CPU vs GPU Plotting - Optimisation
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Both plotting options/speeds vary greatly on your hardware.
Using the built on CPU plotter from the AIO wallet (which uses Xplotter) generates the the plots for you all OPTIMIZED. Usually the longest process (unless you have a nice dual xeon setup). Depending on your know-how when it comes to configuring software switches, this is generally what most people use when they first get started.
Using the GPU plotter option with gpuPlotGenerator in BUFFER mode plots in UNOPTIMIZED mode. Plots finish faster than CPU plotting, but the read times of the harddrive will generally be slower when the miner accesses the plots. You will be up and runner quicker, but at a performance cost when mining. It's up to the individual to see if they want to deal with it or not.
Using the GPU plotter option with gpuPlotGenerator in DIRECT mode plots in OPTIMIZED mode. Plots finish slower compared to Buffer mode, but ends up being Optimized just like the CPU plot. Depending on your video card, this usually will finish plotting the drives for your quicker than a CPU plot.
The other benefit of GPU plotting, is that you can plot multiple hard drives simultaneously.
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@maxles @Vneck Thank you for your replies. I recently plotted a 500GB file using GPU plotter in buffer mode, the read time is about 5-7s, is it worth optimising the plot?
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Thats a long read time for a 500gb drive. Give optimization a try it would no hurt for a 500GB drive. Mine reads around 2-3s for a 1tb drive.
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@maxles Ok I will re-do the drive in direct GPU mode then, thank you.
I just have another question based on this thread: https://forums.burst-team.us/topic/588/one-plot-or-many-plot-what-is-best/15
I started a direct plot however my screen has been frozen for quite some time, is this normal? haitch mentioned a "pause" or something...
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I think its normal. What GPU do you have? I think most of GPU plotted device pass by that moment. Just leave it for a while and let the GPU do its thing.
I'm already trying to learn GPU plotting as of this moment got a new 1tb scavenged here from our house to backing up files and will test the GPU plotter once its done.
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@maxles I have a 470 8GB.
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yeah that should work better than mine haha. Got a spare gpu GT 730 though. will test if there will be a significant change in drive plotting. for CPU plotting 1tb drive for me took me more than a day to finish with all cpu dedicated for plotting.
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@maxles Ok thank you I will leave it for a bit then and see what happens.
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I think the cause is that the GPU is utilizing all of resources to plot the drive so it cannot give a proper update on your screen. based on this topic https://forums.burst-team.us/topic/588/one-plot-or-many-plot-what-is-best/8.
If you have any questions regarding GPU plotting lets wait for other GPU plotter users to give you input since both of us still learning a way through. :)
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@maxles said in CPU vs GPU Plotting - Optimisation:
https://forums.burst-team.us/topic/588/one-plot-or-many-plot-what-is-best/8
Great, lets learn together!
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One more thing, if you attempt to do a GPU Direct plot, the ETA will "appear" to freeze shortly after it starts. Then continue again many hours or even a day later (depending on the size). The only way to check if Direct is working, is to check that your available hard drive size is decreasing. With CPU Buffer and CPU plot, the ETA is mostly real-time.
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@Vneck Thanks! I was worried my ETA says 7 years...
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@BigBear Don't worry Superfriend. It will change...eventually.
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Still having issues. Restarted my plot twice because the first time it crashed midway through and the second the computer froze for far too long.
Currently on the third attempt at plotting 1TB using direct mode GPU plotting with an RX470 8GB. Using the x64 version of the GPU plotter as I have an old processor from very early 2010's and x86 gave me problems and didn't want to launch.
12 hours has passed and the 1TB drive in "my computer" is full, however now the terminal just says "generating nonces."
It is very slow and it states that the nonces/minute is about 33 nonces, which is far too low. The terminal hasn't made much progress for the past hour and it is only up to 0.65%.
The command I used to generate this is:
gpuPlotGenerator.exe generate direct E://plots/14080554188928740480_2719200_3809280_8192And the devices are setup like this:
0 0 12288 192 8192Is this normal or is something wrong?
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@BigBear Also my GPU does not seem to be working at all. I have a kill-a-watt installed and I am looking at the power usage at it does not change, nor does my GPU become loaded so that I can hear the fans working. What is going on?
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Try this: 0 0 1024 64 1792
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Or even: 0 0 1024 64 8192
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@Vneck So stop plotting? What is the issue? I had it set to 0 0 8192 64 8192 before and I still had the same problems.
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You know why don't you start very small say 250mb plot. And start with vneck suggest very low settings , i'm guessing here 0 0 1024 32 1024
and are you sure 0 0 is right too.
My 2gb 750ti used this
gpuPlotGenerator.exe 0 0 direct F:\burst\plots
"insert your numeric address" 14670000 7335000 1000 64 1024
pause
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Ok update, I left it running for 6 hours with the suggested configuration 0 0 1024 64 8192 and it completed the actual file in the drive, but progress was still running at 50 nonces/minute. It plotted 1GB fine, but 1TB is a problem. I am not going to be using the GPU plotter anymore as I have literally wasted 2 days with it. I have successfully plotted some smaller drives with the CPU plotter and I will be using that from now on even though it is meant to be far slower with my old CPU.

