Crypto / Mining Info

[iechowulf]

Hi!
So, Here is a quick rundown - I'm basically considering mining/getting into crypto with my freshly built personal desktop. Now, i will list specs below but i am VERY new and i have tried to do a bit of research here and there but this topic is so broad and so weird (for a lack of a better term). So, seeking a bit of guidance from you guys! If there is a guide already posted or any reference material on this site that i somehow skipped over, kindly link me to it and i will check it out. Just opening up this discussion here to see what advice i can receive! I plan on like trying my hand with a $10 investment or $100 for the most and see where it takes me. Bitcoin, Etherium, whatever. I don't know anything about wallets, mining software, how to receive coins, how to transfer coins into cash - Nada. Any advice? And please don't tell me the obvious with comments on my build like... my i7 is overkill, I'm aware. lol Also i know this isn't an optimal crypto-rig but i am just getting into it and if it goes somewhere I have absolutely no problem investing in a proper rig later on - For now, this is my entry lol



Specs : 

MSI Z270 Gaming M5 Mobo

i7 7700k
Cryorig h7 quad lumi

TridentZ RGB DDR4 3000mhz 16gb kit (2x8gb)
EVGA GTX Geforce 1060 6gb SC

Corsair CM650 PSU

500gb Samsung 850 EVO SSD
3TB Toshiba P300 HDD
4 case fans - inside a thermaltake versa N21 snow white

 

[shag00]

With this rig you might make a 20 cents per month. That's running your PC 24/7 for a month. Current mining hardware is 2 generations ahead of what you have, which in mining terms is next to nothing. If you are serious look at this https://shop.bitmain.com/antminer_s9_asic_bitcoin_miner.htm .

Virtually no change from USD 2500 and at least a prospect of making enough to pay back within a year.

 

[wxxyz]

I started out with the same card - I bought 2 - EVGA GTX 1060 6GB SC cards, and I did a step-by-step writeup of it here:
https://www.pyramidreviews.com/cryptocorner/building-an-ethereum-mining-rig/

Hope it helps!
Let me know if you have questions.

 

[shag00]

So at $64 GP per month it will take you about 15 months to reach payback.

 

[wxxyz]

So at $64 GP per month it will take you about 15 months to reach payback.

I don't know what you're talking about, please explain.

What is $64 GP per month? Are you talking about the Antminer?

 

[shag00]

Follow your link; there is a profitability table towards the end where projected monthly profit is listed at USD64.39. This amount is Gross Profit which means that it does not account for the sundry expenses involved such as the capital cost of the PC, lighting and other electrical, rent and for larger setups, cooling.

I think you should also give much more space to the cost of electricity as this is your biggest cost. You should explain this to people and give an indication of your electricity expense in kilowatt hours as a proportion of total cost or in absolute terms. This is a little tricky because of the way electricity can be priced where the cost of a kw hour can change significantly in the same city based on location, time of day and total monthly usage.

You might also take into account cooling which is a significant problem both in terms of cost, especially for water cooling, and for noise, especially for air cooling. For example the cost of just one water cooling block for a 1080 is around USD100.00, that excludes pumps, radiators and all the other bits. In the case of larger setups there is capital cost involved in cooling infrastructure such as 6-12" inlet and exhaust ducts which need to be powered.

 

[wxxyz]

Follow your link; there is a profitability table towards the end where projected monthly profit is listed at USD64.39. This amount is Gross Profit which means that it does not account for the sundry expenses involved such as the capital cost of the PC, lighting and other electrical, rent and for larger setups, cooling.

I think you should also give much more space to the cost of electricity as this is your biggest cost. You should explain this to people and give an indication of your electricity expense in kilowatt hours as a proportion of total cost or in absolute terms. This is a little tricky because of the way electricity can be priced where the cost of a kw hour can change significantly in the same city based on location, time of day and total monthly usage.

You might also take into account cooling which is a significant problem both in terms of cost, especially for water cooling, and for noise, especially for air cooling. For example the cost of just one water cooling block for a 1080 is around USD100.00, that excludes pumps, radiators and all the other bits. In the case of larger setups there is capital cost involved in cooling infrastructure such as 6-12" inlet and exhaust ducts which need to be powered.

1. The $64.39 is after electricity costs, you'll see the column next to it is electricity cost, and the column to the left labelled USD is the gross mining revenue - it is $80.23

2. Cooling can be a noisy problem, but that's why I chose the GTX 1060 - it runs at 63 degrees C and the fan is at 18%. It's quiet and warms my office nicely

p.s. two things I should mention is that is the profit for 2 GTX 1060s, and currently the profit is more like $112 per month after electricity (http://www.mycryptobuddy.com/EthereumMiningCalculator/path?hashrate=38&power=220 ) which is why miners are willing to pay so much for GPUs

 

[shag00]

"other electrical" refers to electricity other than that used to power the rig. I have some experience with a 1080 based rig and have found cooling to be a nightmare especially during summer, I can only assume you are in a cold location. You have a perfect situation at the moment with very manageable temps and no fan noise.

