I have a Raspberry Pi, how can I put it to use for mining?

[markvii]

Looking to build a mining rig using my Raspberry Pi. Did a quick search on the forum which showed a lot of different options- was hoping to get advice on a currently profitable mining build using a Pi and a FPGA or ASIC. I see a lot of people using the BFL Jalapeno- is that still a profitable investment at the time in relation to ROI? Probably going to use the MinePeon build

[JimboToronto]

I think you're putting the cart before the horse.

Pretty much any computer can host a USB FPGA or ASIC miner, even a rooted Android device with an OTG cable and BFL's Android mining software.

The trouble is that as more and more ASICs are shipped and as difficulty skyrockets, FPGAs are rapidly becoming obsolete.

That leaves ASICs as the only practical solution and waiting lists are so long as to make them a questionable investment at today's prices if you have to wait until difficulty is in the hundreds of millions to get delivery.

[Bitcoin Merchant]

this is friggin awesome

[markvii]

I think you're putting the cart before the horse.

Pretty much any computer can host a USB FPGA or ASIC miner, even a rooted Android device with an OTG cable and BFL's Android mining software.

The trouble is that as more and more ASICs are shipped and as difficulty skyrockets, FPGAs are rapidly becoming obsolete.

That leaves ASICs as the only practical solution and waiting lists are so long as to make them a questionable investment at today's prices if you have to wait until difficulty is in the hundreds of millions to get delivery.

So, it seems like you are telling me that it isn't even worth investing in any mining upgrades?

[Peter Lambert]

What you do is buy one of the USB asic devices (like the AsicMiner USB block eruptor) and plug it into your Raspberry Pi. Pis do have a USB port, right?

[markvii]

What you do is buy one of the USB asic devices (like the AsicMiner USB block eruptor) and plug it into your Raspberry Pi. Pis do have a USB port, right?

yep it has a usb port- but will probably need to be powered with a usb hub.

I guess what I was really asking is if it was still worthwhile to buy one of these USB bots and if so what is the best for ROI

[JimboToronto]

I think you're putting the cart before the horse.

Pretty much any computer can host a USB FPGA or ASIC miner, even a rooted Android device with an OTG cable and BFL's Android mining software.

The trouble is that as more and more ASICs are shipped and as difficulty skyrockets, FPGAs are rapidly becoming obsolete.

That leaves ASICs as the only practical solution and waiting lists are so long as to make them a questionable investment at today's prices if you have to wait until difficulty is in the hundreds of millions to get delivery.

So, it seems like you are telling me that it isn't even worth investing in any mining upgrades?

Unless you can somehow get a really good deal on an ASIC miner with a delivery time in weeks rather than months, it's borderline at the moment.

I paid $650 in February for 30GH/s worth of BFL ASICs, and I'm worried about breaking even because difficulty levels have gone parabolic with all the ASICs shipped recently.

Now they want $1250 for 25GH/s and are talking about not shipping any new orders before next year.

[J35st3r]

This is just about a one stop shop for info on mining on a pi https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=220905.0

The Block Eruptor is expensive (don't expect to make a profit), but its about the only way to get mining on a pi right now. BFL Jallies have long delivery times (and a huge litany of past problems). You can still pick up FPGA's (see the Lancelot thread in Custom Hardware), but again the ROI is just not there.

CPU mining gets you 200kHash/sec or 30kHash/sec with scrypt, both of which are virtually worthless at that rate. But you can run vanitygen (see sig)  

But the pi's a nice toy (typing this on one as I speak), browser is a bit slow, but I can keep bitcointalk up on my TV in glorious 1368 x 768 resolution (wireless keyboard and mouse) while using my laptop for more serious stuff. Multitasking, its not just for the girls  

[markvii]

Thanks for the replies fellas- def answered my question and I will do a bit more research. The whole mining thing looked too good to be true. Best to just stick with graphic card mining Im assuming and joining in on a pool?

[alef78]

Thanks for the replies fellas- def answered my question and I will do a bit more research. The whole mining thing looked too good to be true. Best to just stick with graphic card mining Im assuming and joining in on a pool?

It depends if you have to pay for the electric power used by this graphics card. I would recommend to use various "online calculators" to compare the expected profits of mining with the expected power costs.

[kodo]

Looking to build a mining rig using my Raspberry Pi. Did a quick search on the forum which showed a lot of different options- was hoping to get advice on a currently profitable mining build using a Pi and a FPGA or ASIC. I see a lot of people using the BFL Jalapeno- is that still a profitable investment at the time in relation to ROI? Probably going to use the MinePeon build

Why? your not going to make any significant profit if any at all.

[litecoin_messiah]

Mine some Litecoin on a PPS pool, you probably won't earn much unless the value goes up 10 fold or more.

[FiiNALiZE]

Looking to build a mining rig using my Raspberry Pi. Did a quick search on the forum which showed a lot of different options- was hoping to get advice on a currently profitable mining build using a Pi and a FPGA or ASIC. I see a lot of people using the BFL Jalapeno- is that still a profitable investment at the time in relation to ROI? Probably going to use the MinePeon build

Why? your not going to make any significant profit if any at all.

He could just be doing it for the heck of it.

Not everything requires a profit you know...

[markvii]

Looking to build a mining rig using my Raspberry Pi. Did a quick search on the forum which showed a lot of different options- was hoping to get advice on a currently profitable mining build using a Pi and a FPGA or ASIC. I see a lot of people using the BFL Jalapeno- is that still a profitable investment at the time in relation to ROI? Probably going to use the MinePeon build

Why? your not going to make any significant profit if any at all.

He could just be doing it for the heck of it.

Not everything requires a profit you know...

You are correct- I am viewing Bitcoins right now as a hobby and for pure entertainment. That way I am not too committed to the system if it fails, and if it becomes popular- I will be ahead of the game.

[souliouz]

You are correct- I am viewing Bitcoins right now as a hobby and for pure entertainment. That way I am not too committed to the system if it fails, and if it becomes popular- I will be ahead of the game.

I wonder whether, in the long term, after breaking all the technological barrier (28nm, etc), then there won't be technological revolutions like steam, electricity, IT, did to the standard economy.
So the advantage from a front-end techno-powered miner will be much lesser than today (200GH vs 200MH), it will all be about efficiency, cooling, power, and SCALE. Like it is for the standard economy today.

So, popular or not, I think it might stagnate at some point, and that we might have reached one of the last techno jump before plateau. Well, for 1-2 further years maybe.

Cheers.

[PeterB]

Looking to build a mining rig using my Raspberry Pi. Did a quick search on the forum which showed a lot of different options- was hoping to get advice on a currently profitable mining build using a Pi and a FPGA or ASIC. I see a lot of people using the BFL Jalapeno- is that still a profitable investment at the time in relation to ROI? Probably going to use the MinePeon build

The problem with BFL is that you don't know when you will actually get it and what the difficulty will be at that point.