Sad_Miner,
    That's a execellent set of questions to pose to the veteran miners on the forum. I'm right there with you, I'm chewing at the bit to start mining but, like you, I'm just not sure what equipment to invest in that's going to actually work, to produce coins. I'll be monitoring your post in hopes that someone replies with some good informative mining information that will help new miners to understand what it is we need to be buying, learning, & doing to mine effectively as starters.
Later,
Gary