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We have compiled ccMiner 1.7.4 tpruvot’s fork Windows binary in a version with the optimal settings for mining Vanillacoin (VNL) on more recent Nvidia-based GPUs as suggested by Alexis Provos and with his performance optimizations as implemented by tpruvot in the latest code. This Windows binary is a 32-bit one compiled with CUDa 6.5 and only with Compute 3.5 support as apparently this provides the optimal performance at least on Maxwell-based Nvidia GPUs (Faster than using Compute 5.2 on them). Below you can also see a comparison that we did with Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 from Gigabyte (WF3OC) and a reference design Gigabyte GTX 980 Ti to see the difference in performance with the regular version when using CUDA 7.5 and Compute 5.2 and with the optimized CUDA 6.5 and Compute 3.5 version available for download below. Do note that although this binary will work with other algorithms as well as the Blake 256 8-rounds used by VanillaCoin it may not provide the optimal performance for other algorithms as it is targeted to provide the best VNL mining hashrate.
GeForce GTX 970 – CUDA 7.5 Compute 5.2
Default – 2490 MHS @ 164 W
Intensity 25 – 2535 MHS
Intensity 26 – 2637 MHS
Intensity 27 – 2692 MHS
Intensity 28 – 2718 MHS
Intensity 29 – 2722 MHS
Intensity 30 – 2729 MHS
Intensity 31 – 2732 MHSGTX 980 Ti – CUDA 7.5 Compute 5.2
Default – 3390 MHS @ 211 W
Intensity 25 – 3797 MHS
Intensity 26 – 3884 MHS
Intensity 27 – 3986 MHS
Intensity 28 – 4009 MHS
Intensity 29 – 4043 MHS
Intensity 30 – 4075 MHS
Intensity 31 – 4132 MHSGeForce GTX 970 – CUDA 6.5 Compute 3.5
Intensity 31 – 2942 MHS @ 177 WGeForce980 – CUDA 6.5 Compute 3.5
Intensity 31 – 4418 MHS @ 238 W
Do note that increasing the intensity over the default setting (no manual -i intensity option used) even on a regular release will provide some increase in performance as you can see in our comparison going up to the maximum supported intensity of 31. Have in mind that increasing intensity also makes the system a bit less responsive the higher you go and at 30/31 it will be lagging more, but the extra performance gain you will get with the optimal binary and higher Intensity setting is significant, so for a dedicated mining rig for VanillaCoin you should definitely go for it.
Update: This particular performance optimization is for VanillaCoin’s Blake256 8-rounds implementation, the CUDA 6.5 and Compute 3.5 compilation of the particular CUDA code for that algorithm give better performance than Compute 5.0 or 5.2. The CUDA code is different for other Blake 256 algorithms, including the one for Decred’s Blake-256 14-rounds implementation, so do not expect performance increase in others. In fact specifically for Decred, a 64-bit compilation with CUDA 7.5 and for Compute 5.x does seem to provide best performance with the publicly available ccMiner 1.7.4 fork from tpruvot.
– To download the ccMiner version 1.7.4 by tpruvot for VanillaCoin mining for Windows OS…
- Published in: Mining Software
- Related tags: Alexis Provos, alexis78, ccminer, ccMiner 1.7.4-git, ccMiner 1.7.4-git tpruvot, ccMiner 1.7.4-git windows, ccMiner CUDA 6.5, ccMiner tpruvot, ccminer vanilla, ccminer vanilla download, tpruvot, Vanillacoin, Vanillacoin Blake256, Vanillacoin Blake256 miner, Vanillacoin ccminer, VNL, VNL Blake256, VNL Blake256 miner, VNL ccminer
We have mentioned when the test stake pool for Decred (DCR) was released about two weeks ago and now the development team has announced that the staking pool is live on the mainnet. The stake pool allows you to purchase tickets and have the pool redeem and vote on your behalf without having to send actual coins to the pool or having your local wallet online and unlocked 24/7 for the Decred staking. Do note though that in both cases your staking coins used for ticket purchase remain locked. The development team also promises that the source code of the staking pool will be released to the public in a week from now, meaning that we are probably going to see some more alternative Decred staking pools becoming available soon after that.
Staking in Decred works in a similar way to a lottery, you purchase tickets with the available DCR coins you have or the amount you want to use. Ticket price started at 2 DCR and it changes based on users staking, though it is currently pretty high priced at about 14 DCR, so you might want to carefully choose the timing when to purchase tickets. Then you need wait for your ticket to be randomly chosen to validate a block or to be taken out of the lottery in 142 days if you do not win anything. The coins you use for staking (purchasing tickets for the lottery) will be locked until they are either chosen and you get your staking reward or 142 days pass . According to the information available the lottery lasts about 28 days average and the chance of a ticket not being selected in 142 days are less than 1%, but since it is all luck based your results may vary.
Do note that the staking pool is just making it easy for you to participate in the PoS phase of Decred mining, the staking rewards in the pool remain personal, so every participant is staking just like he would using a local wallet (you still need to have a local wallet to authorize the pool to vote and stake on your behalf). We are yet to see Decred staking pool becoming available where participants will play to win together and the rewards will be shared equally between all participants, so this will probably be the next step in DCR pool staking that we might be seeing further down the road.
– For more information and to try the official Decred Stake Pool now running on the main network…
- Published in: General Info
- Related tags: DCR, DCR PoS, DCR stake pool, Decred, Decred coin staking, Decred PoS, Decred Stake Pool, Decred staking, enablestakemining, Proof of Stake, Proof of Stake Pool
NiceHash has recently added Ethereum support (Dagger-Hashimoto algorithm) to their service for leasing or renting hashrate and now they have released an updated version of the NiceHash Miner to support it along with some more new algorithms. NiceHash Miner 1.3.0.0 (source) adds support for Ethereum mining for AMD and NVIDIA GPUs as well as support for Blake256r8, Blake256r14 and Blake256r8vnl algorithms for AMD and NVIDIA GPUs. The application switches automatically between the currently most profitable algorithm and makes mining with the CPU or AMD/Nvidia GPUs an easy task for novice users bringing in the highest return for the miner. The application essentially leases your hashrate to users that are willing to pay for it and you get paid directly in Bitcoin. This means that you no longer need to follow exchange rates and to manually trade different crypto currencies, however this also means that directly mining and exchanging a given crypto currency at the right time might be more profitable than to lease your hashrate.
– To download the latest version 1.3.0.0 of the NiceHash Miner software for Windows OS…