Donate@Home is intriguing, and its early days yet. As in all things "one size dont fit all", especially if an individual retains flat out irreversible opinion on a topic.

The financial aspect of a Bitcoin Group is often stated and played with, and from a simplistic Bitcoin group, thats very pertinent, after all thats what they went there for - dosh :)

There is another dimension when set in a BOINC context. Many BOINC'rs will be crunching away to a lesser or greater degree because they enjoy BOINC Projects and what they can bring in terms of sense of achievement or friendships. Indeed most times, its the latter two that attract many crunchers. In that context, the PC will be on anyway, its just a case of which Project do they want to play with.

From that angle, the investment in the hardware was made as a hobby, and thats what BOINC is to many people - an "enabling" hobby. So its not really relevant what they crunch in those contexts as the cost is viewed by the individual in a different manner, and less clinically. Lots of intangibles are involved - its not a simplistic Dollars and Cents equation.

Whether those individuals spend 7x24 looking for the rarest Prime Numbers in existance - and many, many other maths based projects - or go for scientific endeavors, or indeed spend thousands of dollars a year wacking a small white ball round a field known as a golf course (you'll note I'm not a golfer rofl), is a personal choice. Since my PCs will be crunching anyway, I see little diffeence crunching to find a Bitcoin, as "wasting" 99.9999% of computing time searching for a PrimeNumber - as a simplistic example. I do both in reality, and enjoy doing both.

Deductions about the Donate@Home's of this world will always differ, as do peoples motivations and practices. One hobby/working practice does not necessarily have the support of some, but does with others. Whatever is chosen, its important to compare apples with apples - not take one genre as a detraction against another. Some purest Bitcoin groups will think we BOINCr's are barking mad to crunch for no tangible personal reward. Some BOINCrs will think purest Bitcoin groups are a waste of resource and more akin to an electronic lottery.

Reality is, both are right, because they do what suits them as individuals, in their particular unique circumstances. One size dont fit all, especially where hobbies are concerned.

Regards
Zy

On several occasions I mentioned that the performance of NVidia is ~1/3rd that of ATI for D@H, so did GDF, and others. I also suggested that people use their high end NVidia's here. On the D@H site there is a new 'Project' page with a link to performance of cards.It basically shows all NVidia cards as being incapable of gaining enough bitcoins to pay for the card+running cost.

Funny...I don't see any posts on the D@H forum from you, GDF or any other project admin that states "the performance of NVidia is ~1/3rd that of ATI" - or anything to that effect. And while the information contained on the D@H project page is a step in the right direction, a link to an outdated, error filled table buried in a 1278 word page isn't an effective way of informing potential volunteers of the issue.

Better still make an online calculator so people can enter the GPU cost, electric cost and just be told how efficient or inefficient a card actually is. Would be useful to be able to enter actual Watts consumed too!

BINGO! A decent calculator would allow D@H volunteers to make an informed rational choice about participating in the project. It would also shield the reputation of D@H from "lack of transparency" criticisms.

BTW, there's no need to re-invent the wheel...there are several of these calculators out there. IMO the best one is here, because it pre-populates it's inputs based on current data from authoritative sources. It also take a reasonable approach in the way it extrapolates the current data over time. I think it's likely that the operator of that site would have no problem allowing D@H to use his code. The only limitation of the bitcoinx calculator is it's currently USD only; an weakness that should be simple enough to remedy.

If D@H will commit to prominently feature such a tool on their site, I'll shutup. How's that for an incentive? XD

@Zydor: I think your points regarding crunching as a hobby have alot of merit, in that the "money" factor plays little, if any, role for crunchers who are doing it for the sheer enjoyment of the activity. The thing is, D@H puts monetary considerations at the forefront. It is perfectly reasonable to expect a potential D@H volunteer to want cost vs benefit data when determining his or her idea of the "value" of the project. Right now, such information is not readily available on the D@H website.

Cheers!

The thing is, D@H puts monetary considerations at the forefront

They can hardly do otherwise, they are running the Site to draw in funds to pay for a researcher (whose indicidental achievements could enable untold benefits and savings).

Whilst I would not say a calculator is pointless, it sure isnt, it is a tool that can give information. Its also true to say that in a BOINC context the items driving the calculator can be mute in many cases due to the fact that the costs side of the equation when run in a BOINC context are far far different to a classic Bitcoin Group whose only motivation is pure personal income.

I am dubious about the latter in a financial sense as I think the case for a personal income Bitcoin Group is diminishing quickly as the network makes each find more difficult (lots to be made a few years ago for personal income, different equation now). But in a BOINC context where PCs are switched on anyway, motivations and financial deductions are different, therefore the cost benefit equation comes out differently.

So I am all for a calculator being around or available, link to the copious number out there on the Web will do fine frankly, however as a general proposition its output should not be taken as the Ultimate gospel in a BOINC world, it is just a part of the whole equation - wholey different from a purest Bitcoin group.

Regards
Zy

Funny...I don't see any posts on the D@H forum from you, GDF or any other project admin that states "the performance of NVidia is ~1/3rd that of ATI" - or anything to that effect. And while the information contained on the D@H project page is a step in the right direction, a link to an outdated, error filled table buried in a 1278 word page isn't an effective way of informing potential volunteers of the issue.

I completely agree with SMTB1963. There's a lack of info at D@H from the beginning. I understand that it's alpha, but I see it as a disdain to crunchers. I deeply thought about leaving this proyect as other people have done, but I decided go give the benefict of doubt.

@Zydor: I think your points regarding crunching as a hobby have alot of merit, in that the "money" factor plays little, if any, role for crunchers who are doing it for the sheer enjoyment of the activity. The thing is, D@H puts monetary considerations at the forefront. It is perfectly reasonable to expect a potential D@H volunteer to want cost vs benefit data when determining his or her idea of the "value" of the project. Right now, such information is not readily available on the D@H website.

I'm sorry to sound so strong. Most of people do it as a hobby, but there are others, like me, that do it to help science. If I see that the proyect (direct or indirectly) is wasting and draging recources from other proyects without any sense (monetary) I would see it as lack of credibility and etics. The good end doesn't justifies the means.

4000 computers running 24h is a lot of power: A LOT of money. "With great power. comes great responsibility"

I confess that I was a little shocked by donate@home, after seeing discussed with other people, I better understood the purpose of this project.

And I decided to support this project and to continue my participation in GPUGRID!