March 29, 2024

Chia mining guide on SSD and HDD disks: setup and calculator

Chia mining guide on SSD and HDD disks: setup and calculator

Today we will take a closer look at how to run Chia cryptocurrency mining on SSD and HDD drives, under the operating roomWindows system. Let's create a wallet and generate Rafts, which we will place on hard drives.

You've probably already heard about the new virtualChia Network coin (XCH), claiming to be the “Bitcoin killer”. Chia is one of the newest cryptocurrencies that debuted this year. The project was founded by Bram Cohen (who also invented BitTorrent), and its main goal is to become the most energy-efficient digital asset. Let's look at what the next rival of Satoshi Nakamoto's coin is.

Chia cryptocurrency mining

Chia mining farm for cryptography processinguses the resource of SSD and HDD drives, and not the computing power of graphics adapters or devices on integrated circuits, as more common blockchain currencies such as BTC and ETH. And, so mining Chia coins is a banal plotting, experienced miners will say, so what is revolutionary here?

Well, first of all, the requirements for mining Сhiamuch higher than previously launched cryptocurrencies with a similar method of generating new blocks. And secondly, no such project has caused so much hype. Over the past few weeks, Chia's popularity has grown so rapidly that it has caused a shortage of hard drives and SSDs in China that could soon be repeated in the US and around the world. The reason for this is a very well-run marketing campaign.

Key points in favor of a new blockchain project:

  1. If cryptocurrencies that do not have fundamentalAs values ​​such as Dogecoin rise in value fueled by hype (Dogecoin has no coin limit and can inflate indefinitely), it seems likely that Chia's price will rise as its popularity grows. The issue of a new digital asset is strictly limited and amounts to21 million coinslike Bitcoin.
  2. Chia uses a new consensus algorithm“Proof of Time” (Proof of Time or PoST) which essentially proves that you have unallocated space on your HDD/SSD that can be used to create rafts. This is a big improvement, in terms of efficiency, over the proof-of-work algorithm. When writing the source code for this cryptocurrency, the equally unique programming language Chialisp was used.

Will Chia be able to displace Bitcoin, or at leastAt least, taking a worthy place among altcoins is still only a guess. But let's move directly to the main topic of our review and look at how to start mining the Chia coin.

At the time of this review, he had already enteredtrades, so we will be able to calculate a very real, and not a hypothetical profit. The mining profitability calculator for Chia can be opened by clicking on the link https://chiacalculator.com/.

Chia mining guide on SSD and HDD disks: setup and calculator

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XCH mining can be compared to farming.The miner downloads specialized software from the official project website https://www.chia.net/ru/ and conducts a “seed campaign” on his information storage devices.

Each sown sector is called plot, which intranslated from English means "a piece of land", but its owner is called "a farmer." To generate a new block, the system broadcasts a set of codes to the farmers and each of them checks its plot in search of a suitable hash sum. The more “sown fields” you have, the higher the chances of closing the block. But at the same time, your iron must be sufficiently productive, otherwise the process of seeding the rafts will be greatly delayed and you will always be outstripped by farmers with more efficient "agricultural machinery".

When using proof of time (Proofof Time), it is necessary that the period of broadcasting calls between blocks be as short as possible. After all, proof of time is implemented in practice using the Verifiable Delay Function (VDF). Cryptographic calculations take a certain period of time, but are verified instantly.

The key idea behind the Verifiable Delay Function isthe need to carry out sequential computational operations on a set of parallel nodes, each of which is equivalent. At the same time, energy costs are minimized. The fastest and most powerful nodes of the network will be called Timelords (Time Lords). The developers assume that there will not be very many such VDF servers, which will exclude the appearance of controversial blocks. The fastest timelord will consistently finish first, closing the block and moving the chain forward, and competition between the Time Lords will help keep the network decentralized.

That is, unlike Bitcoin, which was initially mined on almost any dual-core CPU,Chia mining hardware requirements are initially quite highand with the growing popularity of green coins, they will be even more serious. So what does it take to build a farm?

Chia mining hardware

Chia mining guide on SSD and HDD disks: setup and calculator

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According to the developers, any userwho has a desktop computer, laptop, mobile phone or an account in the corporate network can participate in XCH farming. You just need to install the necessary software and have enough free space to create at least one raft, and then you can find the hash sum to close the next block and get a reward. Theoretically, this is quite possible, but it happens very rarely.

Ready assembly for Chia mining

To receive a guaranteed income from mining Chia, you need:

  • Quad-core processor with a clock speed of 1.5 GHz;
  • 2 GB of RAM;
  • Hard drive with a minimum capacity of 1TB.

