So theoretically the online calculators are really a "best case scenario" where at the current difficulty rate, if you were the only one mining, this is what you could expect. Safe to assume those calculators don't take into account the other miners? Or is that what factors the difficulty rate? And I really appreciate all the quick replies. And can anyone respond to the question if your internet B/W connection has any affect to mining? Or is this a searchable topic previously covered?
That is incorrect. Online calculators take into account current difficulty (i.e., other miners).
Looking at an online calculator (
http://www.alloscomp.com/bitcoin/calculator), you would make about 0.05 BTC/day with 1 GH/s. If you mine with a pool, you could expect to see around 0.05 BTC/day deposited into your QT wallet. If you solo mine, then you will only receive coins when you find a block (25 BTC), and you would expect to find a block every 25 / 0.05 = 500 days on average. So it's the same expected BTC, just different amounts of variance.