Question 1

Why mine Monero on CPUs at all?

Accepted Answer

Monero uses RandomX, an algorithm deliberately designed to be CPU-friendly: it keeps a 2 MB scratchpad in L3 cache for every mining thread and resists GPUs and ASICs. A CPU with 64 MB of L3 can run 32 threads at full speed — which is why big-cache AMD Ryzens, Threadripper and EPYC server chips dominate the leaderboard, and why retired datacenter Xeons are the best hash-per-dollar on the used market.

Question 2

Why does memory channel population matter so much?

Accepted Answer

Every RandomX thread pulls data through the memory controller, so bandwidth is the ceiling: dual-channel is the minimum, Threadripper wants quad-channel and EPYC needs all channels populated. We measured it on 148 community dual-Xeon E5-2699 v3 submissions — one DIMM in every channel ran about 13% higher per-thread hashrate than a single-stick board, while adding a second DIMM to an already-populated channel bought nothing. Fill every channel with the smallest DIMM the platform accepts; capacity beyond the thread requirement does not mine faster.

Question 3

How are leaderboard hashrates normalized per chip?

Accepted Answer

The XMRig benchmark API is a community leaderboard where people paste their best run, so each row is a whole machine: 512 kH/s is four EPYC dies at 128 kH/s each, and the thread count is whatever the submitter typed. To make chips comparable, every row is divided back to one chip using the physical core count from Wikipedia's processor tables — cross-checked against each submission's measured single-thread rate — and the Machine column shows the real fleet: socket count plus whole-machine hashrate in brackets.

Question 4

What does the payback calculator actually compute?

Accepted Answer

It compares builds by total cost per hash over a horizon — hardware up front (live marketplace prices where available) plus electricity at your kWh rate — and finds the crossover where cheaper-per-hash hardware overtakes more-efficient hardware. At low power prices the cheap dual-Xeon wins; as your kWh rate climbs, the ranking flips toward efficient silicon. The rig-input mode adds your own hashrate and a Monero price for daily revenue and profit projections.

Question 5

Where do the prices and hashrate numbers come from?

Accepted Answer

Hashrates: community submissions to the official XMRig benchmark API (randomx.info/xmrig.com leaderboard). Motherboard and memory prices: real listings from eBay and the Amazon Creators API where credentials are configured, otherwise transparent estimates labelled in the UI. Chip specs: Wikipedia's CPU socket catalog. Prices and pool stats: CoinGecko and the P2Pool Observer. Every source is mirrored into a Postgres cache — the site never hammers upstream APIs per page view.

Question 6

How fresh is the data?

Accepted Answer

XMRig benchmarks, CoinGecko prices and P2Pool network stats are mirrored hourly; the Wikipedia socket catalog is re-checked daily and only re-parsed when pages actually change. Individual rig submissions for charted chips refresh on a slower schedule. Timestamps and a manual refresh endpoint are available in the site footer.

Question 7

What is P2Pool and how are payouts estimated?

Accepted Answer

P2Pool is a decentralized mining pool with no pool fee and no operator taking your hashrate — every miner gets paid by the block template proportionally to the shares they contributed. Payout math converts your hashrate into an expected share of the network's PPLNS rewards, multiplied by the live Monero price. Every XMR/day figure on the site applies the live P2Pool average payout per hash.

Question 8

How does the build advisor decide what to recommend?

Accepted Answer

It parses your budget, electricity rate and any power or watt limit out of plain language, then ranks every compatibility-checked build in the catalog with the same deterministic pricing engine that drives the tables — the model never invents numbers, it only phrases them. A power-capped site can gain more hashrate by adding a second cheaper rig than by buying one monster board; the advisor scores both.

Question 9

Are the builds actually compatible — socket, memory, ECC?

Accepted Answer

Every pairing is checked against the socket catalog: CPU socket vs board socket, DDR generation and supported speed, ECC requirements, and channel population for the thread count. The build advisor only ever answers with these combinations, and the parts search covers every compatible processor the catalog knows about. Used enterprise boards carry per-board notes — check them before buying.

FAQ

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