Bitcoin Forum

Hey all. Someone who I was doing some work for turned me onto this site. I like what I see so far. I assume it's a form of electronic money and/or bardering? Is this correct? Then, I have no 'real' money to buy bitcoins and looked up mining. Could someone please tell me thoroughly how to get started? I can't seem to find any documentation either.
Someone please explain to me how to get started and moving and gaining some coin. Or direct me to a link that explains it all including mining.

Thank you so much in advance. Looking forward to hearing from you all.

Anenome

RTFM buddy 8)

If you read the other threads you will learn quickly. Make sure to ask questions when you don't understand something. You can but Bitcoins on MtGox.com and Tradehill.com along with some other exchanges. I don't know much about mining though.

http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=9430.0

Helpful Articles for Newcomers (Please read before asking for support.) (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=15918.0)

Tell us what's your GPU, and we can tell you if mining are available and/or financially profitable to you.
CPU mining ain't worth the effort at the current difficulty.

Placi!! I'm not sure where to read the GPU. What info do you want? I opened the system profiler and the type is GPU, but includes chipset model, VRAM Total etc. How do I find out how much is in use or the info you need for mining??
I just bought a very very expensive MAC with double everything, so I'm sure it's good. Please respond.
Thanks,
Anenome

Placi!! I'm not sure where to read the GPU. What info do you want? I opened the system profiler and the type is GPU, but includes chipset model, VRAM Total etc. How do I find out how much is in use or the info you need for mining??
I just bought a very very expensive MAC with double everything, so I'm sure it's good. Please respond.
Thanks,
Anenome

I hate to pee in your shoe but mining is not an easy way to obtain bitcoins. Unless you are setting up multiple computers with multiple video cards it is going to take a loooong time and cost a bunch of money in electricity.
For the computer you described, your best bet may be pool mining. In that arrangement your computer will work with others. When one of the computers discovers a block, all members of the pool get a cut of the reward.  
If your lucky a steady trickle of bitcoins will come in each week. By yourself,  it likely will take years of mining 24/7 to find a block.  

Could you explain more about pool mining? Also, being new, for some reason, I'm very limited as to where I can post.
Also, I'm on a fixed income, I can't afford to 'buy' bitcoins. I currently do and have for over 20 years professionally written and designed. I do have designing i.e. logos for both web and print, flyers, web/print design, etc. I just don't build webpages, but can do everything else. That's all I have to offer at the point as a swap or occupation that may or may not be helpful.

Be kind, help a newbie.

anenome

Sure. I should say that I'm not a miner.
But for example I visited a solo mine operation last week. It was profitable but required a large investment. This operation used 20 PCs with four video cards each. It required upgraded wiring for the house and 50k BTU cooling system for the mine room. The cost of electricity was over $1000/month.
So, your either all in or not in at all.

There are many pools you could join (deepbit is the largest). Just look rround these forums and you will find info on your options. You may not be able to post in the mining section but you can message people ( i think) or go to the pool's website. Upon accepting you they should help you get started with their rules. Do your homework, some pools are better than others.

Your idea about selling a service or goods is also a way to get bitcoins. Price something cheep enough and your in business. 

I just read the newbie starters section but didn't get much out of it. I need a better explanation and/or link to go to. For example, where would I advertise (which forum) about my services and/or products for sale? And how do I know what's a fair price? I know in US dollars what's fair, but not bitcoins. Is there an easy conversion table? And especially, how can I gain access to whatever forum I'd be offering my service and/or product to?

Thanks in advance.

GPU is your graphics card.

You need a powerful graphics card.  ATI Radion cards are the best.

If you don't know what graphics card is in your computer, it's probably a crappy one.  I probably suspect you only have an on-board graphics chip which is useless.

To get a decent card can cost $150++ to get started.  Better cards cost more.

Once you do some calculations, taking into account how much your electricity costs, you can figure out if its worth your investment....it's probably not.

But, if you do logo designs and stuff, you can place your services in the marketplace and make some coins right away without any upfront costs. 

Check the wiki under Pooled Mining



You can offer your services in the Marketplace -> Services forum. https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=52.0
But you'll need to spend 4 hours active on the forum before your status allows you to post there.

A fair price is whatever you feel is fair for your service. It's up to the buyer to decide if they are willing to pay for that. :)

He did say he got a new and powerful Mac. Fortunately for him, nowadays they usually come with decent AMD Radeons gpu. :D

Unless he's got a Mac Mini or the iMac (the GPU overheats because of the case)

This is what I have for mining:

 Chipset Model:   AMD Radeon HD 6770M
  Type:   GPU
  Bus:   PCIe
  PCIe Lane Width:   x16
  VRAM (Total):   512 MB
  Vendor:   ATI (0x1002)
  Device ID:   0x6740
  Revision ID:   0x0000
  ROM Revision:   113-C0170F-170
  EFI Driver Version:   01.00.544
  Displays:
iMac:
  Resolution:   2560 x 1440
  Pixel Depth:   32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)
  Main Display:   Yes
  Mirror:   Off
  Online:   Yes
  Built-In:   Yes
  Connection Type:   DisplayPort
Display Connector:
  Status:   No Display Connected
Display Connector:
  Status:   No Display Connected
Display Connector:
  Status:   No Display Connected
Display Connector:
  Status:   No Display Connected

You can mine with this but it won't be very fast (the M stands for Mobile, meant for laptops) and it sounds like you really did get an iMac rather than a MacPro?
In that case, overheating and burning out the chip is a possible danger.

Look around these forums and the wiki. It's not always well organized but there is a lot of info. For listing a service you would like to provide, you want to post in the "marketplace" section of these forums.
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=5.0 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=5.0)
You need have a post count of 50 to post there or you can request to be "whitelisted" by a moderator.  If you want to be whitelisted don't post anything crazy or hurtful.
As with any sale a low price will get more responses.

Oh, and welcome fellow peer!

+1

Do NOT mine with your iMac or it will melt ...