Post
Topic
Board Beginners & Help
Re: USB Miners
by
Relnarien
on 08/07/2014, 12:50:24 UTC
I've heard that USB miners aren't really useful for mining anymore but I really want to experience what mining is like, even if I'm not really getting anything more than a few satoshis. With them being pretty outdated I was wondering if anyone had one or two left over from when they actually were useful, that would be willing to send them to me. I could probably pay for shipping if need be. I understand that even the cost of the electric needed to use it, is more than I will get out f it, but it is nothing something I will be doing long. Like I said, kinda just want the experience.
Thank you all in advance.

I have 10 of them kicking around.  Personally, I still can't believe that they are still selling, and/or that people are still buying them.  I get that you want the experience, but even with all 10 hooked up, I doubt you'd see much of anything out of them.

Where are you located roughly?

Well I have nothing to lose but time honestly. I don't pay for electric, so I don't have to worry about that. Also I'm a bit of a show off, my sister thinks all of this is a huge scam. She doesn't get that putting your computer to work can generate something that equates to money. If I can get her on board the cryptocurrency train I'd feel pretty accomplished and maybe convince her to throw down some money with me to get a real miner.
I'm in NY a little outside of Poughkeepsie.

Unfortunately, even larger ASICS are decreasing in profitability from Bitcoin mining in today's petahash-based environment. According to coinwarz.com, it would take a 1 terahash miner at least 33 days of continuous mining before it can generate a full Bitcoin. And that's assuming that you're not paying for electricity (which you said you didn't), that pool fees are not deducted from your earnings and that the network difficulty stays constant or decreases. There's also the issue of setting up and maintaining the hardware, which you'll need to take care of if you live in a highly urbanized area. You pretty much won't be getting an RoI for a while. You'll prolly earn about $20 dollars worth of Bitcoins running 5 to 10 USB miners 24-7. If for some reason, you are able to convince your sister to plop some cash down for some stronger hardware by showing her  such a paltry amount, you would then need to convince her that she'll be getting back her few hundred dollars with interest in just a few months, barring an unfortunate mishap involving summer heat and an unventilated room.

Mine for fun. But even with free electricity, you won't be making much of a profit unless you're planning on mining with a few good terahashes.