Started Bitcoin Mining!

the_Grinchthe_Grinch Member Posts: 4,165 ■■■■■■■■■■
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!
WIP:
PHP
Kotlin
Intro to Discrete Math
Programming Languages
Work stuff

Comments

  • MSP-ITMSP-IT Member Posts: 752 ■■■□□□□□□□
    I've heard it can be quite lucrative. Let me know how that works out for you.
  • the_Grinchthe_Grinch Member Posts: 4,165 ■■■■■■■■■■
    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.
    WIP:
    PHP
    Kotlin
    Intro to Discrete Math
    Programming Languages
    Work stuff
  • dazl1212dazl1212 Member Posts: 377
    Can this be done on Windows machines and is it worth it?
    I might set one up if it is
    Goals for 2013 Network+ [x] ICND1 [x] ICND2 [ ]
  • the_Grinchthe_Grinch Member Posts: 4,165 ■■■■■■■■■■
    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.
    WIP:
    PHP
    Kotlin
    Intro to Discrete Math
    Programming Languages
    Work stuff
  • SteveLordSteveLord Member Posts: 1,717
    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.
    WGU B.S.IT - 9/1/2015 >>> ???
  • dazl1212dazl1212 Member Posts: 377
    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?
    Goals for 2013 Network+ [x] ICND1 [x] ICND2 [ ]
  • lsud00dlsud00d Member Posts: 1,571
    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_Grinchthe_Grinch Member Posts: 4,165 ■■■■■■■■■■
    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 .
    WIP:
    PHP
    Kotlin
    Intro to Discrete Math
    Programming Languages
    Work stuff
  • dazl1212dazl1212 Member Posts: 377
    Doesnt really seem worth it to be honest. Might just do it anyway as I think the idea is pretty cool
    Goals for 2013 Network+ [x] ICND1 [x] ICND2 [ ]
  • ClaymooreClaymoore Member Posts: 1,637
    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
  • webgeekwebgeek Member Posts: 495 ■■■■□□□□□□
    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.
    BS in IT: Information Assurance and Security (Capella) CISSP, GIAC GSEC, Net+, A+
  • jibbajabbajibbajabba Member Posts: 4,317 ■■■■■■■■□□
    Wonder how many idle VMs I got in the datacenters :p
    My own knowledge base made public: http://open902.com :p
  • tbhoustontbhouston Member Posts: 32 ■■□□□□□□□□
    I don't judge people by their hobbies..have fun
  • lsud00dlsud00d Member Posts: 1,571
    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 icon_rolleyes.gif
  • jibbajabbajibbajabba Member Posts: 4,317 ■■■■■■■■□□
    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
    My own knowledge base made public: http://open902.com :p
  • ClaymooreClaymoore Member Posts: 1,637
    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.
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