Alright I'll help out...So easiest thing is go to whattomine.com and see what coins are profitable. IF you want to speculate, you can mine the most profitable coin, then sell it and buy the one you want to speculate on. better than simply mining it.
As for your rig, get 5 or 6 r9 470s/480s and flash the bios on them (get one with a dual bios switch if you are new to this). there are threads here about that. and you'll get 26-31mhs per card. Thats what I would do with 2000$. although this should cost you less.
awesome! That's a perfect start - will order these asap. What mother boards and cables would you recommend?
alright i
Is this a mining only machine? Will you be using it for other things? What do you currently pay for electricity?
Probably mining only, or crunching for other things (maybe in the future).
Electricity cost is negligible at the moment, as it is fixed in with the rent. There may be a cap that I pay a premium on once hit but haven't hit that cap yet.