Megahes per second (MH/s) is a unit of measure equal to one million hashes per second.
What is Megahashes Per Second?
A hash is a mathematical application that converts any set of data into letters and numbers of a given length. Because hashes are often shorter and easier to find, they are used to speed up data storage and retrieval.
These calculations are applied in the mining process, which involves the use of powerful computers and carefully specialised software to create the cryptocurrency. Miners perform complex mathematical tasks, some of which are extremely difficult to solve manually.
Since bitcoin mining is practically a guessing game requiring speed, any mining equipment does hundreds or even millions of guesses per second. The goal is to solve the current block by finding the right answer to the question.
In reality, as the complexity increases, mining a single block on a single processor at 50 hashes per second would take three quarters of a million years. This is why no one in their right mind would mine bitcoin using a CPU.
There is a lot of new and more powerful mining equipment on the market, such as integrated circuit integrated circuit (ASIC) miners, which increases miners’ revenues. At the same time, as the complexity of mining increases, computers require more and more power. As a result, the percentage of power consumed is increasing.
Cryptocurrency miners are directly dependent on the hash rate. A higher hash rate increases the probability of mining a block. Miners have a better chance of being rewarded for successfully mined blocks when the hash rate is maximum.
Anyone familiar with the concept of computer storage will recognise the terms used to express hashrate, some of which include Mega, Giga and Tera. For example, a hash rate of 60 hashes per second means that a device can compute and make 60 guesses per second in an attempt to solve a block.
The kilo hash (KH/s) comes first, followed by the mega hash (MH/s), giga hash (GH/s), tera (TH/s) and peta (PH/s).
Here’s how hash rates are defined:
- Kiloh’sh = 1,000 hashes
- Megahesh = 1,000 hashes
Most of the latest Ethereum mining machines (mostly GPUs) are running in the mega hash range. Let’s take a closer look at Ethereum mining, for example, with a good GPU you can reach around 50 megahes per second. Some mine more, while others mine less. Many Ethereum mining rigs use seven GPUs. It is worth expecting to earn just over 10 Ethereums each year, assuming all seven GPUs are running at the same speed.