Ethereum mining DAG files become a hidden concern, how should miners solve it?

Source: Caiyun Blockchain

The recent rise of Ethereum has attracted a lot of attention. Due to the high profits of Ethereum mining, many Bitcoin miners have started mining Ethereum, and graphics cards on the market are now in short supply. Of course, for some miners who are preparing to mine Ethereum, there is currently a problem in front of them, which is the DAG file of Ethereum mining.

To put it simply, DAG files are temporary files that play a critical role in calculations during the mining process of graphics cards. Generally speaking, DAG files are in the video memory. The size of DAG will gradually increase with the increase of mining time, then there will be a problem. Once the video memory size cannot accommodate the DAG file, the graphics card may not be able to mine.

According to the current mining speed, DAG increases by about 500M per year. When the DAG file capacity exceeds the capacity of the video memory in the graphics card, it will inevitably cause Ethereum miners to upgrade their graphics cards on a large scale, which is not a good thing for miners.

According to data from investoon.com, Ethereum's DAG file has reached 3.75G, and Ethereum Classic's DAG file has reached 3.84G. In other words, after a while, graphics cards with 4G video memory will basically be unusable.

For example, for Ethereum, the DAG may reach 4G on December 24, 2020. This is also a time that graphics card miners need to pay attention to. Similarly, 6G graphics cards will last until March 2024, and 8G graphics cards will last until May 2027. Of course, for some 5G graphics cards, they may last until 2022.

Although the Ethereum 2.0 testnet has attracted a lot of attention, the actual situation is not particularly optimistic. On the one hand, for Ethereum 2.0, the mainnet launch may be carried out at the end of this year or early next year. Before this period, Ethereum still needs to run on the current mainnet.

On the other hand, in the early stage of Ethereum 2.0, that is, Phase 0, only the beacon chain was basically opened, and some functions on the chain were not particularly perfect. For example, the two-way exchange of 2.0 and 1.0 main network coins was actually not available during this period. So there will be a phenomenon that Ethereum 2.0 and Ethereum 1.0 will coexist for a period of time. Until the 2.0 code is perfected, a large number of dapps can be truly migrated to the 2.0 main network, and this period will take at least several years. Therefore, Ethereum mining has not been affected by 2.0 yet.

As a result, the upcoming wave of 4G graphics card elimination at the end of this year is actually a difficult problem facing many miners. Miners can continue to extend the mining time of their graphics cards mainly through the following methods.

1. Upgrade mining software

Some people say that part of the computer's memory can be used to replace the video memory in the graphics card, so that the mining machine can achieve the function of expanding the capacity, which makes it easier to avoid the problem of insufficient video memory.

Although it is feasible, if memory is used instead, special software for graphics cards must be developed, and the effect is worse than directly using large-capacity video memory (the data transmission speed between the graphics card and memory is very different). Therefore, it may lead to reduced calculation efficiency during the mining process. However, this can be supported for a long time for 4G graphics cards. Of course, the development of related software on the market still requires time and manpower.

2. Graphics card modification

There are currently two types of graphics card modifications. The first is to release the previously blocked video memory in the graphics card, and the second is to solder or change the video memory chip on a specific model of graphics card.

Generally, when some graphics card manufacturers produce graphics cards, some graphics cards may need to block part of the video memory for some reasons, such as adding more video memory causing the graphics card to generate too much heat or run unstable. In this case, the graphics card manufacturer can block some video memory to make it run stably. In this case, by flashing the same model of large-capacity version of the graphics card BIOS program, the blocked video memory can be unlocked, so that the graphics card can continue to be used.

Of course, the fact that part of the video memory can be blocked means that some functions of this graphics card are unstable. Although some methods can be used to unlock part of the video memory, various problems may still arise in the subsequent mining process.

The second method is to add video memory chips. For example, some graphics cards may have a circuit board with four video memory positions, but two video memory chips are eventually soldered on and the extra ones may be left idle. At this time, you can generally add chips and then flash the relevant BIOS program to increase the graphics card's video memory.

Another way is to remove the old low-capacity video memory of the graphics card and replace it with a high-capacity video memory chip, which can also have a good effect.

However, there is one thing to note when adding or replacing video memory: you need to have a BIOS file with the corresponding video memory size. After the BIOS file with the corresponding video memory is flashed, the graphics card can really work. If you simply replace or increase the video memory, it will definitely not work. In addition, even if some models of graphics cards have increased video memory, they may not work. Therefore, for this method, only specific solutions can be given for specific graphics cards.

In addition, replacing the graphics card memory generally requires a lot of manpower, material resources and time, such as disassembly, cleaning, welding, debugging, installation, etc., and there is no guarantee that every graphics card can be successfully modified. However, if it is successful, then this graphics card must be maintained for a relatively long time to ensure profits. As a miner, you still need to carefully calculate the relationship between input and output.

3. Mine other currencies and exchange them for Ethereum

If it is not possible to modify the video memory, then using a roundabout way, mining other digital currencies, and then selling them and exchanging them for Ethereum is also a good way.

From Figure 1 in the article, we can see that the DAG of several currencies such as expand, ubiq, and metaverse is currently around 2GB, and there is still a long way to go before the DAG reaches 4GB. Therefore, in this case, it can still be delayed by at least 4 years.

In addition, mining using other algorithms is actually a roundabout method, such as sero, xzc and other currencies. However, whether it is a currency of other algorithms or a small-capacity DAG currency, the fluctuations in its currency price are generally large, and sometimes the mining income is greatly discounted after conversion. Therefore, this is a factor that cannot be ignored for miners.

The difference in revenue from mining different currencies using a graphics card is huge

Now, because of Ethereum 2.0, graphics cards may be able to mine Ethereum for about four years, and 1.0 still needs to undertake a lot of work. As for the modification of graphics card chips, it is also necessary to find professionals to carry out the modification. If software is used to increase memory, the relevant solutions have not yet been officially released on the market. Therefore, for miners, if they are worried about the future cost of modification, they can only seek relevant program development. As for switching to mining other currencies, in fact, there are many other currencies that can be mined by graphics cards, but the difference in income between each currency is still relatively large. Therefore, for miners, do calculations in advance, compare the advantages and disadvantages of each solution, and choose a solution that suits you.