I want in will my PC even do it?

[Heliarc]

Hello all. Until yesterday I thought this was just some universal game currency. Now I find it's actual currency that you are providing a service for. Also I've read that much of it depends on what you are using as far as wattage, and your video card.

Currently I'm running a Dell XPS 8300 with a Geforce GT530. The card is on it's last legs and I'm looking for a new one. Once I heard about mining though I figured I might look for an older Radeon that will do the job. If it pays off I can get myself some better equipment but at least I have a decent graphics card. Anyhow, is there something in the $200-$300 range that I can find used that will make a profit? I'll post my specs below. I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction here, or at least tell me if my current machine will even run a GPU that will work. If there is anything I missed please ask. I'm more than happy to help you help me. I thank you.

Make/Model: Dell XPS 8300
CPU: Intel Core i7-2600 3.4 GHZ
Ram: 12 GB
GPU: Nvidia Geforce GT 530

[RodeoX]

That's a nice gaming box you have there. But I'm afraid the days of mining BTC on your home rig are over. Mining has moved to powerful computers that run processors specially built for mining. Some people mine alt-coins on a PC then sell them for BTC, but it may be more profitable to just buy your coins.

[Heliarc]

Bummer...I figured I was late to the game

Thanks anyhow.

[Mrgoldlake]

For BTCs is to late in PCs, but u can mine another coins and trade it for BTC is sites like Cryptsy or with another members of this forum, so don't worry 

[Gabi]

You need ASIC to mine bitcoin, but you can mine the other altcoins with a graphic card, like litecoin or dogecoin  

Your pc is exactly why buying pre-made computers is a bad bad idea, it has a good cpu, tons of ram and... a epic fail gpu! Buy a good graphic card and it will be awesome both for gaming and for mining  

[Karen98]

You can buy a Radeon 7950 and mine Dogecoin.

[MoneyMorpheus]

if you want to mine altcoins sell the nvidia and buy a good ati

[Gabi]

If you want to play AMD cards are good too. Do you play BF4? Look at the performance boost due to AMD Mantle 

[Ritual]

You asked for a $200-$300 upgrade which would allow you to enter the mining game (and it is a game hehe).

I'd recommend selling the nVidia card, try to get to approx $350 if you can, then buy a Radeon R9-280X Toxic (if you can find one).

You'll get in at approx 820KHash, and should be able to make a small few bob mining altcoins, then turning them around on exchanges like Cryptsy. See my sig for a starter there.

Let's say you make $5 per day at that rate (which is optimistic, I won't lie to you) you could reinvest your $150 and add $150 for another Toxic next month. Now you're at 1650KHash, and maybe making $10 per day.

...which you then reinvest....ad infinitum.

You can get in, but you might need to plan to be aggressive at this point. That is, focus on mining the new released coins (only the ones with exchanges) and dump em when you have a few.

I've just basically outlined my plan, really I'm also a late starter!

Will watch this thread closely because I'd also appreciate a few tips!

Rit.

[TheGrandCaptain]

ASIC for BTCs / PC for GAMES   

[Heliarc]

Actually the computer was free. A guy bought it for his daughter then she stole his credit card and a lot of other BS you shouldn't pull on your Father or anyone else. I do a lot of stuff for him and he asked if I wanted it. Heck yea I did!

As I said though, I'm already looking for a good graphics card. If I could turn it into something that might at least pay for itself over time that's a bonus. Right now if I run any type of graphically demanding game my monitor starts flickering purple. I was hoping to get away with less than $200 on a decent previous gen card. And since you can still mine alternative coins I can still possibly make it pay.

Anyone have suggestions on make and model I can run? Just something that will get me into the game for now and later I can think about upgrades if it works out for me.

Also the ASIC thing, I've heard they're on backorder, or they were. Are they actually shipping yet?

[Ritual]

ASIC for BTCs / PC for GAMES  

Yes, but the Altcoin market is not fucked yet. And I don't think it will be for a while. As long as people are willing to (a) Trade altcoins to BTC, and (b) willing to back another altcoin (Litecoin seems the most likely choice atm, although Doge seems to be making somewhat unreal progress), GPU Scrypt mining will be profitable, even if not to the degree that the early gold-rush of BTC mining was.

Or maybe we only need to hold hodl and wait?

Rit.

EDIT: Unless you have serious money to invest don't go near ASIC Bitcoin mining at this time. Too volatile, and it's a minefield of scammers.

