Overtaking Curreny-Make Money While Running Your PC-Haven't seen any threads on here about Bitcoin mining, and I have a feeling we all will be seeing Bitcoin for a very long time. A couple of things you should know: 1) You're not being directly paid for computing power. You receive Bitcoin, a virtual currency that can be exchanged for goods/services/transferred to cash, VCCs, or gift cards. You have to jump through a bit more hoops than Gomez, but pay can be greater.
2) Bitcoin is mostly GPU dependent. There are CPU miners, but GPU miners can make 400x the profits of CPU miners. It's best to stick to GPU for that reason alone.
3) Bitcoin mining uses A LOT resources. Meaning higher utility bill (if you pay for electricity; I don't so I mine 4 FREE
4) Bitcoin is a deflationary currency, meaning it'll gain value over time. 1 BTC last week was worth ~
$8 on average. Now it's about $31. As deflation increases, difficulty increases in mining, meaning coins are slower to accrue in pooled mining. It also raises concerns if the economy is a bubble and will burst. Unexpected horrors could arise...
5) Bitcoin mining is cross platform. You can mine on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. Hell, you can even mine on the PS3.(Takes knowledge in Linux & ubuntu)
NOTE
Strong GPU = huge profits
On to the process you need to start today!
Guide:
1) Set up a wallet. This is where your Bitcoins will be held. You have the choice of creating a local wallet on your computer, or one in the cloud. If you chose to set one up on your computer locally, that's fine, but be careful, if you format your hard drive/it crashes, you lose your Bitcoin if you don't have a backup. Or if malware steals your wallet, you're also screwed out of whatever coins were in it. Transactions are nonrefundable unlike PayPal; once coins are sent, they can't be reversed.
2) Sign up at a mining pool. Here's where you have choices. Some charge minor fees but are stable, some have no fees, but are less stable and have a delay to "confirming" rewards.
I'd recommend either https://deepbit.net/ or BTC Guild - The 0% Fee Mining Pool Slushy's Pool(NEW)
Deepbit
Pros: Automatic payouts or manual payouts, you don't need to wait for your reward for the work done to be "confirmed," the site is pretty stable, choice of being paid either proportional or per share (if you're in it for the long run, go with proportional, if not, go with either of the two).
Cons: They take a small fee for work done (~3%). Meaning if you earn 1 Bitcoin per day, you'll only receive 0.97 Bitcoin. All in all, it's not a HUGE loss, but still.
BTCGuild:
Pros: No fees; simpler site design.
Cons: Waiting for your work to be confirmed (unless you donate 2.5% of your earnings, which is less than deebit charges), minor site instability as of late.
Both are pretty good, and you also don't have to lock yourself into one. You can sign up for both and if one goes down you can always switch. There are other pools, but I'm trying to keep it simple. You can also mine solo, for bigger payouts (50 Bitcoin), but that can take weeks; your payment will also be in one large sum, so think of it as winning the lottery. For beginners, stick to pooled mining at deepbit or BTCguild.
3) Configure your new account at deepbit/BTCguild/wherever. Create a new "worker" and give them a password. Make note of the worker name + password. You'll need it in a bit. While you're at it, also input your Bitcoin address on the pooled mining website, and on deepbit, change your automatic payment threshold. I'd recommend 0.5-1 bitcoin a day, depending on how much you make. You can also request payment manually.
4) Download your mining client. I'd recommend Poclbm-GUI for Windows mining. Phoenix Rising is another good Windows miner, but it's cluttered as hell. Mac users, stick to DiabloMiner. Linux users, you guys are advanced, you don't need any suggestions from me
5) Configure your mining client. You'll need your worker's username, along with the password. Choose the device you'll be using to mine. If your GPU is good, choose that over your CPU.
6) Start mining! Now might be a good time to open up any overclocking tool and pay attention to how much heat your GPU is generating. MSI afterburner works wonders for AMD cards. I tend to keep my temps below 75C. If you're getting higher readings, increase fan speed. You can also overclock the Clock Core to improve your Mhash/s value. I'd recommend not going above 110-115% of stock value (so if your clocks are normally 800MHz, don't go above 880-900). Increase fan speed after overclocking.
