user18220: It technically doesn’t matter whether I am using a super computer or a laptop to do the proof of work, it’s simply that with a super computer I can go through the attempts much faster, which means I have a higher chance of solving the problem before anyone else and therefore claiming the reward, right? 

user15524: Right.
The proof of work is computing 2 SHA256 of a sequence of bytes that represent the block header to find a value lower than a target. It doesn't matter if the 2 hashes are computed by an ASIC, a CPU, a GPU or a HP-48. What matters is the number of hashes you can compute per unit of time.
That's why the power of mining hardware is measure in MH/s, GH/s or TH/s (mega, giga and terahashes per second).

18220: <p>It technically doesn’t matter whether I am using a super computer or a laptop to do the proof of work, it’s simply that with a super computer I can go through the attempts much faster, which means I have a higher chance of solving the problem before anyone else and therefore claiming the reward, right? </p>
 15524: <p>Right.</p>

<p>The proof of work is computing 2 SHA256 of a sequence of bytes that represent the block header to find a value lower than a target. It doesn't matter if the 2 hashes are computed by an ASIC, a CPU, a GPU or a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP-48" rel="nofollow">HP-48</a>. What matters is the number of hashes you can compute per unit of time.</p>

<p>That's why the power of mining hardware is measure in MH/s, GH/s or TH/s (mega, giga and terahashes per second).</p>
