GPU and Motherboard OEMs Readying Components Optimized For Cryptocurrency Mining (hothardware.com) 77
MojoKid writes: With the popularity of upstart cryptocurrencies like Ethereum on the rise and the value of well-established currencies like Bitcoin steadily increasing, there is new-found interest in cryptocurrency mining. As such, there is another run on AMD and NVIDIA GPUs, which is driving up prices. In an effort to prevent the same kind of GPU shortages that happened in the past, reports have surfaced claiming that AMD and NVIDIA are both readying stripped-down graphics cards, specifically targeting cryptocurrency miners. At Computex, ASRock also announced a new motherboard targeted at cryptocurrency miners, the ASRock H110 Pro BTC+. The ASRock H110 Pro BTC+ is packing 13 PCI Express slots -- twelve x1 slots and one x16 slot -- to accommodate as many graphics cards. ASRock didn't specify pricing or when the H110 Pro BTC+ will be available, however. And the reports that AMD and NVIDIA graphics card for mining will be made available sometime at the end of the June are as yet unconfirmed.
Ethereum (Score:3)
Or is this something like scrypt (before that goes to asic too)
Scrypt *has gone* ASIC too.
(Except, due to it being a key derivation function, not hash, even with its very conservative parameters, isn't as easy as sha256 to accelerate.
ASIC Scrypt isn't many order of magnitude faster than GPU Scrypt - unlike sha256. But its much more power efficient)
Ethereum is the *current hot stuff* for GPU. And is even more tuned against ASIC than Litecoin's Scrypt.
Primecoin is another exemple which is currently mainly mined on GPU (which actual scientific use in the results).
But abov
Re: (Score:2)
But above all, these motherboards and "light" GPU are also extremely useful for scientific computing, (specially for task which are more GPU than memory-bound, where the PCIe x1 isn't limiting).
(Which I think was the primary target market before the marketing department decided to run for it with buzzwords).
And the machines can also be used for much more nefarious purpose : that is also a very good hardware platform for comp
Yep. A year or two back my company was contacted by one of the GPU manufacturers to see if we wanted to perhaps demo one of their no-output GPUs. They were giving away a couple for research purposes, and we weren't doing anything worth them giving us hardware.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Fuck off. Cryptocurrencies are better than all current legal tenders.
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah, I sure do love my cash to be more volatile in value than any stock I own. Not to mention, it's great how I can't spend it in any of the places I visit on a daily basis.
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah, I sure do love my cash to be more volatile in value than any stock I own.
Since it is generally volatile in an upward direction, it has worked out well for me. I bought my stash when it hit $1 back in 2011. It is currently at $2800.
Re: (Score:2)
Until it stabilizes to the dollar and other regular currencies, nobody will use it as a currency. That's how currencies work. People need to trust when they sell you something for X amount that that X amount will be the same next week and next month.
People who carry on about how much the value has increased since they 'bought in' are arguing against mainstream adoption.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
That's called deflation, isn't it?
No, the bitcoin supply is still inflating by 1800 coins/day. The price is simply going up due to increased demand. I agree that volatility is bad for a currency, but I don't consider bitcoin a currency. I think it's best compared to "digital gold". You can store it, and trade it, but it's not really practical for day to day replacement of fiat money.
Re: (Score:2)
Time has come to yank government out of the business of money, since that's where it derives its subversive power from. Toss it all out to cryptocurrencies, and let that become the basis of all transactions
Re: (Score:3)
Don't bother with disingenuous statements about dollars being used for criminal activity.
Oh please, I would much rather a world ruled by cryptocurrencies than the current banking system, talk about organized crime!
Re: (Score:1)
not to mention the amount of energy pissed away mining these pointless tokens.
Re: (Score:3)
You know, like all other currencies...
Re: (Score:2)
not to mention the amount of energy pissed away mining these pointless tokens.
The mining centers are in Iceland and the US Pacific Northwest, where nearly all the energy comes from hydropower. So mining just means the water is flowing to the sea slightly differently.
Bitcoin mining is way better for the environment than gold mining.
Re: (Score:2)
That has no relation to the truth at all.
Most cryptocurrency mining happens in China.
Re: (Score:2)
Banning them won't do anything. Do you understand how cryptocurrencies work?
You realize they are currently being used to free humanity from government capital controls and asset thievery?
They are a unmixed 'good thing', unless you're an authoritarian.
Re: (Score:2)
Cryptocurrencies are a solution to government imposed currency controls.
For example: Without Bitcoin chinese citizens would be limited to about $50,000/year in money they can get out of China. Chinese citizens diversifying their holdings will make the eventual crash of the Chinese economy less severe. Sure they are overpaying for west coast USA real estate, but not nearly as much as they would have to overpay for Chinese real estate (the Chinese people, culturally and historically, love to invest in land
Re: (Score:2)
Undocumented pharmacists? You mean people operating meth labs?
