Mining for Noobs - stealing electricity 101

  • 🐕 I am attempting to get the site runnning as fast as possible. If you are experiencing slow page load times, please report it.
Null said:
I know in general that's true, but is there anything you can think of that might be of additional concern not applicable to regular hardware?
Click to expand...
I'm not aware of anything, but I've never used that specific card. The power supply used is often more important than the motherboard of chassis, so consider that.
 
So I'm a little curious about Gridcoin because I think a cryptocurrency based around BOINC is interesting and valuable. I know most mining gives rewards based on proof of work, but how does proof of stake and proof of research work differ and does it have big differences in required hardware? I just like the idea of getting some digital monopoly money for folding at home.
 
  • Informative
Reactions: BillionBisonBucks
LocalFireDept said:
So I'm a little curious about Gridcoin because I think a cryptocurrency based around BOINC is interesting and valuable. I know most mining gives rewards based on proof of work, but how does proof of stake and proof of research work differ and does it have big differences in required hardware? I just like the idea of getting some digital monopoly money for folding at home.
Click to expand...
PoS is stuff like Dash masternodes, but Dash also has X11 mining. The folding stuff is just PoW plus some folding data, it doesn't really make sense from a blockchain security perspective but people like the idea of useful hashrate.
 
  • Informative
  • Like
Reactions: IAmNotAlpharius, BillionBisonBucks and LocalFireDept
neger psykolog said:
https://blog.sia.tech/the-state-of-cryptocurrency-mining-538004a37f9b

@CrunkLord420 you should read this as should anyone else interested in GPU mining or buying or investing any money into mining equipment.

TLDR: the game is rigged
Click to expand...

Very good article. Of course, I've been saying this too, but I didn't have the technical knowledge or inside information to basically prove it.

I'd bet the vast majority of anyone who actually did manage to eke out a profit with GPU mining in the last couple years did it during the huge run-up in price and that it would be virtually impossible to turn a profit doing this now.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: Orange Rhymer
AnOminous said:
Very good article. Of course, I've been saying this too, but I didn't have the technical knowledge or inside information to basically prove it.

I'd bet the vast majority of anyone who actually did manage to eke out a profit with GPU mining in the last couple years did it during the huge run-up in price and that it would be virtually impossible to turn a profit doing this now.
Click to expand...

The GPU mining side of things is still relatively small. There are large numbers of people who have bought ASICs and other miners and this article reveals to what extent the game is rigged.

I'm kind of divided on it, on one hand making the system "fair" is a nice thing but on the other hand if you try to restrict innovation then its as good as saying "why don't we just keep using dial up internet"

CrunkLord420 said:
tfw still mining on free electricity
Click to expand...

I don't have "free" electricity but its included in my rental money and if I use a lot more than what I normally do it doesn't matter. Even with 2 1080 TIs its simply not worth mining even when I'm not using my PC because the current profitability is like $1 a day.
 
  • Informative
Reactions: IAmNotAlpharius
neger psykolog said:
The GPU mining side of things is still relatively small. There are large numbers of people who have bought ASICs and other miners and this article reveals to what extent the game is rigged.
Click to expand...

It used to be much bigger. It's going to continue shrinking as it is completely unsustainable. There were enough idiots buying GPUs to mine various cryptocurrencies that it drove the price of the ones gamers use through the roof, and gaming-oriented GPUs are far from niche. The gamers who threw shit fits about this will be pleased if most of those people turn out losing money.
 
  • Agree
  • Like
Reactions: IAmNotAlpharius, Orange Rhymer and Large
Noob question: will mining ruin my hardware? I know if it gets too hot (~80C IIRC?), it can damage things, but what if i keep it under that threshold and just mine nonstop? Monero specifically.
 
wylfım said:
Noob question: will mining ruin my hardware? I know if it gets too hot (~80C IIRC?), it can damage things, but what if i keep it under that threshold and just mine nonstop? Monero specifically.
Click to expand...
I've never had any hardware damaged. People get issues from abused power supplies blowing up. I suspect most problems that develop in video cards during mining were factory defects that were only revealed with high temps, which is why people have used "Burn In" software on new hardware for decades.
 
  • Thunk-Provoking
  • Informative
  • Agree
Reactions: IAmNotAlpharius, Orange Rhymer, wylfım and 1 other person
wylfım said:
Noob question: will mining ruin my hardware? I know if it gets too hot (~80C IIRC?), it can damage things, but what if i keep it under that threshold and just mine nonstop? Monero specifically.
Click to expand...
Barring a unit that was defective in the first place, running at 80 C shouldn't damage a typical video card. For a lot of cards (especially from before the newest generation of cards which have had a lot of emphasis put on efficiency) that's a completely normal temperature. It's not till you hit 90 or better that temperature can become a problem for certain cards. On any card made in the past couple years, their coolers are good enough that 90 C shouldn't even happen unless you've got bad airflow. Older cards can usually go higher than that, and it wasn't that long ago that running an r9 290 at 95C was completely normal, but you shouldn't be mining with those cards unless you intend to use them as space heaters.

It's a common misconception that computer hardware performance can degrade over its lifespan, but that's only true of hard drives. (And even then it's more likely bloated old software slowing it down than the disk itself). For GPUs, the only thing you might break from mining are the fans, but those are cheap and easy to fix.
 
  • Informative
  • Thunk-Provoking
Reactions: The Jesus Lizard, IAmNotAlpharius, Orange Rhymer and 2 others
I can't run xmrig to mine monero on my windows 10 PC. The security keeps trying to block it.
 
Sexy Potoo said:
I can't run xmrig to mine monero on my windows 10 PC. The security keeps trying to block it.
Click to expand...

If you want a quick and easy Windows-based GPU + CPU miner for XMR, Minergate.com is a decent solution. Download their win64 software and edit the batch file to include GPU mining with a sting like:
minergate-cli --user email@email.com --gpu --xmr 2

If you're really new to things, they also have GUI software which all you have to do is enter your email address.
 
Leo Bonhart said:
If you want a quick and easy Windows-based GPU + CPU miner for XMR, Minergate.com is a decent solution. Download their win64 software and edit the batch file to include GPU mining with a sting like:
minergate-cli --user email@email.com --gpu --xmr 2

If you're really new to things, they also have GUI software which all you have to do is enter your email address.
Click to expand...
Minergate has a reputation for doing shady stuff, and basically underpaying their miners.
 
  • Informative
Reactions: IAmNotAlpharius, Kiwi Jeff and Sexy Potoo
CrunkLord420 said:
Minergate has a reputation for doing shady stuff, and basically underpaying their miners.
Click to expand...
As I said, it's a simple, 'decent' solution for beginners; he could be up and running in 5 minutes.
Personally, I use Minergate on my work computer where more advanced solutions are not an option, and I've mined a decent chunk of XMR over time with the free electricity running 24/7. One can withdraw without fees after mining 0.005 XMR. The only shitty bit is being forced to withdraw to their partner Freewallet, but it's yours to do what you want with after it hits there. Anyway, take the information as you like; I have no vested interest in Minergate, but if it's a challenge getting xmrig past Windows Defender, then this is probably as easy an introduction to mining there is.
 
Depends on the coin, and especially on whether or not you think the price will increase in the future. Bitcoin, definitely not. Monero, probably? Calling at @CrunkLord420 for more expertise
 
  • Like
Reactions: IAmNotAlpharius
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back