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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →In Adam Taylor’s December 13, 2013 experiment, a ZedBoard CPU setup reported about 0.93 kH/s, compared with about 0.32 kH/s from a Raspberry Pi CPU setup. The ZedBoard was faster in that particular test, but neither result shows that these boards are practical Litecoin miners today: the benchmark used CPUs, not ZedBoard FPGA acceleration, and current Litecoin guidance points to specialized Scrypt ASICs for practical mining.
What Taylor’s 2013 comparison tested
Taylor ran the same program, cpuminer, from the command line on both boards. The ZedBoard ran Xillinux from an SD card; the Raspberry Pi already had a Linux distribution installed. The reported comparison was CPU mining on both systems—not a test of the ZedBoard’s programmable logic. Taylor’s December 13, 2013 account is an author-reported experiment, not an independently verified benchmark.
| System | Compute used | Reported hashrate | Software and operating system | Run outcome reported |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZedBoard | CPU; no FPGA offload reported | About 0.46 kH/s per processor, about 0.93 kH/s total | cpuminer; Xillinux on an SD card | No accepted-block result stated for the ZedBoard in the cited account |
| Raspberry Pi | CPU | About 0.32 kH/s | cpuminer; an existing Linux distribution | More than 24 hours without an accepted block when Taylor wrote |
These figures describe Taylor’s 2013 setups and reported observations. They are not current benchmarks, and the article does not establish a controlled power-efficiency comparison. The Pi’s lack of an accepted block in that run does not show that a Pi could never find one or establish an expected time to a block.
Why the ZedBoard was faster—and what it did not prove
Within this experiment, the ZedBoard CPU setup produced roughly 2.9 times the Pi’s reported hashrate (0.93 divided by 0.32). That ratio is arithmetic on Taylor’s approximate figures, not a separately measured result or a general comparison of all ZedBoards and Raspberry Pi models.
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The ZedBoard includes programmable FPGA fabric, but Taylor described using it to offload mining calculations only as a possible future experiment. The reported 0.93 kH/s came from the CPU setup. A separate project describing Scrypt mining implementations for other FPGA boards does not document a ZedBoard benchmark. The separate FPGA project should not be treated as evidence that Taylor used FPGA acceleration.
Why this is not a present-day mining recommendation
Litecoin proof of work uses Scrypt with parameters N=1024, r=1, and p=1, according to the Litecoin Learning Center’s mining guide. That guide identifies specialized Scrypt ASICs as the most efficient mining devices. Litecoinpool.org’s current FAQ likewise says CPU or GPU mining is not profitable in its assessment and that ASIC hardware is needed for practical mining. That is the pool operator’s guidance, not a promise that a particular ASIC purchase will earn a profit.
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The 2013 board test therefore answers a limited historical question: which of Taylor’s two CPU setups reported the higher hashrate? It does not say whether either board can compete with present mining hardware, whether mining would cover electricity costs, or how long any device might take to find a block.
Recreating the experiment versus mining Litecoin now
For a historical or educational recreation
Use Taylor’s account as a record of the software and operating-system context: cpuminer on both systems, Xillinux on the ZedBoard, and Linux on the Raspberry Pi. Legacy software and images may require compatibility work, and a current Raspberry Pi generation should not be expected to reproduce a 2013 result. Treat the project as a way to explore command-line mining software and compare old reported figures, not as a current mining strategy.
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For practical Scrypt mining
Start with hardware that implements Scrypt; current Litecoin guidance identifies specialized ASICs as the efficient route. Litecoin’s guide recommends Ethernet for a stable connection between an ASIC and router. When assessing a pool, compare its fee, payout minimum, location, identity requirements, hashrate, and whether it supports merged mining. Merged mining lets compatible chains be mined simultaneously; Litecoinpool says its service handles this without special miner configuration. Pool details and network conditions can change, so confirm current terms with the pool before connecting hardware. See the Litecoinpool FAQ and Litecoin’s mining guide.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why no profitability estimate follows from the old hashrates
Profitability depends on more than hashrate: hardware cost and efficiency, electricity price, network difficulty, coin prices, uptime, and pool terms all matter. Taylor’s 2013 comparison supplies neither a current energy-efficiency test nor the inputs needed to calculate present-day returns. The ASIC price and probability examples in Litecoin’s guide are tied to July–August 2024 conditions, so they should not be read as current prices or a current forecast.
For scale only, a Litecoin.watch guide published January 21, 2026 and edited September 18, 2026 reports one BITMAIN Antminer L9 configuration at 16 GH/s, 3,360 W, and 210 J/GH, with 220–277 V input and 75 dBA under manufacturer-stated conditions. These are figures for that model configuration as reported by a secondary guide—not a price quote, recommendation, or profitability estimate. Check the model guide and manufacturer specifications for current details before making any decision.
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