Am I wasting my time mining for BitCoins?

[newbi462]

I do not know if this has been asked before. But, I am wondering what it really takes to actually make a coin?

I have some systems that are on 24/7 any ways so thought I would give mining a try, but am wonde4ring if I am wasting my time?

I mean will only a killer 12 core with 4 or 5 high end GPU cards all working together generate coins if it is doing nothing else?

Or are the problems scaled so every one has a more fair chance of making a coin?

Do I need a 10K plus system or an array of systems to really have a shot at ever making a BitCoin?

So 50 are made every 10 min, but honestly what are the odds I will ever get one?

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[Clarithium]

Are you solo mining, or operating in a pool? Solo mining (from what i've read and tried myself) only really works if you have a high end pc, and it's still a gamble.

By mining in a pool (or community), you mine a block with other people and get paid for the amount of work your computer did.

[newbi462]

Ok sounds like I should join a pool.

But how would I do that?

Right now I am a real newbi, just downloaded the app to my Linux box. For the most part a few of my stems here are on 24/7 so figured what the heck why not run it. But no real point if I will never get any coins. I happy to work with others, like I said they are always on systems.

[Mahkul]

I mean will only a killer 12 core with 4 or 5 high end GPU cards all working together generate coins if it is doing nothing else?

The CPU power doesn't make any difference if you have a good GPU. It is the GPU that you should be using for mining since CPUs are MUCH slower; most people don't even bother to use their CPUs.

Or are the problems scaled so every one has a more fair chance of making a coin?

Do I need a 10K plus system or an array of systems to really have a shot at ever making a BitCoin?

So 50 are made every 10 min, but honestly what are the odds I will ever get one?

First you find out the hashrate of your GPU (go to https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Mining_hardware_comparison) - then use bitcoin calculator to check how long it is going to take to mine coins with your hashrate.

I hope this helps.

[newbi462]

How do I make sure it is using my GPU in stead of my CPU? I go in to options but see no setting for that?

[Clarithium]

Are you using a bitcoin miner program?

Or are you hitting the "Generate Coins" button in the BitCoin Wallet program

[newbi462]

I am using the generate coins button on the wallet if that is not what I should be using what program should I get for my Linux box and where from?


Also
Nvidia 8800GTX is my card but not seeing that in the list?

[Mahkul]

I am using the generate coins button on the wallet if that is not what I should be using what program should I get for my Linux box and where from?


Also
Nvidia 8800GTX is my card but not seeing that in the list?

Seems like you have some reading to do. There are a few miners around, it's up to you which one you will want to use. Just check the following threads for information and instructions:

http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1334.0
http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1721.0
http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2444.0

[dbitcoin]

How do I make sure it is using my GPU in stead of my CPU? I go in to options but see no setting for that?

GPU mining currently supported only trough special mining clients, not bitcoin client.
You should:
1) Identify you GPU (nvidia/ati, with support OpenCL/CUDA or not)
2) Download mining client
3) Read manual or readme how configure this client and then properly setup it.

Theres is a several mining clients on forum.

m0mchil's GPU miner
jgarzik's CPU miner
ufasoft's SSE2 miner
Diablo's GPU miner

And if you decided join to pool:

1) Some bitcoin mining clients download page
2) Configuration command strings

[Clarithium]

Okay, just a heads up.  The "Generate Coins" button should honestly be removed from the bitcoin wallet. The amount of time it would take to actually generate a coin is a complete waste of electricity.

There are many programs all over the mining catagory in this forum. The one I am currently using is:
http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3878.0

Although, it may not be the best for you or your most preferenced.  There are others you should experiment with.

EDIT: They beat me to it. Read the 2 posts above me, they seem to be more helpful 

[memvola]

I'm assuming you're on Windows. I'm not a Windows user but the rumor is, Windows frontend for GPU miners is the easiest way to start:

http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3878.0

I should remind you, the miner will connect to the pool server and not your local client. So, find a pool and join. Configuration options are on their respective front pages. Here are examples:

http://mining.bitcoin.cz/
http://deepbit.net/

There are other pools.

