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Initial commit: TFGrid Economics documentation site 
- Based on working minting_plan repository
- Configured for threefold.info/economics deployment
- Added ops documentation for server deployment
- Updated baseUrl and URL configuration
2025-10-10 21:38:17 -04:00

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Node Specifications & Income Projections

This page provides detailed specifications for all node types, including hardware costs, resource allocations, and income projections based on the slices model.

:::info Price Assumptions

  • Cloud Credits (CC) pegged at 1/1000 gram of gold ≈ $0.128 USD (as of Oct 8, 2024)
  • Hardware costs amortized over 5-year lifespan
  • Revenue share: 80% to farmer, 10% burned, 10% to ThreeFold
  • No CPU oversubscription in current calculations :::

Non-Certified Nodes

Non-certified nodes are community-contributed hardware that meets minimum specifications but hasn't gone through the formal certification process.

3Node Home

Target: Home users, hobbyists, small-scale farmers

Specification Value
Estimate Cost $500
CPU Cores 16
Passmark 22,000
Memory 32 GB
SSD Storage 1,000 GB
GPU Memory -
TPS -

Slices Economics:

Metric Value
Max Slices 25
HW Cost/Month (5Y) 8 CC
Min Income/Month 10.92 CC
Max Income/Month 126 CC
Typical Active Slices 7

Per Slice Resources:

  • CPU: 2.3 cores
  • Performance: 3,143 Passmark
  • Memory: 4.0 GB
  • Storage: 143 GB
  • Price Range: 1.2 - 12.0 CC/month

ROI Analysis:

  • Break-even: ~3-4 years at minimum income
  • Best case: 6-8 months at maximum utilization
  • Realistic: 12-18 months at 50% utilization

Large TFGrid Node

Target: Dedicated farmers, data center deployments

Specification Value
Estimate Cost $2,000
CPU Cores 36
Passmark 20,000
Memory 512 GB
SSD Storage 4,000 GB
GPU Memory -
TPS -

Slices Economics:

Metric Value
Max Slices 100
HW Cost/Month (5Y) 33 CC
Min Income/Month 198.12 CC
Max Income/Month 2,286 CC
Typical Active Slices 20

Per Slice Resources:

  • CPU: 1.8 cores
  • Performance: 1,000 Passmark
  • Memory: 25.4 GB
  • Storage: 200 GB
  • Price Range: 7.6 - 76.2 CC/month

ROI Analysis:

  • Break-even: ~10-12 months at minimum income
  • Best case: 1 month at maximum utilization
  • Realistic: 4-6 months at 40% utilization

:::tip High Memory Advantage This node's high memory (512 GB) makes it ideal for memory-heavy slices, commanding premium pricing. :::

Large TFGrid Node 2

Target: Budget-conscious farmers, balanced workloads

Specification Value
Estimate Cost $1,200
CPU Cores 36
Passmark 20,000
Memory 128 GB
SSD Storage 2,000 GB
GPU Memory -
TPS -

Slices Economics:

Metric Value
Max Slices 100
HW Cost/Month (5Y) 20 CC
Min Income/Month 48.36 CC
Max Income/Month 558 CC
Typical Active Slices 20

Per Slice Resources:

  • CPU: 1.8 cores
  • Performance: 1,000 Passmark
  • Memory: 6.2 GB
  • Storage: 100 GB
  • Price Range: 1.9 - 18.6 CC/month

ROI Analysis:

  • Break-even: ~2-3 years at minimum income
  • Best case: 2-3 months at maximum utilization
  • Realistic: 8-12 months at 40% utilization

Certified Nodes (New Batch Q4 2025)

Certified nodes are pre-configured, tested hardware packages from approved vendors, ensuring quality and reliability.

Mini 1

Target: Entry-level certified farming

Specification Value
Estimate Cost $350
CPU Cores 16
Passmark 16,000
Memory 32 GB
SSD Storage 1,000 GB
GPU Memory -
TPS -

Slices Economics:

Metric Value
Max Slices 25
HW Cost/Month (5Y) 6 CC
Min Income/Month 11 CC
Max Income/Month 126 CC
Typical Active Slices 7

Per Slice Resources:

  • CPU: 2.3 cores
  • Performance: 2,286 Passmark
  • Memory: 4.0 GB
  • Storage: 143 GB
  • Price Range: 1.2 - 12.0 CC/month

ROI Analysis:

