Chia GPU Plotting

GPU plotting has become a popular choice for Chia farmers due to its significant speed improvements over traditional CPU plotting. This guide will provide an overview of GPU plotting, the advantages and disadvantages, and tips to help you get started with GPU plotting for Chia farming.

There are currently four options to do GPU plotting: BladeBit CUDA, Gigahorse CUDA, DrPlotter, and NoSSD.

GPU Plotter Comparison (minimum requirements)
BladeBit CUDA GigaHorse CUDA DrPlotter NoSSD
OS Windows 11, Linux Windows, Linux Linux Windows, Linux
System RAM 128GB 8GB 128GB 8GB
GPU NVIDIA 8GB+ VRAM
CUDA 5.2+ support		 NVIDIA 4GB+ VRAM
CUDA 5.2+ support		 NVIDIA 24GB VRAM
(3090/4090/A5000)		 NVIDIA 4GB+ VRAM
CUDA 5.2+ support
Compression sizes 75.2 - 87.5 GiB 29.1 - 85.7 GiB 22.8 - 31.9 GiB 26.2 - 96.1 GiB
Farming support Chia Official Farmer
CPU + GPU farming		 Gigahorse Farmer
CPU + GPU farming		 DrSolver
GPU farming		 NoSSD Farmer
GPU farming
Developer fee 0% 1.562% (CPU farming)
3.125% (GPU farming)		 0% 3.5% pool locked fee
Open Source Yes No No (will be open source later) No
Did you know?
How fast is too fast?

GPU plotting can be so fast that you may be bottlenecked by how fast you can write to your hard drives. It is recommened to write to a fast SSD as buffer and move plots to HDDs in parallel using tools such as Chia Plot Sink or Plow.

Pro Tip
Plotting + Farming

When considering VRAM requirements keep in mind that farming compressed plots with a GPU will also require VRAM.

For example, farming Gigahorse C8 compressed plots while plotting C8 plots will take up to 12GB of VRAM. Consider reducing the number of GPU streams when plotting to reduce VRAM requirements.

Video Guides

Bladebit CUDA Guide (Windows - 256GB)

Bladebit CUDA Guide (Linux - 128GB)

Gigahorse Guide (Windows)

Gigahorse Guide (Linux)

GPU Plotting Questions

GPU plotting allows for significantly faster plotting times, greatly reducing the time spent generating plots, leading to energy savings and a quicker farm setup.

Gigahorse requires an Nvidia GPU with at least 4 GB of VRAM and a system with a minimum of 64 GB of RAM.

Bladebit requires an Nvidia GPU with at least 8 GB of VRAM and a system with a minimum of 256 GB of RAM.

While GPU plotting consumes more power during the plotting process, it reduces overall energy consumption due to its faster plotting times compared to traditional CPU plotting.

Ensure you have the latest GPU drivers, allocate enough RAM, and adjust settings according to your hardware configuration for the best performance.

Currently, Gigahorse and Bladebit support Nvidia GPUs; however, future support for AMD GPUs may be developed as the technology evolves.

Faster GPU plotting enables you to generate plots more quickly, potentially allowing you to increase your farm size and improve your chances of earning rewards.

GPU plotting may require significant RAM and a compatible GPU, which could be costly; also, it may not be suitable for systems with limited resources or older hardware.

No, GPU plotting is not mandatory; it is an alternative method to speed up the plotting process, but traditional CPU plotting is still a viable option for Chia farming.

Consider factors such as available RAM, personal preference for open-source vs. closed-source software, and ease of use to determine the best option for your specific needs.

The Chia plotting process does not run the GPU at full intensity so it would not impact your GPU lifespan like more intensive PoW mining algorithms could.

Consult the documentation for your chosen GPU plotting software, seek guidance from Chia community forums, and verify that your hardware and software configurations meet the requirements for GPU plotting.
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