Quote from: shirenji on August 07, 2011, 12:59:35 AM

I've been doing some reading on the forums about solo mining, pool mining and just things in general to take into consideration before purchasing mining software.

Firstly. I might be getting a Dell Alienware M17X Laptop.
-    Intel® Core i7-2720QM Processor (2.2GHz, 1600 MHz DDR3, 6M cache
-    8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM (2 X 4GB)
-    1.5GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M

(thank you mum) lol.

Do you guys think I'd be generating more BC than what I'd be spending on the added electricity usage? (I'm pretty sure I'll be pool mining)

Secondly. With purchasing the mining software. Could someone link me to where to purchase it. (I'm assuming theres numerous sites, but with that I'm sure theres plenty of dodgy sites. It just seems safest to ask atm)

Also, is it a one time fee or a reoccuring fee for the software?

Thanks in advance guys Cheesy

Hi there!

I consider myself new to mining, but the learning curve is steep. First of all, NVIDIA cards to not mine well, so go for an ATI card (Radeon 5xxx series or better). You can find the probable MH/s speeds here:

https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Mining_hardware_comparison

Next, you don't need to (or should not) pay for a mining application, they are free, but require a bit of research to learn how to use them. There are different miner apps out there, and most of them work with all OS's but some do not work with all.

For me, since my OS is Windows (I'll get blasted by some here) I use the GUIMiner program. It is very easy to use, and I highly recommend it, especially for beginners. The latest version can be downloaded here:

https://github.com/downloads/Kiv/poclbm/guiminer-20110701.exe (if there is a newer version, someone please chime in)

Also, you will need to sign up for a pool to mine from. There are several out there, and each have their pros/cons I'm sure. I say experiement with the pools a bit so you understand them better, and research the video cards before investing. I would say a desktop is the better investment for mining, however, if you are looking for dual purpose (like you can only buy a laptop because you need it) try to find a high end ATI card for the laptop.

Oh, and last but most important: download the bitcoin client app so you have a payment address!! Learn how to protect the wallet too (on this forum) I hope this helps!