The reason miners haven't left in hordes is because even at $5.00/BTC mining is STILL profitable. I am not saying it's great profit but it's profit nonetheless and I guess if you have an unstable rig which you have to constantly coddle then it's not worth the hassle. I will give examples of my rigs, which are very common rigs (nothing special), and my electrical rate is middle of the road ($.12/KWh) for United States:
Rig # 1 (Antec Lanboy Air w/ 2 x Radeon 6950s & 7 high-speed 120mm fans for cooling)
- 730 MH/sec. with current difficulty 1,755,425 = .40 BTC/day => $6.10 current price = $2.44/day
- 455 Watts = .455 KWh @ $.12/KWh = $1.31/day
- Net Profit = $1.13/day for 28 days = $31.64/month
Rig # 2 (Open rig w/ Radeon 5970, 2 x Radeon 5830s, 2 high-speed 120mm fans & one Honeywell Table Fan for cooling)
- 1350 MH/sec. with current difficulty 1,755,425 = .72 BTC/day => $6.10 current price = $4.39/day
- 736 Watts = .736 @ $.12/KWh = $2.12/day
- Net Profit = $2.27/day for 28 days = $63.56/month
So as you can see nearly $100/month for just keeping an eye on two rigs is easy money (if you plan on selling BTC at this low of a price). This is imo the lowest point Bitcoin will go, so any rise in value will make your profitability go up significantly. For everyone complaining about electricity rates just go get a Kill-A-Watt EZ and measure your energy consumption. 736 watts for 3 power-hungry cards is pretty damn good, granted the PSU is a Cougar 1050W GX which has 80 Plus Gold energy efficiency but any long-term miner should invest in some solid PSUs. Enermax, Cougar, and Lepa make some very affordable 80-plus Gold PSUs not to mention others if you can catch rebates/sales on Newegg. For fun here are some other appliances around the house I measured:
Hairdryer on High
- 1,520 Watts
Toaster
- 850 Watts
Fridge
- 11 Watts closed, 47 Watts with fridge open - 660 Watts Starting
Lasko Blower Fan
- Speed 1 = 77 Watts, .64 Amps => $0.22/day
- Speed 2 = 86 Watts, .71 Amps => $0.24/day
- Speed 3 = 102 Watts, .88 Amps => $0.29/day
Honeywell Table Fan
- Speed 1 = 26 Watts, .17 Amps => $0.07/day
- Speed 2 = 29 Watts, .22 Amps => $0.08/day
- Speed 3 = 34 Watts, .3 Amps => $0.10/day
TV, Cable Box, Wii Idle
88 Watts => $0.25/day
Rig # 1 (Antec Lanboy Air w/ 2 x Radeon 6950s & 7 high-speed 120mm fans for cooling)
- 730 MH/sec. with current difficulty 1,755,425 = .40 BTC/day => $6.10 current price = $2.44/day
- 455 Watts = .455 KWh @ $.12/KWh = $1.31/day
- Net Profit = $1.13/day for 28 days = $31.64/month
Rig # 2 (Open rig w/ Radeon 5970, 2 x Radeon 5830s, 2 high-speed 120mm fans & one Honeywell Table Fan for cooling)
- 1350 MH/sec. with current difficulty 1,755,425 = .72 BTC/day => $6.10 current price = $4.39/day
- 736 Watts = .736 @ $.12/KWh = $2.12/day
- Net Profit = $2.27/day for 28 days = $63.56/month
So as you can see nearly $100/month for just keeping an eye on two rigs is easy money (if you plan on selling BTC at this low of a price). This is imo the lowest point Bitcoin will go, so any rise in value will make your profitability go up significantly. For everyone complaining about electricity rates just go get a Kill-A-Watt EZ and measure your energy consumption. 736 watts for 3 power-hungry cards is pretty damn good, granted the PSU is a Cougar 1050W GX which has 80 Plus Gold energy efficiency but any long-term miner should invest in some solid PSUs. Enermax, Cougar, and Lepa make some very affordable 80-plus Gold PSUs not to mention others if you can catch rebates/sales on Newegg. For fun here are some other appliances around the house I measured:
Hairdryer on High
- 1,520 Watts
Toaster
- 850 Watts
Fridge
- 11 Watts closed, 47 Watts with fridge open - 660 Watts Starting
Lasko Blower Fan
- Speed 1 = 77 Watts, .64 Amps => $0.22/day
- Speed 2 = 86 Watts, .71 Amps => $0.24/day
- Speed 3 = 102 Watts, .88 Amps => $0.29/day
Honeywell Table Fan
- Speed 1 = 26 Watts, .17 Amps => $0.07/day
- Speed 2 = 29 Watts, .22 Amps => $0.08/day
- Speed 3 = 34 Watts, .3 Amps => $0.10/day
TV, Cable Box, Wii Idle
88 Watts => $0.25/day