Will I make a profit on this? I am starting to give it serious consideration, but as far as I am concerned the whole shit is a scam and you always end up going negative profit when you buy hardware as new stuff is always around the corner. What will $5k give me today TH/s wise?
I think you answered your own question: "the whole shit is a scam and you always end up going negative profit when you buy hardware:
If I had $5k to blow I would just buy BTC with it.
But I don't have a lot of extra space for mining and the price of electricity is quite high.
If you buy BTC with your money you have a chance at making money OR losing money.
If you buy mining equipment AND you have access to cheap electric you MIGHT make some money, on the flip side, you could lose money....
It's really up to you....