It would seem that everything is very simple and inexpensive, but you are unlikely to earn anything on such an assembly. Here is one of the budget build options for Chia farming presented on the Miningclubinfo forum:

  • MotherboardGIGABYTE B550 AORUS MASTER;
  • CPUAMD Ryzen 9 5900X;
  • HDDSEAGATE Ironwolf Pro ST16000NE000 16 TB HDD SATA III 3.5;
  • HDDWD Purple WD82PURZ, 8 TB, HDD, SATA III, 3.5;
  • SSD driveSAMSUNG 980 MZ-V8V1T0BW 1 TB, M.2 2280, PCI-E x4, NVMe;
  • Memory modulePATRIOT Viper Steel PVS464G300C6K DDR4— 2x 32GB 3000, DIMM, Ret 2 sticks of 32 GB, frequency 3000 MHz.

With this set of components you canget to work. Although the total volume of hard drives is, of course, small and with a 1TB SSD, 32GB of memory will be used inefficiently. This miner will soon have an urgent need for additional seeding areas. Let's take a closer look at the hardware selection process.

Choosing an SSD and HDD disk

Chia mining guide on SSD and HDD disks: setup and calculator

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In an XCH mining rig (this is the trading ticker for the Chia cryptocurrency), the most important element is the disk drive.Winchesters smaller than 1TB shouldn't even be considered... It is not recommended to buy devices withthe spindle speed is lower than 7200 rpm. We need capacious and fast HDDs with SATA3 interface. They are used directly to create rafts, each of which will be the standard 101.4Gib size. Disks will be formatted with NTFS, APFS, exFAT, ext4 file systems. But the FAT system is not suitable for plotting.

SSD drives are used to createtemporary files, from which “seeding” then occurs. They have faster read/write speeds, which greatly improves your chances of being the first to find the next block. You can buy both SSDs with a SATA3 interface of any size (2.5 inches or M.2), and NVMe SSDs connected to M.2. But keep in mind that different M.2 connectors on the motherboard support different types of SSDs (both SATA and NVMe).Read the motherboard specification carefully so as not to waste your money.

There are also more expensive server servers on sale.drives with increased wear resistance, but for now we will not seriously consider them. It is unknown what the fate of this crypto project will be, so the costs of creating a farm are greatly overestimated. Also, pay attention to the recording method. It is best to take ordinary disks that work according to the CMR scenario. And heredrives using SMR are slower and less reliable.

The best choice is size 3.5.2.5 laptop disks have worse mechanics, which means they have less resource. You can still buy a 1Tb WD Purple HDD for 4450 rubles. Larger drives are already slowly snapping up.

As for the auxiliary SATA SSD drive, we advise gamers to leave models with memoryQLC. The ideal option would be to rememberdevices with MLC flash memory, but in order to save money, it is quite possible to use an SSD with TLC memory. An equally important component is the controller. Firstly, it must support a DRAM buffer, and secondly, it must withstand multiple data rewrites without failures.We can recommend SATA controllers Samsung, Silicon Motion (not XT), Marvell 88SS1074.

If you decide to buy NVMe, then keep in mind thatFor drive types, the controller gets quite hot and requires additional cooling. Otherwise, follow the same requirements as for SATA SSD.To increase the service life of solid statedrives are strongly recommended not to fill them by more than 85% of the total. Consider this when buying. And don't forget to buy another additional small SSD that will host the operating system. This is a mandatory requirement, otherwise mining will not start.

CPU

Chia Farm doesn't need an expensive gaming CPU. A stone operating at a frequency of 3 GHz and cooled by an ordinary boxed cooler is enough.

It must have at least 4 cores, and preferably 6 (ormaximum 8), and integrated graphics. Of course, you can connect a video card, but then you will take up a PCI-e slot, which could be useful in the future for connecting another hard drive. For example,Intel Core i5-9400F BOX

RAM

Put more memory, minimum 2 GB. But 16 GB is better, and serious farmers immediately put 32 GB. Two 16 GB DDR4 bars with a frequency of 3200 MHz will be enough.

Motherboard

The most important thing when choosing a motherboard isSATA3 and USB 3.0 support. It should have as many ports as possible for connecting an HDD. Old boards from the secondary market will not work, buy modern ones. For example,MSI Z390-A Pro.

Installing the official program

Chia mining guide on SSD and HDD disks: setup and calculator

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So, you have decided to start mining the Chia token,assembled the farm and installed the OS. What's next? Now you need to download a complete copy of the blockchain. Go to the official website https://www.chia.net/ and click the green button “Install chia blockchain".

