Ethereum GPU mining?

[beginner99]

Ethereum price is still in free fall it seems. I think a rebound in the long term is likely, but maybe this will cool off the sharp difficulty increases.

If you aren't some kind of crazy miner with 500mh/s or much more don't worry about difficulty increases. if you want to cash out big you need to buy directly. And now is the time to get things set up so you can buy before it rises again.

I think it will continue to fall a bit, to around $4. There is nothing besides trading that can be done right now with Ether. Trading volume has been shrinking (like half) compared to around peak value. Less demand, less value. If it is low enough, a second wave of buyers will come in, the ones that were cautious before the previous peak/bubble. That will stabilize the price. And then it will be "constant" for some time as most "technical" users by then will have invested or decided not to. It will probably take couple years for it to take of just like with bitcoin.

 

[DrMrLordX]

I think holding eth right now is the way to go. What I'm looking forward too is PoS, and I want to have at least 100 eth (preferably more) by the time that rolls around. Should be very interesting to see what is possible then . . .

 

[Madpacket]

It needs a killer application like bitcoin gained from certain illegal activities or VHS got with porn. I don't expect it to be the same as bitcoin and I don't expect one to replace the other. The difficult nature of Ethereum development is a unique opportunity and I see a lot of advantages for whatever organization (criminal or otherwise) develops the killer app.

OK thanks for clarifying, I completely agree and also suspect the "killer app" will be something we never really expected to happen. Ethereum needs something unique (like MAID) that offers real value to the user and the contract owner. The nice thing about Ethereum is a competent developer can pretty much create anything (including the functionality of all current altcoins).

And I also agree with beginner99 about the ease of use being super important. You to remember Bitcoin was pretty terrible to manage early on but got much better so hopefully the lessons learned will be carried over quickly to Ethereum (I think they will).

 

[EightySix Four]

I think holding eth right now is the way to go. What I'm looking forward too is PoS, and I want to have at least 100 eth (preferably more) by the time that rolls around. Should be very interesting to see what is possible then . . .

It's my understanding that PoS means that by holding ETH you have a random chance of being paid out for each ETH you own, is that correct? Seems almost like being paid interest in a way, but it will encourage currency hoarding as opposed to spending, because you're not only spending ETH but the opportunity cost associated with the possibility that it would generate more ETH.

I'm interested to see what that ends up looking like for a crypto currency.

 

[beginner99]

I think holding eth right now is the way to go. What I'm looking forward too is PoS, and I want to have at least 100 eth (preferably more) by the time that rolls around. Should be very interesting to see what is possible then . . .

It's my understanding that PoS means that by holding ETH you have a random chance of being paid out for each ETH you own, is that correct? Seems almost like being paid interest in a way, but it will encourage currency hoarding as opposed to spending, because you're not only spending ETH but the opportunity cost associated with the possibility that it would generate more ETH.

I'm interested to see what that ends up looking like for a crypto currency.

I recently read some stuff about it. Supposedly you need a certain amount of eth to stake. The minimum mentioned was 1500...So pretty big sum. But the more shocking thing is that on case of network issues you could actually lose it all. You need DDos protection and it's up to you to get that. So staking is basically off the table for the average user.

 

[thilanliyan]

I recently read some stuff about it. Supposedly you need a certain amount of eth to stake. The minimum mentioned was 1500...So pretty big sum. But the more shocking thing is that on case of network issues you could actually lose it all. You need DDos protection and it's up to you to get that. So staking is basically off the table for the average user.

That wouldn't stop you from buying or selling at an exchange even when it switches to PoS right?

 

[EightySix Four]

I recently read some stuff about it. Supposedly you need a certain amount of eth to stake. The minimum mentioned was 1500...So pretty big sum. But the more shocking thing is that on case of network issues you could actually lose it all. You need DDos protection and it's up to you to get that. So staking is basically off the table for the average user.

There's some serious irony to me about all of the people who think blockchain technology is going to democratize currency but building a system where only the "wealthy" can generate more wealth.

 

[DrMrLordX]

I don't think there's going to be an absolute minimum for PoS, but we'll see how it really works out. The bottom line is that it's going to encourage people to have a minimum stake if they want to make more eth at that point, and yes there's a chance to lose the stake if you put your stake on the wrong block. Or at least, that's what it looked like to me.

 

[beginner99]

There's some serious irony to me about all of the people who think blockchain technology is going to democratize currency but building a system where only the "wealthy" can generate more wealth.

That is the main problem of PoS. The more you can stake the more you make. The rich get richer.

 

[MrTeal]

That is the main problem of PoS. The more you can stake the more you make. The rich get richer.

The poor also get richer though. It's also not exactly different than proof of work, it's just more obvious.

 

[wege12]

Would it be possible to mine at full speeds using these small PCIE slots shown below, specifically with a riser/adapter?

 

[MrTeal]

Would it be possible to mine at full speeds using these small PCIE slots shown below, specifically with a riser/adapter?

Yep, PCIE bandwidth is tiny for mining.

 

[wege12]

Yep, PCIE bandwidth is tiny for mining.

Just what I wanted to hear. Thanks!

Know of any quality/reliable risers that you would recommend?

