Bitcoin Mining with 1x 5850 in the UK

[BitMofo]

Hi guys I am currently doing a bit of practise mining with 1 hd5850.
I am using a watt meter to measure the amount of energy currently being used from my PC

1 card mining = 200watts total consumption for my PC.

Standard rate electricity costs:

16.62p for first 2kwh/day then 13.32p so in 24hours = 33.24(10hours at 16.62) + 37.296(14hours at 13.32) = 70.536p/day.

Mining at 290Mhash/s so 0.14btc/day average. at £10/btc = £1.40. Or currently £6/btc so... 0.84p

Profit today = 13p...


With a second graphics card it would be an extra 100watts but double btc/day (300watts with £1.68/day + less electric costs relatively).

Is there something wrong with my calculations or is mining basically a break even process at the moment for a casual miner with just one card?
I will be switching to a different electricity plan soon which will mean cheaper electric for the more I use. This means if I start mining with more cards, there should be more profits.
Nevertheless, it appears that mining is currently not really worthwhile any longer for a casual miner unless you get your electricity for free?

I hope to get another 5850 at some point, but even then the profits will be marginal.

Any thoughts?

[1714943966]

1714943966

[1714943966]

1714943966

[mike678]

16.62p for first 2kwh/day then 13.32p so in 24hours = 33.24(10hours at 16.62) + 37.296(14hours at 13.32) = 70.536p/day.

Most likely you already use 2 kwh/day before accounting for the rig so you should calculate at the 13.32p rate. That means it costs you 64p

Mining at 290Mhash/s so 0.14btc/day average. at £10/btc = £1.40. Or currently £6/btc so... 0.84p

Profit today = 13p...

290 actualy should generate 0.154 btc a day so thats 28.4p a day

In all honesty though you really need a rig that has 4+ cards in it. For example my best rig which is 5 5850's requires about 1000 watts and generates about 1.925 ghash. That's 1.025 btc a day. Using your rate for electricity it costs 3.20 pounds a day. Making 1.025 btc a day and subtracting the electricity would be 2.95 pounds per day.

Keep in mind though the price may go up in the future and any btc you don't sell now could be worth alot later on. Lets say you didnt spend any btc and just paid your bill for a 2 months and then it jumps to 18 pounds a btc. That means the 9.24 btc(I realize this isn't exactly accurate) you saved up is worth 166.32 pounds. The cost in electricity for the 2 months would be 17 pounds.

That means you made 149.32 pounds so its all about when your willing to sell your bitcoins.

[AngelusWebDesign]

You're correct.

Profits are there, but marginal.  

You're not going to be able to quit your job or anything (unlike early June '11, where that looked to be quite possible!)

Unless you have a serious number of cards (= decent investment of $$$) you're looking at pocket change, not "money that folds".

Plus the profit potential varies widely by geographic location -- climate, electricity rates, etc.

[AngelusWebDesign]

16.62p for first 2kwh/day then 13.32p so in 24hours = 33.24(10hours at 16.62) + 37.296(14hours at 13.32) = 70.536p/day.

Most likely you already use 2 kwh/day before accounting for the rig so you should calculate at the 13.32p rate. That means it costs you 64p

Mining at 290Mhash/s so 0.14btc/day average. at £10/btc = £1.40. Or currently £6/btc so... 0.84p

Profit today = 13p...

290 actualy should generate 0.154 btc a day so thats 28.4p a day

In all honesty though you really need a rig that has 4+ cards in it. For example my best rig which is 5 5850's requires about 1000 watts and generates about 1.925 ghash. That's 1.025 btc a day. Using your rate for electricity it costs 3.20 pounds a day. Making 1.025 btc a day and subtracting the electricity would be 2.95 pounds per day.

Keep in mind though the price may go up in the future and any btc you don't sell now could be worth alot later on. Lets say you didnt spend any btc and just paid your bill for a 2 months and then it jumps to 18 pounds a btc. That means the 9.24 btc(I realize this isn't exactly accurate) you saved up is worth 166.32 pounds. The cost in electricity for the 2 months would be 17 pounds.

That means you made 149.32 pounds so its all about when your willing to sell your bitcoins.

18 pounds a BTC -- isn't that $30?

I think there are a lot of people (even among miners) who have accepted that $30 isn't coming around again any time soon -- if ever.

I personally would be ecstatic to see $15 again, nevermind $30.

After this long at $9.50, if we hit even a modest spike to $12 there would be a massive flood of selling. It's human/market psychology.

[mike678]

18 pounds a BTC -- isn't that $30?

