Thank you for that advice. I like this site. So I guess a good move is to just scrypt whatever is hot at the moment(top of the chart) and convert to Bit. Makes sense.
You should check out this thread. The OP posts actual returns from hash power pointed at various pools:
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/discontinued-cryptoday-mining-revenue-stats-scrypt-scrypt-n-x11-x13-514242Short answer: You should mine scrypt and point at either WafflePool or CleverMining. I've mined at both and like both of them. Given that their profitability is usually very close, I slightly prefer WafflePool because it's somewhat more transparent and has tons of statistics. It also has JSON API that third parties have used to create stats applications.
If you want the simplest configuration and want to get going as quickly as possible, consider getting some DualMiner USB devices. But don't pay full price. Try to get them for their sales price of around $45, otherwise you can forget about the possibility of ROI. You have to buy 10 of them though to get that price.
An alternative that's probably more cost effective, but is harder and requires more DYI and tweaking, would be to get some GridSeed 5 chip units. The price of these have fallen considerably. When overclocked, you can get about 360 Kh/s out of them.
At this point I would steer clear of using graphics cards for mining scrypt. They are much more power hungry. The only advantage of going with graphics cards would be if you want to mine something beyond scrypt, like scrypt-N. Some people think that is where mining will go after ASICs decimate the scrypt mining scene.
For what it's worth, I've got both a DualMiner and GridSeed 5 chip rigs. I have no plans to go to graphics cards.
I've found this to be a fascinating hobby. Nowhere else can you find this combination of crypto, computers, software configuration, currency speculation, and an admittedly slightly artificial sense of the gold rush.
