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Monday, September 10, 2018

Test Mac OS Sierra on AMD Ryzen Processor Using Vmware Workstation

I'm excited about the upcoming Apple event on Sept 12,2018. One of the new announcement will be the new model of Macbook Air (possible with Retina display). Before that, i never use MacOS before and been using Windows OS since day 1.



In order to familar with new operating system, the best is test MacOS on a virtual machine. While google around, manage to find a post from hackintosher which provide the guide to download the vmdk. A bit tricky is when running AMD processor and here is my tweak

My environment:-



  • AMD Ryzen 5 2400G
  • Vmware Workstation 14
  • Download vmdk (special for AMD processor) from here.
  • Unlock MacOS setting by download unlocker 2.1.1 from here. Execute win-install.cmd with "Run as Administrator"
  • Create a new VM with the custom setting, attach the existing disk (SATA) and maintain existing Format. Don't power on the vm first. Modify the following settings:
    • Processor - enable Virtualize Intel VT or AMD-V


    • Modify vmx settings
      • Add new entry:  smc.version = "0"
      • VirtualHW.version = "10"
      • firmware = "bios"

  • Boot up VM and install Vmware Tool. Use from VMware Unlocker 2.1.1\VMware Unlocker 2.1.1\tools\darwin.iso
  • Voila! You have MacOS Sierra running with your AMD processor

Enjoy your new MacOS! 


Sunday, September 9, 2018

Cryptocurrency Mining Guide

Hi guy,

Recently my friend been talking about cryptocurrency either mining or trading. Probably never too late to check out on how it's work as a hobby or learning experience.

Well, here is my experience during my testing on cryptocurrency mining.

[Updated: 9 Sept 2018]
CPU Mining

At this moment, not a good option to use CPU to mine unless you just want to try it out.
So far the best coin to mine using CPU is AEON. (subject to change)

Cloud Mining
Avoid using it. Recently most cloud mining starts to end contract due to unprofitable business when bitcoin value dropped till 7k.

GPU Mining
This is the best way to start small on mining. You can build a mining rig with a set of GPU. With the price of GPU goes down, you can probably get a reasonable price on GPU. As starting I've bought

  • Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti - 4GB
  • Nvidia GTX 1060 AMP Edition - 6GB
  • AMD Ryzen 5 2400G Processor
  • SSD HDD
  • Min 8GB RAM
  • Asrock Ab230 Pro 4 Motherboard (able to support 6 GPU)
  • PCI Riser
  • 600w PSU

Here is my testing on mining pool and my 2cents comments

a) Nicehash (https://www.nicehash.com/)

You can download Nicehash miner from here:- https://www.nicehash.com/cpu-gpu-mining
Just select CPU and GPU that you want to use to mine. It will auto-detect the best coin to mine and convert the payout to BTC (bitcoin).
Prons:-

  • Easy to use


Cons:-

  • Must mine till minimum 0.001 BTC


b) Honeyminer (https://honeyminer.com)

This is a new pool as an alternative than nicehash.To join, click on here. You will get 1000 satoshi when joining the pool. It also allows you to select mine using CPU or GPU.
Prons:-

  • Will get a bonus on every level (in satoshi). The longer you mine, the more bonus that you will get.
  • Coin mined, will convert to satoshi (BTC)
  • Able to withdraw without wait till high satoshi. Min 0.00002500 BTC and withdraw fees is cheaper (around 0.00000500 BTC) to any wallet

Cons:-

  • Not able to select which coin to mine
  • Withdrawal fees sometimes are high. But you can just wait till it drops to 0.00002500 BTC
  • Most of the time, the honeyminer software will have any issue with antivirus software. So you need to put exclusion.

c) Winminer (https://www.winminer.com/)

Another alternative mining pool called winminer.  It also allows you to select mine using CPU or GPU.

Prons:-

  • Has built-in monitoring on the web to monitor your mining rig. The best part is able to view your GPU temperature, stop/start mining and restart your mining rig
  • Mobile app (currently on beta) for monitoring your mining rig
  • Able to select coin to mine
  • Mine coin will auto-convert to USD
  • Variety of withdrawal option. You can use use the payout to Steam Gift card, Amazon Gift card, iTunes Gift card, Paypal or buy other coins such as BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH)


Cons:-

  • The daily earning benchmark is lower compared to Nicehash. But this is subjective, it just an estimation value and you won't know till the end of the day.
  • Auto convert to USD value on every coin that has been mined. This defeat the purpose of keeping the coin mine and hope the value will rise.
d) MiningPoolHub (https://miningpoolhub.com)

Good pool for getting others coin rather than just BTC. You can select which coin to mine.

Prons:-
  • Able to decide which coin to mine
  • Able to select AutoSwitch to let the system to select profitable coin to mine
  • Able to select Auto Exchange to convert another coin to your prefer coin
  • Payout according to your prefer coin
Cons:-
  • List of limited coin to mine
[Summary]
Overall, the pool above is best to use. You can opt for different pool according to your preference.
I strongly recommend that you refer to WhatToMine to decide which coin is most profitable to mine. Click here to check out:- https://whattomine.com/

Note:-
There is a lot of alternative mining pool and I am still exploring. Do let us know if you have a better mining pool to share with the reader.