I want to start mining - where do i start?

[mwain]

Hi,

Been reading through the forums and googling for 4 hours reading how to start mining.
Looks like buying GPUs and building a dedicated miner seems to be a non starter.

Should i buy a ASIC miner? i was looking a BFL ones but they dont seem to be shipping them yet.

OR

Should i get a FPGA miner? Although not sure which one.

Any help appreciated
Thanks

[deadweasel]

Hi,

Been reading through the forums and googling for 4 hours reading how to start mining.
Looks like buying GPUs and building a dedicated miner seems to be a non starter.

Should i buy a ASIC miner? i was looking a BFL ones but they dont seem to be shipping them yet.

OR

Should i get a FPGA miner? Although not sure which one.

Any help appreciated
Thanks

You should attempt to get an Avalon batch #3, if there are any left.  They are the only verified ASIC out there (except maybe for asic-miner).  BFL is a scam, most other ASICs are a scam.

You could buy someone's old FPGAs or you could get a nice GPU.  Those two may not pay for themselves... ever.  

ASIC or bust.   Or just Hold BTC and invest in assets on CoinBr or Bitfunder.  See link in my sig.

Whatever you do, don't send any BTC to anyone on trust.

[mwain]

Thanks, i just checkout the avalon website and they are out of stock 

Suppose i will just buy some bit coins as an investment instead.

[Jama]

I know I am new here and thus not the most knowledgeable.

But I joined the GPU bandwagon about a month ago by stalking ebay for some bargains.
I invested £200 overall for a rig that gets me 890Mhash
It earns me approximately 1BTC per 10 days and so with the current exchange rates it has just paid it self off.

My setup is:
2 x hd5870's - £170
A cheap motherboard with 2 pcie 16x and 1 pcie 1x (with processor and heat sink) £15
1gb ram - £FREE
40gb hard drive - £5
700w PSU £ 10
16A xbox psu (for extra 12v) - £FREE

So if you are careful with your money you can still get a small GPU rig which is profitable.
I am currently earning £8 a day by selling in 0.1BTC increments

Notes:
I do not pay for electricity
It runs caseless so no cost there
It runs in the shed so I can run the fans at 100%

[mwain]

The avalons are 75 bit coins - ouch

What motherboard you using?
Are you in a mining in a pool, which one?

are 5870's the best for GPU mining?

I might go see how much i can pick up a GPU for

[Jama]

The avalons are 75 bit coins - ouch

What motherboard you using?
Are you in a mining in a pool, which one?

are 5870's the best for GPU mining?

I might go see how much i can pick up a GPU for

It is asus psl02 deluxe, I didn't set out to buy it, just a cheap board which would yake 2-3 cards.
I mine in slush's pool at the moment but am not sure it is the best so I a reconsidering this
Also I would not say the 5870's are the best for mining but you can get a good Mhash/£
Plus they overclock quite nicely, I have mine at 1010MHz from 850

[coinage577]

BFL is a scam, most other ASICs are a scam.

Care to elaborate and provide details as to how you "know" this is true?  Or are you just guessing because it seems too good to be true?
Note:  I'm not trying to upset anyone here.  I just am curious about first hand experiences people have had...

[Kapz786]

The avalons are 75 bit coins - ouch

What motherboard you using?
Are you in a mining in a pool, which one?

are 5870's the best for GPU mining?

I might go see how much i can pick up a GPU for

It is asus psl02 deluxe, I didn't set out to buy it, just a cheap board which would yake 2-3 cards.
I mine in slush's pool at the moment but am not sure it is the best so I a reconsidering this
Also I would not say the 5870's are the best for mining but you can get a good Mhash/£
Plus they overclock quite nicely, I have mine at 1010MHz from 850

What sort of temps do your cards run at?

[World Commerce]

Mining takes time. Have patience.

[AnonyMint]

Mining takes time. Have patience.

Patience is not a virtue, it is sign that you don't really know what you are doing.