Path: csiph.com!v102.xanadu-bbs.net!xanadu-bbs.net!feeder.erje.net!eu.feeder.erje.net!newsfeed.fsmpi.rwth-aachen.de!news-1.dfn.de!news.dfn.de!fu-berlin.de!uni-berlin.de!individual.net!not-for-mail From: wjwlsn Newsgroups: comp.misc Subject: Using supercomputers for crypto-coin mining Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2014 01:23:33 -04-59 (UTC) Lines: 19 Message-ID: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8Bit X-Trace: individual.net mMxeRP5bs2m/Y2h5NsLrfwvIuuUd60xCouNjIz1/Mfkev1/CXm Cancel-Lock: sha1:y0HcGALP1puJr0O1WMJQtScvSMk= User-Agent: NewsgroupsRT/Version 9 Xref: csiph.com comp.misc:685 It apparently takes a lot of work to mine for crypto-currencies like BitCoin, or my personal fave, DogeCoin. It's actually so much work now that using general purpose CPUs is completely fruitless, and even GPU-based mining is falling out of favour. However, what if you had access to a supercomputer? You could buy your own for around $45k: "http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Cray-XD1-Supercomputer-System-5-Chassis-Rack-60-x-Opteron-2-2GHz-Super-Computer-/191068522653?pt=US_Vintage_Computers_Mainframes&hash=item2c7c92489d" The problem with that option, beyond the initial cost, will be the expense of actually running and maintaining the thing. (Do you have spare parts for a Cray just laying around?) Instead, what if you could just "borrow" somebody else's supercomputer for a while? They're already paying for it anyway, right? They probably won't even notice! "http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/02/harvard-supercomputing-cluster-hijacked-to-produce-alt-cryptocurrency/" Or maybe they will... uh oh. -- Now frequenting comp.misc daily in a prolonged fit of netstalgia.