My question: how much Ether can you mine on a standard desktop? What would be the ideal desktop brand and/or ideal storage/memory? No big rigs or setups, just a plain old desktop computer.
How much Ether would I realistically gain if, for example, I left this desktop running for 8 hours a day?
Mostly, I'm just looking for the best way to get into mining before getting more hard-core into it and invest in better equipment.
I know that Bitcoin mining requires a lot more complicated setups, not sure how different it would be for a smaller altcoin like Ether.
EDIT: note that I am lucky in that I currently still live in University housing, so electricity is not an issue unless my electricity bill goes outrageousmy over my rent cap.
Thanks!
I would have loved to setup a simple mine here to help you but my desktop broke down yesterday with faulty power but what I can say is that the days of mining ethereum with laptops and desktops are over. There are now more difficult rates which requires a hardware a with better Harshing power like the GPU's. You can check gpushack for "used Gpu's" if you don't have money to setup a brand new rig.