Scientific computing with a crypto mining rig
Second Chance
Lots of retired Bitcoin mining computers are showing up on the second-hand market for cheap. Could these once-impressive machines have a second life in scientific computing or machine learning?
Despite the steady increase in computing power from one generation to the next, computers are rarely fast enough for their users. Over the years, programmers and PC vendors have found ways to speed them up. If you know exactly how a computer will be used, you can design it to maximize performance and minimize cost.
Crypto rigs are created with only one task in mind: to perform the arcane mathematical computations associated with crypto mining. The crypto gold rush has led to a rapid evolution of the technology – a mining unit that was competitive a few years ago might already be obsolete. For instance, a few years ago, mining rigs made extensive use of Graphics Processing Units (GPUs); in more recent years, Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) and then Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) have replaced graphics cards. Crypto mining has also experienced a bit of a downturn recently due to environmental fears and instability of the larger economy.
As a result of these and other factors, mining rigs are increasingly ending up on the second-hand market, where you can buy them relatively cheaply even if you are not a professional user. Could one of these rigs serve another role?
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
TuxCare Announces Support for AlmaLinux 9.2
Thanks to TuxCare, AlmaLinux 9.2 (and soon version 9.6) now enjoys years of ongoing patching and compliance.
-
Go-Based Botnet Attacking IoT Devices
Using an SSH credential brute-force attack, the Go-based PumaBot is exploiting IoT devices everywhere.
-
Plasma 6.5 Promises Better Memory Optimization
With the stable Plasma 6.4 on the horizon, KDE has a few new tricks up its sleeve for Plasma 6.5.
-
KaOS 2025.05 Officially Qt5 Free
If you're a fan of independent Linux distributions, the team behind KaOS is proud to announce the latest iteration that includes kernel 6.14 and KDE's Plasma 6.3.5.
-
Linux Kernel 6.15 Now Available
The latest Linux kernel is now available with several new features/improvements and the usual bug fixes.
-
Microsoft Makes Surprising WSL Announcement
In a move that might surprise some users, Microsoft has made Windows Subsystem for Linux open source.
-
Red Hat Releases RHEL 10 Early
Red Hat quietly rolled out the official release of RHEL 10.0 a bit early.
-
openSUSE Joins End of 10
openSUSE has decided to not only join the End of 10 movement but it also will no longer support the Deepin Desktop Environment.
-
New Version of Flatpak Released
Flatpak 1.16.1 is now available as the latest, stable version with various improvements.
-
IBM Announces Powerhouse Linux Server
IBM has unleashed a seriously powerful Linux server with the LinuxONE Emperor 5.