fell into an opportunity to mine, need suggestions

[Nshift1]

So I have a unique setup and I was going through some of the older posts, but figured I would create a new one, because this topic often changes. I fell into an opportunity to access unlimited free power for the next few months with minimal cooling costs within a business office. I don't feel comfortable investing in a proprietary miner, so I was looking to create a CPU/GPU rig. I actually work for an IT supplier, so having access to the parts I need might be a little easier than doing it retail. Nothing crazy expensive since I am so new to this, but I wanted to know if there are any general suggestions on how to yield the biggest buck.... is Ethereum profitable? or shoot for other alts, and what does the mining landscape look like 6 months from now (just trying to get a better idea of ROI) because if its a coin I believe in, I may scale it up to a potential large setup. Any suggestions is appreciated.

[Nshift1]

Ethereum would be profitable if you have free electricity.

I find the main issue of hosting rigs is supplying them with power and heat.

You have to make sure that there is enough power coming from the breaker box etc. and need to know detailed information about your electrical layout. Many people move into an apartment with electricity included in the rent and want to mine, mine, mine, but don't factor in having to mess with the electrics, insurances problems, and the heat!

The heat for me is why I stopped mining at home. Granted I have rigs full of older, less efficient cards, but the I wasn't able to expel the heat effectively enough and it was quite miserable living with the rigs in the summer.

Just some things to think about.

Gotcha. So do you believe Ethereum would be best? What kind of return would it yield, if I created say a 4-6 card rig to start off? Also, cooling will not be an issue, I live in the south, but the location I have access to is in the north and it couldnt be better for heat distribution.. also winter is on the way.

[Nshift1]

There is no way anyone can ever tell you the ROI / profits you are likely to see. Anyone who tells you they can, is a liar.

I use profit calculating websites like whattomine.com and https://www.coinwarz.com/cryptocurrency and https://www.nicehash.com/profitability-calculator

Those websites can give you a rough idea of what you are likely to earn AT THAT VERY MOMENT. However, the next day, it can completely change. And it might be really profitable for months so you keep all your coins, and then the price plummets and your coins aren't worth much anymore, equally, you could sell them regularly and then the price sky rockets. It's all about personal preference and risk assessment, just like a normal stock market.

The coin you mine would depend on what cards you buy. Ethereum is a strong currency (second only to Bitcoin) with a big following etc. but that makes it difficult to earn many coins. A lot of people mine smaller coins and trade them for ethereum etc.

Personally, I am mining ZCash because I have older 280X cards that aren't very good at mining Ethereum, but my new rigs will likely mine Ethereum.

Totally understood, profitability is the biggest concern obviously since I dont know how long this sweet deal will last. I can trade the currencies myself on the exchange. I guessa  better question would be, why switch to Ethereum if you could generate more Zcash coins with your new rig? Just for the risk of zcash dropping off?

[Metroid]

Ethereum would be profitable if you have free electricity.

I find the main issue of hosting rigs is supplying them with power and heat.

You have to make sure that there is enough power coming from the breaker box etc. and need to know detailed information about your electrical layout. Many people move into an apartment with electricity included in the rent and want to mine, mine, mine, but don't factor in having to mess with the electrics, insurances problems, and the heat!

The heat for me is why I stopped mining at home. Granted I have rigs full of older, less efficient cards, but the I wasn't able to expel the heat effectively enough and it was quite miserable living with the rigs in the summer.

Just some things to think about.

This is a good post, people need to understand that mining is not as easy as they think, mining it the right way is very hard and time consuming.

[philejmath]

I have 20 years of building computers and running linux systems under my belt. It's took me 1 day to build my first rig and 29 days to keep the dam thing from crashing. With little to no perspective on what your doing, troubleshooting can be really hard.

It's a great hobby with the added benefit of *possible* financial gain through selling coins or enhancing ones knowledge of emerging technologies. Good luck!

-phil

[Metroid]

I have 20 years of building computers and running linux systems under my belt. It's took me 1 day to build my first rig and 29 days to keep the dam thing from crashing. With little to no perspective on what your doing, troubleshooting can be really hard.

It's a great hobby with the added benefit of *possible* financial gain through selling coins or enhancing ones knowledge of emerging technologies. Good luck!

-phil

Exactly, and this was much easier cause you had 20 years building computers and plus Linux knowledge too.

[n0madDurwhat]

Totally understood, profitability is the biggest concern obviously since I dont know how long this sweet deal will last. I can trade the currencies myself on the exchange. I guessa  better question would be, why switch to Ethereum if you could generate more Zcash coins with your new rig? Just for the risk of zcash dropping off?

I am mining ZCash on my old 280X rigs because they are only 3GB cards which isn't really enough to mine Ethereum (put 12 280x cards into whattomine.com), but newer cards have more memory etc. and can mine ethereum more effectively.

Currently, I am keeping my ZCash, but when I get new rigs I will mine Ethereum as I personally believe Ethereum has a brighter future than ZCash. (But that is my own opinion)


Also, as highlighted above, once you get your mining rig working and not crashing, LEAVE IT ALONE! I can't tell you how many times I have tried to tweak my rigs chasing that extra MH/s, only to have it start crashing again (even when I change the settings back to what they were before), which costs more than the profits of the extra hashes. Rigs can be temperamental things...

Seriously, unless you are willing to spend hours upon hours of trial and error troubleshooting.. Listen to this people!

[n0madDurwhat]

Oh and also.. If you decide to utilize all of the available space and free electricity, definitely invest in a SRR from simplemining.net. This thing is a fucking godsend man! I can't tell you how much time, gas, and money (both spent for gas and wasted while rigs were down) it saved me. If your not on location, and really even if you are, this thing is a no brainer!

BTW where in the office are you housing the rigs?

[Phantoms001]

I have 20 years of building computers and running linux systems under my belt. It's took me 1 day to build my first rig and 29 days to keep the dam thing from crashing. With little to no perspective on what your doing, troubleshooting can be really hard.

It's a great hobby with the added benefit of *possible* financial gain through selling coins or enhancing ones knowledge of emerging technologies. Good luck!

-phil

Exactly, and this was much easier cause you had 20 years building computers and plus Linux knowledge too.

I think this is exactly why in that situation I would go a totally different direction.  It is getting tougher to build a rig with the inflated prices today that would give you a good chance to get a ROI.  A board is going to run you 75.00, memory 20.00, processor 50.00, power supply 100.00, then you need to buy the cards. 

For me, I would just pick up a S7 Antminer and let it run.... They are selling on ebay used around 500.00 - 700.00 and poof, your mining.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bitmain-Antminer-S7-4-73Th-s-BTC-Bitcoin-Miner-/112574027942?hash=item1a35ef58a6:g:nvYAAOSwIC1ZxXO8

Not profitable anymore because of power costs, but with free power it certainly would be. 

[BitcoinPC]

You will still be losing money. There is too much to making that work and it will be a 24 experience with juggling this coin and that and watching the diff and everything. People are always getting free electric and then blowing the savings on rigs and losing it all.