Mine or Buy?
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Hey guys! I’ve been think for a while now. Feathercoin’s difficulty doesn’t seem to be going up any time soon from my speculations. Would it be better to buy some feathercoins or make an investment into another GPU?
PS: Had a very bad experience with GPU mining. VRM were messed up but still works! :)
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I’m 100% sure that you understand this, but it serves as a reminder to us all to say that there’s no way to [i]really[/i] answer this question.
If you have a machine that is set up for mining currently, and all you’re risking is buying another GPU or two, I’d say the question is really about how high your electricity costs are. If they’re low, I’d say buying another GPU and holding Feathercoin is wise right now. Just my opinion.
If your electricity costs are on the higher end of the spectrum, it might be wiser to buy as much Feathercoin as you can actually afford to buy as an investment.
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[quote name=“Undone” post=“53426” timestamp=“1390156530”]
I’m 100% sure that you understand this, but it serves as a reminder to us all to say that there’s no way to [i]really[/i] answer this question.If you have a machine that is set up for mining currently, and all you’re risking is buying another GPU or two, I’d say the question is really about how high your electricity costs are. If they’re low, I’d say buying another GPU and holding Feathercoin is wise right now. Just my opinion.
If your electricity costs are on the higher end of the spectrum, it might be wiser to buy as much Feathercoin as you can actually afford to buy as an investment.
[/quote]
Electricity is free. The only thing that is holding me back from buying another GPU is the experience that I had with it. My current GPU gives blue screen if I play games on it. Opinions are needed so mistakes won’t occur again. -
From a community point of view, I guess investing in a GPU would be the best option: You would be helping secure the blockchain while also getting FTC (nobody can really tell you if more or less than just using the GPU money to buy FTC instead).
But buying FTC directly isn’t that bad either: You are helping someone (maybe a miner) to sell FTC which helps the price/value to go up. The downside is that if for some reason FTC fails (which I really hope doesn’t happen), you would be left with hundreds/thousands of worthless FTC.
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Buying … err…trading a few fractions of a btc would not hurt you. And it beats casual mining. :P
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you should buy :) ill sell you some. lol
initial investment to mine is a big stopper for most people since the price of amd video cards when up like crazy. 100+ over msrp on the high end cards. But if you can cough up the money and sit on it for a while it might be good in the long run.
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I would do both if possible. It’s what I’m doing right now.
How much money are you looking to invest?
What computer would you be putting the card into? What PSU is in the computer?
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[quote name=“kaybo” post=“53419” timestamp=“1390154299”]
Hey guys! I’ve been think for a while now. Feathercoin’s difficulty doesn’t seem to be going up any time soon from my speculations. Would it be better to buy some feathercoins or make an investment into another GPU?PS: Had a very bad experience with GPU mining. VRM were messed up but still works! :)
[/quote]What would you call soon? Last I checked, currencies have lifetimes that usually span years, so on a geological scale, the next 6 months is just around the corner. In 6 months time, there’s an overwhelming likelihood that Scrypt ASIC’s are going to be in the hands of customers, and when that happens, you better believe difficulty is going to go up… and with it price.
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[quote name=“ken” post=“54335” timestamp=“1390490055”]
I would do both if possible. It’s what I’m doing right now.How much money are you looking to invest?
What computer would you be putting the card into? What PSU is in the computer?
[/quote]
I’m planning to invest another $200-300 on a graphics card. My current PSU is a 550W 80+ bronze with a HD 7870.[quote author=Kevlar link=topic=7023.msg54338#msg54338 date=1390490499]
What would you call soon? Last I checked, currencies have lifetimes that usually span years, so on a geological scale, the next 6 months is just around the corner. In 6 months time, there’s an overwhelming likelihood that Scrypt ASIC’s are going to be in the hands of customers, and when that happens, you better believe difficulty is going to go up… and with it price.
[/quote]Yes, 6-12 months is very long to me. I would probably have earned back the money that I’ve spent on the graphics card. Hopefully, price do go up along with difficulty. If not, mine on! :)
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[quote name=“kaybo” post=“54489” timestamp=“1390521188”]
Yes, 6-12 months is very long to me.
[/quote]The shorter a timeframe you’re projecting on, the less information you can use to predict the trend, and the more inaccurate your resulting projections will be.
Let me ask you a question: Do you think a gallon of milk will cost more or less in USD in 6 months? Don’t know? Neither do I. What about in 60 years? That’s easy to project: The price of a gallon of milk has steadily increased over the years as the purchasing power of USD has steadily decreased. Unless something fundamental changes, a gallon of milk will almost certainly cost more in USD in 60 years, if only because USD is inflating, and the trend of steadily increasing the price is easy to see, and easy to understand.
