Raptoreum is a the “hot ticket” for CPU mining right now, and for good reason. The use of existing computers, especially high core frequency and large core count CPUs’ with AVX512 is rewarded well. The Ryzen lineup is very well situated for this set of algos and gets really good hash rates across the board. Couple that with the overall popularity of the Ryzen platform living for several version on even older motherboards, and it is easy to see why Raptoreum has such a large userbase.
We will only consider Ryzen builds in this article. Let’s take a moment to check out the earnings potential that you can get today with several of the popular chips in the Ryzen lineup.
For the sake of simplicity, these numbers do NOT factor in electrical costs.
Raptoreum Hashrates for popular Ryzens
R5 3600X – 1650 Hash – https://amzn.to/3nP5TlS
R5 5600X – 1750 Hash – https://amzn.to/3cMhagf
R7 5800X – 2100 Hash – https://amzn.to/3cOl4Fv
R9 3900X – 3550 Hash – https://amzn.to/3cM6CxZ
R9 3950X – 4350 Hash – https://amzn.to/3reeeS7
R9 5900X – 3500 Hash – https://amzn.to/3xmJteR
R9 5950X – 4500 Hash – https://amzn.to/3nTv5b0
Many of the X and non X counterparts will be rather similar in Hash rate performance number, but the X of course being a newer Zen 3 part numbers that are easier to find.
Now let’s look at this data on a graph with price inclusion. We will examine “platform costs” a bit later.
This really does help to paint a picture of what kind of expectations you might have at a specific price point on a CPU and the overall hash rates total.
Now let’s take a look Cost per Hash on each of these RYZEN CPUs as well.
Looking at it from purely this perspective, some real values jump right off the page at you. Specifically, the R9 5900X at 7.45 Hash/$ looks like a solid winner. You also have to factor in the R9 3XXX range of processors right now is not from a cost perspective, making as much sense as it might have a few months back when they were relatively bargain prices.
Now this is a steady-state analysis, and I don’t think we should just look at this from only this perspective. Let’s check out what the overall platform costs, from a purely budget oriented standpoint, could be had at.
Raptoreum Rig Costs
Let’s find the absolute cheapest budget rig parts we can for a Raptoreum Rig platform and add them up.
Motherboard (would need bios update for most recent CPUs, but can run them) https://amzn.to/3xppxry
Power Supply (Very decent Corsair 850w PSU) https://amzn.to/3DXIaFG
Ram (Try to balance low CL to Higher MHz and lower cost) https://amzn.to/2ZrmwL4
SSD (Nothing fancy, but gets the job done) https://amzn.to/3HVXZim
TOTAL COSTS ~ $300 of extra costs. That does not count in extra cooling or even a case (you can open air it on a rack if you are looking to scale operations) Add in about $40 for a cheap case.
Raptoreum Rig Assumptions
There is a complete article worth of just information about the platform, and specifically the impacts that it could have on Raptoreum mining in general that we will not dive deep into here. I will just lay out a few assumption points. Cooling being at the included wraith cooler or assuming you have a cooler, is not being added in for simplicity. Obviously, this affects overall clocks and hash rates, but I took the hash rates down a bit when I entered them above to factor for that.
Ram SPEED and Latency is MUCH more important than size. 4GB is enough, but you need to populate all channels on your motherboard so 4GB sticks or 8GB sticks work just fine there. Power Supplies are important fundamentals, so I did not scrimp on an absolute low end one for this consideration. Of course, running additional items like a high-end GPU, heavy water cooling, and perf cards/storage will need bigger and better.
I chose a BUDGET motherboard and SSD that could get the job done here, and nothing else. See my note above about overclocking and the same applies here.
Now let’s take a look at that in a Chart here for the Payback Period for a CPU only (upgrade to your system) and a CPU + Platform (complete Raptoreum rig)
Conclusions on Raptoreum Upgrades vs Complete Raptoreum Rigs
Cost savings on the initial setup of any rig are an overall win with every crypto. This is VERY true with Raptoreum as well. I personally feel that the 5900X is the overall winner at the current prices we are seeing, the current breakeven time on it in both complete builds and upgrades, and future resale value. I personally am on a path to that upgrade for my main machine.
Now to talk about the economics, in general, of Raptoreum, I think we are seeing that some builds, if they are completely new builds, are hard to justify for this use alone. Getting parts used, reusing parts, and saving costs are a huge part of this equation and you should check your garage if it is at all like mine…you probably have something you have forgotten about that could be used for this.
I mentioned it above but let me say it again: these numbers do NOT factor in electrical costs. You HAVE to factor that in for any purpose-built rig. Less so for a desktop you will be leaving on and using 24/7 for a main computer.
Ryzen Raptoreum Rig Top 5 Points to Consider.
- Save costs going in on any dedicated Raptoreum mining rig
- Utilize your existing machine for an upgrade
- The R9 5900x is a great value in both purpose built and upgrade pathways
- Don’t build a lower end CPU Raptoreum Mining Rig
- Upcoming releases and top end parts from Intel and AMD are unlikely to make economic sense for purpose built Raptoreum Mining Rigs
It’s Black Friday time here and deals are abound so I am thinking strongly that R9 5900X is a good purchase, but not from a purely Raptoreum standpoint alone. This will really lower my video editing time, provide a great platform for VR gaming, and help with business things I am doing. The fact that Raptoreum mines away in the background happily (except with gaming and video editing) makes this a no brainer for me. Rapt On!
