# Mining cryptocurrencies with FreeBSD



## nepumuk-fs (Oct 13, 2018)

I'd like to try mining one or more altcoin(s), but I read that mining is reducing the lifespan of my PC.
I don't want to ruin my machine, but I also would like to give it a try.
Is FreeBSD more effective in mining than GNU/Linux? Does it depend on the OS at all (excluding MS Win, for it is an inefficient OS in general)?

I don't know wether I'm right in this forum.


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## drhowarddrfine (Oct 13, 2018)

nepumuk-fs said:


> I read that mining is reducing the lifespan of my PC


Stay away from every forum where you've read this. It's full of 15-year old kids. I'm betting it was reddit.


nepumuk-fs said:


> Is FreeBSD more effective in mining than GNU/Linux?


Absolutely!


nepumuk-fs said:


> Does it depend on the OS at all


No.


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## jb_fvwm2 (Oct 13, 2018)

I've not seen any inclusive setup guides for FreeBSD, fwiw...


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## ShelLuser (Oct 13, 2018)

jb_fvwm2 said:


> I've not seen any inclusive setup guides for FreeBSD, fwiw...


Probably because those guides would not really add much. Take Bitcoin: it makes little difference if you're setting this up on Linux, Windows or FreeBSD. On FreeBSD all you'd need is net-p2p/bitcoin, and the process of (de)installing software is already covered in the handbook.

As for the Bitcoin software itself: that too is already documented on the Bitcoin website as well through some documentation which is included with the software.

So why make new guides when there's already so much information available?


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## nepumuk-fs (Oct 14, 2018)

drhowarddrfine said:


> Stay away from every forum where you've read this.


I'm not the kind of person who searches first in forums... But nice try ;-) Indeed, it was no forum, but several "how to" or "guide" sites / articles.
No offence, but who tells me btw that you're no troll...?


drhowarddrfine said:


> I'm betting it was reddit.


I don't trust reddit at all, btw.


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## kpedersen (Oct 14, 2018)

nepumuk-fs said:


> I'm not the kind of person who searches first in forums... But nice try ;-)



nepumuk-fs : I think you misunderstood drhowarddrfine's post. He wasn't suggesting that searching forums was a bad idea; very much to the contrary they are an asset that *should* be a first port of call if you are unsure about something (forums and mailing lists are very useful in the BSD world). What he was suggesting was to stay away from forums where the members are inexperienced and have potentially naive views on how computers work.


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## drhowarddrfine (Oct 14, 2018)

kpedersen said:


> What he was suggesting was to stay away from forums where the members are inexperienced and have potentially naive views on how computers work.


Exactly.


nepumuk-fs said:


> No offence, but who tells me btw that you're no troll...?


I've been around for nearly 15 years. Before this forum existed. Before the "other" forum existed.


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## ShelLuser (Oct 14, 2018)

nepumuk-fs said:


> No offence, but who tells me btw that you're no troll...?


His post amount, the fact he's still active _and_ the fact that no other forum veteran contradicted any of his statements with facts and/or arguments.


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## sidetone (Oct 14, 2018)

nepumuk-fs said:


> Is FreeBSD more effective in mining than GNU/Linux?





drhowarddrfine said:


> Absolutely!



So, net-p2p/cpuminer can mine with a GPU or ASIC device now?


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## drhowarddrfine (Oct 14, 2018)

sidetone Haven't a clue but I will say this off-topic comment.

The restaurant I just sold sits two blocks from the headquarters of one of the largest financial institutions in the world, AG Edwards. It also sits less than a mile from the HQ of Scottrade (now TD America) along with several financial support companies. Needless to say, it gets a lot of customers who work for those two places and, to mention, my nephew is now in finance for Amdocs. To a person, I've been told to stay away from crypto currency. One person even told me that, in two years, bitcoin will be dead.

Having said that, I need to say I know nothing about it beyond the stock trading I used to do and an untrustworthy glance at what backs bitcoin and other crypto currency.


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## Crivens (Oct 14, 2018)

sidetone said:


> So, net-p2p/cpuminer can mine with a GPU or ASIC device now?


Not that I know. But a CPU only miner should see no real difference.


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## sidetone (Oct 14, 2018)

The types of computations needed for bitcoin to verify data are similar to the types of computations needed for complex graphics. So you need a Radeon, Nvidia or Intel GPU for that. Then there's an FGPA which is more efficient. ASIC miners check hashes, better than a CPU, or that a GPU can't do. Someone made an analogy that a CPU was a decision maker that distributed tasks, and the GPUs were good at heavy duty and plentiful work that didn't require decision making. Same for ASIC miners. At the beginning a CPU could be used, but to mine now, there will be quick competition from GPU's, ASIC's and FGPA's making the difficulty increase quickly that a CPU won't compete with.

Offtopic: I see potential use in ASICs useful for something other than cryptocurrency, for comparing content files.

I think Bitcoin will survive as a token, or artifact. It has faults, but will be gone when a better currency comes along. Faults of it include limited set stock, that early comers have a disproportionate advantage in its value, that distribution is still otherwise disproportionate based on who has more hardware, that verifying payments takes too long, high fees for transactions, the lost coins by hacks, and that it's commonly used as an artificial stock.

The head of a major banker criticized it (I think it was Chase), discouraged employees from using it, and IIRC said he would reprimand high level employees from using it. Then what do you know? He drove the value down with that statement, then hypocritically went in and bought Bitcoin to cash in on it. But apart from this, many statements against Bitcoin are based in reason, and are valid. It can be pointed out what an executive (CEO iirc) banker did to manipulate for greed and use existing wealth to disproportionally gain more. Warren Buffet has a reasonable and thoughtful argument about gold, that money, time and energy is spent to dig it up, then money, time and energy is spent to bury and guard it, in what can be referred to as intrinsic value. I don't remember if Buffet criticized cryptocurrency, but at least he usually believes what he says. 

A cryptocurrency will survive, but as far as I know, one without inherent problems hasn't been created yet. Or maybe there will be difficulty in that, as an organization will control it from the start, unless there's a "fair" consortum, or that a motivation will be profit in a newly created stock.

The problem of wealth distribution in cryptocurrency is similar to that in hard or gold currency.

There aren't many practical uses for it, but you can buy legitimate websites with Bitcoin.


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