Bitcoin Forum

Or am I just wasting my time?

I'm really new to this, and before I begin with the Bitcoin economy, I want to know how many Bitcoins I could mine per day if I build my own computer with $400.
Also, if I were to exchange these Bitcoins for real money, how much money would I be making per day?

Thanks! :)

No its not worth it. At the current difficulty and price of bitcoins your ROI will be incredibly slow. I think the only people making decent ROI is people who bought their machines early or who can dump a lot of money into a more expensive more efficient machine. If your electricity is free you will make more money, but dont expect to be making more than a few coins a week if that.

The biggest factor these days is electricity cost.

Are you paying for electricity? If so, how much per KwH?

If I were you, I'd probably scope out a 5870 on ebay and throw it in my current machine (if you have a free PCIe slot).

You'll only be "profitable" if you have a current system, and budget any hardware "investment" around a beefy graphics card.  The gpu is the component most directly related to mining- so building a whole new system when a current one that can accommodate a graphics card upgrade goes beyond splurging into, technically speaking, downright wasteful.
Do you have a desktop currently?  What are the specs?

check the bitcoin wiki for the bible of resources. here a some most relevant to your question:
check known tabulated values for hardware here:   https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Mining_hardware_comparison
plug-n-chug here:     https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Profitability_Calculator

since you're new and prospecting, do a lot of reading before purchasing!
I've done a bit of legwork for you by filling in a calculator with relevant values based on your question--> http://bitcoinx.com/profit/index.php?hashrate=400&cost=350&electricity=0.15&power=220&months=3.0000&decline=0.50
In that filled out calculator (see^), I've simplified and swung the numbers in your favor by quite a bit in terms of values and circumstance.
Look at the calculator I've filled in alongside while I explain why even with this handicapping of figures you'd be foolhearty to begin mining along the mindset of the approach you asked about:
I've assumed you spend that $350 on a new AMD 6970 placed in a current system- I'll reference this in the proceeding...
 

• The second box's value of 50BTC/block is a lofty, but unachievable (realistically)
• the 'hash rate' box I filled with a value attainable on a 6970 with a mild overclock
• in the next box I left the.15 cents/K=kWh but it depends on what you pay where you live (I have a rate of 13.5 cents/kWh)
• in filling in the pwr consumption box with 220W I've given you a huge break- this figure discounts the remaining non-gpu portion of your hypothetical computer. Also, 220W is a bit low considering the overclock to reach 400MH/s
• I left the timeframe at a quarter of a year
• $350 is ONLY the cost of a GPU NOT a new computer as you asked about

So even with a lot of wind to your back, unless you have deep pockets, its not really worth it considering 'break-even' is ~1.5 years.  I would even take that w/ a huge chunking grain of salt- a lot can happen in a year, even moreso that might be detrimental to an emerging 'digital currency'


I bought a amd 6950 for gaming, found out about bitcoins and mining for them, and although I have not actually converted my BTC earnings to cash... on paper I net roughly a dollar a day- maybe a bit more.  Back when I began, the BTC:USD exchange rate was ~300% loftier.  I would expect the valuation of bitcoins to slide as the internal mechanisms reduce mining profits and adoption either slows to a crawl, halts, reverses, or gets curb-stomped by the long arm of international/national governmental laws via crackdowns+taxation. 
I wouldn't approach bitcoin mining other than as a very lightly profitable use of a system you are utilizing as an ends in and of itself- my advice is not to invest in anything you don't stand a good chance of recouping in a short timeframe.  Maybe buy a open-box gfx card (saw a amd 5770 on newegg for ~50 dollars a week ago), let it start earning, and reinvest earnings to pay for improvements, rather than banking on the dumping of a large sum.  good luck

This sounds reasonable.

still probably not worth it even after the recent difficulty drop...

400 LOL  :)   I SUNK 5,300.00   LOL   400 IS NOTHING LOL  ;D 

400 on comp not profitable but maybe 400 on just cards then might be profitable. a descent rig will cost you at least 1200

I have a 850Mhash/s rig for the low low price of ~$200.  :P

Oh? Just out of curiousity. What are the specs?

Mining is for fools, best to find a new way to make cash at this point if you aren't already raking in bitcoins.

It's too late to get into mining if you hope to  make any money.

I second that... what all do you have in your rig? If you dont mind sharing! :)

watcha got in thar?

Nah, bro, dont do that. Not a good idea

Not sure of your energy situation but if it's as bad as mine, .35 USD/kWh, I'd like to suggest the contract mining route as a possibility.  Shakaru's services might be up your alley, https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=36375.0 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=36375.0). There are also others out there but his prices are the best deal you will find even if they are a little over your stated budget.

Since it wasn't directly answered above, I'll also tell you that you can find a conversion rate for BTC/$ at any of the exchanges, and a site like http://www.bitcoincharts.com will show you an overview of the latest exchange prices.

Use the calculator provided above to see how many BTC/day you could mine, and you'll see that if things work out well (prices stay the same or go up, difficulty stays the same or lower) then you could be making $1.53/day before electricity costs!   ;D

Of course if you're like me, you can "justify" buying a new computer/new graphics card (6870 for $185) on the assumption that you needed a new graphics card, and hey, if you make any money back mining with it, good for you.

Good luck.

I wanna buy 25 PC's from old Games Club with free electricity. If you haven't free power - ROI will be very small.

Well and the local hackerspace here in town will allow you free electricity for a server (if you pay the membership due of $40 a month). Might make it more worth it to help re-coup some of the cost of the hackerspace by mining bitcoins

$400 isnt gonna cut it. If you plan to mine with one card dont bother. Get yourself 2 or 3 5830s. They are good earners and you can get them for around $100.

where?

$350 can put together a machine that does ~400MHash/s and consumes ~200W

This will only be profitable over a long time frame, so you have to ask yourself: how do I feel about bitcoin's long term prospects?

If you like bitcoin's prospects long-term, then this could work out for you.

Details of the $350 machine:

E35M1-M Pro
1GB DDR3 1066
2GB USB Flash drive
Basic mid-ATX tower w/ 500W PS
PCIe x1 to x16 riser
2 x HD6770

EDIT: Obviously, without a hard drve, you need to use something like linuxcoin on the USB drive

What's so much RAM needed for?

It isn't, but just try to find anything smaller.

Besides, $8.99 is pretty cheap.

Interesting article! I am wondering how much the guys are making who are taking the mining seriously. And how much they have invested on it. If someone wants to share his story, I'd be happy to listen!

Good post here on cost efficient rigs.

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

Zakcy,

No.

Having a hard time finding the 5830 for ~$100, but the 6770 is looking like a good alternative for that price point.

I'm kinda in the same boat, just getting started and wondering how much to actually invest in all this. Since I don't pay for electric, it's a little easier, but I don't want to spent a fortune for a little experiment if it's not going to pan out.