Bitcoin Forum

Im wondering if it's worth mining with my laptop, seeing as it's on 24x7 even when Im not using it.

Im running Linux ubuntu. It's an Intel CPU T2130 @ 1.86GHz × 2, with 3.2 GB RAM.  

As I understand it. If it did do mining, it would only be at all worthwhile by joining a mining pool eg p2pool.

by the way the laptop is connected to the net 24x7 as well, sits in my office all the time, I dont carry this one around anywhere. 

any thoughts?

I don't know how much you can make mining for bitcoins, but as an alternative you might mine for some alt coins (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=67.0).

wouldnt it be better to just buy LTCs right now, rather than mine them, given fall in price?  Or are they easier to mine?

I know very little about LTC though, and even less about all the other alt currencies.

Just found this post from 2011 asking similar question about mining with a laptop:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=14122.0

Difference now is that BTC price has gone much higher (and BTC volume reward has halved from 50 to 25).

far as hardware goes, for mining with a laptop you need good cooling.

I have a cooling base with two large fans, plus I can add a small desktop fan as well.

Also laptops use much less power than a desktop.

Well at least you're on the right track with a pool. But that laptop is of such an age that it almost certainly can't have a gpu worth mining on. Fastest mobile gpu in the charts barely gets 60mhs.

Here is a link to the charts. https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Mining_hardware_comparison
And a calculator, http://www.alloscomp.com/bitcoin/calculator
60mhs at today's difficulty makes $20 a month! And if not for the recent run up that would be about $3

 ::)  So I guess my 5yr old netbook is out of the question when it comes to Ltc mining...

yeah theres no way I can do gpu mining with it.

Instead Ive decided to try litecoin mining instead of bitcoin, and using p2pool.

Ive installed Bitcoind and Litecoind, also the python stuff for p2pool plus cpuminer.

Just waiting for the litecoin blockchain to finish downloading, then going to try mining with cpuminer and p2pool.

Nothing ventured nothing gained. Main thing is to watch out I dont overstress the laptop through it, plus keep the cooling on 24x7.

update on this.

I installed all the mining systems ok and started mining litecoins with p2pool using cpuminer.

but it looks like its hopelessly unprofitable at least according to the litecoinpool mining calculator.

Entered my Kh hash rate as shown by my p2pool stats for my nod, plus the difficulty rate of 223 which is displayed on their site at https://www.litecoinpool.org/calc

Does anyone know, is this the standard difficulty rate for litecoin or does it just relate to their pool?

Anyway if its the former as I think it is, then the result shows that its completely unprofitable and lossmaking for me to try and mine litecoins with my laptop.

probably just as well since it could burn out the processor and parts.

so, no more mining, ive turned the system off. pity, just when Id got it all working. Bitcoin brings out the geek in me.

You know LTC difficulty just jumped higher 5 hours ago right?  CPU mining is obsolete now (it made sense for both BTC and LTC in the past).  Soon GPU mining for BTC will be obsolete.

Using a CPU now is like trying to turn a doorknob with needle-nose pliers.  Sure you might be able to do it after 10 hours, but why not just use the right tool in the first place.