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Topic: At what point is Solo Mining good? How much Ghash do you need? (Read 4673 times)

hero member
Activity: 742
Merit: 503
A1's first block went over 825%?  hehe
legendary
Activity: 4592
Merit: 1851
Linux since 1997 RedHat 4
then using my 800% figure it's not that unrealistic to think that I may not find another one for over 10.5 months ...

Or in 5 years, or tomorrow. Tongue
Tomorrow - yes, 5 years - EXTREMELY UNLIKELY
(two of my blocks found in May were 4.5 days apart ... I was rather stoked about one of them coz I saw it happen Smiley )
hero member
Activity: 686
Merit: 500
then using my 800% figure it's not that unrealistic to think that I may not find another one for over 10.5 months ...

Or in 5 years, or tomorrow. Tongue
legendary
Activity: 4592
Merit: 1851
Linux since 1997 RedHat 4
OK to correct any misunderstandings that anyone 'might' have ... Smiley

Over a long period of time solo mining, you will get close to the expected number of blocks.
... and by a long period of time, I of course mean mining something like many 100's of blocks
(again anyone with some university level stats feel free to chime in with the actual correct numbers)

Over the short term, you could get way less or way more - but you CANNOT know in advance which will happen.

I've pool mined for about 10.5 months and found a few more than expected on my measly small mining setup Smiley
- but no actual gain from finding extra blocks of course since I pool mine

Last month I mined 3 blocks for Ozcoin with 1.93 to 2.29 GH/s Smiley
(I removed one mining card recently)

But since my current 1.93GH/s currently has an average expected block time of
2^32*1591074.9618473/1.93x10^9 seconds = 3540733 seconds = ~41days

then using my 800% figure it's not that unrealistic to think that I may not find another one for over 10.5 months ...
hero member
Activity: 658
Merit: 500
Solo mining is like buying a lottery ticket. You might win a lot fast and then see nothing. Get regular wins or have a ridiculous loosing streak. The higher the difficulty the more likely you are wasting your time/money.

PPS is a sure thing. You get paid no matter what. It's a steady trickle.

If you are into gambling and like the "rush" of hitting a block go for it. If you actually want to rely on bitcoin as income Use PPS unless you have the equivalent hash power of a pool or close to it. Or setup your own pool.
legendary
Activity: 1540
Merit: 1001
My common comment on the subject ...
The highest variance I've seen so far was a deepbit block of 825%
(there may have been worse, but that's the highest I've seen)
So, although it could get worse, it's not very likely to be much worse than about ~8 times.

Someone with a stats major can work out the probability of an 8 times variance if they like Tongue

Anyway, what that means of course is that if you are solo mining at a rate with an average expectation of a block every week, it's not improbable for you to get no blocks for 8 weeks ...

Whatever your average expected block time is, imagine if you could deal with it being 8x that to find a block ...
If 8x is OK , then yep solo mining is for you.
If 8x makes you want to cringe and pull your hair out, then solo mining is not for you.

And that of course begs the question...

How much would you make on a free, or even a 5% PPS pool, in the time waiting for that 8x?

M
sr. member
Activity: 476
Merit: 250
Keep it Simple. Every Bit Matters.
Try it out, try solo mining for a month. See how much you end up with.
Next month do it with your favourite pool.

Let your own experience choose for you.

Sometimes the ease of a pool that can directly convert your bitcoins & namecoins for you direct to payment via paypal is something that appeals to some. Eclipse is one of those pools and has no mandatory fees, just donations. Their is of course other pools out there.
legendary
Activity: 4592
Merit: 1851
Linux since 1997 RedHat 4
My common comment on the subject ...
The highest variance I've seen so far was a deepbit block of 825%
(there may have been worse, but that's the highest I've seen)
So, although it could get worse, it's not very likely to be much worse than about ~8 times.

Someone with a stats major can work out the probability of an 8 times variance if they like Tongue

Anyway, what that means of course is that if you are solo mining at a rate with an average expectation of a block every week, it's not improbable for you to get no blocks for 8 weeks ...

