New to the scene, few questions

[ChuChuTrick]

Hi, been reading a bit about bitcoin, and I'm having some trouble figuring out how to calculate my a rigs efficiency/profitability.

I'm trying to figure out if it's possible for me to build a profitable rig at 25.47 cents per kWh, I'm also trying to keep my Mhash/s at a not too aggressive level, I'm thinking between 350 - 450 Mhash/s with a spending limit of around $1000.00.

I've been doing some watt calcs and I've came up with Mini ITX intel i3 + solo 7950 rig that I should be able to run at about 200 (182-212) watts....so...If I'm calculating right, it'll cost me about $36-$37 a month or $1.22 a day to run the rig.

So here is where I get lost;

420ish mhash/s at $1.22 a day is or isn't profitable?

I guess the question is whats the bitcoin/usd gain on 420mhash/s... that's what I can't seem to figure out.

Assuming that the above rig isn't profitable, I'm wondering if it is even possible to build a profitable rig at 25.47 cents per kWh...

Thanks for putting up with my noobness...and Thanks for any help in advanced.

[mdude77]

Hi, been reading a bit about bitcoin, and I'm having some trouble figuring out how to calculate my a rigs efficiency/profitability.

I'm trying to figure out if it's possible for me to build a profitable rig at 25.47 cents per kWh, I'm also trying to keep my Mhash/s at a not too aggressive level, I'm thinking between 350 - 450 Mhash/s with a spending limit of around $1000.00.

I've been doing some watt calcs and I've came up with Mini ITX intel i3 + solo 7950 rig that I should be able to run at about 200 (182-212) watts....so...If I'm calculating right, it'll cost me about $36-$37 a month or $1.22 a day to run the rig.

So here is where I get lost;

420ish mhash/s at $1.22 a day is or isn't profitable?

I guess the question is whats the bitcoin/usd gain on 420mhash/s... that's what I can't seem to figure out.

Assuming that the above rig isn't profitable, I'm wondering if it is even possible to build a profitable rig at 25.47 cents per kWh...

Thanks for putting up with my noobness...and Thanks for any help in advanced.

At .2547/kWh, you're going to suffer with GPUs.  Consider a FPGA.

M

[ChuChuTrick]

At .2547/kWh, you're going to suffer with GPUs.  Consider a FPGA.

M

Thanks, it's actually a little worse, I mixed of the 7850 wattage with the 7950 so the power draw would be more like 250 watts...I have little to no idea what a FPGA is, I've scanned the section here on the forums, but there doesn't seem to be a "guide" type thread...if you know of one I would much appreciate it.

[mdude77]

At .2547/kWh, you're going to suffer with GPUs.  Consider a FPGA.

M

Thanks, it's actually a little worse, I mixed of the 7850 wattage with the 7950 so the power draw would be more like 250 watts...I have little to no idea what a FPGA is, I've scanned the section here on the forums, but there doesn't seem to be a "guide" type thread...if you know of one I would much appreciate it.

I'm far from an expert on FPGAs.  I've read a bit about them on the forums, which is really all I know.  There's a dedicated section for them here:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=76.0

Basically, they are custom electronic devices designed specifically for mining.  The big pros for them are they don't generate as much heat, and don't use as much electricity.  The big con seems to be resale value and payoff time.

I might get into them once I get I finish my GPU rigs, and they are paid off, or at least mostly paid off.  At the moment I don't have electricity or heat issues, so I'm sticking with GPUs for the time being.

M

[ChuChuTrick]

Ya I've look at them a little closer, and pretty much I'd have to go with the  USB-FPGA Module 1.15x or  USB-FPGA Module 1.15y at my price per kWh if I want, with a payoff time of 2-5 years...so I'll have to continue the research and think hard on mining, if it had been earlier in the game I'd probably be all over one of those FPGA's.

[mdude77]

Ya I've look at them a little closer, and pretty much I'd have to go with the  USB-FPGA Module 1.15x or  USB-FPGA Module 1.15y at my price per kWh if I want, with a payoff time of 2-5 years...so I'll have to continue the research and think hard on mining, if it had been earlier in the game I'd probably be all over one of those FPGA's.

FPGAs weren't available early on.   They were a pipe dream that came into reality only once mining difficulty increased drastically because of how easily GPUs mined.

M

[ReginaldBuxley]

Ya I've look at them a little closer, and pretty much I'd have to go with the  USB-FPGA Module 1.15x or  USB-FPGA Module 1.15y at my price per kWh if I want, with a payoff time of 2-5 years...so I'll have to continue the research and think hard on mining, if it had been earlier in the game I'd probably be all over one of those FPGA's.

Yeah that is how I feel. I actually heard about BitCoin back when CPU mining *was* completely reasonable, but then forgot about it for a year or two.

#feelsbadman

[ChuChuTrick]

FPGAs weren't available early on.   They were a pipe dream that came into reality only once mining difficulty increased drastically because of how easily GPUs mined.

M

Ah, didn't realize this, but I sorta followed the digital trail of the transition from CPUs to GPUs....so FPGAs are just next in line? to some extent...

 I'm still pretty interested in it, as the idea of having a second currency available to me is appealing, I'm just going to have to be a very non-aggressive efficient miner...

[Jason Ling]

easy out of the box fpga: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=60586.0

[Hiturunk]

It is my opinion that investing in the actual hardware to compete with a well-funded mining operation that can issue bonds on GLBSE is madness.
Perhaps investing that $~1000 in securities would be more profitable?

[ilovethisshit]

it's all greek to me