Bitcoin Forum

Hello, I'm new here and I have a simple question :)

Suppose I have a free 4x6990 rig (0$ cost), so I would only pay electricity(0.15$).

Is solo mining profitable or should I be using pools?

Pools for low fees. You'll get a nice regular payment.

You can solo mine but risk not getting a result for a wee while so your kinda stuck if you don't get lucky.

It really depends on your luck. In the long run, both should more less pay out equally... However, running a pool, you are guaranteed a steady payout. Solo mining may garner nothing for an extended period of time or 50 BTC.

Try out the calculator and it can show you what you may or may not get. http://bitcoinx.com/profit/index.php (http://bitcoinx.com/profit/index.php)

4x6990 would be the top of the hardware comparison charts right now for mhash, actually beyond the top configuration of 3x6990 which would take ~2 weeks to complete a block. you would make more solo mining but for ~2 weeks you'd see nothing my best suggestion would be to join a free pool(btc guild) and run one of the cards there for a constant/consistent(and reassuring) payout and let the other three run in a solo mode for higher payouts

Think of mining like rolling a dice with billions of faces.  The chances of the dice rolling in your favor is very low, even if you have a very fast rig.  If you join a pool, instead of your 1Ghash/s+ you will have many others helping you roll the dice also.

If your rig can find an average of 1 block every 2 weeks, you will need at least 30 to 60 weeks for your luck to even out.  Any less than that and you risk the chance of being normally lucky, very badlucky, or very lucky.

In either case, the Expected Value of each option will be the same, but by joining a pool you can normalize your luck within a few days to ensure a constant predictable flow of money.

Pools for weakz. I'd just solo with a rig like that. Then you don't have to bother with the hassle of pools.

-Wizard-Ninja-

Ok, thanks for all the replies!