7) So you've accrued Bitcoin in your wallet. How do you spend them? Well, there's plenty of options. I'd recommend:
TradeHill
Instant Buy / Instant Sell
With our Instant Buy and Instant Sell features you simply tell us how many Bitcoins you want to buy or sell and we will give you a quote which is guaranteed for a short period of time. This quote is the actual price you will pay and already includes all necessary fees and commissions. Accept the quote and the trade will proceed immediately and your account will be credited accordingly.
It's that easy!
5) Bitcoin mining is cross platform. You can mine on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. Hell, you can even mine on the PS3.(Takes knowledge in Linux & ubuntu)
NOTE
Strong GPU = huge profits
On to the process you need to start today!
Guide:
1) Set up a wallet. This is where your Bitcoins will be held. You have the choice of creating a local wallet on your computer, or one in the cloud. If you chose to set one up on your computer locally, that's fine, but be careful, if you format your hard drive/it crashes, you lose your Bitcoin if you don't have a backup. Or if malware steals your wallet, you're also screwed out of whatever coins were in it. Transactions are nonrefundable unlike PayPal; once coins are sent, they can't be reversed.
2) Sign up at a mining pool. Here's where you have choices. Some charge minor fees but are stable, some have no fees, but are less stable and have a delay to "confirming" rewards.
I'd recommend either https://deepbit.net/ or BTC Guild - The 0% Fee Mining Pool Slushy's Pool(NEW)
Deepbit
Pros: Automatic payouts or manual payouts, you don't need to wait for your reward for the work done to be "confirmed," the site is pretty stable, choice of being paid either proportional or per share (if you're in it for the long run, go with proportional, if not, go with either of the two).
Cons: They take a small fee for work done (~3%). Meaning if you earn 1 Bitcoin per day, you'll only receive 0.97 Bitcoin. All in all, it's not a HUGE loss, but still.
BTCGuild:
Pros: No fees; simpler site design.
Cons: Waiting for your work to be confirmed (unless you donate 2.5% of your earnings, which is less than deebit charges), minor site instability as of late.
Both are pretty good, and you also don't have to lock yourself into one. You can sign up for both and if one goes down you can always switch. There are other pools, but I'm trying to keep it simple. You can also mine solo, for bigger payouts (50 Bitcoin), but that can take weeks; your payment will also be in one large sum, so think of it as winning the lottery. For beginners, stick to pooled mining at deepbit or BTCguild.
3) Configure your new account at deepbit/BTCguild/wherever. Create a new "worker" and give them a password. Make note of the worker name + password. You'll need it in a bit. While you're at it, also input your Bitcoin address on the pooled mining website, and on deepbit, change your automatic payment threshold. I'd recommend 0.5-1 bitcoin a day, depending on how much you make. You can also request payment manually.
4) Download your mining client. I'd recommend Poclbm-GUI for Windows mining. Phoenix Rising is another good Windows miner, but it's cluttered as hell. Mac users, stick to DiabloMiner. Linux users, you guys are advanced, you don't need any suggestions from me
5) Configure your mining client. You'll need your worker's username, along with the password. Choose the device you'll be using to mine. If your GPU is good, choose that over your CPU.
6) Start mining! Now might be a good time to open up any overclocking tool and pay attention to how much heat your GPU is generating. MSI afterburner works wonders for AMD cards. I tend to keep my temps below 75C. If you're getting higher readings, increase fan speed. You can also overclock the Clock Core to improve your Mhash/s value. I'd recommend not going above 110-115% of stock value (so if your clocks are normally 800MHz, don't go above 880-900). Increase fan speed after overclocking.
7) So you've accrued Bitcoin in your wallet. How do you spend them? Well, there's plenty of options. I'd recommend:
TradeHill
Instant Buy / Instant Sell
With our Instant Buy and Instant Sell features you simply tell us how many Bitcoins you want to buy or sell and we will give you a quote which is guaranteed for a short period of time. This quote is the actual price you will pay and already includes all necessary fees and commissions. Accept the quote and the trade will proceed immediately and your account will be credited accordingly.
It's that easy!