If an asset class is designed to fulfill a role over several hundreds of years, why would you measure it’s performance on a tiny time scale, and then project that over a long one? It makes no sense at all.
[quote]
Hopefully, price do go up along with difficulty.
[/quote]Difficulty goes up with price, not the other way around. Difficulty is a lagging indicator of price. When the price goes up, more miners get into the game, and difficulty moves up. If this happens in synchronicity, the difficulty rises to justify the price, otherwise the price comes back down. If the price increases, the difficulty MUST increase to justify the price.
Since ASIC’s represent a sunk cost for investors, and investors want a ROI, ASIC owners must sell their mined coins at an ever increasing price to maintain profitability. As more investors get ASICs, more will be looking to sell them. Since the generation rate is fixed, and the reward is forever decreasing as difficulty decreases, the price MUST go up to maintain profitability for investors. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy, and saying, “I don’t care about 6 months from now, I want the price to go up NOW.” just ignores the very well established trends and economic pressures which succeed in driving the price up.
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[quote name=“Kevlar” post=“54491” timestamp=“1390522272”]
[quote author=kaybo link=topic=7023.msg54489#msg54489 date=1390521188]
Yes, 6-12 months is very long to me.
[/quote]The shorter a timeframe you’re projecting on, the less information you can use to predict the trend, and the more inaccurate your resulting projections will be.
Let me ask you a question: Do you think a gallon of milk will cost more or less in USD in 6 months? Don’t know? Neither do I. What about in 60 years? That’s easy to project: The price of a gallon of milk has steadily increased over the years as the purchasing power of USD has steadily decreased. Unless something fundamental changes, a gallon of milk will almost certainly cost more in USD in 60 years, if only because USD is inflating, and the trend of steadily increasing the price is easy to see, and easy to understand.
If an asset class is designed to fulfill a role over several hundreds of years, why would you measure it’s performance on a tiny time scale, and then project that over a long one? It makes no sense at all.
[quote]
Hopefully, price do go up along with difficulty.
[/quote]Difficulty goes up with price, not the other way around. Difficulty is a lagging indicator of price. When the price goes up, more miners get into the game, and difficulty moves up. If this happens in synchronicity, the difficulty rises to justify the price, otherwise the price comes back down. If the price increases, the difficulty MUST increase to justify the price.
Since ASIC’s represent a sunk cost for investors, and investors want a ROI, ASIC owners must sell their mined coins at an ever increasing price to maintain profitability. As more investors get ASICs, more will be looking to sell them. Since the generation rate is fixed, and the reward is forever decreasing as difficulty decreases, the price MUST go up to maintain profitability for investors. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy, and saying, “I don’t care about 6 months from now, I want the price to go up NOW.” just ignores the very well established trends and economic pressures which succeed in driving the price up.
[/quote]
Sorry for your misunderstanding. “6-12 months is very long to me” isn’t what I intended to say. As I joined in the Crypto currency hype train, time seems to go very slow. This applies the same when looking at the clock. We all know the trend will be predictable in the long term. I’m curious how feathercoin will be in few months after getting paranoid by reading articles on scrypt asic.If I buy a $250 graphics card, I will get my ROI after 3 months and keep on mining. But, What if scrypt asic take over? Do we sell our rigs and call it a day? Sorry for thinking irrationally. I’m getting my paycheck next week. Have to make my final decision. Buy
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[quote name=“kaybo” post=“54531” timestamp=“1390536857”]
[quote author=Kevlar link=topic=7023.msg54491#msg54491 date=1390522272]
[quote author=kaybo link=topic=7023.msg54489#msg54489 date=1390521188]
Yes, 6-12 months is very long to me.
[/quote]The shorter a timeframe you’re projecting on, the less information you can use to predict the trend, and the more inaccurate your resulting projections will be.
Let me ask you a question: Do you think a gallon of milk will cost more or less in USD in 6 months? Don’t know? Neither do I. What about in 60 years? That’s easy to project: The price of a gallon of milk has steadily increased over the years as the purchasing power of USD has steadily decreased. Unless something fundamental changes, a gallon of milk will almost certainly cost more in USD in 60 years, if only because USD is inflating, and the trend of steadily increasing the price is easy to see, and easy to understand.
If an asset class is designed to fulfill a role over several hundreds of years, why would you measure it’s performance on a tiny time scale, and then project that over a long one? It makes no sense at all.
[quote]
Hopefully, price do go up along with difficulty.
[/quote]Difficulty goes up with price, not the other way around. Difficulty is a lagging indicator of price. When the price goes up, more miners get into the game, and difficulty moves up. If this happens in synchronicity, the difficulty rises to justify the price, otherwise the price comes back down. If the price increases, the difficulty MUST increase to justify the price.
