Obviously as btc is difficult to get into right now, I’m looking at alt coins; specifically Darkcoin. I’d like to build a rig since I think I “might” still be earlier enough into it where I could see a good return on investment.

Would it be possible build a rig (from new, or used/refurbished) parts for less than, lets say 300? If not, what is a more reasonable number?

Obviously with the whole crypto currency thing,  I am not thinking about something that will operate/perform right now, but also something that will “Last” down the line.

So I’m a newb and I’m trying to visualize how a mining rig is hooked up. From browsing around, I’ve gotten a general idea of what the rig looks like, but not sure how everything (or what else is need) connects to each other.

So I’m imagining something like a black metal shoe box, that is the actual mining rig….from there, what else is needed and how do they connect to each other?

Also, is a mining rig a “stand-alone” type thing? As in….I plug the power cord into a wall and connect the Ethernet and it is good to go? or do I need to have it connected to a computer at all times?

Where are we with cloud mining these days? About a year ago I did CEX.IO, and I believe at that time the maintenance fees were very low, enough that a person could actually make a profit.

I’ve researched around and thought that I found a better alternative in Scrypt.cc; obviously that turned out to be a scam.

Now with CEX the maintenance fees are ridiculous. If my calculations are correct I could have mined a bitcoin in a little under 1 month. But with the massive fees, It’ll take me at least 8 times as long.

The only redeeming quality that CEX has is that I’m able to trade my ghs back into btc. I find this better compared to other cloud mining contracts because…well, you pay a fee and then you get whatever is mined. Originally with CEX I could pay for ghs, mine, and then when I felt I could no longer earn a profit mining, trade my ghs to bitcoin and walk away. Sure I would take a loss on my ghs, but I would still walk away with it plus what I mined.

This post is to see what is next? CEX is no longer worth it, and with my current situation buying hardware would not be a good investment.

Any thoughts and recommendations?