Topic: GPUs or Scrypt ASICS - decisions, decisions! (hidden woot) (Read 596 times)
If you think ASIC prices are going to drop, it's actually smarter to short them, using something like B.SELL on Havelock. By their nature, the price of ASICs will fall as long as difficulty keeps rising, and so far, rising difficulty has been a pretty sure bet.
I think asics prices will drop soon. Just keep watching on it.
Of course! If it mirrors Bitcoin, then it would be foolish to be in at the start (EDIT: of the ASICs). The first, prototype units will not offer any huge advantage. Time to save up the BTC for the next generation!
I think asics prices will drop soon. Just keep watching on it.
I've been making plans to get into altcoin mining for several weeks now. I'm not a massive earner, and I have a family, so waiting for the fiat to become available to even get started has been an exercise in discipline 
Still, it gave me plenty of time to read the boards, and get an overview of what's happening.
When I started making out numbers on paper first, it was simples...which GPU, what could I earn...and then...Gridseeds hit the market! Complication!
My personal budget was about 400 euro. Could have stretched to 500, but it would have strained things. Not least explaining things to the missus. This would get me:
1) A decent GPU - call it 700 Khash.
OR
2) 2 Gridseeds, maybe. Depending on shipping to Ireland. And availability. And dodging scams. And most likely having to buy BTC to purchase (so add a week til I can start mining).
Works out about the same hashrate in theory. Maybe higher if the Gridseeds get their act together with regards to a firmware update. Also count in the time spent setting the things up. The power cables, while standard laptop size, come with a bare end - they need to be hooked into an actual supply. Which involves either messing around trying to mod a computer PSU (it's not that hard, so this is not a major point) or a seperate purchase of a decent 12V30A PSU to run em. Which again, because Ireland is bloody backward, would have required an import and therefore more shipping costs.
The GPU on the other hand requires massively more (by a factor of 30 times) energy. But the upside is it's simple to install and get mining, and its resale value should be reasonable - this mining is becoming a popular game Plus I can get it locally - no ridiculous shipping fees, if I can only find the stock.
So I read up on both as much as I could, and decided to go with the GPU. This morning I managed to find stock (IN STOCK no less) of a shiny new R9-280X Toxic, which will be happily mining for me from tomorrow on. The cost: 314 euro including shipping. For the same in Gridseeds - 454 including shipping and power supplies. It'll be about 4 months before the Gridseeds would have cost me less, so I am happy for now.
In the future the ASICs might win out, specially if the Alpha-t devices hit the market anything like on time. But then they are vulnerable to variants which they cannot handle. For now, I believe I'll stick to my Sapphire Radeon R9-280X Toxic.
Rit
PS: BOLD bits are my hidden woot - was thrilled to locate a local vendor with one left at a decent price
Still, it gave me plenty of time to read the boards, and get an overview of what's happening.When I started making out numbers on paper first, it was simples...which GPU, what could I earn...and then...Gridseeds hit the market! Complication!
My personal budget was about 400 euro. Could have stretched to 500, but it would have strained things. Not least explaining things to the missus. This would get me:
1) A decent GPU - call it 700 Khash.
OR
2) 2 Gridseeds, maybe. Depending on shipping to Ireland. And availability. And dodging scams. And most likely having to buy BTC to purchase (so add a week til I can start mining).
Works out about the same hashrate in theory. Maybe higher if the Gridseeds get their act together with regards to a firmware update. Also count in the time spent setting the things up. The power cables, while standard laptop size, come with a bare end - they need to be hooked into an actual supply. Which involves either messing around trying to mod a computer PSU (it's not that hard, so this is not a major point) or a seperate purchase of a decent 12V30A PSU to run em. Which again, because Ireland is bloody backward, would have required an import and therefore more shipping costs.
The GPU on the other hand requires massively more (by a factor of 30 times) energy. But the upside is it's simple to install and get mining, and its resale value should be reasonable - this mining is becoming a popular game
Plus I can get it locally - no ridiculous shipping fees, if I can only find the stock.So I read up on both as much as I could, and decided to go with the GPU. This morning I managed to find stock (IN STOCK no less) of a shiny new R9-280X Toxic, which will be happily mining for me from tomorrow on. The cost: 314 euro including shipping. For the same in Gridseeds - 454 including shipping and power supplies. It'll be about 4 months before the Gridseeds would have cost me less, so I am happy for now.
In the future the ASICs might win out, specially if the Alpha-t devices hit the market anything like on time. But then they are vulnerable to variants which they cannot handle. For now, I believe I'll stick to my Sapphire Radeon R9-280X Toxic.
Rit
PS: BOLD bits are my hidden woot - was thrilled to locate a local vendor with one left at a decent price
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