Ethereum: What Mining Performance Can We Expect from Intel SHA Extensions in Upcoming Skylake CPU Architecture
As the next generation of high-performance computing processors, Intel’s upcoming Skylake microarchitecture promises significant improvements in various aspects of performance and energy efficiency. One key area that will be significantly impacted by the new processor architecture is Ethereum mining performance.
The Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA) extension, announced as part of Intel’s x86 SkyLake microarchitecture, aims to significantly increase the hardware acceleration capabilities of SHA processing for various applications, including blockchain technology and cryptocurrency mining. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the cryptocurrency mining performance that can be expected from the Skylake CPU architecture, with a focus on Ethereum.
Background: How SHA Works
Before we dive into the details of the Skylake CPU architecture, it’s important to understand how SHA works. Secure Hash algorithms are used to ensure data integrity and cryptographic purposes in various applications, including blockchain and cryptocurrency systems. The SHA-256 algorithm is a commonly used example of an algorithm that uses a hash function to generate a fixed-size string from an input string.
SHA Extensions in Skylake
The Intel x86 SkyLake microarchitecture introduces several key innovations to SHA processing:
- Hardware Acceleration: The Skylake processor architecture will provide hardware acceleration for SHA algorithms, allowing them to run faster and more efficiently using specialized hardware accelerators.
- Enhanced Instruction Level Parallelism (ILP): The new architecture will feature improved ILP capabilities, allowing multiple processing cores to be efficiently used to accelerate various tasks, including SHA computations.
Mining Performance Expectations
While we don’t have an exact release date for the Skylake CPU architecture and its SHA extensions, we can make some estimates based on industry trends and past performance. Here are some factors that will affect Ethereum mining performance:
- Hash Rate: The hash rate of a graphics processing unit (GPU) is directly proportional to its clock speed, memory size, number of cores, and shader model it supports.
- Clock Speed: Since the Skylake CPU architecture introduces higher clock speeds for the main processing units, it increases the overall efficiency of the GPU for SHA calculations.
Approximate Expected Mining Performance
Assuming we’re talking about a well-known Ethereum mining rig with a decent GPU (e.g. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 or AMD Radeon RX 580) and an Intel CPU (Intel Core i7-6700K), here’s a rough estimate of the mining performance you can expect from the architecture. Skylake CPU:
- Clock Speed: The clock speed of the new Intel CPUs will likely be between 3.6 GHz and 4.2 GHz, depending on the specific model.
- Hash Rate: With an estimated GPU clock speed of 1.5 GHz to 2.0 GHz (depending on the GPU) and an overall system clock speed of around 3.9 GHz to 4.2 GHz, we can expect a hash rate increase of at least 20% to 30%.
- Mining Performance: This means an estimated 10-15% increase in mining performance compared to older architectures (e.g. Sandy Bridge or Haswell).
Conclusion
The introduction of SHA extensions in the Intel Skylake microarchitecture promises to significantly improve the hardware acceleration capabilities of SHA processing for Ethereum miners. While we do not have exact estimates, estimates suggest that mining performance will increase by 10-15%, which is achievable with a proven gaming-grade GPU and an Intel Core i7-6700K processor.