Bitcoin ASICs - $31

[trigggl]

Don't know why these are suddenly cheaper, not that I know what you would normally get them for, but here's the link.

http://www.amazon.com/ASICMiner-Block-Erupter-USB-Sapphire/dp/B00CUJT7TO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379534542&sr=8-1&keywords=ASIC

[Fire$torm]

Hmmm, maybe the standalone ASICs boxes are dropping in price?

[trigggl]

Hmmm, maybe the standalone ASICs boxes are dropping in price?

Don't know, but it appears people realize that there really isn't going to be a return on investment unless you buy the latest and the latest usually comes with a waiting list.

I figure $30 is nothing compared to what we pay for some sensors for non-monetary points.

[kaptainkarl1]

Do these pull down on a CPU or are they just standalone?
How many can be connected to a computer?
Pardon my ignorance here I am way late to the bitcoin game really just looking for cobbles as opposed to currency.

[trigggl]

Do these pull down on a CPU or are they just standalone?
How many can be connected to a computer?
Pardon my ignorance here I am way late to the bitcoin game really just looking for cobbles as opposed to currency.

USB stand alone. They need to be cooled for their own sake, but if you have a powered USB hub you can use as many as you have openings. I have one hooked up straight to the computer. You would definitely want to check the specs of the motherboard before hooking up more than one without a powered hub.

As far as I can tell, it doesn't take much from the CPU at all and compared to a GPU, the heat generated is insignificant.

As for cobblestones, there's no active BTC project currently. I'll be all over the next one, though, when one comes around again.

[kaptainkarl1]

Got it. Thought this would also get one cobbles. Guess I could try mining but doesn't really seem worth it. Any thoughts on the value of Bit Coins increasing with time? Or am I kidding myself?

[trigggl]

Got it. Thought this would also get one cobbles. Guess I could try mining but doesn't really seem worth it. Any thoughts on the value of Bit Coins increasing with time? Or am I kidding myself?

The value fluctuates pretty rapidly and there's no guarantee it will go up or down over time. My guess is that it will continue to go up while the mining gets harder and harder. This one won't earn any money on its own necessarily, but if the pc is on anyways it will earn a few fractions of BTC which is worth more than 0 BTC. There will be more bitcoin projects, though if you want it for cobbles.

Here's a link to the current exchange rate:
http://preev.com/btc/usd

[John P. Myers]

http://www.amazon.com/ASICMiner-Block-Erupter-USB-Sapphire/dp/B00CUJT7TO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379534542&sr=8-1&keywords=ASIC

Might be interested to know the price has dropped even more. Reason? Competition i believe. Also mass-production. Several companies make these now. And though the ASIC in your link dropped in price, there's even better news: http://www.amazon.com/ASICMiner-Block-Erupter-336MH-Sapphire/dp/B00F7CWKYU/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1383090961&sr=1-1&keywords=bitcoin

6MH/s faster, and only $8. Also they use only 2.55W.

i've noticed a few people are curious about these so i'll give you a comparison.
If you had an AMD 7970, as good as that GPU is, it only gets about 650 MH/s. Initial cost is ~$300 and draws 250W.
This linked ASIC gets 336MH/s. Initial cost is ~$10 (including shipping) and draws 2.55W. 2 of these gets you 672 MH/s, which is faster than a 7970, for only $20 and 5.1W of power.

Simply put, you must never use a regular GPU, no matter how high-end it is, to mine. You will lose your a$$.

[trigggl]

Might be interested to know the price has dropped even more. Reason? Competition i believe. Also mass-production. Several companies make these now. And though the ASIC in your link dropped in price, there's even better news: http://www.amazon.com/ASICMiner-Block-Erupter-336MH-Sapphire/dp/B00F7CWKYU/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1383090961&sr=1-1&keywords=bitcoin

6MH/s faster, and only $8. Also they use only 2.55W.

i've noticed a few people are curious about these so i'll give you a comparison.
If you had an AMD 7970, as good as that GPU is, it only gets about 650 MH/s. Initial cost is ~$300 and draws 250W.
This linked ASIC gets 336MH/s. Initial cost is ~$10 (including shipping) and draws 2.55W. 2 of these gets you 672 MH/s, which is faster than a 7970, for only $20 and 5.1W of power.

...and if you buy enough of them, you won't pay shipping. If you buy more than one, you should get the powered usb hub along with it. Also, they do need to be cooled. I'm cooling mine (no pun intended) by thermal taping it to an old cpu heat sink. Just don't expect to solve any blocks with these. You really need a $1000+ miner to have a hope of it. The share difficulty is currently 391M which is ridiculously high. The best I've ever done is like 400K.

[zombie67]

You could also mine as a group, and then share in the coins generated...if I recall correctly.

[rgathright]

Don't know why these are suddenly cheaper, not that I know what you would normally get them for, but here's the link.

http://www.amazon.com/ASICMiner-Block-Erupter-USB-Sapphire/dp/B00CUJT7TO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379534542&sr=8-1&keywords=ASIC
I have 45 of these running now. They are attached to 3 different laptops and all run off solar power. They have broke even with the latest increase in Bitcoin price.

Yes, I have been having fun mining digital currency for the year 2013!

[John P. Myers]

Welcome back rgathright. Long time no see!

[rgathright]

Welcome back rgathright. Long time no see!

Thanks John, I wanted my friends to know I am still loyal to the team and explain my absence.

[shiva]

well hello Ruben, how you doing. I have been wondering where you were. guess you have been busy.:)

[trigggl]

I have 45 of these running now. They are attached to 3 different laptops and all run off solar power. They have broke even with the latest increase in Bitcoin price.

Yes, I have been having fun mining digital currency for the year 2013!

In the next couple days, I'm about to break even finally. Figured out why they're cheaper. You're probably not going to solve a block with one of these anymore.

[John P. Myers]

They're not cheaper anymore. $40+ apiece now. Even if you don't break even with the USB miners, you can sell your used ones for more than you paid for them. Get all your money back :)

[litehouse43]

Wow these intrigue me for some reason. Maybe it's the form factor. Does anyone know if they come with the necessary software? Plug and play? Because when I tried to look into mining I got confused so quickly in the mess of incomplete articles and guides that I basically just gave up.

[trigggl]

This is something I just noticed. The latest versions of CGMiner have stopped supporting GPU mining. Therefore, you either need a minimum of one of these (ASIC), or stay at the latest version that supports video cards, that being cgminer-3.7.2. Don't know if other mining apps are following suit.

[John P. Myers]

BFGMiner still supports it i think, but it's no longer on the list of devices it automatically checks for on startup. Now you have to specifically tell it to use GPUs, which is a horrible idea anyway.

[Slicker]

BFGMiner still supports it i think, but it's no longer on the list of devices it automatically checks for on startup. Now you have to specifically tell it to use GPUs, which is a horrible idea anyway.
I thought AMD GPUs did very well with bitcoin mining. Or, is it now too hard to find them so the GPU costs more to run than it brings in?

[John P. Myers]

Even if the GPU was free, the electricity used is more than it would bring in :p AMD GPUs are still great for mining coins other than bitcoin though. Nvidia is junk in that as well, though it's not because of garbage FP64 performance in this case. It's because of horrid INT performance.

[John P. Myers]

Oh snap! you'll have to click it to believe it (http://www.tigerdirect.com/bitcoin/) :D

[Duke of Buckingham]

Oh snap! you'll have to click it to believe it (http://www.tigerdirect.com/bitcoin/) :D

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