Whatever your average expected block time is, imagine if you could deal with it being 8x that to find a block ...
If 8x is OK , then yep solo mining is for you.
If 8x makes you want to cringe and pull your hair out, then solo mining is not for you.
hero member
Activity: 698
Merit: 500
yeah... block a month... but maybe 6 months would pass and difficulty changes 12 times until you find yours...
rjk
sr. member
Activity: 448
Merit: 250
1ngldh

when your 95% average is bellow 24h then you can mine solo, with current difficulty that makes 237Ghash/s, good luck!
That's not a "requirement" or anything, it's just if you hate risk and variance. If your electricity bill is less than say $350, a block a month would break even.
hero member
Activity: 698
Merit: 500

when your 95% average is bellow 24h then you can mine solo, with current difficulty that makes 237Ghash/s, good luck!
rjk
sr. member
Activity: 448
Merit: 250
1ngldh
so what?  it still shows my shares and blocks solved

did you just buy this 25ghash off of someone recently or something?

wtf
Solving blocks on a pool is very different from solving them solo. Although it mathematically is the same and will even out over time, in real life it is less than ideal due to a number of factors.

For instance, a pool has a high speed low latency internet connection to push blocks out ASAP, whereas a solo miner's home internet connection might just be a tad slow and result in orphans. And orphans are no fun when it happens after a long run of no blocks, say after a month or so. Sad
zvs
legendary
Activity: 1680
Merit: 1000
https://web.archive.org/web/*/nogleg.com
sure, I have 8 blocks solved in about 2 months @ 5ghash

Serious?!?!
yah,

it's

https://www.maxbtc.com/top-miners

zevus on there

and i had never mined on there until about 2 months ago.  so, near current difficulty level

aahh lol that is a pool bro, I mean solo mining!!!  Not using a pool.

so what?  it still shows my shares and blocks solved

did you just buy this 25ghash off of someone recently or something?

wtf
hero member
Activity: 504
Merit: 500
Gpumax pays better than solomining would equal out to over time
hero member
Activity: 686
Merit: 500
Solomining, there is a chance you could find 20 blocks in a day, and be totally rich! Or, you may mine for years without a single block. GPUMax + Another Pull guarantees steady payouts and bonus from public work. The only way you would make more solomining was if your lucky. If your not lucky then you could spend eternity without any bitcoins.

Is it worth that chance? I would choose a pool over solomining honestly.
legendary
Activity: 1540
Merit: 1001
Title.

I will have 25 Ghash by end of month.  Should I solo mine, or GPUMax still?

Wont I have a decent chance at getting the entire 50 BTC a few times a month?

Ozcoin it.

You _may_ end up ahead soloing, but not likely.

M
donator
Activity: 56
Merit: 0
you got hacked bitch!
Calculators and estimations are great.

But I am looking for a human to tell me from their experiences.

Thanks!
Don't want to be a pain, but how would other peoples' experiences change the fact that it might work for you tomorrow or maybe only in a few months? Or somewhere in between?

If I'd tell you it'll work for you in two weeks and then it doesn't - would this influence your opinion of me?

I do not like sentences that start with "if" on this forum.
legendary
Activity: 1358
Merit: 1001
https://gliph.me/hUF
Calculators and estimations are great.

But I am looking for a human to tell me from their experiences.

Thanks!
Don't want to be a pain, but how would other peoples' experiences change the fact that it might work for you tomorrow or maybe only in a few months? Or somewhere in between?

If I'd tell you it'll work for you in two weeks and then it doesn't - would this influence your opinion of me?
donator
Activity: 56
Merit: 0
you got hacked bitch!
If you can handle the variance, and don't need to use the profits to pay bills....then maybe. I used to recommend 60 or more, but these days I might say closer to 100, especially if you are a bit averse to variance. Take a look at several small pools and find the longest time between blocks - then assume that each block could take that long unless you get lucky.

Cool thanks bro!
rjk
sr. member
Activity: 448
Merit: 250
1ngldh
If you can handle the variance, and don't need to use the profits to pay bills....then maybe. I used to recommend 60 or more, but these days I might say closer to 100, especially if you are a bit averse to variance. Take a look at several small pools and find the longest time between blocks - then assume that each block could take that long unless you get lucky.
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