Economis of mining Virtual Currency.
by business_kid from LinuxQuestions.org on (#5466N)
I thought this was the best of several possible places to put this. Moderators, if you disagree, shift it.
People have said that it's not economical to have a pc mine Bitcoin or other virtual currency due to power consumption; With this year's Halving, that would particularly be true for Bitcoin.
PC Economics: Typically 8 core cpu, 2*gpu etc needs a 650-800W PSU, fans, etc which with power supply (in)efficiency would consume over 1KW = 1 unit per hour. Capital outlay would be over 1000 (= $1100). That's uneconomic, so we're told.
I now propose a different scenario. Is this economic? The RazPi 4 has an A-72 Cortex 4 core running @1.5Ghz with a decent FPU & GPU allowing Hard Float compilation (= always use the FPU for Maths operations). Options include 4G, and now 8G Ram. A Flirc case is available with thermal conductivity from chips to case, eliminating the need for a fan.
Power Consumption is 5V3A = 15W with power supply (in)efficiency=20-30W, & capital outlay = 100 - 120. That's at least 8 of these units for the capital outlay of your pc, and 30 of them(!) for the running cost of one pc.
People have said that it's not economical to have a pc mine Bitcoin or other virtual currency due to power consumption; With this year's Halving, that would particularly be true for Bitcoin.
PC Economics: Typically 8 core cpu, 2*gpu etc needs a 650-800W PSU, fans, etc which with power supply (in)efficiency would consume over 1KW = 1 unit per hour. Capital outlay would be over 1000 (= $1100). That's uneconomic, so we're told.
I now propose a different scenario. Is this economic? The RazPi 4 has an A-72 Cortex 4 core running @1.5Ghz with a decent FPU & GPU allowing Hard Float compilation (= always use the FPU for Maths operations). Options include 4G, and now 8G Ram. A Flirc case is available with thermal conductivity from chips to case, eliminating the need for a fan.
Power Consumption is 5V3A = 15W with power supply (in)efficiency=20-30W, & capital outlay = 100 - 120. That's at least 8 of these units for the capital outlay of your pc, and 30 of them(!) for the running cost of one pc.