peak performance 24/7.

With proper physical maintenance, using Salad should never adversely affect your PC. If you still have doubts, feel free to check out this article on whether mining will damage your GPU (spoiler: it won’t), or read this one about running Salad on your CPU.

We recommend that all Salad Chefs keep their corners of the Kitchen tidy to ensure the best performance. You should regularly clean your gaming PC and ensure adequate airflow, as dust build-up and poor access to fresh air are the primary causes of overheating.

Salad will never harm your gaming PC or spoil your privacy. If your antivirus software has blocked Salad, it is likely because the third-party cryptomining libraries we use under the hood are often mistaken for malicious software, despite being shared or otherwise trustworthy open-source apps. To learn more about why this happens, check out this helpful article.

The amount of electricity Salad uses will vary depending on your hardware and your active Chopping mode. If you are running Salad with CPU Mining activated, it could draw anywhere from 15 watts (on a relatively low-powered laptop CPU) to over 300 watts (on a shiny new Intel Alder Lake CPU). With GPU mode enabled, Salad's usage could range from 40 watts (on a laptop GPU like a GTX 1650) all the way to 350 watts or more on the latest high-end GPUs from AMD or NVIDIA.

If you're not sure about the average power draw of your specific hardware,  consult the manufacturer's docs so you can make an informed choice about using Salad on your machine.

When suping it up with Dual Mining mode, you should expect your power draw to be roughly equal to the combined power draw of your GPU and CPU. These figures may be subject to change if you decide to overclock or underclock your system. If you choose to use an overclocking utility application, we advise that you check your actual power draw there.

Your Salad Balance earnings are influenced by three factors: the capabilities of your hardware (especially your GPU or CPU processing power), current cryptocurrency market conditions, and how often you Chop on Salad. Every PC earns at a different rate due to the nature of blockchain. Generally, the faster your PC can perform its computational cuisine, the more Salad Balance you can expect to earn.

After leaving Salad to Chop for a short while, we’ll display an estimate of how much you could earn over time directly within the Salad app.

With CPU mining activated, Salad is utilizing your CPU at maximum efficiency, which leaves little room for other applications to run. If you're using this option to earn, we advise closing all other background applications to maximize your profits. Because some CPU models have limited resources available, not all CPU models will reach maximum usage. You can read more on our Machine Compatibility page.

With GPU mining activated, Salad will fully utilize your graphics processing unit (GPU) or "graphics card" while running. This means that applications which rely on your GPU—like games, media creation apps, or cryptominers—may not run smoothly, if at all. Since most web browsers and light-use programs like Microsoft Word don't rely on your GPU, applications such as these should run just fine while Salad Chops away in the background.

With Dual Mining enabled, your PC is dedicating the whole enchilada to making you more Salad Balance. We strongly advise against using your PC with this setting enabled. It’s unlikely you’ll be able to run much, and Salad is most profitable when you're AFK.