New to Mining, looking for Tips/Advise

III_Slyflyer_III

III_Slyflyer_III

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Sep 17, 2019
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Can't say I ever got into mining before, but I have tech simply laying around in other PC's not doing too much.

Out of curiosity... I started to look into mining. I have a 3090, 2080Ti and several 1080's sitting around I could use. My brother in law pointed me to NiceHash to rent out my hash power (as you can mine anything from there really) and Coinbase to store it all and then convert to real money via paypal.

Any advise or better options or feedback? According to the site, after electrical costs factored in, I could pull in about $507 a month... lol.

Also, I am NOT looking to link my bank account; moving from a crypto to paypal is my preferred method of payment.
 
1 - don't
2 - if you do, ensure the amount toy invites is an amount you can safely loose without impact.
2a - expect to loose everything.
3 - don't think you can day trade.
4 - use sites like nicehash to mine as it will swap coins based on market.
4a - if you mine a static coin, keep with it and don't day swap.
5 - wallet should be coin base or on a computer with limited internet access.

When I did this, i used the 80% rule. Invest in hardware and do not buy again until you hit the 80% return rate.

Everything I said here is my experience and will vary from person to person.
 
Does it matter that I am only using GPU's and PC's I already have built? Just wondering if I can put old un-used builds (2080Ti, 1080's) to use mining and then just taking the money as I make it... May even throw my 3090 into the mix as I work.

I see NiceHash and CoinBase was mentioned, which is what I was personally pointed to as well.

Orddie said:
1 - don't
2 - if you do, ensure the amount toy invites is an amount you can safely loose without impact.
2a - expect to loose everything.
3 - don't think you can day trade.
4 - use sites like nicehash to mine as it will swap coins based on market.
4a - if you mine a static coin, keep with it and don't day swap.
5 - wallet should be coin base or on a computer with limited internet access.

When I did this, i used the 80% rule. Invest in hardware and do not buy again until you hit the 80% return rate.

Everything I said here is my experience and will vary from person to person.
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What do you mean by #2 and #2a? Assuming of course I go the NiceHash and CoinBase route?
 
if ya have the card get them mining. dont use nicehash use claymores miner (ether is the only coin worth mining anyways), a decent mining pool and just point it at a actuall wallet. coinbase is trash. myetherwallet is a easy way to make that happen.

crypto is high right now it may be worth it to sell to usd frequently as opposed to holding. if it crashes use the money you got out of mining to buy again.

it may also be worth mentining that paypal may hold your money at ransom at some point and demand your ssn and all that information to access your funds again. Paypal is trash.
 
III_Slyflyer_III said:
Does it matter that I am only using GPU's and PC's I already have built? Just wondering if I can put old un-used builds (2080Ti, 1080's) to use mining and then just taking the money as I make it... May even throw my 3090 into the mix as I work.

I see NiceHash and CoinBase was mentioned, which is what I was personally pointed to as well.



What do you mean by #2 and #2a? Assuming of course I go the NiceHash and CoinBase route?
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He’s pointing out the “market” is volatile in the least. Plan on losing everything you earn as profit. He has a point.

mar this point it’s easier to day trade individual crypto currency vs trying to mine your own.
 
jmilcher said:
He’s pointing out the “market” is volatile in the least. Plan on losing everything you earn as profit. He has a point.

mar this point it’s easier to day trade individual crypto currency vs trying to mine your own.
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ether is plenty profitable to mine right now. take profit frequently and it would be pretty hard to lose....

day trading crypto is when you need to expect to lose all your money hastily
 
cdabc123 said:
if ya have the card get them mining. dont use nicehash use claymores miner (ether is the only coin worth mining anyways), a decent mining pool and just point it at a actuall wallet. coinbase is trash. myetherwallet is a easy way to make that happen.

crypto is high right now it may be worth it to sell to usd frequently as opposed to holding. if it crashes use the money you got out of mining to buy again.

it may also be worth mentining that paypal may hold your money at ransom at some point and demand your ssn and all that information to access your funds again. Paypal is trash.
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Any reason CoinBase sucks? Only asking cause I literally do not know :) It looks like it would allow me to send to Paypal. Also, my Paypal is linked to me, so no issues with ransom. I just rather send to paypal vs. a bank routing number for security reasons (layer of protection I guess).
 
III_Slyflyer_III said:
Any reason CoinBase sucks? Only asking cause I literally do not know :) It looks like it would allow me to send to Paypal. Also, my Paypal is linked to me, so no issues with ransom. I just rather send to paypal vs. a bank routing number for security reasons (layer of protection I guess).
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coinbase is a garbage exchange who practices the same bs that all other exchanges practice. you will need to give them all your personal information as well which is pointless if you are just using them as a wallet. Get a actuall ethereum wallet you want to avoid exchanges as much as possible and can send from your wallet to paypal when you want to sell.

