Bitcoin Forum

Hi all, i live in usa and have electricity included in my rent. Id like to find the cheapest way to start mining but all i have is Windows computers and lapptops.

any help?

You need specific hardware. Something like this https://www.bitmaintech.com/ but there are many others.

This gives you an idea how many devices there are you can buy: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Mining_hardware_comparison

Basically to mine bitcoins you need an asic.   No matter how good your laptop/desktop is  they just cannot compete when mining BTC.  There are alt-coins which are kinda a different story.

Basically the CPU mining is dead so you will need a decent GPU.   You can look up Ether but it is only coin really worth mining on GPU (my opinion there).   So you would need a good video card.   And laptops you can kinda forget they are not made for mining.

If you live in a small apartment you need to consider the fact that most Bitcoin miners are very loud. Maybe get some GPUs and mine ETH instead since they are silent.

at present a s9 is better than a six rig gpu, or almost there, after the halving not anymore

so he can go with a s9 and sell it before the halving, it may be a nice hit and run strategy

I personally would be afraid to ebay something as new as a S9.   If you got a bad buyer 30-45 day's if they keep it and mine would really add up.   Even  no returns does not stop it if "bad buyer"/Scammer.  I'm sure some will do it but myself I would not risk it there so early with the S9's current  value.

So you really would have to sell on forums for BTC in my mind since BTC cannot be reversed. But I don't see getting a big ROI with this as forum buyers are normally pretty current and  keep up with the website price.  But it is true you might get lucky since there is not a S9 batch currently up.

Isn't the halving like in 2 weeks? No point to mine with S9 and sell

It is in around 15 and a half day's or so - http://www.bitcoinblockhalf.com/ .  So yes it it fast approaching.   So most miners will keep everything online and get all they can before  having.

But there are always a few who try to sell and instant ROI.  I  just really suggest caution right now on Ebay as I mentioned above with selling a unit with so much value.

If you want to mine altcoins (I reccomend Ethereum) you'll need a graphics card, If you want to mine Bitcoin you'll need an ASIC.
An ASIC is a bigger investment so if you're a little uncertain and already have a PC you might want to pick up a GPU for +-300$ and start mining.

GekkoScience Compac miner. It's inexpensive, doesn't need a lot of power, and cgminer can run on a windows machine. If you want to overclock it you will need an external powered USB hub. Check out this thread for more info:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1173963.0

I have one of these overclocked to 325MHz and it generates ~17.9 GH/s reliably. It won't earn you but maybe 1,000-1,200 Satoshi (BTC0.00001000 - BTC0.00001200) per block, with 2-6 blocks per day depending on the luck of your pool. Mine is pointed at the kano.is pool.

If you want to actually have a chance at earning something worthwhile, the Bitmain antminer S9 is the current state of the art, but it's not cheap, and you have to be fairly quick to order one when they make them available. If you are willing to go with an older generation chip from Bitmain, consider buying an antminer S7-LN, or a used antminer S7. There is also the option of trying to pick up a use Canaan Avalon6.

Since you posted in the Bitcoin -> Mining -> Mining speculation forum, I won't suggest alt-coin mining rigs. There is a whole set of boards for that under the Alternate Cryptocurrencies section on this website.

Cheers,

- zed

edited: corrected earnings based on my account at kano.is