here is a quick blurb from someone on reddit which sums up the general advice in a way that matches my experience
"most mining algorithms targeted for CPUs require certain amount of L3 cache per thread (core), usually 1-4MB, so just divide your total amount of CPU L3 cache by this number and the result is how many threads can you run max on your cpu. For example if an algorithm requires 2MB of cache per thread and you have a 10-core 16MB L3 cache cpu, you can run at most 16/2=8 threads, 9 or 10 threads will result in worse performance as cores will be kicking out each other's data from the cache. "
https://www.reddit.com/r/MoneroMining/comments/jurv6j/proces...
Below are two real world examples of monero mining I run myself
An example is my i9-10850K. exact same performance using 8 cores or 10 cores (16 threads or 20 threads).. in fact it slightly goes down performance wise at 20 threads.. Given that it has 20MB cache, it is an example of the bottom limit not being optimal. using this example i'd say minimum is around 1.12MB per thread, or 2.25MB per core
Another machine I have, the 5950x crunches away all day and night using all threads (32) on all cores (16) with 64MB cache no problem
this correlates to 4MB per core / 2MB per thread.. and it seems like more than what it needs because I can use the machine all day for daily tasks with no hiccups and while mining full out. If you have a desktop at work and need to kill it all day long, the 5950x will absolutely take anything and everything you throw at it.. samsung b-die ram helps monero mining as well. I run only 32GB but in 4 8GB b-die sticks.
It’s good to recoup some energy. But in a cold climate, you could be using a heat pump to move 2-5x more heat into the home for the same amount of energy as electric resistive heat.
There are space heater sized heat pumps? I could definitely use some. We've got a few cold areas of the house that don't get enough heat in winter but a remodel isn't going to happen any time soon.
"most mining algorithms targeted for CPUs require certain amount of L3 cache per thread (core), usually 1-4MB, so just divide your total amount of CPU L3 cache by this number and the result is how many threads can you run max on your cpu. For example if an algorithm requires 2MB of cache per thread and you have a 10-core 16MB L3 cache cpu, you can run at most 16/2=8 threads, 9 or 10 threads will result in worse performance as cores will be kicking out each other's data from the cache. " https://www.reddit.com/r/MoneroMining/comments/jurv6j/proces...
Below are two real world examples of monero mining I run myself
An example is my i9-10850K. exact same performance using 8 cores or 10 cores (16 threads or 20 threads).. in fact it slightly goes down performance wise at 20 threads.. Given that it has 20MB cache, it is an example of the bottom limit not being optimal. using this example i'd say minimum is around 1.12MB per thread, or 2.25MB per core
Another machine I have, the 5950x crunches away all day and night using all threads (32) on all cores (16) with 64MB cache no problem this correlates to 4MB per core / 2MB per thread.. and it seems like more than what it needs because I can use the machine all day for daily tasks with no hiccups and while mining full out. If you have a desktop at work and need to kill it all day long, the 5950x will absolutely take anything and everything you throw at it.. samsung b-die ram helps monero mining as well. I run only 32GB but in 4 8GB b-die sticks.