Bitcoin Forum

Started mining in the begining of June. Panic sold some BTCs at $13.66 two weeks ago, which covers the cost of all my video cards. Still haven't paid off the cost of the rest of my machine yet. If the price of BTC goes down even further or the difficulty keeps going up, it'll probably take longer to pay off everything.

not another of these posts again...

FYI, some people did not buy rigs especially. Me for example, I do have a longer history in GPGPU computing(doings maths on a GPU, aka mining for other purposes ...). So yes, after subtracting a total of $0.0/kW/h, and after subtracting my investment cost of $0(yes I even got the Hardware for free) Bitcoin would be pure profit if I just did it for that reason.

for people who started mining recently, have you paid off your machines?

I started mining around the beginning of June, I purchased the machine I wanted to replace my 10 year old PC that is dying.  I then added the graphic cards which are nearly paid off.

My only real goal is to pay off the computer with bitcoins before the end of the year.  This way I have a computer which is much faster then what I had in a way got it for free.

I'm glad I got in when I did as well as the increases in price and difficulty were not expected if I looked into it now I wouldn't have started it up because I wouldn't be sure of the payback timeframe.

Not yet, only started mining a few weeks ago. It's buzzing along nicely though and even if it never paid off, it's still one hell of a video/3D machine :)

Started mining around June 16th.

I've spent a total of $1835 on mining hardware:
2 x Motherboards
6 x HD 5830s
2 x 850W PSUs
6 x 1GB RAM
2 x AMD CPUs
1 x Corsair 600T Case + Additional Side Panel for 4x120mm fans
6 x 120mm Fans

I've earned, in Bitcoin related trade, a total of $690 in the last 30 days ($360 consulting, $330 selling BTC).

I sold 21 BTC for $16 on July 6th.

I've earned another 11 BTC in the last 12 days which I'm holding currently.

I figure, on mining alone, it will take another 80 days to pay everything off, difficulty increases not withstanding.  Only 5 of the 6 5830s are online, so I'm not mining at my full potential yet, and I'm expecting to bring that card online shortly, which should offset some of the difficulty increases and keep me at a steady 1 BTC / day (hopefully).  This also doesn't account for electricity, which I have estimated at $2.50/day.  So, adding that back into the equation it would be another $275 in electricity over the life of the mining (110 days), so I'll need to mine an additional 20 days to pay for the electricity.  That pushes my payoff out to around 100 days more (give or take).

I cannot in good conscious recommend anyone get into mining today.  I did this as cost effectively as possible and was able to get ALL of my 5830s for under $110.

Built a new machine at the beginning of July and maybe have received 50$ (back when prices were floating at 14$).  The machine cost $400 to build. Personally I do not mind if it takes 6 months to pay off because I am looking at this from the hobby perspective I do not plan to build another 10 machines or anything.

Many members here are younger, at least young enough to be in a college dorm, if not still at home with their parents.
So the concept of "free electricity" is well known around here.

But may I ask how you got *hardware* for free?  I must admit, "5 finger discount" is the first thing that comes to mind.

I certainly haven't met anyone giving away free computer hardware...at least not any hardware useful for GPU mining!  ;)

No, I have not paid off my machine yet.  I started mining with existing Nvidia hardware at the beginning of June, and saw how hopeless that was going to be.  My mining machine with Radeon hardware came in and I started mining in earnest June 18.  I acquired a second video card and started mining with it July 2.  Currently pulling in ~0.42 BTC/day.  By my calculations, the motherboard/cpu/memory/case have been paid off.  Now just the two video cards remain.

I started mining recently, about a month ago for bitcoins, and last week for namecoins.  But unlike most folks, i didn't over extend myself buying alot of equipment, so i don't need to sell my btc/nmc right away.  I'm holding on to them as a long term investment.

Started in June. Obviously have not paid off the hardware yet. I doubt most miners that started in June paid off their gear yet. Fractions of the gear, of course, but not 100%.

At $10/BTC I've paid off one card.
At $15/BTC I've paid off two cards (roughly)
At $25/BTC I've paid off all of my cards and most of my system

But since I intend to actually use my Bitcoins and not exchange them for worthless USD$, it's a moot subject.

So what does 'consulting' mean here?

I setup mining rigs for people.  I have multiple references if interested, I've gotten paid twice in BTC and twice in PayPal USD for setting up rigs. 

PM me if interested.

