Bitcoin Core could kill your hardware?

[OmegaStarScream]

I have plans on building a new overkill PC and thought It would be nice If I can help the network by running a node as I always had issues doing so with my current PC and also takes ages. I heard that running bitcoin core and having to download the blockchain could ruin my hardware (SSD), how accurate is that?

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[achow101]

Where did you hear that? In what way would running Bitcoin Core kill your hardware? AFAIK, Bitcoin Core won't kill your hardware. It just is a bit more intensive on it than other software so if there are hardware problems, you may notice them more obviously when running Core. It is recommended that you use an SSD as it will be significantly faster than an HDD.

[alani123]

I have plans on building a new overkill PC and thought It would be nice If I can help the network by running a node as I always had issues doing so with my current PC and also takes ages. I heard that running bitcoin core and having to download the blockchain could ruin my hardware (SSD), how accurate is that?

In theory, yes. But it'd take a long time. SSDs have a limited amount of data that they can write and then re-write. But that's a huge number.

Here's a relevant article:
https://techreport.com/review/27909/the-ssd-endurance-experiment-theyre-all-dead

Bitcoin Core is very demanding and does indeed have an effect on the lifespan of an SSD. However, Bitcoin Core could only shorten the lifespan of your SSD by such a tiny margin it wouldn't even be noticeable.

[jennywhzz]

I have plans on building a new overkill PC and thought It would be nice If I can help the network by running a node as I always had issues doing so with my current PC and also takes ages. I heard that running bitcoin core and having to download the blockchain could ruin my hardware (SSD), how accurate is that?

I think bitcoin core will not kill the hardware but will have an impact on your internet connection and time / electricity it consumes to download the whole big database of blockchain.

[OmegaStarScream]

I don't really remember who told me this but It was definitely someone from the forums. I appreciate all the answers, this is going to be my first time using an SSD honestly so just wanted to make sure, If it simply decrease the lifespan (logically since Its going to write more) then I have no issues with that.

Just so I don't make another thread, I have another question regarding the upcoming changes. If SegWit2X take place and there is no chain split, I could continue run node or I must download another software? I don't want to waste my time downloading the whole blockchain to download another one later.

[aBitcoiner]

Friend, I bought my SSD 3 years ago (a great WD SSD) and it still works for me. I don't have problems with running bitcoin core, neither does my SDisk. Probably, in 2-3 years I will need to replace, but it works still for now.

[achow101]

Just so I don't make another thread, I have another question regarding the upcoming changes. If SegWit2X take place and there is no chain split, I could continue run node or I must download another software? I don't want to waste my time downloading the whole blockchain to download another one later.

In order to enforce the segwit2x hard fork rule, you will need to download and install the btc1 client which enforces the segwit2x rules. This client is based off of Bitcoin Core and will use whatever blockchain data you already have so there is no need to redownload the whole blockchain.

[ImHash]

Just so I don't make another thread, I have another question regarding the upcoming changes. If SegWit2X take place and there is no chain split, I could continue run node or I must download another software? I don't want to waste my time downloading the whole blockchain to download another one later.

In order to enforce the segwit2x hard fork rule, you will need to download and install the btc1 client which enforces the segwit2x rules. This client is based off of Bitcoin Core and will use whatever blockchain data you already have so there is no need to redownload the whole blockchain.

Why isn't there an installer or a wizard that we could just click on update and it then updates the wallet automatically, are you guys lazy not doing that or is there another reason?
I'm still running the old version of Core what happens if I don't upgrade to new software?

[achow101]

Why isn't there an installer or a wizard that we could just click on update and it then updates the wallet automatically, are you guys lazy not doing that or is there another reason?

We don't want to have an autoupdater in the software. That would be against the ideals of decentralization as you would be relying on a central authority (the core developers) to provide you with correct, non-backdoored software via the autoupdater. Autoupdaters can force users to use specific versions of software and we do not want that.

I'm still running the old version of Core what happens if I don't upgrade to new software?

Nothing. If there is a hard fork, you won't be on the hard fork chain. If there is a chain split due to BIP 91 (aka the first half of segwit2x) or due to BIP 148 (UASF), then you can use the invalidateblock and reconsiderblock RPC commands to switch to the chain that you want to use.

[neuralnet]

I'll check into this also, just the topic alone makes me curious.

[btctousd81]

bitcoind core is write heavy , means it pulls ledger/transaction data and writes to the disk.,

it pulls data using internet, so if you are on non-unlimited plan, then you should not do it.

it writes ledger data to file on disk., so if you have disk with low writes cycles, then your disk could break sooner.
there  are disk with more write cycles and less write cycles, flash drives has very less write cycles.,
so if you want to run a node and plan to keep on running it, keep some good quality HDD. with higher write cycles.
normally you dont have to worry that much, as major SSD are capable of handling such tasks.