[dbitcoin]

I'm assuming you're on Windows. I'm not a Windows user but the rumor is, Windows frontend for GPU miners is the easiest way to start:

http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3878.0

I should remind you, the miner will connect to the pool server and not your local client. So, find a pool and join. Configuration options are on their respective front pages. Here are examples:

1) wrong assuming, you must read this post
2) mining client may used with standard bitcoin client without any problem

[Akarbb]

http://thedailybitcoin.blogspot.com/2011/04/cpu-mining-no-longer-viable-option.html

[newbi462]

I am actually on Linux not Windows.

I have downloaded DiabloMiner from

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

But I apparently need a user and pass

usage: DiabloMiner -u myuser -p mypassword [args]
                   
 -D,--devices <arg>    devices to enable
 -d,--debug            enable extra debug output
 -f,--fps <arg>        target execution timing
 -g,--getwork <arg>    seconds between getwork refresh
 -h,--help             this help
 -l,--url <arg>        bitcoin host url
 -o,--host <arg>       bitcoin host IP
 -p,--pass <arg>       bitcoin host password
 -r,--port <arg>       bitcoin host port
 -u,--user <arg>       bitcoin host username
 -w,--worksize <arg>   override worksize
 -x,--proxy <arg>      optional proxy settings IP:PORT<:username:password>

Remember to set rpcuser and rpcpassword in your ~/.bitcoin/bitcoin.conf
before starting bitcoind or bitcoin --daemon

But I have no bitcoin.conf file to add it to in the .bitcoin file in my user home dir?

[[Tycho]]

I am actually on Linux not Windows.
I have downloaded DiabloMiner from

I would recommend using poclbm miner, it's the best and most feature-rich at this moment.

Remember to set rpcuser and rpcpassword in your ~/.bitcoin/bitcoin.conf
before starting bitcoind or bitcoin --daemon
But I have no bitcoin.conf file to add it to in the .bitcoin file in my user home dir?

You don't need bitcoin.conf if you are mining in pool. Use your pool's login and password.

[memvola]

1) wrong assuming, you must read this post

Grrr. I should stop assuming "newbie" means Windows user. Sorry about that.

2) mining client may used with standard bitcoin client without any problem

Sure, that's also true. I've seen some people getting confused while switching from the generation option on the client to a pool server and wanted to clarify. Was without success I guess...

[newbi462]

regarding poclbm am seeing .exe files when I DL it yet it alks about 3 Linux distros so confused is there a Linux ver some where?

[[Tycho]]

regarding poclbm am seeing .exe files when I DL it yet it alks about 3 Linux distros so confused is there a Linux ver some where?

It's a python program with source included. You can just run it with a python interpreter if you have one installed (with it's dependencies).
If you don't see .py files inside, download it from github.

Also you'll need appropriate drivers for your video card and ATI Stream SDK v2.1-2.3, YMMV.

[newbi462]

 have DL this one

https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Poclbm-mod

in the "binaries-win32" folder I see a bunch of .pyd files

 in the "source" folder I see a 3 . py files setup.py, bitcoiminer.py, and poclbm-mod.py

I am guessing these are the ones I want, but I have no clue how to run them  I search for "python interpreter" in my repo and supposedly already have one installed I think? libpython2.6-devel and Python Imaging Library version 1.1.7 but not sure is that what I need?

Do I just open terminal and say ./setup.py

or am I missing something?

[[Tycho]]

have DL this one
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Poclbm-mod

This is mod version, you'd better use poclbm or poclbm-gui, but not the poclbm-mod.
This is the GUI version:
http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3878.0
This is original version:
http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1334.0

Do I just open terminal and say ./setup.py
or am I missing something?

Sorry, but i'm not the linux user. I think that people in those threads will help you with using python.