it is virtually impossible to draw exact numbers of the direct impact of my mining but overall i am happy with the operating cost/BTC earnings so far.  i had 306 additional kWh over last year's usage for the same month for a cost of $43.89 and my wallet shows 48.34 BTC earned from mining only, roughly over that same time.  it was also 304 kWh over the previous month of this year so pretty comfy that is a fairly accurate ballpark.  this was done almost exclusively with 58xx gpu's.

i am happy with the results thus far so i'll keep moving on to bigger rigs and more hashes gradually while looking at improving efficiency everywhere i can.

thanks again all for sharing the wealth of knowledge you all have.

struggling to get it all going and looking at working config might just help that dim lightbulb in my head get a bit brighter.  i use cgminer for my double duty windows machines and the default BAMT miner and kernel for dedicated miners but i'd prefer to use cgminer across the board.  thanks.

with the following caveats;

- currently available in qty 20+ from single source of the exact same model (or 10+ if dual gpu card)
- be new or refurb with at least a 30 day warranty
- is based on my experience with reference 5850's pulling a steady 375 Mh/s

i'm ready to expand and can't really find anything that beats them (not saying there isn't i just can't seem to find anything) - plus i've had great experience with the 2 of them i've tested thus far so i'm a bit biased.....

thanks

i'm planning ahead for potentially setting up 1-3 rigs in a remote location with no viable options for conventional and affordable broadband internet connections.  it looks like verizon has a 5 GB/mo cellular plan which based on others in this forum would suffice.

obviously i need to be at the point where it more than pays for itself in the long haul but i hope to be within a month or 2.

what i'm asking is if anyone has experience with verizon or any other cell based connections to the internet and if there are any mining specific issues with these setups.  based on my 3g verizon blackberry reception at the site is very good.

thanks

i just stumbled on bitcoins (and mining them) last week and have been running through the many positives specific to me.  if done right i see this being a very nice hobby/part time job. 

i already have several pc's that i keep running 24x7 and have already got them mining at about 1GH/s.  in their current location they help me heat my basement office that would otherwise be using electic baseboard heaters (it isn't connected to the house HVAC).

i will likely take some spare/old hardware and build up 2 dedicated miners, stick them in a basement utility room while routing hot air from that room into my HVAC for 9 months/year and vent outside the other 3.

if all goes well and see some returns but too much wasted electricity (expecially in the summer where i am dumping heat) i have a storage/auto workshop that i rent with free electricity although no internet.  it is part of a larger warehouse/industrial shop so as long as i don't go crazy the juice for a rig or 2 won't be noticed.

other indirect benefits are the awareness this has put on me of efficiency and attention to detail.  i may no rake in massive profits directly from mining but i think when i look at the big picture i will be better for the experience if i play it smart.

thanks to all that have contributed to the effort and i have learned from - i'm sure there is much more to go as well.