Started Bitcoin Mining!

the_Grinch

There has been a lot of discussion here recently about bitcoins. I'm a huge fan due to the philosophy of the currency, though if it lasts I don't know at this time. All that being said, I began mining last night and so far so good. I joined a pool as that seemed to be the easiest and most beneficial way to do it (won't post the name because that isn't the point of the post). The pool has custom java software to use and I tried it on my Mac...so far so good. I've actually already generated a percentage of a coin (a very low one haha), but that was only after running it for a few hours last night (forgot to change my power settings). Definitely gives me another reason to love Macs and I can get old Mac hardware fairly cheap Let the fun begin!

MSP-IT

I've heard it can be quite lucrative. Let me know how that works out for you.

the_Grinch

I will say, pure CPU mining only will not net you anything that is for sure. A combo of GPU and CPU seems to do the job. I might start looking for an old PowerMac with a few PCI express ports so I can slap a couple GPUs in and go to town.

dazl1212

Can this be done on Windows machines and is it worth it?
I might set one up if it is

the_Grinch

Yup it can be done on a Windows machine, but if you don't have at least one GPU I question if it will be worth your time. That being said, if you aim is to support the currency and it's philosophy then running it on just your CPU is perfectly fine. I have it running on must one of my CPU's cores and haven't had any slowdowns.

SteveLord

It's not worth your time unless you have a serious GPU. You won't be able to outfit old Macs with any of that.

dazl1212

I have a quad core opteron and an ATI 4670 so although not top spec it is reasonable. I would be interested in doing it so if its ok could you PM me with a link?

lsud00d

Not to be a negative nancy but it probably isn't worth anyone's time unless you have a GPU farm or a new ASIC machine from Avalon or Butterfly Labs.

Edit: For reference with my i7-2600k and ASUS GTX 560ti I was pool mining ~ 80mh/s. I was netting ~0.0033 BTC/day after running for 24 hours. So in 3 days I would have earned ~0.01 BTC and in 15 I would have earned ~0.05, which is the minimum to transfer to your wallet.

So 0.1 BTC/month, roughly $16.00 at the price of the moment, which probably doesn't even cover electricity, nay the strain and life steal on my PC.

That said, ATI chipsets are much more efficient at mining. Here's a link for GPU comparisons, but note the ASIC's listed first...they compute in gh/s (giga hash per second) vs mh/s (mega hash per second).

https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Mining_hardware_comparison

the_Grinch

Great info, thanks for that! As I said, the main goal is to keep the currency and the philosophy going. Actually getting anything from mining is the bonus .

dazl1212

Doesnt really seem worth it to be honest. Might just do it anyway as I think the idea is pretty cool

Claymoore

lsud00d wrote: »

So 0.1 BTC/month, roughly $16.00 at the price of the moment, which probably doesn't even cover electricity, nay the strain and life steal on my PC.

This. I doubt you earn enough to cover the cost of equipment and resources. Exchange rates vary and equipment costs that are justifiable at $260/BTC are a wasted expense when the rate is $100/BTC. It's hard to predict rates and thus determine if your upfront investment will generate a return in a reasonable period. And then there are the bitcoin bot nets...

Plus I just don't trust bitcoin. I don't know what to make of a currency without a central bank to manage it. (Luckily for me, I am paid in dollars which is already the world reserve currency) Although I do think it is interesting as an intellectual pursuit and can maybe demonstrate some effects of monetary policy that are hard to test with today's world currencies.

What the Bitcoin Crash Can Teach Us About Money and Investing

Simple example of what a central bank does and why we need them:
Baby-Sitting the Economy - Slate Magazine

If I'm just going to donate clock cycles for an intellectual pursuit, I would rather give them to something like Folding@Home or SETI@Home

webgeek

bitcoin mining has to be done with multiple GPU's if you have them lying around. Otherwise you can buy a ~10k avalon machine producing 60 giga hashes or wait for butterfly labs to finally ship items out to customers who have been waiting for 10+ months.

Please, no one, fall for those bitcoin mining machines off of ebay. Not worth it since you can buy the parts cheaper and built it yourself. If anyone has any questions on how to setup anything, ask.

jibbajabba

Wonder how many idle VMs I got in the datacenters

tbhouston

I don't judge people by their hobbies..have fun

lsud00d

webgeek wrote: »

Otherwise you can buy a ~10k avalon machine producing 60 giga hashes or wait for butterfly labs to finally ship items out to customers who have been waiting for 10+ months.

And to think, they started as $1500

jibbajabba

webgeek wrote: »

Otherwise you can buy a ~10k avalon machine producing 60 giga hashes or wait for butterfly labs to finally ship items out to customers who have been waiting for 10+ months..

10k if lucky

Avalon Asic Bitcoin Miner Batch 2 67 GH S | eBay

Claymoore

jibbajabba wrote: »

10k if lucky

I guess the old adage is true. You don't get rich mining gold, you get rich selling shovels to the miners.