Mining...

[ZiggyManSaad]

I've been folding for the past couple of months but I would like to get into something with some return. From what I understand, getting into bitcoin mining is kind of pointless at this point, but that litecoin mining is more realistic. 

 

I'm looking for help with what I should head towards. 

 

My PC is always on because of folding right now, so moving over to mining won't be a problem in that department. I'm running an i5 3330 overclocked and 660Ti. 

 

Any help would be appreciated.

[KamiKatze]

@ZiggyManSaad

 

Mining Litecoin is profitable on AMD garphics cards only. CPU mining isn't efficient at all.

 

ltc has the advantage that there aren't ASICs yet so GPU minig is as good as it gets. But mining Scyrpt is around 4 times more efficient on AMD GPUs.

 

A 7970 for example will earn you around 700 KH/s while a 660 Ti will roughly get 150. It's all about hashrates.

 

Then you have to consider your electricity cost and you are most of the time going to loose money.

 

Here are some charts of different hardware and a cost calculator for ltc, it helped me a lot to understand that mining is dead.

 

https://www.litecoinpool.org/calc

https://litecoin.info/Mining_hardware_comparison

 

Edit: If you want to enter the crypto currency game I'd suggest to directly buy some btc.

[ZiggyManSaad]

My normal electric bill is around 100 a month, and that's with my PC being on all the time now. I think I'll invest in both BTC and grabbing an AMD GPU.

 

And according to the calc you sent me to there, I'd be in the green by roughly $140 a month. 

[KamiKatze]

My normal electric bill is around 100 a month, and that's with my PC being on all the time now. I think I'll invest in both BTC and grabbing an AMD GPU.

 

And according to the calc you sent me to there, I'd be in the green by roughly $140 a month. 

 

 

Currently I'd view ltc mining as a way to pay off a new graphics card upgrade. I pay around 60€ a month but mining would'nt pay out. Here in germany a kWh costs 25-30 euro cents. So mining on my gtx 770 would actually make me loose money.

 

A 7970 with 700 KH/s in return would bring in money. Around 90 dollars a month, even considering electricity, which is insane! But a 7970 would be a downgrade from my 770. So I'd have to get a 290 to get a noticable gaming upgrade and flash it to a 290X. But that one would mine with just 800-900 KH/s and is freaking loud! Plus i actually like my nvidia eco system. I wanted to get a g-sync monitor next year.

 

Just a little anecdote.

[ZiggyManSaad]

Why can't you put a 7970 beside your 770 and just run the 7970 to mine?

[FlakeyBanana]

You can mine on nvidia gpus by using cuda miner

[RuecanOnRails]

Why can't you put a 7970 beside your 770 and just run the 7970 to mine?

 

You can try, but Nvidia is a terrible company that refuses to play nice. When it detects an AMD card, it freaks out, disables a bunch of features and yells at you.

[ZiggyManSaad]

I guess I'll go out and buy a 7970. Time for the brother in law to get a shiny 660Ti.

[RuecanOnRails]

I guess I'll go out and buy a 7970. Time for the brother in law to get a shiny 660Ti.

 

Before you purchase the card, look up the exact model number and see what others are getting in terms of Litecoin hash rates. Some of the 7970/280X's don't hash quite as well and require a lot more work. Some require a different Bios to be flashed or modified.

A few variants are listed here https://litecoin.info/Mining_Hardware_Comparison

[KamiKatze]

Why can't you put a 7970 beside your 770 and just run the 7970 to mine?

My PSU is too weak. It also has only two 8/6 pin connectors.

 

 

You can mine on nvidia gpus by using cuda miner

It's inefficient.