Can BitCoin mining still be profitable with nice GPUs?

[Masonisbetter]

So I have been watching the prices of the R9 280x for a while now, and when the price suddenly went up by $110 dollars in less than a month, I was a little curious as I still had yet to buy my second one. As of right now I have 2 R9 280Xs which I bought for gaming, but I have heard that this price spike was because the cards were extremely popular for bitcoin miners. After doing more research on the topic I discovered a lot of people don't consider GPU-based mining to be profitable because of the cost of getting a mining rig as well as power consumption. Disregarding the initial cost of building a mining rig, is it easy to make money with an existing rig? Another factor to consider is that I pay no electricity bills, so my cost for operation is basically the pool fee. I guess my question is is there any reason for me not get involved? Is bitcoin mining particularly hard on the GPU? The only other question I have is for someone who has a lot of experience and knowledge on the topic. About how much money can I expect to make with these two cards over the course of, say, a week? I'm not asking for a link to a calculator, I know they exist. If no one can answer this last question that's fine. Thanks everyone!

 

[MagicPants]

Not with bitcoins but it can be with litecoins.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

Don't bother. The amount you'll spend in electricity to power your rig will vastly exceed anything you reap from mining. The difficulty factor has risen so high that GPU mining hasn't been feasible for quite some time now.

 

[k1114]

The price rise is from litecoin mining not bitcoins. Yes it is hard on the gpu, it'll be at 100% usage and go to higher temps than gaming. If you run it all day, you'd probably be getting $10 a day since you won't pay for electricity. If you want to try it's not even difficult to get into. Just sign up for a pool, get mining software like guiminer and start it up.

 

[Hazle]

do you like to gamble?

as i see it; BC & it's alternatives are a volatile market. one that usually involves a whole lot of waiting for when exchange is at an all time high to cash in, which was the case several weeks ago. most of the time though you're not gonna gain much, all while wasting away your electricity bills. if you got the patience and got lucky, you may see yourself getting enough to get a lamborghini. otherwise, you may see yourself quitting in frustration, thousands of dollars spent on a mining PC + electricity bills.

again, it's a gamble. do you like to gamble?

 

[Masonisbetter]

Don't bother. The amount you'll spend in electricity to power your rig will vastly exceed anything you reap from mining. The difficulty factor has risen so high that GPU mining hasn't been feasible for quite some time now.

Please read the entire paragraph if you're going to post a response. This response is pretty much exactly what I was trying to exclude with my wording. I know the general consensus on bitcoin GPU mining is don't bother, I posted this because my situation is different than most.

 

[Masonisbetter]

The price rise is from litecoin mining not bitcoins. Yes it is hard on the gpu, it'll be at 100% usage and go to higher temps than gaming. If you run it all day, you'd probably be getting $10 a day since you won't pay for electricity. If you want to try it's not even difficult to get into. Just sign up for a pool, get mining software like guiminer and start it up.

I actually am now mining bitcoins as we speak, and I really appreciate the response. $10 a day would sure as hell be a nice bonus. Is litecoin mining much different than bitcoin? Do you think you could give me a quick rundown on what I would need to do to start litecoin mining or link me an article that outlines it? Thanks again!

 

[k1114]

It's really the same process. I've only used guiminer and simply switching pool would change what coins are being mined.

 

[haremmac]

I just answered a different thread and gave a picture of what I make in a week.

http/www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1972765/bitcoin-mining-rig-000-budget.html#xtor=EPR-8810

This is profitable for me for the following reasons:
1)bought the equipment before the popularity sky rocketed(must get GPUs at or under $275 each. They are out there but it takes time to find them now)
2)This is big-free electricity-plugged into power at my work, enables me to deduct costs due to the fact that its an expense and I own the business. You may want to start an LLC so you can deduct this expense. Make mining a business. Sorry just read that you have free power so this can be a money maker for you.
3)Got in early

Dont let the above deter you. This is an extremely fun hobby and can be very rewarding. I would get in now. Oh and you should not mine BTCs you should mine alt coins to sell for BTCs. That is the only way to make BTCs through GPU mining that is still profitable.

Get into a pool that mines multiple coins. The pool mines whatever coin will get the most BTC when sold at that instant in time. Then when you have at least 1 coin send it to an exchange to sell. This is all done automatically once you setup your parameters and payout addresses in the pool. Its all pretty amazing stuff. Hope this helps you.

Check out the link for an explanation of how much you can make. It all depends on your hash rate and the difficulty so how much you make changes everyday. Good luck!