Does anyone have any recommendations on mining hardware and a pool?

[0bit]

Hello! This is my first post and I am new to Bitcoin, so be a little patient and make sure to tell me if I got something wrong.

I am interested in mining Bitcoin as a hobbyist right now, and I was wondering if anybody could give me a recommendation on some mining hardware (preferably an ASIC) to start off with. Also (since I have read that solo mining isn't profitable anymore unless you have a large datacenter) does anyone know of a good pool that I could join?

As far as mining hardware goes, I am not looking for anything big and powerful just yet, and profitability isn't too much of a concern right now, I am just looking to contribute to the network.

Thanks for your time.

[1715209723]

1715209723

[notlist3d]

My first question for someone getting gear is almost always the same.  What price is your electricity?  This decides if you go with older gear, or new more efficient gear.

[0bit]

Thanks for the reply! My electricity is currently at $0.06/KWh (Price in USD)

[notlist3d]

Thanks for the reply! My electricity is currently at $0.06/KWh (Price in USD)

Assuming that is with taxes that is quite good.  Can I ask location? (not anything like address just like state or country if out of US)

With that you are lucky as you can go into previous gen's.  I would say anything S3 and up.  (I suggest getting the S3+ if you go that route as it normally is not much higher for a better unit).  You can get these off ebay. 

If you don't have PSU's keep in mind you need to buy a psu.  Also summer is coming so I suggest starting slow and building up if you want more.  Work on exhaust and find a good way before throwing a lot of cash in.

If you want pretty much most efficient chips then look at S5, SP20, Avalon 4.1. 

You can do exact calculations here: https://bitcoinwisdom.com/bitcoin/calculator

[0bit]

Thanks a lot for your help! I have been looking at the Antminer S3 and it seems like a good option. Do you have any recommendations on a pool to join?

[notlist3d]

Thanks a lot for your help! I have been looking at the Antminer S3 and it seems like a good option. Do you have any recommendations on a pool to join?

Can I ask your location?  That is a very nice electricity price.

I like antpool personally a lot, have used others aswell.  I suggest using 3 different pools so it has 2 backups in your S3 if you go with that.  If you search bitcoin pool comparison you can find a lot out including percent of market each make up.

[0bit]

My current location is in Canada. I can't speak for the entire country as prices are all over the place here.


EDIT: I am not aware as to if that is the actual price, I am having trouble finding the price right now
EDIT 2: 0.06/KWh does appear to be the current price

[notlist3d]

It seems you are lucky with price.   If you live in a big city in canada you might check craigslist (or site like it) for old gear.

Or ebay you can easily order S3 or newer gear.  I would also suggest buying depending on PSU.  If you have a good psu laying around buying 2 might make more sense if the PSU can power and has enough power.  For example if you us a RM1000 you could power two S3's.

[HerbPean]

I always have an eye on Kijiji in Canada and most of the time the price are way too high. Ebay is overpriced too ...

The marketplace in this forum has some people selling stuff from Canada. Getting the gear from the States is normally not cheap because of the shipping.

It's safe to say that you don't have any trust at the moment. So you might want to use an escrow (middleman) to make sure either you and the seller are not rip off. Then you'll boost your trust rating.

From there, getting the gear you want will be easier.

At this moment, Bitmaintech is probably you best choice to get something new but the price is not so good with the current low BTC price. ROI (time to get back your investment) will be long.

If you just want to play around and learn how to mine. Start with an S3. You can probably find one for 70-100$ us in forum.

Don't forget, some miner has the power supply build in and other doesn't. You need to buy one for the S3.

Once you get the gear, choosing a pool is easy. Some mine at small pool like Bitminter and other prefer huge pool like Antpool.  You can also "bet" your hasrate in solo mining (which I would not recommend)

Hope this help.

Herb

[0bit]

Thanks a lot, I noticed too that often the prices in Canada are very high (Antminer S1's cost upwards of $400 used here). I normally look on Amazon.com to see if there are sellers who ship internationally, but I will check out this website's section for buying and selling sometime in the near future.

[notlist3d]

Thanks a lot, I noticed too that often the prices in Canada are very high (Antminer S1's cost upwards of $400 used here). I normally look on Amazon.com to see if there are sellers who ship internationally, but I will check out this website's section for buying and selling sometime in the near future.

That is a rediclous price on a S1.  For not much higher you can get brand new S5.  I would buy direct new if that is the price of used gear.

[ajw7989]

In terms of mining pools go with either cex or antpool. Both have 0% fees and have a pretty sizeable share in the mining market to keep payouts consistent and frequent.

[philipma1957]

ebay has spondollies sp20e's

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Spondoolies-Tech-SP20-JACKSON-1-7TH-BTC-Bitcoin-Miner-FREE-SHIPPING-/261805794595?


880 canada dollars that is 704 usd

that is a high price

depending on shipping (it is about 65 usd to montreal from new jersey)

this   sp20e with a platinum intel server psu.  That I have I would list on usa ebay for 625-650.

 If I sold it here on this site  to a USA buyer I would list it for 575.  psu sells for  120-147    so that would mean the sp20 is 440 or so. Some may say it is too high but it is better then ebay by a lot if you want a solid psu.



If you don't have a psu see if you can get an s-5 + a psu combo or a sp20e + a psu combo