Re: (Score:3)
Cryptocurrencies are a solution to government imposed currency controls.
For example: Without Bitcoin chinese citizens would be limited to about $50,000/year in money they can get out of China. Chinese citizens diversifying their holdings will make the eventual crash of the Chinese economy less severe. Sure they are overpaying for west coast USA real estate, but not nearly as much as they would have to overpay for Chinese real estate (the Chinese people, culturally and historically, love to invest in land.)
Another example: Hardworking undocumented pharmacists were having trouble getting their money out of the USA, Bitcoin solves that too.
FWIW, you don't buy "land" in china the same way you buy land in the US (or other countries), in china the govt owns the land.
You can of course buy the condo or house on land, but not the land itself (which is governed by a 20-70 year land-use contract). Presumably that contract will be renewed when the land-use contract has expired (or maybe not) and some property-tax like fee will become due (which is unclear since the laws that allowed for this were only passed in 2007). There are also restrictions in
Re: (Score:2)
In China rent doesn't come close to covering mortgage payments/property tax (hence they tend to leave 'investment units' empty). In America they are at least of the same order of magnitude to start, rent will cover the mortgage inside 10 years (for almost all purchase years).
Re: (Score:2)
Only children deal in trite fictional morality. In the world their are many shades of grey of 'absolute'. Some rare ones are pure black/white.
Re: (Score:1)
Banning them won't do anything. Do you understand how cryptocurrencies work?
Yeah, generally when the government tries to protect people from their own stupidity, the "solution" is poorly implemented and doesn't end well. Maybe if the slimmest prospect of becoming wealthy didn't make most people immediately shut their brains off, we wouldn't need the nanny state to step in.
You realize they are currently being used to free humanity from government capital controls and asset thievery?
Damn, I almost choked on my covfefe there. So, you're telling me the government can't seize cryptocurrency? I guess this must be fake news [theguardian.com], or something.
The primary uses of cryptocurrency are enabling rich peop
Re: (Score:2)
The government can seize anything they know exists and can put their hands on. Bitcoin is excellent in that respect. There are no bitcoin wallet sniffing dogs.
I kind of agree with you about people that hold bitcoin, that is _not_ it's purpose. It's about evading border controls on capital and tracking of transactions. That is enough. Volatility isn't such an issue when you're only going to hold it for a day or less before converting it into (cash/land/drugs/women/booze/influence).
Re: (Score:1)
I kind of agree with you about people that hold bitcoin, that is _not_ it's purpose. It's about evading border controls on capital and tracking of transactions. That is enough. Volatility isn't such an issue when you're only going to hold it for a day or less before converting it into (cash/land/drugs/women/booze/influence).
The people who need to be evasive with money transfers generally aren't up to much good. It's a bit like saying "Pirate Bay is great because it allows a parent to easily replace their legally purchased copy of The Little Mermaid, after their kid accidentally broke the DVD." Well, yeah, but we know that's not what the majority of their userbase is doing.
I mean really, enabling malware authors to get paid and making it easier to fund terrorism really doesn't look good on Bitcoin's résumé.
Re: (Score:2)
Lock your systems down. Don't browse as admin. Don't expose naked windows machines on the net. Duh. If the dude only wants one bitcoin, and you learn...
I don't buy for a second that serious criminal organizations ever had much trouble moving cash. 'Fund terrorism'...oh noes...he said magic words...I peed 'em.
Bitcoin just levels the playing field for the little criminal.
Re: (Score:1)
And thanks to the touchpad on my laptop, I accidentally posted as anon. Wonderful.
Re: (Score:1)
If the dude only wants one bitcoin, and you learn...
Well yeah, that genie isn't going back in the bottle. If cryptocurrency suddenly went *poof* overnight, ransomware authors would start asking for cash in the mail, prepaid phone cards, western union transfers or who knows what else. But Bitcoin did for ransomware what PayPal did for eBay - made it a whole lot easier to get more people in on the action.
I don't buy for a second that serious criminal organizations ever had much trouble moving cash. 'Fund terrorism'...oh noes...he said magic words...I peed 'em.
I'm sure terrorists, criminals, and other ne'er-do-wells have their ways of moving cash without Bitcoin. They did it just fine before Bitcoin. I just have a h
Re: (Score:2)
As you note: the world's 'most undesirable' already knew how to move money.
The 'bad criminal use of bitcoin' (money laundering) will never outweigh the 'good criminal use of bitcoin' (evading capital controls).
Think about the nations that impose capital controls. They are all corrupt kleptocracy shitholes, evading capital controls is a basic human need for the citizens of those nations that don't have the influence to be 'guaranteed wins'. Children of the Chinese central committee members don't need bi
Re: (Score:2)
Oh noes...he said 'magic words'...I peed 'em again.
Re: (Score:2)
Additionally.
Pirate bay IS great...
Don't be a moron.
Re: (Score:2)
Do you understand how cryptocurrencies work?
