Best miner for the layman?

[piramida]

Hi guys, respectfully browsed through your forum but it seems there's too much information to digest, so I thought I'd ask.

What is the best ASIC system now on the market for somebody to help support the network? Don't really care that much about ROI (of course, it better paid for itself before blowing up, but not necessary)? The main requirement is the ease of setup of hardware/software for somebody who never really mined bitcoins, and wants to get the working system out of the box. Noise would be a factor too, something to be used in a non-dedicated environment.

I considered KncMiner but reading through the thread it seems it requires some hands on assembly. Anything better out there? Anything upcoming maybe?

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[Biffa]

Thats not correct, the KNC miner requires no assembly other than plugging in a PC power supply.

I guess you have to know how to hotwire a PSU thats about it.

Only problem is that they are sold out.

[piramida]

Thats not correct, the KNC miner requires no assembly other than plugging in a PC power supply.

I guess you have to know how to hotwire a PSU thats about it.

Only problem is that they are sold out.

Well I actually don't but I guess this much I can figure out... But being sold out kinda ruins it. So nothing available for immediate purchase then? Game of preorders still?

[AdamKD]

then? Game of preorders still?

Game of preorders, potential delays, and other problems.

If you're looking to make money it's best to just buy bitcoin.  If you're looking to get an interesting computer hobby then custom hardware is good.

The only groups making money through custom hardware are the ASIC chip developers.  Everyone else is at their mercy, at least imho.

[piramida]

Already invested in coins long ago, and not interested in hardware as a hobby or making money out of mining. My interest now is in supporting blockchain operation, i.e. controlling some tiny percentage of the total hashing power, to keep the overall coin healthy and have a say in which way blockchain grows and develops.

I would think this is a common wish, surprised that no ASIC maker has taken the role of Apple so to say.

[Biffa]

Already invested in coins long ago, and not interested in hardware as a hobby or making money out of mining. My interest now is in supporting blockchain operation, i.e. controlling some tiny percentage of the total hashing power, to keep the overall coin healthy and have a say in which way blockchain grows and develops.

I would think this is a common wish, surprised that no ASIC maker has taken the role of Apple so to say.

So you basically have a few options.

• There are no pre-orders for KNC available now - if you want to buy one be prepared to do it via Ebay or the For Sale forums here.
• Pre-order Cointerra or Hashfast - delivery for current orders is somewhere around Feb, but currently there is alot of worry they will ship current orders in time (if at all)
• You can buy ASICMiner Blades - 10GH/s per blade, up to 100GH/s per kit (10 blades) but expensive, power hungry and need some advanced knowledge to setup proxys etc to get them to work
• Bitfury Blades & Kits - Available direct but go in and out of stock fast, but restocked quite quickly from what I have seen. Up to 4-500GH/s per kit, easier to setup that the ASICMiner blades, but still not very "layman" friendly, also quite a bit more expensive than KNC/Cointerra/Hashfast prices, but then they are the only one still shipping

There are various edge players who appear to be real but none seem to be shipping in volume or with much promotion of their product, so its hard to see them as contenders really.

This is just my take on it, having been watching all the players in the Custom Hardware forums for quite a while.

[piramida]

Biffa, thanks for the summary, quite helpful! What about Avalons, they were the first to ship, gone by now?

Going to research cointerra and hashfast. I assume they have no track record of shipping anything?

[Biffa]

Biffa, thanks for the summary, quite helpful! What about Avalons, they were the first to ship, gone by now?

Gone and left with a bad taste in may peoples mouths unfortunately. You can buy them second hand but they are really power hungry, noisy and but can push around 80Gh/s

You will notice I didn't mention Butterfly Labs either, but then if you do a little reading you will find out why. Even more dissatisfaction with them, because at least Avalon delivered the first two batches fast and people ROI'ed fast. Butterfly Labs took nearly a year to get deliveries out and they are still playing catch up now.

[piramida]

Thanks, pity that. Seems that the growing pains of the completely new semiconductor industry are immense, every business comes crashing down... So, from reading on HF and CT delays, it seems the best option now is to leave it to evolution to sort out the best, which would only happen once hashrate stops exponential growth and stabilizes. And only then will be the time to participate in low-risk/low-return mining.

[FCTaiChi]

The only people who have made good money on mining since ASICs are the early buyers taking a huge risk.  I hope you're right about this changing as companies become more experienced, the majority of people have not been able to make a positive return.

[Biffa]

The only people who have made good money on mining since ASICs are the early buyers taking a huge risk.  I hope you're right about this changing as companies become more experienced, the majority of people have not been able to make a positive return.

It does depend how you measure ROI, I purchased my miners with $$ not BTC so I rate my return by $ conversion, with the rise in price in BTC thats helping me.

Yes if I had bought BTC at the time I bought my miner then I'd be better off, however I doubt I would have held my BTC cool while the price was going up, I would have sold when it jumped in the first price rise probably.

Also I think Miners tend to be more likely to hold BTC than speculators, not all but most.

[Unacceptable]

Best bet on miners ?

Wait for Bitmine:  https://bitmine.ch/

Or BlackArrow:   http://www.blackarrowsoftware.com/store/

They'll have 28nm with the lowest power to Gigahash ratio.

By then we may even see some others with lower power consumption,STAY AWAY FROM BFL if you want units in timely fashion with little to no BS 

Be patient,BTC is going up,ride the wave until Jan or Feb 

[xstr8guy]

Why not start off with a handful of USB miners?  You can get Block Erupters for cheap all over eBay.  They are pretty much worthless for serious mining but they are still a fun learning experience.

And if you want a little more firepower, get some of the new Bitfury chip USBs.  There are several different vendors to choose from but they are all basically the same design.

[glendall]

I'd say a video card.

Just like that it makes sense to mine LTC today.

You can go buy a video card, do your own LTC mining with that, and once in the while you get appreciate the side benefit of being able to play really video games effectively 

[Bogart]

The USB Block Erupters are about the most accessible and noob-friendly miners you can buy.

It's just that they're priced rather high, and it takes a lot of them to add up to much.