Crypto miners drive high demand for AMD processors with large L3 cache

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Now that the crypto miners and their cronies have managed to take all of our precious GPU stock, it looks like they’re now turning to something else gamers treasure: powering the AMD processor. Part of the reason it’s so hard to find a current generation AMD processor for sale, according to a report published in Bitcoin Press in the UK, is because of a cryptocurrency called Raptoreum which uses the processor to mine. instead of an ASIC or GPU. Apparently, its mining is significantly sped up by the large L3 cache built into processors like AMD Ryzen, Epyc, and Threadripper.

Raptoreum was designed as an anti-ASIC currency because they wanted to keep the more expensive hardware solutions off their blockchain because they believed it reduced profits for everyone. To do this, they chose the Ghostrider mining algorithm, which is a combination of Cryptonite and x16r algorithms, and they added a unique code to make it highly random, hence their preference for L3 cache.

In case you didn’t know, AMD’s high-end processors have more cache than their Intel competitors, making them a must-have for miners of that specific currency. For example, a chip like the Threadripper 3990X has a 256MB L3 cache, but since it’s a $ 5,000 processor, miners are happy with the still beefy Ryzen chips. A processor like the Ryzen 5900X has a generous 64MB L3 cache, compared to just 30MB on Intel Alder Lake processors and just 16MB on 11th gen Intel chips. Several AMD processor models also have this much cache, not just the flagship silicon, including the previous generation Ryen 9 3900X processor. Truly affordable models, like the 5800X, however, only have 32MB of L3 cache.

According to the Raptoreum Mining Profitability Calculator, a single AMD 5950X can generate 181 Raptoreum per day, which at its current price is around $ 4. This means that you could theoretically pay off the cost of the processor in about six months, excluding electricity costs. AMD processors are also favorable in this situation, not only because of their L3 cache, but also because of their excellent performance per watt, as they have been more efficient than Intel chips for some time now, although the company is hoping of course change that. with Alder Lake. Still, Bitcoin Press notes, “Rough power consumption estimates for the Ryzen 9 3900X system are rated at 190W with OC settings,” which is probably better than any processor currently on the market.

To make matters worse, AMD’s next update for its Ryzen processors will include the addition of V-cache, which is a vertically stacked L3 cache on the chip, with 64MB per chip. These L3 upgrades will certainly make its chips even more desirable to Raptoreum miners, assuming the currency still exists when the updates arrive in early 2022.

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