 

[n0x1ous]

All command prompt, but it's not too bad. There are three tools you're going to want:

Geth
Eth-proxy
Ethminer
Mist

cd to the Geth folder
"geth account new"
set password for your account
"geth --rpc --fast"

This will download the blockchain. Open Mist, the Ethereum wallet GUI app, and you can see the progress of the blockchain download. It's big and will take a while.

You'll need to edit eth-proxy's config file based on what mining pool you want to join. ethermine.org seems to have the lowest fees right now and has configuration instructions on their faq page here: http://ethermine.org/faq. Your wallet address can be found in Mist.

Open a second command prompt, change into your eth-proxy directory and execute the exe. Be sure to check the output and make sure it's mining to the correct pool (it says the URL it's connecting to at the top).

Lastly, open another command prompt and CD to the Ethereum *version number*\release directory inside of program files. Run the following (you can change the 390s to the name of your mining rig)

ethminer -G --farm-recheck 200 --cl-global-work 16384 --cl-local-work 256 -F http://127.0.0.1:8080/390s

This will start mining using eth-proxy. Add a "-M" if you want to run a benchmark.

Im pretty much up and running. What does the farm recheck and cl global work signify/do?

 

[EightySix Four]

Im pretty much up and running. What does the farm recheck and cl global work signify/do?

farm-recheck is how many milliseconds it waits before a check for changed work. Eth-proxy says in their testing 200 is most successful using the proxy.

cl-global-work sets the OpenCL global work size. The default is lower than optimal for Radeons. Earlier in the thread someone gets more specific about it if you want to dig.

 

[Feld]

Just what I wanted to hear. Thanks!

Know of any quality/reliable risers that you would recommend?

Get powered risers that use USB 3.0 data cables. Much more reliable than ribbon cables.

 

[n0x1ous]

farm-recheck is how many milliseconds it waits before a check for changed work. Eth-proxy says in their testing 200 is most successful using the proxy.

cl-global-work sets the OpenCL global work size. The default is lower than optimal for Radeons. Earlier in the thread someone gets more specific about it if you want to dig.

How to check what my actual hashrate is? Go by what the pool reports or average based on each work line from the cmd prompt.

I had been getting around 24 MH/s from what I could tell (stock clocked reference 290) via those two methods, but it seems like there should be a better way.

Thanks again.

 

[beginner99]

The poor also get richer though. It's also not exactly different than proof of work, it's just more obvious.

But at a much slower rate eg. the gap widens. For a "free, unregulated" currency it sounds very similar to capitalism and whats happening all around the world, rich get richer at an increasing rate.

 

[beginner99]

That wouldn't stop you from buying or selling at an exchange even when it switches to PoS right?

Yes. Does not affect selling/buying directly but maybe it's price. After a switch to PoS i would be cautious or at least keep an eye on the market because if an error is found prices will come crashing down very fast.

 

[DrMrLordX]

How to check what my actual hashrate is? Go by what the pool reports or average based on each work line from the cmd prompt.

I had been getting around 24 MH/s from what I could tell (stock clocked reference 290) via those two methods, but it seems like there should be a better way.

Thanks again.

Just some unsolicited advice, but I would recommend that you use --cl-local-work 256 --cl-global-work 16384 for your 290. You should be able to push it to 25-25.5 MH/s at stock speeds.

But at a much slower rate eg. the gap widens. For a "free, unregulated" currency it sounds very similar to capitalism and whats happening all around the world, rich get richer at an increasing rate.

I'm not sure that's really what's going to happen, but it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

 

[EightySix Four]

Just some unsolicited advice, but I would recommend that you use --cl-local-work 256 --cl-global-work 16384 for your 290. You should be able to push it to 25-25.5 MH/s at stock speeds.

That is the odd part, he is using them.

Run the same Ethminer command but add a -M to run a benchmark. My average hashing rate over 24 hours is always a tad bit lower than what my benchmark scores are, but not by much.

 

[DrMrLordX]

Oh okay. Hmm, not sure why he's only getting 24 MH/s then.

 

[n0x1ous]

Clarification, I was getting 24 before using the cl local work 256 and global work 16384. From my quick glance at things, after using these, the gpu utilization is more consistent and its moving through work more quickly.

I will run the benchmark and see. thanks guys

 

[Crono]

Heads up to my fellow Ubuntu/*buntu users with AMD cards: there's no fglrx/catalyst for Ubuntu 16.04, Xenial Xerus, and it doesn't look like there will be. Just found this out when trying to put daily build of Xubuntu running off flash drive on a new R9 390 build, and couldn't get the fglrx-updates driver as I usually would through "Additional Drivers" or apt-get.

 

[MrTeal]

But at a much slower rate eg. the gap widens. For a "free, unregulated" currency it sounds very similar to capitalism and whats happening all around the world, rich get richer at an increasing rate.

The gap widens in absolute terms, but stays the same in relative terms. Keep in mind, just like money in the bank, it's the Eth itself doing the useful work. If I put $1000 into a savings account at 3%, I'll earn $30 a year. If you stick $100,000 into a similar account, should you also earn $30 instead of $3000? Maybe instead we could split it, and each of us would earn $1515 in interest on our account? That would keep the gap the same.