New to mining, need advice before spending $$$

[beefy5layer]

I would really appreciate any help on how to get started.  I have bitpay and coinbase on my tablet, and 'openharwaremonitor' on my PC (mining software would be next I assume)CGMiner I have researched is the best right now?..  So now I am working on my machine and possibly going to upgrade the whole system if necessary.  Any help with where to start on this whole bitcoin mining thing would be highly appreciated. Any sort of good youtube tuturial that's not outdated or incorrect.  Or just where you started.  Thanks everyone.

[fanatic26]

You cant use computers to mine bitcoin, you need specialized hardware. This site is a gold mine of information. My tip would be to study more on the site, nobody likes answering the same questions over and over and over when you can just read about them for yourself.

[beefy5layer]

Thanks, will do.

[beefy5layer]

After some research.. being that I am on solar power and have a 0$ cost of electricity at the moment, I am very interested.. and could even add panels to compensate in the future.  I am looking into buying a few things on amazon.. of course the Antminer s7/s9, A power supply I found on amazon (1600W).. being that I am on solar panels is there any other recommendations anyone would have for me before I go on this venture?  If this is profitable I am going to go all the way with it, just need people with experience to help me make the right choices on hardware.  I am willing to pay someone for some help setting up/advice or if you'd like to just help me out to be nice that's great

[FlamingFingers]

After some research.. being that I am on solar power and have a 0$ cost of electricity at the moment, I am very interested.. and could even add panels to compensate in the future.  I am looking into buying a few things on amazon.. of course the Antminer s7/s9, A power supply I found on amazon (1600W).. being that I am on solar panels is there any other recommendations anyone would have for me before I go on this venture?  If this is profitable I am going to go all the way with it, just need people with experience to help me make the right choices on hardware.  I am willing to pay someone for some help setting up/advice or if you'd like to just help me out to be nice that's great

Firstly, welcome to bitcoin mining, it's a long journey with ups and downs, but totally worth it.

Secondly, Solar power is great, and having $0 cost of electricity is even greater, this could make mining more profitable for you than others, if you could handle other mining factors, of course.

Thirdly, I was advised (by older miners) not to get hardware from Amazon, as they are pretty much overpriced. Either get them from the manufacturer, or reputable sellers on this forum.

Fourthly, S9 seems to be the best option, if you want profits, especially now. With the increase of hash rate (miners), you will need a chunk of hash rates on your side to possibly get profits.

Fifthly, if you spend enough time on this board (mining board), you will be able to get answers for your questions, and will have the proper knowledge to set foot in mining.

This is going viral here on the mining board, better check it out: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1806061.0

[beefy5layer]

Thank you for the warm welcome and advice.. I will not go through amazon in that case.  Damn.. I hope that's not what I need to turn a profit.  That reminds me of the dial-up days when people setup 56k servers in their homes.  Is this a ridiculous setup or is this the competition.. I know we have over a hundred years of mining left but hell, that is a pricey setup.

[beefy5layer]

Before I even waste my time.. let's say I had a $10,000 budget to spend on mining, is it profitable, and would the s9 (or multiple) be the way to go?

[Flying Hellfish]

Thank you for the warm welcome and advice.. I will not go through amazon in that case.  Damn.. I hope that's not what I need to turn a profit.  That reminds me of the dial-up days when people setup 56k servers in their homes.  Is this a ridiculous setup or is this the competition.. I know we have over a hundred years of mining left but hell, that is a pricey setup.

LOL that would actually be a tiny little set up (if it was for BTC), its not, its an alt coin GPU farm.

Here is what your competition actually looks like...  (well technically GND is a hosting facility but it illustrates the point nicely and was the first pic I found LOL).

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1512967.0

There are a lot of facilities like this (and many much larger) mostly in China.  You will be competing with them as they continue to add hashpower likely at a significant rate...

I'm not saying don't mine, I'm just saying there are a shit ton of variables.

It's important to remember in the long run difficulty WILL follow price.  If BTC crashes to $10 tomorrow (and stays down) there is going to be a metric fuck ton of miners that will eventually have to shut down.  If BTC goes to $10,000 tomorrow and stays up then everyone and their brother is going to want to get it on the gravy train.

[tbonetony]

Before I even waste my time.. let's say I had a $10,000 budget to spend on mining, is it profitable, and would the s9 (or multiple) be the way to go?

Your profitability heavily depends on your operational cost (power + maintenance). Since you have access to existing solar infrastructure, you already have a huge advantage against the average players. One of your challenges will be how cheaply can you scale up at current profitability.

with 10k to start, you will be looking at 7 or 8 S9's to begin with as per latest July sales on Bitmain. If you buy second hand gears, you may score higher revenue.