I added up how much I would spend to create (1) of the rigs you describe -- it came out to 689.44. And yes, that includes (3) brand new Sapphire 5830 Extremes and a nice case, as well as cooling. All parts would be brand-new. I could literally build several of those today, at the price I quoted, if I wanted to. And the machine would be able to mine all 3 Sapphire cards from day 1. Everything would be able to run cool enough to overclock slightly (but not excessively).

So for $1378.88, I could build the farm you describe, only with SIX cards running instead of just 5 of them running.

Sounds like I should be the one getting paid to build rigs for people ;)

hi op. no.

I started in May and dorked around with CPU mining not realizing that the clock was ticking.  I bought enough hardware to get two of my current PCs to mine - two power supplies, and 2 5830's.  I've only sold 2 bitcoins, just to see how the process worked.  I'm really more interested in the technology and how it all works than I am at turning a profit.  At current rates, if I were to "cash out", I would be upside down $200 so I figure I might as well hold out and see what they bring in the future.  Also, if I find something I'd like to purchase with them, then I have some available.

You mistook "build rigs" for physical setup.  While I'd love to fly to Dubai, France, and Florida to physically build rigs for people, I find it's not practical.  So, they buy whatever hardware they want, install the OS, and then I setup the mining operation for them.

I can see how you were confused.  As for being able to slap together cheap parts and build a rig more cheaply than I did, bully for you!  Go get them!

I am jsut adding. Lookign for a data center location for weeks now we FINALYL fuond one - all others did not offer us enough power, this one has 1.5 mwat and we can have 1 of it;)

So ;)

We hope to sign next week, start setting up the first miners same week temporaorly, then expand the whole thing to about 32 coputers until end of August.

Well, it sounds like it's good for THEM they buy their own hardware. Hahaha....

What DOES "build rigs" imply? You don't even give them a recommended hardware list? They're totally on their own, after paying you $120? I guess you just tell them where to get the software, how to sign up for pools, etc.?

Regarding "slap together"..."cheap parts"...
I guess your brand-new Sapphire 5830's are somehow higher quality than my brand-new Sapphire 5830's? And your high-end power supply is higher quality than my high-end power supply of choice?
And the CPU I chose was an AMDII 3.0 GHz or 3.1 GHz -- not a bottom-basement CPU (Sempron) like most miners choose.

Anyhow, I posit that my "build of choice" is just as likely to run 24/7 for months as yours -- only mine will be paid off several weeks sooner.

No offense, but you're simply not good at building cost-effective rigs. You may have found a fun hobby, but you're no superstar at it.

Not that you've said you're a superstar -- but you did put yourself forward as a "consultant" which does imply a certain level of expertise -- that's why I'm ribbing you a bit on how much you spent on your rigs. I just wanted to point out to the membership here that most of them are (apparently!) qualified to make a bit of money on the side as a Bitcoin consultant.

A troll says what?

I normally don't mind your posts, but really, why do you care about what he does? Good for him that he's able to make some money on the side doing this.  I know with some of my work associates, they are quite adept at building PC's/servers, but are tentative about building mining rigs. They don't want to/can't spend 20+ hours figuring it all out.  They just aren't sure about what software to install, how to set up a wallet, what exchanges to use, etc. I did all of the research, played with it and figured it out. I chose to freely share that information with them since we are just playing around with it and are interested in new technologies. If it were someone out to run a business for profit then I would charge consulting fees.  

Thanks guys.  Appreciate the thoughts.

It's easy to criticize others, hard to take criticism, and harder yet to rise above it.

I'm not worried about AngelusWebDesign, his forum posts speak for themselves, and I like to think mine speak for me.  I don't hide my identity, I'm upfront with my thoughts and beliefs, and I have references for my work. 

I won't let him hijack the thread.  I didn't have to post all of the details on my rigs, I just wanted to provide the OP some insight, Angelus believes he could build the rigs for 30% less and get them paid off 30% faster, good for him.  If I went back in time knowing what I know now, I wouldn't have made the same choices I did.  I'm stuck with mine for the time being.  Just trying to help someone else make better choices.

Started out few months ago with just my laptop doing 60 Mhashes and then become profitable and went on to build what I have been running on now, 6x5970's each card doing 750 Mhashs each and 10x5850's doing also about 330 Mhashs. I have so far made back 2 / 3 investment within 3 months hoping to pay it all off within the next 4 - 5 months to pay it all off (including electricity costs every month).

