You can go to the coinwarz page above that homer linked and it will show you which coins are SHA256 and how much you will make with a given hashrate. You can also look at what other coins are profitable and from there look at what hardware you need to buy to mine them. But basically, expect to drop a few thousand to get anything worthwhile.
So are SHA256 considered algorithmically inferior these days?
There is no other algorithm you can use to mine SHA-256 coins so algorithmic inferiority is a non-sequitur.
So are SHA256 considered inferior to newer coins these days? That's all I'm asking.
You mean:
There is no other algorithm you can use to mine _non_ SHA-256 coins so algorithmic inferiority is a non-sequitur.
?
After SHA-256, each new algorithm was borne out of necessity (perhaps I should say most). As an example, scrypt was the next algorithm and purportedly ASIC resistant. Other algorithms were designed to use more memory (higher ASIC resistance), lower power or to require more calculations. The result was lower block times, faster difficulty retargets, ASIC resistance and even novelty. I don't think you could make an assessment other than using adoption to determine superiority. I would say Bitcoin has the advantage of being first and is by far the most popular... will it always be? Who knows?