[Amph]

Before I even waste my time.. let's say I had a $10,000 budget to spend on mining, is it profitable, and would the s9 (or multiple) be the way to go?

if your electricity is very cheap, it should roi in few months, for example with $10k you can buy 10 x antminer s9 which would mine 0.06 btc per day that is more than 4k a month, 2.5 months to roi

the current profit is not bad thanks to bitcoin high value, i would do it if i was sitting on 5 cent electricity

[beefy5layer]

Wow, thanks for all the replies.. I guess I am going to invest in the s9's.  You guys have helped me a lot here along with my constant research.  So with these s9's is each one going to have its own power supply or is there a way to run them all off one larger one?  I was also told not to go on amazon, is it bitmain that has them I did run by the site but forgot.  If I ran these s9's lets say at .12/kwh what would be the monthly cost per unit, does anyone have an estimate?  Just looking to see how much power these things consume.. and if I should get a single power source or does each one need it own?  Lastly what is the thing with "pools" and can someone direct me to a forum that explains how they work?  Thanks for all the help people!

[philipma1957]

Wow, thanks for all the replies.. I guess I am going to invest in the s9's.  You guys have helped me a lot here along with my constant research.  So with these s9's is each one going to have its own power supply or is there a way to run them all off one larger one?  I was also told not to go on amazon, is it bitmain that has them I did run by the site but forgot.  If I ran these s9's lets say at .12/kwh what would be the monthly cost per unit, does anyone have an estimate?  Just looking to see how much power these things consume.. and if I should get a single power source or does each one need it own?  Lastly what is the thing with "pools" and can someone direct me to a forum that explains how they work?  Thanks for all the help people!

sure  give me a minute


1 s-9 is about 1400 watts at the wall or 1.4 kwatts x 24 = 33.6 kwatts a day round to 35 = 4.20 a day or 126 a month

this is a high estimate

and from below one 12,500 machine earns about 12.54 per day or  376.20 per month

https://bitcoinwisdom.com/bitcoin/difficulty


so net is close to 250 per month

[beefy5layer]

I am not worried about the heat, as the basement is very cold, avg at 65 degrees during the day and the central air stays on (2 units).  Can anyone point me in the right direction for good s9 vendors and other mining gear?  Thanks everyone for your help.. I feel like this is a smart move.  Were making history.. Slowly building a peer to peer bartering system.  I don't think the price is ever going to be as low as it is.  This is a "google" in progress, and we all get to be part of the code.  Hence were a 'sort of' programming team for a 'sort of' AI.. lol ok.  I'm glad I looked into mining.   

[beefy5layer]

Wow, thanks for all the replies.. I guess I am going to invest in the s9's.  You guys have helped me a lot here along with my constant research.  So with these s9's is each one going to have its own power supply or is there a way to run them all off one larger one?  I was also told not to go on amazon, is it bitmain that has them I did run by the site but forgot.  If I ran these s9's lets say at .12/kwh what would be the monthly cost per unit, does anyone have an estimate?  Just looking to see how much power these things consume.. and if I should get a single power source or does each one need it own?  Lastly what is the thing with "pools" and can someone direct me to a forum that explains how they work?  Thanks for all the help people!

sure  give me a minute


1 s-9 is about 1400 watts at the wall or 1.4 kwatts x 24 = 33.6 kwatts a day round to 35 = 4.20 a day or 126 a month

this is a high estimate

and from below one 12,500 machine earns about 12.54 per day or  376.20 per month

https://bitcoinwisdom.com/bitcoin/difficulty


so net is close to 250 per month

Thanks Philip.

[Flying Hellfish]

I am not worried about the heat, yet

FTFY

Put a few of these 1400W heaters in your basement and wait for the summer temps then come back and update us on how worried you are about the heat hehe. 

1 or 2 miners fine, play around have some fun and heat probably isn't a major issue BUT start to add these things up in ANY enclosed room and you will very quickly find out just what heat output from a miner is!

You need airflow not A/C brother!  Trying to cool hot miner air with A/C is a lot like pissing in the wind, bloody stupid.

On the flip side though they can be a sweet source of cheaper/subsidized heat in the winter months.

[beefy5layer]

Thanks for the help.. and everyone else.  I will be updating you all with pics and how it comes along.  Thanks again everyone!

[beefy5layer]

So, if I was to purchase a few s9's and run them day and night It wouldn't be worth it?  I'm confused.  I am also in the financial part as well but would like to add to it if profitable.

[coolcoinz]

So, if I was to purchase a few s9's and run them day and night It wouldn't be worth it?  I'm confused.  I am also in the financial part as well but would like to add to it if profitable.

If you take Philip's estimation, you're looking at 2 years of mining ROI, but that is with power cost. If you have panels it's a different story, because after those 2 years the panels will still be operating, so you have to take that $126 a month in power, multiply by 24 and subtract from the cost of the panels that you'll need to run a miner and you'll know how much of the cost of panels will the S9s cover in 2 years, while they are reaching ROI themselves.

[1.btcwonder]

Don’t go even near to Antminer S9. You can get more profit with the help of a faster ROI if you check out the S9 is high-priced as it is a big company.

[leowonderful]

Don’t go even near to Antminer S9. You can get more profit with the help of a faster ROI if you check out the S9 is high-priced as it is a big company.

I can't even tell what you mean (help of a faster ROI ). The S9 ROI is pretty decent for me and it isn't horrible, at ten cents per kilowatt you will make ROI in around a hundred days. There aren't any better competing BTC miners out there so if you are looking for a Bitcoin miner, this is what you will want.

Literally all miners come from big companies. Avalon, Bitmain, Bitfury... Sidehack gets his chips from Bitfury, a big company. There's no way around this economically.