  • Break-even: ~3 years at minimum income
  • Best case: 3-4 months at maximum utilization
  • Realistic: 10-14 months at 50% utilization

Mini 2

Target: Mid-range certified farming, small business

Specification Value
Estimate Cost $800
CPU Cores 24
Passmark 25,000
Memory 64 GB
SSD Storage 2,000 GB
GPU Memory -
TPS -

Slices Economics:

Metric Value
Max Slices 25
HW Cost/Month (5Y) 13 CC
Min Income/Month 23 CC
Max Income/Month 270 CC
Typical Active Slices 15

Per Slice Resources:

  • CPU: 1.6 cores
  • Performance: 1,667 Passmark
  • Memory: 4.0 GB
  • Storage: 133 GB
  • Price Range: 1.2 - 12.0 CC/month

ROI Analysis:

  • Break-even: ~2.5-3 years at minimum income
  • Best case: 3-4 months at maximum utilization
  • Realistic: 10-12 months at 55% utilization

Mini 3

Target: Serious certified farmers, enterprise edge deployments

Specification Value
Estimate Cost $1,000
CPU Cores 24
Passmark 25,000
Memory 128 GB
SSD Storage 4,000 GB
GPU Memory -
TPS -

Slices Economics:

Metric Value
Max Slices 25
HW Cost/Month (5Y) 17 CC
Min Income/Month 48 CC
Max Income/Month 558 CC
Typical Active Slices 25

Per Slice Resources:

  • CPU: 1.0 cores
  • Performance: 1,000 Passmark
  • Memory: 5.0 GB
  • Storage: 160 GB
  • Price Range: 1.5 - 14.9 CC/month

ROI Analysis:

  • Break-even: ~1.5-2 years at minimum income
  • Best case: 2 months at maximum utilization
  • Realistic: 6-8 months at 60% utilization

:::tip Sweet Spot Mini 3 offers excellent balance of cost, performance, and storage. Strong ROI potential with good network utilization. :::

AI-Focused Certified Nodes

These nodes include dedicated GPU hardware for AI/ML workloads, representing the future growth area of TFGrid.

Mini AI 1

Target: Entry-level AI workloads, inference, development

Specification Value
Estimate Cost $2,000
CPU Cores 32
Passmark 50,000
Memory 128 GB
SSD Storage 4,000 GB
GPU Memory 128 GB
TPS 20

Slices Economics:

Metric Value
Max Slices 4
HW Cost/Month (5Y) 33 CC
Min Income/Month 52 CC
Max Income/Month 600 CC
Typical Active Slices 4

Per Slice Resources:

  • CPU: 8.0 cores
  • Performance: 12,500 Passmark
  • Memory: 31.0 GB
  • Storage: 1,000 GB
  • GPU: Shared access
  • TPS: 5
  • Price Range: 10 - 100 CC/month

ROI Analysis:

  • Break-even: ~3 years at minimum income
  • Best case: 3-4 months at maximum utilization
  • Realistic: 8-12 months at 70% utilization

Nvidia 6000 (Single GPU)

Target: Professional AI training, high-end inference

Specification Value
Estimate Cost $15,000
CPU Cores 24
Passmark 35,000
Memory 128 GB
SSD Storage 4,000 GB
GPU Memory 96 GB
TPS 350

Slices Economics:

Metric Value
Max Slices 1 (dedicated full node)
HW Cost/Month (5Y) 250 CC
Min Income/Month 390 CC
Max Income/Month 4,500 CC
Typical Active Slices 1

Per Slice Resources:

  • CPU: 24 cores (full node)
  • Performance: 35,000 Passmark
  • Memory: 124 GB
  • Storage: 4,000 GB
  • GPU: 96 GB dedicated
  • TPS: 350
  • Price Range: 300 - 3,000 CC/month

ROI Analysis:

  • Break-even: ~3 years at minimum income
  • Best case: 3-4 months at maximum utilization
  • Realistic: 10-14 months at 60% utilization

:::note High-Value Target These nodes target high-value AI workloads. Even at minimum pricing, they generate significant income if utilized. :::

Nvidia 6000 (Dual GPU)

Target: Large-scale AI training, enterprise ML operations

Specification Value
Estimate Cost $30,000
CPU Cores 24
Passmark 35,000
Memory 128 GB
SSD Storage 8,000 GB
GPU Memory 192 GB (2x 96GB)
TPS 700

Slices Economics:

