has anyone done any comparison between mining rigs vs. buying hashing from somewhere like nicehash?  If there isn't too much of a price difference, might remove some of the risk of owning mining equipment and/or the ability to purchase various hashing algorithms.

What exchanges do you recommend?  These are the top top 5 (in no particular order) that I came up with...Since I'm in the U.S., prefer U.S. based exchanges.

Poloniex
kraken
bitfinex
GDAX
Bittrex

Might look at the for sale section (if you haven't already).
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=75.0

One dude is selling 50 cards.

So if this is the case, what would you recommend as far as ASIC vs. GPU vs. buy/hold vs. trading?

ASICs - special purpose so old equipment can't be re-purposed - almost no resale value.
GPU - cards and MB can be resold without taking too much of a hit.
buy/hold - simple, but one is hoping the currency goes up.
trading - 90% of traders lose money.  Exchanges have a history of being hacked. 

is this group buy still going on?

re: hash rates.

Checkout this link for some from various cards.  Would be a good estimate.
http://1stminingrig.com/are-the-rx570-and-rx580-profitable-mining-performance-review/

Where are you coming up with those numbers?  This guy, blockoperations, is a pretty big miner operator and on his website he has some costs on building a rig - 6 GPU for 2,250.  He includes a break down of the components and prices.  So, for 6k that would only put you at 2.6 rigs.  Maybe it can be done cheaper than blockoperations, but at the same time quality components don't break down as fast.


https://blockoperations.com/6-gpu-mining-rig-amd-rx580-intel-lga-1151-ethereum-zcash

Re: using mining rigs also as computer workstations

If one were to test this idea out, is there anyone selling a pre-built for dual use purposes (mining/office work), or would one have to build it themselves?  Building a rig wouldn't too hard, but having rig that has already been tested, has quality components, and a company behind it would be better.

Some quick googling, looks like there are docker GPU miner containers out there.

So how about the 8 GPU pandas (if one can get a hold of any)?  If you don't want to build rigs yourself and try to standardize on equipment so it is easier to diagnose when things break, are there any decent priced pre-built rigs out there and how do they compare with the pandas?

Re: using mining rigs also as computer workstations - this is a very interesting idea.  I assume you are using Windows and then just have the mining software to auto-start in the background.  How reliable has this been?  Thought about using Windows as the underlying OS and VMWare workstation (or something similar) to run a specific mining distro (that could hopefully see your GPUs) in a minimized window (or possibly hidden in the background - donno if this can be done) which might give a bit more functionality and/or monitoring capability?  Or maybe use a Docker container if there is one built for GPU mining?  Might take a bit more resources (RAM/CPU).

Any issues with people complaining about the noise of the GPUs or as long as they are underneath the desk the noise is bearable and people get used to it?  What about the heat?  In the winter the workstation could be used as a person's own personal space heater.

I'm thinking something like offering a free computers to a small business as long as they pay for the electricity and keep the computer on 24x7 and connected to the Internet.  Wish I owned a small business so I could do something like this to my employees workstations.

Always interested in the multi-use ability of using miners for various purposes other than mining.  ie. waste heat used to help with the distillation process of making liquor.
https://news.bitcoin.com/south-florida-distillers-bitcoin/

I work at a college and my co-workers are constantly replacing Dell computers.  Don't know if the college would go for building mining rigs that could also be used as a workstation, although the dual use and the ability for the mining on the workstation to pay for the cost of the workstation (and maybe even generate a profit) over the life of the computer is interesting.  If Dell came out with a dual use workstation - mining and general office use, that would be interesting.  Use the first year for mining to pay off the equipment cost and the following years for profit and/or saving for GPU upgrades and/or eventual workstation replacement cost....Although, we have been shifting away from desktops towards laptops.  Not sure what the ratio of desktops/laptops is, but probably at least 50:50.

thoughts?

are those 20ft containers?

So right now I have 2 S9s in my basement and they generate a lot of heat.  With it starting to become summer, I am trying to figure out what to do.  I would like to do some shed mining on the cheap and in a small space.  I've been looking at this small storage shed which I would put outside in Missouri.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Rubbermaid-Roughneck-Storage-Shed-Common-5-ft-x-2-ft-Actual-Interior-Dimensions-4-33-ft-x-2-ft/50148196

Let's say I have ~10k to spend on mining equipment, what would you fill it up with?  I could build a few GPU rigs, but the open air ones take up a relatively large footprint.

I've been thinking about adding -
2 pandas - ~4k
1 L3+ - 1.3k
2 bakail quad cubes (if I can get a hold of em) - 6.4k

Looking at something like this for an outake fan.  Think 3000 CFM is enough since the space is quite small?  Any thoughts on fans with variable speed - ie. during the winter may not need to be running at full blast or not at all?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MaxxAir-Ventamatic-Exhaust-Fan-3000-CFM-Includes-Shutter-IF18-/331644426155?hash=item4d378c57ab:g:5oAAAOSwHnFV5ynB


Do I need an intake fans, or can I get away with just 2 of these intake vents?
http://www.homedepot.com/p/5-in-Fresh-Air-Vent-FAV5/100119472

If I do need intake fans, what would you recommend?  Do I need some kind of filter so dirt/dust doesn't get in?  If so, I've been thinking about hacking apart a furnace filter, or is there something better?

As far as protecting against the elements, does the exhaust fan need any type of protection against the rain or since air is blowing out so fast it would be tough to get in?

I'll use a metal shelf like the one below to put the equipment on
https://www.amazon.com/Whitmor-Supreme-Industrial-Approved-Commercial/dp/B004BDP674/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494637233&sr=8-1&keywords=metal%2Bshelf%2B5&th=1

or should I get a shelf like with a little bit more depth so the mining equipment has more room to breathe? (may have to cut a bit off the top in order for it to fit in the storage shed)
https://www.amazon.com/Whitmor-Supreme-Industrial-Approved-Commercial/dp/B007ELAHV0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494637233&sr=8-1&keywords=metal%2Bshelf%2B5&th=1

Will use a PDU similar to this.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/228480-002-HP-Compaq-High-Voltage-Power-Distribution-252638-001-100-240V-PDU-bar-/131836831127?

I'll have to run electricity to the storage shed.  Thinking some 220 for the miners as well as 120 for the fans and misc equipment.  Will have to figure out how much this will cost before I go too far with my plan.

Anything else I'm missing?

Appreciate any thoughts you may have.

Thanks.

1 for me if confirmed legit and in some kind of escrow service.

If you can get a legit groupbuy together, I would like to buy between 4-8 cubes.

also, is http://www.baikalminer.com/ the only official site for them?

There's also this site - https://minerbaikal.com/ which looks quite similar, and probably a scam site, but just wanted to double-check.

thanks.