Thank you for the information. I am not convinced that this mining is not a form of gambling. I read what Warren Buffet said. I Think he is both right and wrong. I think buying shares in the transfer service is what you are doing by mining bitcoins. The same result can be achieved by buying the coins outright. The hot gear and high electricity usage is not something that suits my lifestyle. Perhaps if these companies advertised for people to mine with gpus and other equipment it would feel less like gambling. A friend of mine is making real cash trading alternative money.He bought in I think he said in 2013. So he was able to mine with his home system.  Genesys mining is probably a good alternative if you want to invest in bitcoin and these companies. What I read is the closer they are to the 21 million the harder the coins will be to mine. So using Genesys is a good alternative for me to mining if I want to invest in virtual currency.

What is an ASIC machine? A mini computer with an XBOX like powercell GPU/CPU hybrid designed for bitcoin mining? Does it serve any other function?

I have recently been reading up on the process of obtaining bitcoin and other alternative currencies and had a few questions. These questions have probably been asked already so try and go easy on me because I'm new. Im a computer superuser. I basically repair and service hardware at all levels (except large supercomputers) . I have worked in a data center from the lowest level of starting batch runs to late night repairs on vital government computers. That basically means I have installed server racks, built computers, serviced computers, and every type of laptop imaginable. I was looking for a hobby one that would generate some income for me. There you see where this is going.

My questions are;

 1) Is it possible to build a GPU machine capable of reaching ASIC levels with the same energy costs? So what I am saying is it possible to convert a GPU into an ASIC miner with software? I don't understand the concept of ASIC miners and don't understand why an energy efficient GPU modified with software can't do the same job. The cost of a couple high end video cards is much higher or the same as a good ASIC miner, but if I lost interest in the hobby I would still have a high end GPU to show for it. If thats not possible and someone can explain that would be interesting as it is my profession.

2) Bitcoin is out of the reach of most single users. Even if I joined a pool the money generated would be low. I don't really want to buy an ASIC machine because it serves only one function. Which are the best alternatives to bitcoin?

3) Are the alternatives to bitcoin going to go to ASIC miners?

I would really enjoy setting up a system that could be used for gaming and bitcoin mining. I have so much spare equipment including old video cards from old Nvidia GTX cards from 2008 to an R270 in a spare computer that might function mining coins though I think they are closer to fire hazards with PCI express expander/add on cards. So if anyone can help me out on where to get started and answer my questions. I would jump right in, but an ASIC miner is going to end up as a doorstop once the 21 millionth bitcoin is mined so I would like to hear about alternatives if there are any.