That one is easy; they don't. At least not as a currency. (But perhaps you could call them "cryptoassets"?)
Re: (Score:2)
One great justification: once everyone can mine bitcoins or other cryptocurrencies, it will fill in the demand of universal basic income, and let people w/o jobs make the money they need to live, and more.
If anything, cryptocurrencies should replace national currencies, that are usually manipulated by their governments via their central banks
Is non custom hardware still viable for mining? (Score:4, Interesting)
Of course back when I was playing with it I purchased a couple of hundred dollars worth of graphics cards, mined about the same amount value in bitcoins, sold them and came out about $50 ahead - I was pretty proud of my self back then. Probably should have saved those 50 BTC...
Re:Is non custom hardware still viable for mining? (Score:5, Insightful)
I just played with one of the mining profit calculators (https://99bitcoins.com/bitcoin-mining-calculator/), and if you steal the hardware and only have to pay for the electric, then you could make a couple bucks a week, assuming bitcoin prices don't collapse down to something like $1000/BTC.
In other words: Not really, and even WITH custom hardware I'm guessing that you can't easily make a buck if you pay for your own electricity.
I think the best way to make money in Bitcoin mining is to sell stuff to Bitcoin miners.
Re: (Score:2)
You can make about $250/mo mining Ether, Zcash, etc.
Re: (Score:2)
Useless information without knowing the capital and ongoing costs.
How much for the machines and how much for the electricity?
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
I just played with one of the mining profit calculators
...which fail to take into account that the difficulty is constantly increasing, which means you'll have to continuously steal even more mining hardware if you want to turn a profit.
If you want to make money in cryptocurrency, forget mining - the real money is in starting your own exchange, waiting for it to get popular, claiming it was "hacked" and making off with everyone's BTC. That, and ransomware. But be warned, there will probably be a special place in hell reserved for ransomware authors, right nex
Re: (Score:2)
fail to take into account that the difficulty is constantly increasing
The first 3 I found in a search had either pre-filled the current difficulty, or had a field for you to select the difficulty.
Re: (Score:1)
The first 3 I found in a search had either pre-filled the current difficulty, or had a field for you to select the difficulty.
Yeah, they'll factor in the current difficulty but don't show you what your profitability (or lack-thereof) will be as the difficulty increases. It's kind of like calculating simple interest vs compounded interest. So, unless you're living in a Groundhog Day time loop and will always be mining at today's difficulty, you can't use a mining calculator to determine long-term profitability.
Now, it's entirely possible to perform a statistical analysis on the average rate of difficulty increase over time and fa
Re: (Score:2)
Exactly.
The only way to make money with standard equipment is if you steal it. You know, malware that installs a mining client on your PC and steals CPU time. You're paying the bills, someone else gets the benefit.
The only other way to do it is to sell the equipment to do the mining. Hell, I saw a funny ad the other day - a company that rents out "cloud computers" for mining! (Bitcoins, specifically). You rent out their
Re: (Score:2)
malware that installs a mining client on your PC and steals CPU time
I did some math back in January. A Core i7 3930k can do about 66 MEGAhash/sec. Playing with the profit calculator showed a CPU miner will generate about $0.001196/month. So, a botnet with 100k nodes would get you about $120/month. High end AMD GPUs would bump that up by about 5x, but I expect there are a lot less of those available. Seems there would be much better ways to put said botnet to use. That doesn't take into account any difficulty changes, or the recent price surge, so YYMV.
Re: (Score:2)
So what you're saying is that I only need to commit a heist to get all this gear, and then get a 12 kW solar array installed on my roof complete with a Tesla PowerWall, and then I'll be rich! (after paying for the off-grid solar setup)
Yeah, seems like a huge waste of resources.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Giza is tiny town (Score:1)
We're gonna build fantastic pyramids, the best pyramids! Nobody will have bigger pyramids than us!
Optimus? (Score:2)
It seems like a GPU without any video outputs would still be useful when paired with something like NVidia's Optimus technology. Since all the consumer Intel CPUs have GPUs on them anyway, it means that you could pipe the video data back to have the Intel GPU display it. The same thing that they're already doing for laptops, but for desktops this time.
Exactly how much money is saved by omitting the video output ports?
and that can be limted by the pci-e bus (Score:2)
and that can be limited by the pci-e bus
Re: (Score:2)
And the 'California Gold Rush' wasn't even very much about gold. They had just bought/stolen the West Coast from Mexico and needed to rapidly shift a bunch of US Citizens there. Convincing a lot of rubes to rush across the continent was easy. "Gold! Gold!"
Going to be a great business for the GPU vendors (Score:2)
What a great idea. I can imagine the sales pitch. Spend $1200 on a GPU then waste lots of energy to mine the shitcoin of the week. Great business model. It will work very well for the vendors of hardware.
Ummm... Nvidia Tesla? OpenCL? GPGPU? (Score:2)