Worth it to use FX CPUs?

[Crunchy Dragon]

Hello,

 

I've been reading up on all of this folding/mining stuff here on the forums, and I've noticed that people recommend having a free CPU core per GPU. Now this got me thinking, would it be a good idea to buy a used 6-8 core FX-based system and throw some GPUs into it for mining? I'm planning out my mining rig(I have no money for projects like this, but I like to plan things a lot so here I am). I was thinking maybe get 6 used Radeon HD series cards and an FX-6300 based system off craigslist or ebay. And probably a good PSU, I'm aiming for at least 80+ Platinum rated so I'll have to cash out quite a bit on one of those(again, only planning).

 

Would that be a good idea?

[ShadySocks]

I thought they were avoided because of their power use...

[Crunchy Dragon]

Just now, ShadySocks said:

I thought they were avoided because of their power use...

I hadn't fully considered that, I figured if I got a good enough PSU such as an AX1500i or HX1200i from Corsair I should be fine.

[Enderman]

2 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

I hadn't fully considered that, I figured if I got a good enough PSU such as an AX1500i or HX1200i from Corsair I should be fine.

I don't think you understand...
You will LOSE money mining with high power consumption.

[Crunchy Dragon]

Just now, Enderman said:

I don't think you understand...
You will LOSE money mining with high power consumption.

So basically don't use an FX cpu?

[Enderman]

Just now, Crunchy Dragon said:

So basically don't use an FX cpu?

Basically don't waste your time or money mining.

[mariushm]

If you mine Ethereum, it's pointless to mine using your processor. You'll only mine using your video cards. 

 

Right now, I'm mining ETC (Ethereum classic) using my RX 470 and it's doing around 1.4 euro every couple of days, so about 30-40$ a month.  The electricity bill is probably be around 5$ more, so the profit is around 25-30$ a month.

 

Older video cards are not as powerful and won't mine as fast, so you may get let's say an older R9 280 or something like that, it would be cheaper to buy but you'll only make 20-25$ a month with it and it would eat 2 or 3 times as much electricity, so instead of paying 5$, you'd pay 10$ on electricity, leaving you with a profit of 20$ - 10$ = 10$ a month.

 

Don't forget that 8 cards eating 100-150 watts each will produce a lot of heat, so you'll also have to cool your house / room which may cost you a few dollars as well. Now it's winter so it won't be as bad, but in the summer you notice it.

 

Do your research before buying cards from eBay, it's often not worth it.. too much power used for too little profit.

 

// You can use an FX, it's just that it will pointlessly eat a lot of power even when idling just passing some bit of data from the software to the video cards and back ... they'll eat 30-50w while you could use an intel celeron that will only eat 10w or so. If you want to make as much profit and you have multiple such systems and  you run the systems 24/7, the extra power used by fx processors would add up.

 

[Crunchy Dragon]

2 hours ago, mariushm said:

-snip-

Thanks, I was mainly asking if it would be a good idea since I've seen recommendations to have one free core per GPU, I'm not planning on having my CPU do anything other than allow the machine to run and a few other things.

[lieder1987]

24 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

Thanks, I was mainly asking if it would be a good idea since I've seen recommendations to have one free core per GPU, I'm not planning on having my CPU do anything other than allow the machine to run and a few other things.

I dont think that you need any real CPU power available. I am running mining and other things on my 4790k and barely hitting 4%

[Ithanul]

First thing, folding and mining are two far different applications.

In folding, yes, one core per GPU and a core for OS ensure best output of PPD (point per day).  Also, you don't make money while folding.  The whole point to F@H is to do work units that are used in research for cancer and other illnesses.

 

Mining don't quite hit the GPUs and CPU like folding does.  So, a big multi-core CPU is not a huge requirement to do mining.  The trick with mining is fine tuning for best performance to watt ratio while trying to make profit.  This where being able to measure wattage used by components along with price per kilowatt helps figure out daily cost of running a mining rig.

[SansVarnic]

Mining Profit is what you get after what you spend in electrical use and equipment aquisition is taken into account.

Be that the FX series CPU is horrible on electrical use, not to mention heat and what it will take to cool your home because of it (add that to your cost) you are going to be at a loss not a gain.