Bitcoin Forum

Hi All,

I have a quick question and wondering if you guys can help ...

Is the Antminer U3 "profitable" vs the cost of the unit / electric it uses...

I have a machine what is on 24 / 7 so wondering if its worth purchasing a unit and have it running CGMiner ..

I can get a U3 for 30 GBP

I quite like the design of the unit but do not want to run it if its going to be costing me money to run that it makes ..

Cheers.

if your power is under 9 cents usd   you stand a chance to make a profit
if your power is under 6 cents usd     you stand a better chance to make a profit

if your  power is 15 cents usd  or higher you will most certainly lose out.

That's assuming it works perfectly 24/7, which they don't.

Expect to struggle with getting it running.

Expect to burn up the factory psu.

Expect to restart in and unplug it, sometimes several times per day, just to keep it running.

Expect it to not work for random reasons.

Expect it to work just fine, then you go and tweak one setting or change a cable, then it won't work at all or only at 50% speed.

Save your money for anything but a U3, they are crap.  If someone gives you one it's worth playing with, but don't pay money for one and expect to see that money back, let alone a profit.

While it's probably less efficient, I found the Rockminer R-box (i.e. the small 32GH "pod") to be very stable and reliable. I had 3 of them running for months without intervention at all. They shouldn't be too expensive.  

You might want to consider one of sidehack's Compac USB miner's when they are available. Less hash than a U3 though.

Agree, 4 of their usb sticks would equal the hash of a U3 and draw much less power and actually be reliable.

my 2 test pieces run great at freq 250