LiteCoin Calculator seems super optimistic (noob question)

[Mrmayge]

I recently took an interest in mining but the standard Bitcoin profit calculators told me the sad news: that my PC would produce such a pitiful number of coins (like $20 worth a year, even with some simple gear) that it wasn't worth it (especially when considering electricity costs).
But I happened upon a litecoin calculator and put in the same values (20 GHs/s, current difficulty, my computer's wattage, power costs, etc.) and the calc told me I could mine around $500k worth of LiteCoin (after exchanging to BTC then to USD at the current rates).

I'm assuming something's very off. Here's the calculator: http://www.coinwarz.com/calculators/litecoin-mining-calculator

I'd be getting two Butterfly Labs 10 GH/s USB blocks ($50 each) and run my AMD Radeon 7700 GPU for a little more. I have a 250 watt PC and power's about 0.12 a kW.
What's broken here, or can I really get rich on this alt currency?

[TheMage]

The issue is that your BFL asics are made specifically for the algo that Bitcoin uses, which is not the same as Litecoin. So that is where the confusion lies.


Bitcoin uses SHA
Litecoin uses Scrypt


You can only use those BFL asics on a coin that uses SHA. But you can still use the GPU (except it is not that profitable).


Sorry to break the bad news to you  .

[oblox]

Don't bother with either, you'll be losing money mining. Just so you know, you'll never ROI on those USB block erupters and whoever sold you them for $50 each took you for a ride considering what prices you can get an Antminer S1 (180-200GH) for about $30-$50 each.

[El Dude]

Cloud mining litecoin seems to be very popular nowadays.

[smalltimer]

mining and holding for future appreciation can make sense. Maybe doesn't ROI if you sell immediately but if you mine some LTC and keep them until 2016 they are maybe worth a lot.

To mine sha256 i would recommend altcoins not bitcoin

a few longterm coins for sha could be:
-joulecoin
-zetacoin
-unobtanium
and a hand full of others

there is new shortterm scam/shit/trash coins for all algos with only few days to weeks lifespan announced daily in the ann section to mine and dump immediately on the idiot buyers. That what most people seem to do actually to earn bitcoin.

Have fun exploring the jungle

[oblox]

lol, if it doesn't ROI, then why buy the hardware. Just buy the coins and bank on their appreciation. Building a GPU mining rig is slightly different in that it has other usages outside of ASICs and FGPAs, but even then, you're better of buying the coins with difficulty and profitability where it's at.

[oblox]

lol, if it doesn't ROI, then why buy the hardware. Just buy the coins and bank on their appreciation. Building a GPU mining rig is slightly different in that it has other usages outside of ASICs and FGPAs, but even then, you're better of buying the coins with difficulty and profitability where it's at.

In the old days, people mined because they loved the project and wanted to supported the coin. Today most of them are millionaires.

Sure and they were taking a chance on it, often times at a loss. Now-a-days, with the liquidity, mining with no ROI makes no sense. Just buy the coins outright.

[oblox]

lol, if it doesn't ROI, then why buy the hardware. Just buy the coins and bank on their appreciation. Building a GPU mining rig is slightly different in that it has other usages outside of ASICs and FGPAs, but even then, you're better of buying the coins with difficulty and profitability where it's at.

In the old days, people mined because they loved the project and wanted to supported the coin. Today most of them are millionaires.

Sure and they were taking a chance on it, often times at a loss. Now-a-days, with the liquidity, mining with no ROI makes no sense. Just buy the coins outright.

Or work with the community and get some donations.

I'm not arguing community work, I'm simply saying if you are planning on spending money to buy or build a mining rig to generate profit, then you are better off spending the money on coins for appreciation. That's the current situation. The environment is completely different now than it once was.