I've just decided to run my ant miners using p2pool as I like the idea of keeping bitcoin decentralized. I've got a few questions, though. First off, here is my current setup:
Win 7 x64
3930k
16GB RAM
bitcoin and p2pool software on an SSD
175Mbps/175Mbps Fiber optic connection (extremely low latency)
added to bitcoin.conf:
blockmaxsize=1000000
mintxfee=0.00001
minrelaytxfee=0.00001
I've given both bitcoin and run_p2pool.exe realtime priority across all 12 threads. I'm currently using my main wallet, but I've read that this is not a good idea. How dangerous is this? If this setup is not ideal, I could slap a dedicated rig together using the following spare parts:
i3 3220 (2 core / 4 threads) Is this CPU good enough? Or would I be better served with an i5 or i7?
2, 4, or 6GB of ram (suggestion?)
Spare 64GB SSD
If I'm going with a dedicated machine for p2pool, I'd like to run some flavor of Linux on it, but I'm a total noob with Linux. Are there any particularly good guides in regards to installing all required software? Which distro would be best? I'd like a GUI if possible. (ubuntu?)
Thanks in advance! Currently running 2 ants with 3 more coming and 26 USB block errupters.
Does this seem to suggest that I'm properly setup right now?
![](https://ip.bitcointalk.org/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F966KEUq.jpg&t=665&c=WhqqXK0cxlftRA)