Why ist it consuming that much CPU power? What the hack is it doing?! It's just a database to get processed, isn't it?
The client has to validate every single block to ensure that the transactions and the block itself is valid. The validation process includes the client extracting and compiling unspent outputs from the blocks and information relating to the addresses in the wallet. If it doesn't then it wouldn't be trustless and it would have to rely someone else to provide it the correct information. It's basically the only resource intensive part. 
Topic: Loading the whole blockchain shouldn't take weeks (Read 729 times)
Why ist it consuming that much CPU power? What the hack is it doing?! It's just a database to get processed, isn't it?
I’m running Bitcoin Core in a slow budget Windows 10 laptop (Intel Celeron N3050 1.6 Ghz dual core, 8 gigs memory, external hard drive), but network is relatively fast (30 Mbs).My bottleneck with blockchain loading seems to be the processor speed. CPU usage is almost 100% with network usage only 20/30 Mbs at bursts
Edit: most of the time network is almost idle, apparently the bottleneck is the block verification, not the download. RAM is apparently not a problem, usage is about 40% (=60% free), disk usage is less than 10%.
With this setup, it takes approximately 2-3 days to download the current blockchain.
Edit: most of the time network is almost idle, apparently the bottleneck is the block verification, not the download. RAM is apparently not a problem, usage is about 40% (=60% free), disk usage is less than 10%.
With this setup, it takes approximately 2-3 days to download the current blockchain.
Well it looks like the following:
- I'm using a Raspberry Pi
- 700 MHz/s
- 512 MB RAM (64 MB reserved for gpu)
- Debian Stretch
- 6 MBit/s Internet Connection
- System and Blockchain running on an USB drive
Is there a problem with the configuration, concerning the slow blockchain download?
- I'm using a Raspberry Pi
- 700 MHz/s
- 512 MB RAM (64 MB reserved for gpu)
- Debian Stretch
- 6 MBit/s Internet Connection
- System and Blockchain running on an USB drive
Is there a problem with the configuration, concerning the slow blockchain download?
Yes. Several.
512MB (-64MB) is very small. 700mhz is very slow. USB may be slow for lots of io, (maybe not USB 3 or greater), but the others are particularly if Debian is using it for swap etc. And bitcoin for the block chain etc.
As I read elsewere the problem is the damn small amount of RAM. It starts loading the blockchain normaly, but when progressing to a further state the progess comes to a stop nevertheless saying to be at work. A workaround would be to load the blockchain elsewhere, copy it onto the pi and keep the blockchain online. May work. I'm going to figure this out soon.
As a normal person, everything you can do is make sure that your computer still good, the internet connection is good and everything will be smooth all the time you do it. Based on my own experience, loading blockchain depend on many factor so just hope everything will be fine and completed, sometime i just want it safe not fast.
Just get an old netbook with 2 gigs of ram and throw a 500gb hdd inside.
My netbook is on since August and never failed me once yet. After you download everything, your pc will speed up btw.
My netbook is on since August and never failed me once yet. After you download everything, your pc will speed up btw.
Hello,
It is not just a download, CPU is running when you are building the blockchain. raspberry pi is very weak for this kind of task. It's normal for me if you need many weeks to download the whole blockchain.
It is not just a download, CPU is running when you are building the blockchain. raspberry pi is very weak for this kind of task. It's normal for me if you need many weeks to download the whole blockchain.
Well it looks like the following:
- I'm using a Raspberry Pi
- 700 MHz/s
- 512 MB RAM (64 MB reserved for gpu)
- Debian Stretch
- 6 MBit/s Internet Connection
- System and Blockchain running on an USB drive
Is there a problem with the configuration, concerning the slow blockchain download?
- I'm using a Raspberry Pi
- 700 MHz/s
- 512 MB RAM (64 MB reserved for gpu)
- Debian Stretch
- 6 MBit/s Internet Connection
- System and Blockchain running on an USB drive
Is there a problem with the configuration, concerning the slow blockchain download?
Wow that's crazy. 1 block per second? Can you post your computer specs in detail? also what's your internet connection like? I should update both my computer and internet. I need to see if there is reach for optical cable fiber internet in here, im still stuck with the good ol ADSL connection.