Direct download link for Windows client: https://download.chia.net/latest/Setup-Win64.exe

Chia mining guide on SSD and HDD disks: setup and calculator

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You will see the project page on the serviceGithub, where you can download a complete node compatible with your operating system. We must pay tribute to Chia's team, they are not busy with efficiency. The coin has appeared quite recently, and software has already been released for almost all popular axes.

Full nodes are available for:

  • Windows (64bit);
  • macOS;
  • Ubuntu / Debian;
  • CentOS / Red Hat / Fedora;
  • Raspberry Pi 4;
  • Docker;
  • FreeBSD Install;
  • Ubuntu Binary Install;
  • OpenBSD Install.

For advanced users, there is special software for running a Chia node in a virtual environment, for example, on an Amazon cloud server.

For this, we have prepared detailed instructions: How to mine Chia cryptocurrency on the Amazon AWS cloud computing platform?

Since Chia Code Signing Certificate isnew, the software will be classified as "unsafe". You will have to forcibly save the download, and when you start the installer, you will need to select "Additional information" and "Run anyway".

Wallet

Chia mining guide on SSD and HDD disks: setup and calculator

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Well, where to store coins, someone will asknewbies. Like any other cryptocurrency, a full Chia node is a copy of the blockchain and a wallet that will receive rewards after you start mining.

Setting up plotting

Plotting is divided into two stages of creating parcelsor, to put it another way, plotting, and processing plots. The first step creates all of your evidence of free space by building seven cryptographic hash tables and storing them in a temporary directory.

Then this data is sorted and packed in a temporary directory and after that the dataset is moved to the final destination on the HDD.

Choosing the size of the raft (plot)

First you need to choose a size.The optimal option is k32, it will take 108.8 GB, and to create it you will need 256.6 GB of temporary space on the SSD. Specify the number of rafts based on the size of one area and the volume of storage tanks.

Chia mining guide on SSD and HDD disks: setup and calculator

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Set up hardware to maximumperformance can be done using the "Advanced Options" section. To reduce the load on the RAM, you can add more "baskets", that is, split the temporary file into a larger number of fragments. But keep in mind that the more baskets, the stronger the load on the SSD. Therefore, if you have 32 GB of RAM, it is better to reduce the number of baskets, on the contrary, by reducing the number of I / O requests for temporary files.

The number of processor threads depends on the numbersimultaneously created rafts. 1 stream is needed for 1 section. It is better not to touch the “Disable bit field” item. Reverse bitfield sorting is faster and can save up to 12% of total writes, although it requires more RAM. “Queue name” can also be omitted. But when errors appear in the plotting log, the name of the queue will help you figure out exactly when the failure occurred.

Chia mining guide on SSD and HDD disks: setup and calculator

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After everything is configured, click "Create a parcel»And the process of creating a raft will be launched. It can last from 4 to 12 hours, depending on the parameters of your equipment.

Chia mining guide on SSD and HDD disks: setup and calculator

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Parallel seeding

To get the maximum TB per day,you can build several graphs in parallel. The key is to correctly calculate the capabilities of your farm based on the size of the parcels, space for temporary files, the number of processor threads, and the amount of RAM.

Popular bugs

  • Let's talk about the pitfalls that inexperienced users most often come across.
  • Remember to set the power supply to maximum performance. If the computer goes into hibernation, the process will have to start over. The same goes for blackouts.
  • The path to the storage and the temporary folder cannot be written in Cyrillic, the program understands only the Latin font.
  • Be sure to create a separate directory on the disk, you cannot just write Disk C, the program will not understand you
  • Always run the Chia node as administrator.

If a failure occurs, then first try restarting the plotting, and if it does not help, delete the program folder in Windows / Users and then start the process again.

We have listed the simplest mistakes of beginner miners, let's move on to more complex cases.

ErrorRuntimeError: Unknown exceptionoccurs for various reasons. It can be:

  • Russian letters to indicate the path to the directory.
  • Placement of the folder for temporary files on the same disk with the operating system.
  • Incorrect distribution of iron resources.

An error often occurs due to insufficient memory on the plotting disk. Carefully calculate the permissible number of rafts, otherwise you may see a message at the end of the logRuntimeError: bad allocation... On a 1TB SSD, you can create a maximum of 3 parcels at a time.

If you did not listen to our recommendations and still checked the “Disable bit field” checkbox, then it is quite possible that an error will appearCaught plotting error: Bitfield plotting not supported by CPU... Uncheck this box and you should be fine.

It is recommended to check the finished plots forintegrity using PowerShell. Open the program and specify: C: Users "Username" AppDataLocalchia-blockchainapp-1.1.2resourcesapp.asar.unpackeddaemon

And then rewrite the path, indicating the drive and the name of the folder in which the generated rafts are located. If there are no mistakes, everything is in order, the "broken" area needs to be re-seeded, otherwise it will not yield a crop.