I think there are a lot of people (even among miners) who have accepted that $30 isn't coming around again any time soon -- if ever.

I personally would be ecstatic to see $15 again, nevermind $30.

After this long at $9.50, if we hit even a modest spike to $12 there would be a massive flood of selling. It's human/market psychology.

I gave a 2 month window. So while I agree its not very likely to get to 30 dollars a btc again its entirely possible.At the very least you can expect the price to go back up. If bitcoins is going to be successful in the long run we will need to be able to buy a bigger variety of items then currently. If that happens it will drive the price up because people will start using it for things other then speculation. I was just pointing out its not really wise to sell right now if you think bitcoins will succeed the price will go up.

[Graet]

Where did you get £10/btc from?
Closer to £6.25/btc atm.
We all hope it goes back to £10/btc (and higher) but most exchanges you can't even get $10/btc.

That will mess with your maths too.

At todays prices mining isnt viable for a lot of ppl, some have stopped. Many still mine hoping the coin they produce today will be worth more when the market recovers.

I am also sure you can get more than 290Mhash/s from a 5850 depending on how much you overclock etc, some ppl get 400+Mhash from 5850s which will also alter the result of your calculations

[BitMofo]

Where did you get £10/btc from?
Closer to £6.25/btc atm.
We all hope it goes back to £10/btc (and higher) but most exchanges you can't even get $10/btc.

That will mess with your maths too.

At todays prices mining isnt viable for a lot of ppl, some have stopped. Many still mine hoping the coin they produce today will be worth more when the market recovers.

I am also sure you can get more than 290Mhash/s from a 5850 depending on how much you overclock etc, some ppl get 400+Mhash from 5850s which will also alter the result of your calculations

The £10 was just a nice number/ good case scenario.

I need to look into overclocking (Not tried yet) But must take into account that the more you overclock, the more power used, so need to find the balance! The watt meter should be very useful for that

[mike678]

Where did you get £10/btc from?
Closer to £6.25/btc atm.

I assumed that the price he hopes for.

I am also sure you can get more than 290Mhash/s from a 5850 depending on how much you overclock etc, some ppl get 400+Mhash from 5850s which will also alter the result of your calculations

You might be right I assumed at those speeds it was a 5830 but he said "another 5850". With a single 5850 you can definitely achieve 400+. When you have 5 5850's with an inch gap between them you should expect around 385.

[mike678]

I need to look into overclocking (Not tried yet) But must take into account that the more you overclock, the more power used, so need to find the balance! The watt meter should be very useful for that

I HIGHLY recommend contacting the user teukon. He has the best megahash per watt out there for the 5850. He said it in some thread in the hardware section but I'm way too lazy to find it.

[BitMofo]

Where did you get £10/btc from?
Closer to £6.25/btc atm.

I assumed that the price he hopes for.

I am also sure you can get more than 290Mhash/s from a 5850 depending on how much you overclock etc, some ppl get 400+Mhash from 5850s which will also alter the result of your calculations

You might be right I assumed at those speeds it was a 5830 but he said "another 5850". With a single 5850 you can definitely achieve 400+. When you have 5 5850's with an inch gap between them you should expect around 385.

My PC is my regular PC as well as a miner. I have 2 remaining PCI express slots however the 5850's would end up incredibly close to one another if I was to put any more in. Surely this could be damaging if overclocking?

I need to look into overclocking (Not tried yet) But must take into account that the more you overclock, the more power used, so need to find the balance! The watt meter should be very useful for that

I HIGHLY recommend contacting the user teukon. He has the best megahash per watt out there for the 5850. He said it in some thread in the hardware section but I'm way too lazy to find it.

Will see what I can find out
Thanks Mike!

[mike678]

My PC is my regular PC as well as a miner. I have 2 remaining PCI express slots however the 5850's would end up incredibly close to one another if I was to put any more in. Surely this could be damaging if overclocking?

Look up the guy I recommended he undervolts and overclock the core so you might get low enough temps.

[Graet]

My PC is my regular PC as well as a miner. I have 2 remaining PCI express slots however the 5850's would end up incredibly close to one another if I was to put any more in. Surely this could be damaging if overclocking?

sure, actually any overclocking is potentially dangerous to your card. other things to take into consideration are ability of case to cool your card(s), the fact that things like pci extenders are available and can help spread cards etc. from the original question that i answered there is no info for me to guess from.While £10/btc is a "nice number" it actually has no meaning and useing it gives you a flawed (profit), i see you edited your post later.


"Is there something wrong with my calculations or is mining basically a break even process at the moment for a casual miner with just one card?"
yes is what i was answering