Nothing special here, 3 year old cheap laptop, I only tested the speed for a thread here:It took 70 seconds to sync 11 hours of blocks. That's about 1 block per second
For 1 block per second you don't need very fast internet.When I upgraded my RAM (4 > 12), I really felt like I should have done that years earlier.
Quote
Also, what Linux distro are you using? im looking for one that is secure but not too hard to use and maintain safety. Im not really sure about Ubuntu anymore since their shady ad partnership with Amazon.
I don't think it matters much, just pick anything that works for you. What are your computer specs like? The only thing you could do is to buy a faster computer. Im not sure what is more important, if CPU, HDD or RAM, but it should be way faster with a faster computer, assuming that your internet connection is good, and that your connectivity to other nodes is good.
From my own experience: adding more RAM made a huge improvement. An SSD will be faster than HDD, but at my current setup with HDD, I get about 1 block per second.
I've read much worse results too though, I'm not sure if Windows vs Linux makes much difference, and I can't test it by myself on Windows.
My advice:
-if your computer is low on memory: add more RAM. I consider anything under 8 GB low nowadays, and adding memory will also increase the overall performance of your PC.
-if you don't have one yet: install an SSD. Even if you don't use it for Bitcoin Core, your entire computer will work much faster (you'll need to install your software on it of course).
Wow that's crazy. 1 block per second? Can you post your computer specs in detail? also what's your internet connection like? I should update both my computer and internet. I need to see if there is reach for optical cable fiber internet in here, im still stuck with the good ol ADSL connection.
I will indeed get an SSD but im saving to get more money ready for a full update to go with m.2 SSD and not regulat SATA3 SSD.
Also, what Linux distro are you using? im looking for one that is secure but not too hard to use and maintain safety. Im not really sure about Ubuntu anymore since their shady ad partnership with Amazon.
Thanks for the input from all of you. There could have been something that helps me. I'll post my progress here as soon as I experience one.
I think the current load on the blockchain also affects it
It doesn't. Transactions in mempool have nothing to do with this.What are your computer specs like? The only thing you could do is to buy a faster computer. Im not sure what is more important, if CPU, HDD or RAM, but it should be way faster with a faster computer, assuming that your internet connection is good, and that your connectivity to other nodes is good.
From my own experience: adding more RAM made a huge improvement. An SSD will be faster than HDD, but at my current setup with HDD, I get about 1 block per second.I've read much worse results too though, I'm not sure if Windows vs Linux makes much difference, and I can't test it by myself on Windows.
My advice:
-if your computer is low on memory: add more RAM. I consider anything under 8 GB low nowadays, and adding memory will also increase the overall performance of your PC.
-if you don't have one yet: install an SSD. Even if you don't use it for Bitcoin Core, your entire computer will work much faster (you'll need to install your software on it of course).
only advancing a few hundred blocks per day.
On average, 144 new blocks are found each day. At this speed iIt will take you a very long time to catch up. 
I know it's often asked if it's normal for the blockchain to take so long to load. But after a few days it should be done. Strangely enough, my computer has been loading for weeks and is only advancing a few hundred blocks per day. What can this be? Can I do something to make it faster?
I think the current load on the blockchain also affects it you can download a torrent of the blockchain and download it that way and then place it in the folder. Just make sure to download a legit torrent of the blockchain.
I know it's often asked if it's normal for the blockchain to take so long to load. But after a few days it should be done. Strangely enough, my computer has been loading for weeks and is only advancing a few hundred blocks per day. What can this be? Can I do something to make it faster?
What are your computer specs like? The only thing you could do is to buy a faster computer. Im not sure what is more important, if CPU, HDD or RAM, but it should be way faster with a faster computer, assuming that your internet connection is good, and that your connectivity to other nodes is good.
Sometimes it becomes really slow for me, like 0.15% increase an hour which is insane. I open and close it and I get new peers and it goes faster, but my computer is old and im hoping that an upgrade makes this process faster.
I have nightmares about my blockchain becoming corrupted and needing to sync from scratch. That would suck.
I know it's often asked if it's normal for the blockchain to take so long to load. But after a few days it should be done. Strangely enough, my computer has been loading for weeks and is only advancing a few hundred blocks per day. What can this be? Can I do something to make it faster?
Jump to: