Choosing hardware and algorithms

[margotcoins]

Hi all!

Sorry my previous post was probably too generic and rightfully got deleted.

Also because of the holiday family got in the way and I couldn't check on it or reply regularly.

I would like to get into mining but at the same time I really don't know where to start.

Your guides and advices gave me a wonderful place to start but at the same time the options are so many that if anyone could provide a little guidance it would be much appreciated. Here is where I got so far:

You told me no sense in mining Bitcoins or Altcoins if electricity is not cheap, well mine is about 0.06 Eur per kW/h, not sure weather I fall under the cheap spectrum but considering the power consumption and return of these SHA-256 I say I am on the expensive side.

Right now I have a 3.3 kW power available but that can be bumped up to 6.6 kW for almost same price of electricity. (I am not considering the 20% I should leave unused, these are total)

Also as advised I am looking at Asic machines.

But here is where I start getting lost again, if I look at your list of competitive hardware and cross reference it with the miners profitability I am not sure what to make of it. Probably because I am not sure what algorithm I should be mining for given the means at my disposal.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5045732.msg46631656#msg46631656

https://www.asicminervalue.com

I am thinking I would like to set up and start mining in two to four months (given if my electricity cost make any sense to you).

The Antminer S17 (Pro and S17) are really appealing machines but once again if I look at the numbers they don't really make a lot of sense (considering the Antminer will stay competitive for how long? 6 to 9 months? More? I have no idea I just read a lot of post where you guys keep changing the machine to stay on top of the game).

Then I came across the STU-U6 for the X11 algorithm and by looking at its numbers, well, maybe this could be a viable investment for my situation. I see they will come out on July 2019 and that also falls in place with my time frame.

At the same time I keep looking at other machines but all I am considering is power consumption (given what I have available) and miner profitability. I am not sure how to look at the algorithm part for the big picture.

For example the Antminer Z11 or the A++ Zmaster mining the Equinash seem also interesting, but I don't really know what to think of them.

The obelisk SC1 Dual seems like a really cool machine but is it worth the big investment? (again different algorithm but to be honest low power consumption is what caught my eye ..)

Also in my previous post I asked about what the "Requires AB enabled pool" feature is but I honestly forgot the answer sorry, if you could tell me again that would be much appreciated.

A "bitpenny" for your thoughts  

Thanks again!!!









 

[margotcoins]

I do seem to see that the best way to go about cryptos would just be to go and buy some, I also plan on doing that, but at the same time I can't stop being fascinated by the world of mining. Also cloud mining seems kind of cool despite all bad things I read about it, not sure what to make of it.

I guess If I could just break even within 9 months to a year with the electricity cost and the miner expenses I would just be happy with it (1-2 Asic miners tops).

I was just curious how you guys that are still doing it go about choosing the algorithm, I see as per the today stats some are more profitable and some are less profitable. Is that it? Anything else to consider? When looking at all the algorithms what do they tell you beside what minable coins they work with?

Thanks!


edit: thanks for the GPUs and the VEIL 16 algo tips, I am going to start looking into that if it's something I able to do!

[dentolas]

well, I am also fascinated by mining. A lot of people tells you to buy your coins from exchanges, some of these people are not true miners, others don't want the difficulty to rise and the rest are just fudders...
If mining is so not worth, how come the hasrates keep on growing? someone must be mining and increasing hasrate?
A friend of mine has a couple of small gpu rigs and he's turning profit...
I think the ASICs are a mistae because they brake doen very easily, have only 6m warranty and have almost no flexibility... with GPUs, you have a longer working period, longer warranty, high flexibility and high re-sale value...
The other trick is that these people are mining for accumulation... no one will be selling their coins before the market hits a certain level 

[margotcoins]

The other trick is that these people are mining for accumulation...

That's what I figured, no sense in selling right away.

Any good tips/resources on how to choose the video cards? I see a lot of old guides.

I only found this profitability calculator for GPU which could be a starting point I guess.

https://outervision.com/mining-rig-builder/

Thanks

[JeffBrad12]

The other trick is that these people are mining for accumulation...

That's what I figured, no sense in selling right away.

Any good tips/resources on how to choose the video cards? I see a lot of old guides.

I only found this profitability calculator for GPU which could be a starting point I guess.

https://outervision.com/mining-rig-builder/

Thanks

The profitability calculator for GPU should not become the only starting point, you must consider or at least get more information regarding about how strong that GPU based on another miner's review. Remember the profitability calculator is not 100% correct and you must consider about what kind of algo that you will mine use your GPU, how much electricity that will be cost by your mining rig and the mining pool that can give you maximal hash rate power. I can say if you are profit oriented and asic will be the best option for you but in GPU there was a lot of things to consider.
You must try to see the efficiency and effectivity from any GPU, the noise that will be created by that GPU too
https://cryptoage.com/en/1468-choosing-a-graphics-card-for-mining-cryptocurrency-in-2019.html

that looks a good article to read.

[margotcoins]

Thanks for the article. I am thinking Etash for the GPUs and SHA256 or X11 for the ASICs.

Still I have a lot of more reading to go.

And also I was hoping to rope in a close friend so two heads could have a wider angle of view.

But definitely the more I read the more it strikes me as fun stuff

Thanks for your inputs!

[rahoos]

Hi margotcoins, thanks for a thoughtful and thought-provoking thread. I've been looking at the STU-U6 too.
From my perspective, having mined BTC using Antminer S7s in 2016 and 2017, the STU-U6 seems almost too good to be true. Somebody posted on another thread (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5133663.0) that ASIC miners for the X11 algorithm are evolving really fast. Another risk I think is important to consider with that algorithm particularly is the possibility that the Dash developers could reduce the mining reward again. I think that was at least partly why the Antminer D5 was useless before it even shipped. There was a lot of hype surrounding its release at least from what I saw on various Dash chat/forum channels, and I think a lot of them were sold, and then around the same time as they started taking delivery and turning the machines on, Dash redirected some of the mining reward to a community investment fund (the 10% of the block reward that's set aside to fund DAO type projects voted on by Masternode owners). For myself, I've decided it's probably not worth mining Dash unless I'm a lot more involved in the community, probably as a Masternode owner as well.
At this point, if I get back into mining, I'm considering hosting at a server farm that rents rack space to mining rig owners, and I'd probably buy lightly used S15s and S17s. Buying used eliminates waiting for delivery from the manufacturer. Part of my reason for renting rack space instead of running the miners in my own basement is that I can be completely anonymous that way, whereas running them in my own basement comes with the risk of having my identity connected with cryptocurrency mining through government entities tracking internet traffic and comparing utility bills. This is speculation, but I think it's possible, and something miners will have to figure out at some point in the future as governments start getting more desperate to crack down. I could mitigate that with a VPN router, but that's more hassle than I want to go through right now. If that level of government oversight is not a worry for you, mining at home is probably a fine idea. Also, 0.06 EUR per kwh is a pretty good rate. My rate is similar, and I roughly doubled my money throughout 2016 and 2017. In hindsight, it would have been more profitable to buy BTC than miners. But 2016/2017 were exceptional years, and I mining reward performance doesn't necessarily go hand-in-hand with price performance, even if it did that year. What I mean is, there may be times or coins where price is flat or even downward but mining is still rewarding, because difficulty fluctuates based on global hashing power (for most algorithms), and global hashing power probably mostly depends on sentiment, which is only partly dependent on price.
Good luck with your decision.