Metric Value
Max Slices 2 (can be sold separately)
HW Cost/Month (5Y) 500 CC
Min Income/Month 780 CC
Max Income/Month 9,000 CC
Typical Active Slices 2

Per Slice Resources:

  • CPU: 12 cores
  • Performance: 17,500 Passmark
  • Memory: 62 GB
  • Storage: 4,000 GB
  • GPU: 96 GB dedicated per slice
  • TPS: 350
  • Price Range: 300 - 3,000 CC/month per slice

ROI Analysis:

  • Break-even: ~3 years at minimum income
  • Best case: 3-4 months at maximum utilization
  • Realistic: 12-16 months at 50% utilization

Tenstorrent 8x

Target: Cutting-edge AI acceleration, next-gen ML workloads

Specification Value
Estimate Cost $30,000
CPU Cores 24
Passmark 35,000
Memory 128 GB
SSD Storage 8,000 GB
GPU Memory 192 GB
TPS 2,000

Slices Economics:

Metric Value
Max Slices 2
HW Cost/Month (5Y) 500 CC
Min Income/Month 780 CC
Max Income/Month 9,000 CC
Typical Active Slices 2

Per Slice Resources:

  • CPU: 12 cores
  • Performance: 17,500 Passmark
  • Memory: 62 GB
  • Storage: 4,000 GB
  • AI Memory: 96 GB dedicated per slice
  • TPS: 1,000
  • Price Range: 300 - 3,000 CC/month per slice

ROI Analysis:

  • Break-even: ~3 years at minimum income
  • Best case: 3-4 months at maximum utilization
  • Realistic: 12-16 months at 50% utilization

:::tip Tenstorrent Advantage With 2,000 TPS (vs 700 for Nvidia), Tenstorrent offers superior AI performance for specific workloads at the same price point. :::

Comparison Table: All Nodes

Node Type Cost Monthly HW Cost Min Income Max Income Break-Even (Min) Break-Even (Max)
Non-Certified
3Node Home $500 8 CC 10.92 CC 126 CC 3-4 years 6-8 months
Large TFGrid $2,000 33 CC 198.12 CC 2,286 CC 10-12 months 1 month
Large TFGrid 2 $1,200 20 CC 48.36 CC 558 CC 2-3 years 2-3 months
Certified Q4 2025
Mini 1 $350 6 CC 11 CC 126 CC 3 years 3-4 months
Mini 2 $800 13 CC 23 CC 270 CC 2.5-3 years 3-4 months
Mini 3 $1,000 17 CC 48 CC 558 CC 1.5-2 years 2 months
AI Nodes
Mini AI 1 $2,000 33 CC 52 CC 600 CC 3 years 3-4 months
Nvidia 6000 1x $15,000 250 CC 390 CC 4,500 CC 3 years 3-4 months
Nvidia 6000 2x $30,000 500 CC 780 CC 9,000 CC 3 years 3-4 months
Tenstorrent 8x $30,000 500 CC 780 CC 9,000 CC 3 years 3-4 months

Key Insights

For Standard Compute Nodes

  • 3Node Home / Mini 1: Good for hobbyists, learning the ecosystem
  • Mini 2 / Mini 3: Best balance of cost and ROI for serious farmers
  • Large TFGrid: Premium option for those with high memory workload expectations

For AI-Focused Farming

  • Mini AI 1: Entry point for AI farming, lower risk
  • Nvidia 6000: Industry-standard, proven demand
  • Tenstorrent 8x: Higher TPS for specific AI workloads, emerging technology

General Observations

  1. AI nodes have higher upfront costs but command premium pricing
  2. Certified nodes coming Q4 2025 provide quality assurance
  3. Memory-heavy configurations can charge more per slice
  4. Break-even highly dependent on network utilization
  5. 80% revenue share means farmers keep majority of value

Important Notes

(*) Revenue Distribution: 80% to hoster/farmer, 10% burned, 10% to ThreeFold

No CPU Oversubscription: Current calculations assume no CPU oversubscription. In reality, users will have more CPU available during low-demand periods, and potential oversubscription could increase effective income.

Cloud Credit Conversion: CC can be acquired by converting 2 TFT or by purchasing at fiat equivalent of 1/1000 gram of gold price = ~$0.128 USD (price as of Oct 8, 2024)

Next Steps

:::tip Hardware Planning Use these specifications to plan your hardware investment based on your budget, risk tolerance, and market expectations. :::