So nope not paid off yet, but hopefully soon =)

I'm trying to look 12+ months down the road.  I think this current BTC price dip is a good opportunity to get in, both for mining and just buying BTC.  
So, I'm doing both.  
I also plan to mine, mine, mine for 1 year or maybe until the block reward goes down to 25BTC.  At which point I guess I'll reevaluate.
So, no, not payed off (not even close), but am really waiting about 1 year to total things up anyway.

I got in just before the big price rise a couple of months back, sold a few BTC, realized the price was going up, then stopped selling.. that was a mistake, but realized that way too late.

Currently losing much more per week on the price drops than I'm gaining mining, and don't have the luxury of the nearly free power you get in the US so I'm resigned to never paying it off (price drop plus difficulty increase looks like converging with the power cost in the next month or so), but I had fun...

How are we defining recently? Last few days? Last few weeks? Last few months?

The people who started in the past few days cannot have paid off their machines regardless. Past few weeks, possibly if they just bought a very efficient GPU(s) and no other hardware, but even then, that's a stretch.

Myself, I started 2 months ago, which seems to have been a lucky strike timing for latecomers, and I've paid off my rigs with a few thousands dollars on top to boot. Including paying off my main machine which is ridiculously inefficient, as it is a gaming/workstation as well as mining rig (HAFX, i7 2600k, P8P67 Extreme, SSD, raid HDDs, extra scythe GT15 fans, oversized PSU, basically everything possible to drive up price). But that was a matter of timing, I managed to get in when difficulty was relatively low, buying tons of cheap 5870s before people realized what they were for, and when price began surging upwards, allowing me to hold until plateaus appeared to dump.

So I'm probably close to an ideal case for relatively recent mining. Anyone much later than me probably still has a month or two to go to reach equitability if things remain stable.

my first order for newegg was exactly 2 months ago today. all my stuff is paid off and the extra i made has funded a trip to vegas this weekend. depending on how i do there, i may add one more 3 card rig when i get back. 

Bought 2 6970's after doing a bit of research into bitcoins. Mined in a pool until I found a block and realized I had missed out on about 46 BTC after a couple weeks in the pool. Switched over to solo mining immediately and just found another block the other day so I'm about 3/4 paid off for my 2 cards, not including the $600 I made playing poker over at betco.in.

No. I will say I'm a little mad at myself because It took a few iterations to make sure I had all of the right parts, so that was 1.5 weeks wasted and then I've been struggling with getting all of the cards to be recognized until today, so that was another 1.5 weeks wasted (although I had one card going, so there's that).

Still with all the mistakes, it only cost about $1 per MHps. My ROI is 6 months at this price/difficulty.

Seems we have a lot of gambling sharks in here :p

Poker is a draw for bit coin. I believe in the liberty philosophy of bitcoin, but as a practical matter, the fact that I can play poker with real money gives it utility.

Yes.

Started just shy of 2 months ago.  Dropped *LOL* many thousands of dollars on hardware.  Would EASILY have more if I was able to drop more power into my place.  I'm nearly at my limit and more machines will end up tripping fuses.  =(

I'm limited by electrical supply.  No problems with space, noise or heat.  I would need to go commercial or move my machines out of my residential to grow if I wanted to.  Regardless, I'm quite happy with this whole operation and even if everything collapsed today, I wouldn't care much.  I don't know what I'm going to do with this many 5xxx/6xxx cards after bitcoin tho.  I'm going to have alot of happy family and friends tho.  I plan on just giving them away to them.  They can duo/tri/quad them.  =O

Yes, started about the middle of May according to my newegg invoices.

Of course, my payoff period was a little longer, since I was buying parts for machines that I would use after mining. So no AMD Semprons, I was getting Intel i5-2500k's along with P67 mobos, etc.

Just barely started making money, and that's with me selling some of my video cards that I got as well. But hey, I have shiny new computers, so yay for that.

A shame that pornography, drugs and gambling are the best bets to gaining any traction for something like bitcoin, but don't look a gift horse in the mouth eh?

I'm still waiting for pokerstars.net or someone big to start accepting bitcoin, that would certianly be a boon for the currency :)

Pornography tends to push edge stuff.  And even helps the adoption rate of many of those things.  Just looking back.  Photography, Video, VHS/DVD and Bluray, Internet/WWW.  Seems they always in front of things before 'mainstream' does.  So it's not always such a 'bad' thing.