Building Plotting Rig

Chia Plotting
#1

Hi ChiaForum members,

I´m building my first plotting rig from scratch. Can you please check the following configuration below?
How many plots in parallel can I run with this?
How many plots for 24 hours?
Will this work for me?

  • PSU 500W
  • Motherboard Asus ROG Strix X570-E GAMING
  • CPU AMD Ryzen 7 3800X 100-100000025BOX
  • DRAM 32 GB DDR4, 2666 or higher
  • 1x Gigabyte AORUS NVMe Gen4 SSD 2TB
  • 1 SSD 2,5" 120 GB Patriot for WIN10

I did some research but I´m still not sure which one of the M.2 SSD´s should I use for plotting:

  1. Gigabyte AORUS NVMe Gen4 SSD 2TB
    VS
  2. Corsair SSD 2TB Force MP600 M.2 NVMe PCIe Gen. 4x4
    VS
  3. SEAGATE FireCuda 520 2TB, ZP2000GM3A002
    VS
  4. PNY XLR8 CS3040 2TB M.2 NVMe 4xGen4
    VS
  5. Patriot Viper VP4100 2TB, VP4100-2TBM28H

Any advice will be helpful. Many thanks.
Robert

#2
1 Like
#3

Hello,
Thanks for your reply.
CPU: (8 + 16)/2 = 12
RAM: 32000/3400 = 9,4
Temp Space is limited by this formula: 2000 GB/256GB = 7,8

#4

So, where your limited is at your temp space. I believe there is a way to stagger to make sure that you could do more. Once files start compressing, it frees up more space.

#5

With that build, you’ll be able to do 8 plots in parallel. You’ll need to delay them about 30-60 minutes

Are you getting an additional NVMe or just one?

To answer your original question, get the NVMe with a good endurance (TBW).

#6

I plan to start plotting with one NVMe and test how does it work for me.

My selected Gigabyte AORUS NVMe Gen4 SSD 2TB has 3600 TWB endurance. I´m just worried about the Chia mining difficulty as the network is growing rapidly. The currently expected time to farm 1 XCH with 1 TiB is 150 days 1 hour 21 minutes 40.6 seconds, and I can see a daily increase!

What do you think how long will be the Chia mining functional with just a few HDDs?
How can some crypto exchanges https://www.hotbit.io/exchange?symbol=XCH_USDT trade Chia (XCH) if this not officially launched yet?
Thanks.

#7

Just curious, why do you add core+thread? 1 core has 2 threads, should it just be “total cpu threads”/2

#8

There is a bit of overhead that you can take advantage of if you do core+thread/2. But it truly is a theoretical maximum. It leaves some threads for the OS, while at the same time trying to push the system to the brink. Also, the plotting works in phases (one through four). Only phase one is affected by the threads value in the plotter. All other phases are single threaded.

#9

Hello beautiful People,
Can I get some help please on how to maximize amount of plots I could pull off? I’m, still researching most efficient way to plot. Would setting 85 min day work in order to plot more than 10 plots?

Intel(R) Core™ i9-10900K CPU @ 3.70GHz = 10 Plots
64.0 GB RAM = 18
2TB NVME + 1TB SSD = 11Plots

1 Like
#10

Im looking for this information as well

While waiting for my nvme to arrive i am going to plot using available hardware

Even would delete my whole windows 10 system to change to ubuntu for plotting

#11

Your CPU can 15 plots no ? 10+20/2 = 15

#12

robi3, the best results will depend on the speed of your NVMe SSD, and you cannot and should not go by the speed ratings on the box or the manufacturer’s web site.

The speed ratings are for the SSD’s cache. Almost all SSDs have cache, that can range from 25 GB to over 100GB. And the cache is what is super fast. Chia will quickly consume the cache, and then your SSD will run at its native speed, which could be slower than a mechanical hard drive.

There are 4 types of SSD NANDs. From fastest to slowest:
SLC, MLC, TLC, QLC.

The “S” stands for single.
The “M” stands for multiple (as in 2).
The “T” stands for triple.
The “Q” stands for quadruple.

I do not know what the “L” stands for. I believe the “C” stands for “cells”.

Most consumer SSDs are TLC and QLC (probably most are QLC – they cost less to manufacture).

The reason that all are very fast, as long as their cache does not get full, is because their cache is made of the more expensive SLC or MLC NANDs.

There are high-end SSDs, and data center and enterprise level SSDs, where 100% of the SSD is made from SLC or MLC NANDs (and you will pay more for those SSDs).

The SLC and MLC SSDs will not slow down. Chia can hammer away on them relentlessly, and they will perform at full speed 100% of the time.

It is hard to find out which fabric is used with SSDs. But for sure, if it is a TLC or QLC SSD, then it will be bad for Chia plotting.

There is a reason why one 2TB SSD costs $250, and another 2TB SSD costs $450.

And by the way, the SLC SSDs will last the longest, followed by MLC, TLC, and QLC.

Cheers!

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