[Ritual]

Actually the computer was free. A guy bought it for his daughter then she stole his credit card and a lot of other BS you shouldn't pull on your Father or anyone else. I do a lot of stuff for him and he asked if I wanted it. Heck yea I did!

As I said though, I'm already looking for a good graphics card. If I could turn it into something that might at least pay for itself over time that's a bonus. Right now if I run any type of graphically demanding game my monitor starts flickering purple. I was hoping to get away with less than $200 on a decent previous gen card. And since you can still mine alternative coins I can still possibly make it pay.

Anyone have suggestions on make and model I can run? Just something that will get me into the game for now and later I can think about upgrades if it works out for me.

Also the ASIC thing, I've heard they're on backorder, or they were. Are they actually shipping yet?

OK, score! Nothing wrong with a free machine

So you have the base machine, all you need is a GPU (graphics card). You have two choices, Radeon (AMD) or nVidia. The architecture of Radeon cards (which is not something I pretend to understand, shaders blah blah blah) is significantly better than nVidia. So sell that nVidia card (it's worth about $50), and buy a decent Radeon.

[EDIT: But what you want is a Radeon R9-280X Toxic - trust me on this]

There are dozens, and the best place to look is:

https://litecoin.info/Mining_hardware_comparison

It's on the Litecoin Wiki, but can be applied to ANY altcoin. You should try to focus on the KHash (mining power) per dollar (Kh/$) and see what you can pick up.

Ofc after you have it, pointing it in the right direction and profiting is a whole 'nother science

But you're in the right place to learn!

Rit

[Heliarc]

Thanks kindly. Even if I don't profit, I'll still be able to try something new and in the end I have a good graphics card. Hopefully the alt-coins will hold for a while. Seems that every time something awesome comes out (read: Magic money machine) they have to go and piss in the pot.

I'll start with the card so at least I can run my games and we'll go from there.

*EDIT: I checked out the Radeon R9-280X. Holy smokes! Impressive looking but no way can I swing over $400 right now. AMD 5870 is a bit over what I was thinking of but definitely doable. It has a Kh/S rate of 400 which is incredible compared to my current card. My wattage is at about 400 and that's the peak value I believe.

I went on the litecoin calculator and though i don't know exactly all the values I entered my wattage, cost of power, and the 400 Kh/S I ended up with $68 monthly profit. Still, I don't know about pool fees and all that, and then what to do with the litecoins or otherwise once I want to cash out. But that's down the road.

[Ritual]

Thanks kindly. Even if I don't profit, I'll still be able to try something new and in the end I have a good graphics card. Hopefully the alt-coins will hold for a while. Seems that every time something awesome comes out (read: Magic money machine) they have to go and piss in the pot.

I'll start with the card so at least I can run my games and we'll go from there.

That's EXACTLY the correct way to look at it. You're buying a games monster. And when you're not gaming, it's mining.

On the subject of pissing in the pot though....we're at a time when any cretin with the knowledge to do a make on a C++ file can make their own coin. This is VERY VERY good for low-power miners, as you can adopt a strategy of:

1) Watch the announcements like a hawk for new coins.
2) Hope on the ones you think might go up slightly (you only need slightly) - tip: premines do not get supported well generally.
3) Mine a few blocks on the first night or two it's out
4) Keep em for a couple of weeks (while hopping on the next one in the meantime)
5) Dump em when you figure your night's work has been worth it.

You CAN make money. You just need to keep your eye on the ball

Rit.

PS: Oh, and one last thing - mining is becoming so popular now that the gear you buy (specifically GPUs) is not subject to anything like the normal depreciation of computer hardware. It'll hold it's value fairly well, so you can bail in a few months time with very little loss. Which is nice

[Heliarc]

Anyhow I checked out the AMD 5870. Kh/S 400. Think that'll get me started?

[Ritual]

Yep, nicely. Just don't pay very much for it. About $150 max.

Ofc that's my opinion - others may offer better insights into the value.

Rit

[Heliarc]

Cool, thanks. I can find them used under $200. As long as it works ok that's just fine by me.

[AvalonMiner]

You could start cloud mining instead, doesnt require any hardware and you can buy literally as much gh as you want. My signature has all the details

[Ritual]

I'm not claiming to be an expert, but I'll recommend AGAINST cloud mining at the moment.

The price you pay is generally not enough to get your money back. Plus you own nothing.

Buy a card, set it up, learn a bit of stuff, have some fun, and maybe make a few shekels.



Rit.