Chia mining can allegedly wreck a 512 GB SSD in forty days

Chia is the newest cryptocurrency on the block, and it's like nothing we've seen before. It employs a unique 'proof of time and space' concept, quite unlike the 'proof of work' used by Ethereum, Bitcoin, etc. Essentially, users stand to benefit from copious amounts of high-speed storage. However, tread with caution if you're trying to mine Chia on a consumer-grade SSD.

Chia takes a heavy toll on low-capacity drives with a low TBW (terabytes written) rating. A drive's TBW rating determines how much data can be written to it before failure. Mydrivers reports that a 512 GB SSD lasts for a measly 40 days before going belly up. A 1 TB SSD lasts twice as long. The report neglects to mention the drives in question, but that should be of little consequence. However, TeamGroup's new line of NVMe SSDs could fare marginally better, as their TBW rating is up to ten times higher than off-the-shelf drives. In conclusion, if you're looking to mine some Chia on the side to make a few extra bucks, it could wreck your hard drive, so tread with caution.

The main reason why miners are buying up high-capacity drives en-masse is due to how Chia functions. It uses 100GB clusters on your hard drive called plots. Unlike other cryptocurrencies, your chances of mining Chia increase with the number of plots owned. According to the Chia calculator, 1 TB of space can house approximately 10 plots. However, you may have to wait a year before getting the opportunity to mine a single coin. On the other hand, let's say you managed to get your hands on the Onda B365 D32-D4 Magic Edition motherboard with 32 SATA ports and 32 10 TB SSDs, you now have 3232 plots, and your wait time gets cut down to two days.

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