Well, how would I get a quiet system then? (The machine will run in the same room I have to sleep)
I guess I could try to dismantle the cooler and apply my own solution to channel the 250mm fan to the cards but I haven't found any card which has a big enough metal part to do this.

I know there is water cooling but that isn't cheap and it's messy.

Thanks I will do that, I am not sure if I get exacty these cards since they are 1/3 more expensive than 5770 and 6770 version which also are available with passive cooling and seem to offer the same or even better stats.
But this version seems to be the only one which has the fins aligned in such a way that the airstream can enter the cooler straight on.

There are some very encouraging stats though...
the 6850 seem to surpass what's possible with the previous ones on the wiki... 300 MH/s, but their average is lower..

From what I've learned so far the stream processors seem to be grouped in more smaller chunks in this card, so I guess it depends on the mining software. Are there tweaks yet for the new generation?
Because on paper their Processors*Clock/Watt it should offer 7% less performance but that is not accounting for architectural benefits.

I already found a seller for a used passive 5770 btw  

Well starting at the point of through of disillusionment and being in at the start of the plateau of productivity isn't such a bad idea after all 

Aren't Magneto-Optic-Discs the most reliable way of digital storage?

I heard that they were emp save. I was just thinking... minidiscs are cheap and the last generation of recorders can store files.

This reminds me of the heise story contest winner:  "Bio-Nostalgie"
If you know German it would be quite a entertaining read, its kind of dystopic but something bitcoin can probably relate to. I will not mention more to avoid any spoilers 

How can you predict a difficulty drop?

I mean I suppose it is possible if the amount of FUD on youtube increases dramatically.... but you know youtube 

As a newcomer I probably will never even remotely catch up to the amount of bitcoins pioneers are hoarding. But that brings up one question:

How much do you think pioneers are hoarding? I realize that nobody will tell if one hoards a huge amount of bitcoins but wouldn't it be likely that most of them already sold them and bought new mining gear?
If so wouldn't the people who have the highest number of bitcoins per person the speculators?

Of course some save more some less in the long run, I'm just asking for a estimate...

I've put my order now, I went with the Llamo

I got this case:
Rebel 9 Value Edition

As you notice it has a huge fan blowing across the Slots and is cheap.

As for cards (I want a silent system) I found this goodie:
PowerColor Radeon HD 6850 SCS3

The might be a little on the weak side but I would have 3280 units with 3 of them and the APU.
The power rating would be 480W for APU and cards (I only got a 530W Power supply so it should be a tight squeeze but since I'll undervolt it should be fine, if all else fails I'll just use 2 card instead of 3.)

Also since I really looked onto my budget I have something left so I will be able to buy my first card 1. next Month  

The Llano: Well I would have a breakeven point of 5-10 years depending on the factors with the APU alone for the whole system. I would go for 2 extra cards as soon I can afford one. Money is tight right now otherwise I would just buy a highend gaming rig and go with it.
The purpose is not to get some income with this system but to see how well I do with tweaking the software to get the most MH/W.
As for speculating: I'd rather do that with silver (A better deal imho as long as one oz costs less than a card )


Thanks, this is exactly what I'm gonna do  

As for cards, I gonna snipe them off ebay when they turn up 

Thanks didn't find that for some reason. I guess the search is case sensitive here.

Can someone with more insight please reply to this?

What would happen if plenty more of these clones pop up, each with a shorter maturity than the last one?
Was it was supposed to happen? What that implies is kind of scary... 

From how I understand it 100 days (if that is right) means a 50% chance of finding a block.

In theory the best times for solo mining would be when a new technology is introduced, so there was the start of the project, beginnings of GPU mining and there will be FPGAs (or similar stuff) and then ASICs.

But shouldn't it all be the same for pool mining?

Hello,

I am planning on a new PC, with a total cost of about 500 Euros.
The purpose is to get acquainted with bitcoins & mining and be upgraded later on.
This should also function as g-code slicer and used for games now and then.
I have two options in mind:

AMD Llano A8-3850
ASUS F1A75-V Evo
or
AMD Athlon II X4 645
HD 6790 (would sell it that later and exchange)
Gigabyte GA-990FXA-D3

By my choices the system should initially be cheap but upgradeable.
My best choice is the Llano since the APU might give the best Mhash/Watt currently available and I do not want a open or loud system so I would stick to single chip cards.

I will not go for 4 cards right away and probably limit it to 2. (another point for Llano)

I guess for strict mining a semperon would be the best option.
The thing is Llano has 32nm it almost should be a no-brainer, but since AMD hasn't been too successful with power-management this is open to debate.

any suggestions welcome 

Hi, I've discovered bitcoins a few months ago, but didn't have any machine fast enough back then in retrospect it might even have payed up, but what the hell.
I plan on a new PC anyway now, so I might as well join