If there is no synchronization, try deleting inall available connections in the program interface. They will automatically update and areas synced to the network will be highlighted in green. In principle, you can start creating new rafts even before the end of the synchronization of your node. To speed it up, try opening port 8444 on your computer and on your router.

Available exchanges for selling coins

Chia mining guide on SSD and HDD disks: setup and calculator

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As of 05/12/2021, Chia cryptocurrency can be exchanged on the following exchanges:

  • Gate.io;
  • OKEx;
  • XT.COM;
  • MXC.COM;
  • BKEX;
  • DigiFinex;
  • LBank;
  • AOFEX;
  • Bibox.

The current rate, current exchange pairs and other information are available on the resource https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/chia-network/markets.

Profitability and payback

But is the game worth the candle?How profitable is the mining of this cryptocurrency? Recently, an article was published on the Overloker.ru portal entitled: "It's too late to get Chia Coin." The author calculated that to build the Chia mining farm, which will bring in 1 coin in 18 hours, the farmer must spend at least 1,200,000 rubles, or $ 16,263 at the current exchange rate.

At the same time, he assumed that one coin would becost $ 30. However, on May 12, one Chia token was sold on OKEx for $ 1069, and a couple of days before that the rate was even higher. The truth and complexity of mining is constantly growing and at the time of this writing, such a farm will mine one coin in three days. But still, the profitability is beyond praise.

Chia mining guide on SSD and HDD disks: setup and calculator

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Small farmers have already begun to form pools. Find available ones at https://miningpoolstats.stream/chia.

Calculation calculator

Chia mining guide on SSD and HDD disks: setup and calculator

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Сhia will help to calculate the current profitmining calculator https://chiacalculator.com/. All you need to do is drag the slider and set the number of rafts you are sowing to see the approximate time in which you can earn one coin.

Where is it more profitable to exchange cryptocurrency? TOP-5 exchanges

For a safe and convenient purchase of cryptocurrencies with a minimum commission, we have prepared a rating of the most reliable and popular cryptocurrency exchanges that support deposits and withdrawals of funds inrubles, hryvnias, dollars and euros.

The reliability of the site is primarily determinedtrading volume and number of users. By all key metrics, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world is Binance. Binance is also the most popular crypto exchange in Russia and the CIS, since it has the largest cash turnover and supports transfers in rubles from bank cardsVisa / MasterCardand payment systemsQIWI, Advcash, Payeer.

Especially for beginners, we have prepared a detailed guide: How to buy bitcoin on a crypto exchange for rubles?

Rating of cryptocurrency exchanges:

# Exchange: Website: Rating:
1 Binance (Editor's Choice) https://binance.com 9.7
2 Bybit https://bybit.com 7.5
3 OKEx https://okex.com 7.1
4 Exmo https://exmo.me 6.9
5 Huobi https://huobi.com 6.5

The criteria by which the rating is set in our rating of crypto-exchanges:

  • Work reliability&#8212; stability of access to all functions of the platform, including uninterrupted trading, deposits and withdrawals of funds, as well as the duration of the market and daily trading volume.
  • Commissions– the amount of commission for trading operations within the platform and withdrawal of assets.
  • Feedback and support– we analyze user reviews and the quality of technical support.
  • Convenience of the interface– we evaluate the functionality and intuitiveness of the interface, possible errors and failures when working with the exchange.
  • Platform Features– availability of additional features &#8212; futures, options, staking, etc.
  • final grade– the average number of points for all indicators determines the place in the ranking.

Conclusion

Will the Chia cryptocurrency be able to replace Bitcoin?hard to tell. So far this is far from a fact, and most likely unlikely. But it has been a long time since there has been a project in the blockchain industry that caused such a strong reaction from the media. When this article was written, the hashrate of this network was 3.88 EB (4019898.88 TB). Three weeks ago  ten times less.

If it goes on like this, the price of toughdisks will skyrocket, and if the project goes bankrupt, the losses of miners will be simply enormous. True, it is worth noting that Chia is far from the only crypto coin available for plotting, there are 8 more similar projects.

However, you should not count on instantaneousexcess profit. It is becoming more and more difficult to extract Chia, equipment is becoming more expensive and liquidity is not very high. If the green coin is listed on Binance and a couple of other reputable exchanges, then you can safely invest money in mining, or simply add it to your investment portfolio. However, you should not consider the opinion of the author of the article as the ultimate truth. Whether to invest money in this project or not is everyone’s personal choice.

Chia mining guide on SSD and HDD disks: setup and calculator

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