This is a very rambling thread, but basically, being a fairly new miner, I'm mostly concerned with ROI over the next 6 months. According to the stats today 1.5MHs will earn $15 a day. If I built yet another rig with an R9 280X next week it would probably earn $7.50 a day with DOGE, EAC or BET. If I could build one for $7-800 that would mean a 90 day ROI before making any extra cash. After 90 days (even say in 30 or 60 days) - do most people feel that the 1.5M=$15 formula for scrypt mining will hold up or go up or down significantly, and by how much? What if the value of Bitcoin doubled, how would that affect the ROI as a variable in the above scenario? Just wanted to get this back on topic, as probably this general question is what a good number of participants here want to know. Build or just stick with what you have until a better technology comes out.
better tech is here. also, computer equipment gets obsolete incredibly quickly. Nothing will make money forever. I have no idea if the return on mining will even be consistent week-to-week right now. The only way to build up insurance is to minimise your costs as much as you can, in order to minimize loss in case you cannot break-even. The biggest pitfall for miners right now is overpaying on video cards. a 280x that should have been $300 is now $400. $15/day will take that much longer to break-even, and may push past the point of obsolescence. When jacked-up video card costs are combined with uncertain returns in the future there is no certainty in mining.
however, if you can build rigs that are sustainable and within budget, i think 100 days to break-even is possible right now. it might all have changed by tomorrow, though.