Since ASIC’s represent a sunk cost for investors, and investors want a ROI, ASIC owners must sell their mined coins at an ever increasing price to maintain profitability. As more investors get ASICs, more will be looking to sell them. Since the generation rate is fixed, and the reward is forever decreasing as difficulty decreases, the price MUST go up to maintain profitability for investors. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy, and saying, “I don’t care about 6 months from now, I want the price to go up NOW.” just ignores the very well established trends and economic pressures which succeed in driving the price up.
[/quote]
Sorry for your misunderstanding. “6-12 months is very long to me” isn’t what I intended to say. As I joined in the Crypto currency hype train, time seems to go very slow. This applies the same when looking at a clock. We all know the trend will be predictable in the long term. I’m curious how feathercoin will be in few months after getting paranoid by reading articles on scrypt asic.If I buy a $250 graphics card, I will get my ROI after 3 months and keep on mining. But, What if scrypt asic take over? Do we sell our rigs and call it a day? Sorry for thinking irrationally. I’m getting my paycheck next week. Have to make my final decision. Buy[/quote]
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[quote name=“kaybo” post=“54531” timestamp=“1390536857”]
If I buy a $250 graphics card, I will get my ROI after 3 months and keep on mining. But, What if scrypt asic take over? Do we sell our rigs and call it a day? Sorry for thinking irrationally. I’m getting my paycheck next week. Have to make my final decision. Buy[/quote]There was a time when GPU mining was incredibly profitable. Now, less so. You’re entering the game very late.
The same will be true of ASICs: There will be a window durring which it’s very profitable, and profitability will steadily decline.
No, you don’t just sell your rig and call it a day, you sell your rig and buy ASICs and stay in the game… IF and only if you believe in the future of crypto currencies as an asset class.
As for mining vs buying, it’s a personal preference. Do you enjoy mining? If it’s a hobby, more power to you. If you’re looking for cheap coins, it’s probablly cheaper to buy.
The the question becomes what to buy, which depends on your goals. For short term investing, it turns out FTC is a GREAT hedge for BTC. The price is very stable compared to a lot of other coins. If you want to diversify your portfolio and take a short position against BTC because you think it’s going down, FTC is fantastic for that.
If you want long term investing, any coin with a strong community and a drive for innovation is a better bet than a meme coin in my opinion. Bitcoin is an obvious choice, but other coins like FTC have a lot going for them. This is where you gotta place your bets, and then make them good because you have the power to involve yourself with that community, and help drive innovation and adoption.
If you want something with spending power, BTC is obviously the best bet, but FTC is rapidly making a lot of strides in the right direction. Again, this is a if you’re not part of the solution your part of the problem problem. The more people we have spending it, the more purchasing power it will have.
And if you want a long term store of value… buy gold or some other stable commodity.
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[quote name=“kaybo” post=“53433” timestamp=“1390158589”]
[quote author=Undone link=topic=7023.msg53426#msg53426 date=1390156530]
I’m 100% sure that you understand this, but it serves as a reminder to us all to say that there’s no way to [i]really[/i] answer this question.If you have a machine that is set up for mining currently, and all you’re risking is buying another GPU or two, I’d say the question is really about how high your electricity costs are. If they’re low, I’d say buying another GPU and holding Feathercoin is wise right now. Just my opinion.
If your electricity costs are on the higher end of the spectrum, it might be wiser to buy as much Feathercoin as you can actually afford to buy as an investment.
[/quote]
Electricity is free. The only thing that is holding me back from buying another GPU is the experience that I had with it. My current GPU gives blue screen if I play games on it. Opinions are needed so mistakes won’t occur again.
[/quote]With free electricity - I would highly recommend building your rig, considering that you can still sell the hardware in future. Your miner should amortize within some months already (you can calculate it using the [font=Verdana][size=78%][url=http://www.feathercoin.com/calc/]http://www.feathercoin.com/calc/[/url][/size][/font][font=Verdana][/size][size=78%]). As long as you don’t drive it at the maximum level your GPU’s should live some time.[/size][/font]
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[quote name=“kaybo” post=“54489” timestamp=“1390521188”]
[quote author=ken link=topic=7023.msg54335#msg54335 date=1390490055]
I would do both if possible. It’s what I’m doing right now.How much money are you looking to invest?
What computer would you be putting the card into? What PSU is in the computer?
[/quote]
I’m planning to invest another $200-300 on a graphics card. My current PSU is a 550W 80+ bronze with a HD 7870.
[/quote]With $200 a Radeon 270 is a pretty good bet, with an expected khash of 425-450. Newegg has this ([url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150641]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150641[/url]) 7850 for $169 with a $30 mail-in-rebate. I have 2 7850’s that I get almost 400khash from each.
With that power supply I would not get a 270X or another 7870. Either of those would put quite a draw on the PSU and you could risk instability.
There isn’t really a good card for the $300 range at the moment.