strategic timing to by an AntMiner S3 now?

[BlueTile]

hello
I am planning to start mining on a personal level. and this first step is to buy a miner.

so, according to the evolving of mining equipment, is it wise to buy an AntMiner S3 now? or it is better to wait a little for a the next lineup?

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[notlist3d]

No one can say really.  As far as "next big thing" there are some that have pre-ordered cheap but will they deliever...... who knows.

The S3 is a solid great miner.   I am hoping to see a price drop, but it seems btc price staying so low has slowed its price drop.

Things to consider
1) do you have PSU's or have to buy?
2) Do some ROI math with your electricity.

[philipma1957]

hello
I am planning to start mining on a personal level. and this first step is to buy a miner.

so, according to the evolving of mining equipment, is it wise to buy an AntMiner S3 now? or it is better to wait a little for a the next lineup?

okay what does your power cost? at 8 cents a kwatt one or two at a good price  would not be a bad idea.

[BlueTile]

The funny thing about power is that it does not cost me anything,  no need to ask me how .
1- About these promises of " next big thing", who made them? Known manufacturers or new? Got links?
2- about the power supply, well I got a beefy 1050w one in my PC. I was thinking of using it to power both the PC and the miner... Just wanted to find a way to keep the miner powered up while the PC is off . Is it possible?

[notlist3d]

The funny thing about power is that it does not cost me anything,  no need to ask me how .
1- About these promises of " next big thing", who made them? Known manufacturers or new? Got links?
2- about the power supply, well I got a beefy 1050w one in my PC. I was thinking of using it to power both the PC and the miner... Just wanted to find a way to keep the miner powered up while the PC is off . Is it possible?

1.  No one really can say.  We can speculate, but becuse of the nature of pre-orders its hard to say when some products will ship (or in somecases if they even ship).
2.  Technically you could have pci-e sticking out if not being used on video card it could be used for a s3 (it takes 2 seperate ones not on same cord, some have 2 on same cord sharing electricity).   Personally I would not do this but use a PSU with paperclip trick or something and have it dedicated for your miners.

[elduderino]

Hey there,

Here's really what you need to figure out before doing anything else.

I think you are correct in looking at the S3 as far as being the best choice in terms of ROI.
There's also the Tubeminer, BTW. You might want to look into that.

The cheapest place you're going to find the S3 is at the manufacturer's (Bitmain) website.

Right now, the cost for an S3 is .58 BTC per uniit, with a minimum order of 2.
So that's 2 x .58 = 1.16.

Question you need to figure out is: how long (if ever) until these 2 miners give me back 1.16 BTC + my related costs.

That's it, before you figure that out, do not pass go.

Also, to the question of using 1 PSU for a PC & your miner:
No offense, but, if you're even contemplating this, I would definitely hold off and take a moment to read through the mining how-tos here before jumping into anything. I know how it is starting on a budget, but there's a right way and a wrong way - and that is the wrong way.

[BlueTile]

Hey there,

Here's really what you need to figure out before doing anything else.

The cheapest place you're going to find the S3 is at the manufacturer's (Bitmain) website.

Right now, the cost for an S3 is .58 BTC per uniit

Question you need to figure out is: how long (if ever) until these 2 miners give me back 1.16 BTC + my related costs.

That's it, before you figure that out, do not pass go.

Also, to the question of using 1 PSU for a PC & your miner:
No offense, but, if you're even contemplating this, I would definitely hold off and take a moment to read through the mining how-tos here before jumping into anything. I know how it is starting on a budget, but there's a right way and a wrong way - and that is the wrong way.

A- My plan was to start with a small investment, buying one up-to-date miner only, then let it run for a few days... even if i need to keep the PC on during this time.
The small investment plan is needed because:
1- am not sure if the miner will be cleared at the customs when it arrives, coz i've had such an experience before.
2- am not sure how my ISP' network is configured. if for some reason i cannot mine properly then it is a dead end for me, since almost all companies and services here are in their infancy and nobody knows what they are doing.

If everything went well, then i would get more miners along with power supplies and a UPS (yes i need one).

B- For buying options: well i do not have any BTC yet, and either case, my only option to buy hardware is through online retailers.
the S3 is about $320 on Amazon now. are there better options?

C- does these parameters look normal? (yes free electricity)
https://i.imgur.com/PKtZKFz.png

[elduderino]

  Um, yeah....

IF IT WAS BACK IN (EARLY) AUGUST, when the difficulty was around 19,729,645,941,
and the price of BTC was still in the $500+ dollar range...

[unrealistic]

You have to hope on the BTC value increase to get some good ROI.

[elduderino]

Have a look at this guy's thread.

The difficulty has almost doubled since then.
Or, just google for "Bitcoin difficulty"

Then plug that number in.

Then, look at the daily production of your miner.