Bitcoin Forum

This is a story about my nascent career as a bitcoin miner.  Last week, when I learned bitcoins experienced a price spike, like everyone else with a computer they built, decided I would consider mining bitcoins.  I didn't know about card choice, efficiency, or even the impending ASIC takeover.  

Still, since I was bored at work and I'm a scientist so I make my own schedule, I decided to order a ASUS Radeon HD 7750 based on some preliminary reading.  

My HD 7750 arrived last Tuesday.  I had it mining within a couple hours and then the obsession began.  I've continued to learn more and decided to order another HD 7750 due to the option to sell if things didn't work, a $20 rebate offered by ASUS, and the possibility that I could rip more coins.

However, when the card arrived on Friday (yesterday) I encountered a setback.  I assumed I could fit the second card in my PCI-e x1, which sat adjacent to my first card on a microATX board (GM880 - e43, a great MOBO btw).  Anyways, I decided to order a ribbon extender x1 -> x16 adapter from Hong Kong.

This morning, since I continued to obsess and could hardly do anything while watching the 7750 sit in its box while I waste time, I hit craigslist hard to procure a solution [hopefully under $100 USD].  I emailed several idiots about shitty old boards.  

After about 5 hours of searching craigslist and even almost going for a newegg.com board, my salvation appeared after a CL page reload.  "NEW never opened MSI military class II"...

I clicked on the post.

A picture of the box claiming that it was never opened gleaned in my eyes.  I checked newegg. Discontinued.  I checked amazon. $200.  I checked the socket type.  FM1 socket.  "Damnit"

My amd cpu is an old am3.  I continue reading the post on CL: " I also have 4 AMD A8 black editions - 60$ each.  "

I buy the MOBO and an AMD A8 black edition from her for $100 cash.

EUREKA.  This is getting too long so the rest is the best:  I get it home, it boots fine, put my 2 X HD7750 in, and I'm minin.  I restart; bluescreen.  Start fucking around with the bios and accidentally turn on the CPU's Radeon.  It boots again and I find that I have a new miner ripping coins at 46 MH/s, and its my CPU!!!


If there is a GOD, it wants me to mine bitcoins.  

"The Atheist Guide to Bitcoin Mining." Title of my new book.

God made me save my money from dirty BFL! I had the order declined by paypal, the next day they raised prices tried to get a price match, they didn't want to offer it, gmail even deleted my paypal email all on it's own haha! Now I am building a GPU miner and then when ACIS do come out properly will order then. Or maybe an Avalon.

Are your cards working or it just mining from the GPU?  I have the same Mobo, I had to upgrade the BIOS firmware to get up and running.  Good luck!

God may want you to mine bitcoins, but God knows you'll never make a profit on it after the cost of hardware and electricity is factored in.

http://blockchain.info/charts/miners-operating-profit-margin

These ASUS 7750s are super efficient - 55 W max/each and ~148 MH/s = about 3 MH/watt.  I realize it can't compete with ASIC but its better than some setups....  Might need to switch to LTC eventually.

But you have the energy overhead of an entire system for 150MHs?

Oh God!

I have 2X 7750s plus the CPU-embedded GPU (if you read the post carefully - the AMD A8 has a Radeon 6550)

The total hash for BTC is 360 MH/s.  I switched to LTC with the 7750s last night and I'm getting 175kH/s each. 

We leave the system on all the time anyway to watch netflix and listen to Pandora, so the overhead is essentially moot.  My roomate agreed to PEG the shared elec. bill at the cost a month before I started.

Oh, I see, scientists make their own schedules. LOL

Its a great job... I probably shouldn't complain as much about it  #firstworldproblems