 

[Frag Maniac]

I really wish mining were only possible with GPUs made specifically for it that have their own drivers and firmware. Mining is literally destroying the price and availability of gaming graphics cards, and from what I've seen, those doing it have no remorse over it. Nvidia is now asking retailers to limit purchase quantities to combat it, but they need to do more than that to keep it from affecting the gaming economy. The problem is though, Nvidia can't do it by themselves.

Nvidia and AMD would have to task law makers to make mining only accessible via certain hardware and drivers by mandating a special encryption code be placed in the mined data. Only GPUs made for mining would have the key to unlock the encryption. The other option, which I prefer actually, would be to make mining illegal, thus rendering bit coins worthless.

This is a pretty serious issue. Everywhere I chat I see people planning a new build or upgrade say they are waiting for prices to stabilize, and without major changes like this to combat it, it may never happen. Gaming is now THE largest grossing entertainment industry, and this could make an already bad global economy even worse.

Mining does nothing to improve the economy. It's like unregulated gambling, and it needs to be kept in control. It's easily as bad for the economy as piracy, and I hope a day will come when all responsibly moderated forums will ban threads seeking help with it.

 

[shag00]

Well the mining community has moved on from GPU based mining to specific made to order hardware but the ready availability of consumer products that can mine reasonably well has ignited GPU based mining. Like most things the last thing we need is more legislation.

 

[Frag Maniac]

Well the mining community has moved on from GPU based mining to specific made to order hardware but the ready availability of consumer products that can mine reasonably well has ignited GPU based mining. Like most things the last thing we need is more legislation.

If it had "moved on" as you claim, we wouldn't be seeing the worst GPU availability and pricing since mining got started. I also fail to see how legislation intended to thwart the damage it's doing to the economy as being mere excess red tape as you imply.

As much as I despise politics and politicians, especially in America, it's really not the fault of legislators that such problems exist in the first place and require their help. It's clear to me those involved in mining are as selfish as pirates. They only see what they want to see, vs the big picture. As long as they feel they're making enough off it on their end, they couldn't care less what it does to the economy. That's the same mindset pirates have.

 

[shag00]

Perhaps I was a bit brief, yes the "serious" mining community has moved on, however, due to media reports and other reasons a new class of miner has emerged. Lets call them "domestic" miners who can enter the market easily thanks to the easy availability of consumer grade equipment capable of doing the job. So the pool of miners has increased significantly and is split in 2 camps, the semi and professional camp using hardware specifically made to mine and the domestic camp using off the shelf PC components. The domestic camp uses well proved mining technology no longer used by the professional camp.

I think you just need to accept that the world changes. OK, there may be a shortage of GPUs at the moment and for the next 6 months but eventually production will meet demand and prices will fall to "normal" levels.

" I also fail to see how legislation intended to thwart the damage it's doing to the economy as being mere excess red tape as you imply", I fail to see how you don't. Who would have thought that the legal status of a bunch of illegal immigrants would close down the American government? Every time you have legislation you run the high risk of unintended consequences and the surety of increased cost. The world is not perfect and never will be, so lets just get on with living.

By the way the economy is not damaged, it is actually increased. This is increased trading or increased economic activity.

 

[Frag Maniac]

I think you just need to accept that the world changes. OK, there may be a shortage of GPUs at the moment and for the next 6 months but eventually production will meet demand and prices will fall to "normal" levels.

I fail to see how you don't. Who would have thought that the legal status of a bunch of illegal immigrants would close down the American government? Every time you have legislation you run the high risk of unintended consequences and the surety of increased cost. The world is not perfect and never will be, so lets just get on with living.

By the way the economy is not damaged, it is actually increased. This is increased trading or increased economic activity.

You have a cavalier and misinformed way of looking at this. It's not just a matter of temporary high prices and shortages. This is not just affecting gamers, it's also affecting the businesses of distributors, PC stores, and online build houses that specialize in gaming rigs. It's also causing lots of knock off GPUs to be made by China, and many customers are foolishly falling prey to it. You'd have to be ignorant to not see that every time a wave of mining hits, it gets larger and more devastating in scale. It IS affecting the gaming economy and to some degree, the tech industry that sells gaming GPUs and PCs.

You act like laws never matter, what, is that a mantra to pirates or something? Of course they matter, especially when they are made by responsible politicians responding to public outcry. I realize there is a lot of corruption in politics, but if we assume it has no purpose, we may as well hand the world over to anarchists. Like it or not, government is a necessary evil.

 

[iechowulf]

DEFINITELY going to get into it - But im very new. Im just going to go to nicehash website with my rig and see where i get. I will upgrade, get more cards etc when i get a feel for how it works. Any Advice?

 

[AnonymousAndy]

I'm not sure what type of information you want. Mining zcash with one 1060 you'll make $52 a month in coin with current prices.