If you need to use a exchange kraken is decent however I can not stress this enough, holding crypto on a exchange is a poor idea and history has proven this over and over for many exchanges.
 
cdabc123 said:
coinbase is a garbage exchange who practices the same bs that all other exchanges practice. you will need to give them all your personal information as well which is pointless if you are just using them as a wallet. Get a actuall ethereum wallet you want to avoid exchanges as much as possible and can send from your wallet to paypal when you want to sell.

If you need to use a exchange kraken is decent however I can not stress this enough, holding crypto on a exchange is a poor idea and history has proven this over and over for many exchanges.
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I have no intent to hold anything; I simply want to cash out right away.

Do you know a specific Wallet that will allow me to just go right to paypal? You mentioned a ethereum wallet, but does that matter if I used NiceHash to mine all kinds of crypo but only pays out in BTC?
 
III_Slyflyer_III said:
I have no intent to hold anything; I simply want to cash out right away.

Do you know a specific Wallet that will allow me to just go right to paypal? You mentioned a ethereum wallet, but does that matter if I used NiceHash to mine all kinds of crypo but only pays out in BTC?
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alright so I looked into the paypal crypto bs and was disappointed. Your not able to actually transfer any type of crypto to paypal so funneling the money through paypal sounds like a waste of time (about another 3 days of waiting) you have to give all your information to an exchange either way so I would go with kraken and just link a bank there.

Ive also had luck selling and buying crypto in the fs/ft forum (receiving or paying with paypal) however that would be difficult with prices right now.

ether is the only coin worth mining so I would recommend avoiding nicehash and just using a actual ethereum miner then selling the ether to usd on an exchange.

understand there is a tax obligation to doing it in any of these ways as multiple companies will have the necessary information to tie the action to you.
 
I thought Paypal announced they were going to handle crypto directly? If so, you can send to paypal directly instead of to a wallet then to paypal, which will incur fees on transfer.

I know I took a hit when I moved some coins from cold storage to an online wallet. I was thinking of unloading but the prices started going back up so changed my mind.
 
dvsman said:
I thought Paypal announced they were going to handle crypto directly? If so, you can send to paypal directly instead of to a wallet then to paypal, which will incur fees on transfer.

I know I took a hit when I moved some coins from cold storage to an online wallet. I was thinking of unloading but the prices started going back up so changed my mind.
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they lied. you cant actually fund a paypal account with crypto and their "trading" is just with monopoly money they create.
 
cdabc123 said:
they lied. you cant actually fund a paypal account with crypto and their "trading" is just with monopoly money they create.
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This, I bought 25$ just to see what it could do, its just buying crypto stock share basically, not sure if paypal is actually doing any back end trading of actual crypto.
That said my $25 is now worth $26 yay I covered the purchase fees!
 
I guess I can't stress enough, this is NOT for investment... lol. I understand the tax implications and all, I invest quite heavily on my own. Just wondering if I can put idle equipment to use making money and selling the cuts right away.

Looking for an easy and secure way for someone like me who has never mined before to do it (assuming such a way exists).
 
III_Slyflyer_III said:
I guess I can't stress enough, this is NOT for investment... lol. I understand the tax implications and all, I invest quite heavily on my own. Just wondering if I can put idle equipment to use making money and selling the cuts right away.

Looking for an easy and secure way for someone like me who has never mined before to do it (assuming such a way exists).
Click to expand...

Yeah, if you just want to toy with it then, sure, nicehash and coinbase are the way to go. Just watch your power bill, it adds up fast.
 
What sgrinavi said. If you're just messing around, that's the easiest thing to setup on spare hardware.

This is especially true if you are currently in winter and need a space heater. It's great for that! <- I'm not even joking.
 
III_Slyflyer_III said:
I guess I can't stress enough, this is NOT for investment... lol. I understand the tax implications and all, I invest quite heavily on my own. Just wondering if I can put idle equipment to use making money and selling the cuts right away.

Looking for an easy and secure way for someone like me who has never mined before to do it (assuming such a way exists).
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you can and it is currently profitable too do so.
this is a good ethereum miner https://claymoredualminer.com/
point it at a mining pool https://ethermine.org/
you can mine too an address on an exchange if you want

you have to give all your info and get verified on an exchange this will take 1-2 weeks to do (you can mine during this time). I would just withdraw usd from the exchange at this point as all paypal is doing is sitting on your money for a few days so they can make some off of it. My recommendation for exchanges is kraken (good trading features if you want and better rates) coinbase will also get the job done.
 
Last exchange i signed up on i was able to register> complete all the "know your customer" stuff and sent some coins to it traded them and had cash in my bank all within 3 hour timeframe. I also can say 100% from experience to not keep money or coins on an exchange. 2 of the previous exchanges I had accounts on either went under or were involved in some sort of fraud (Quadriga). Thankfully I didn't have any funds in either at that time.
 
FYI since OP brought it up, I loaded nicehash onto my newly built rig (in sig) and its grossing 8.xx dollars a day. Now you subtract all the costs out of that especially local electricity and compare it to your hardware and see if its worth doing or not.

FWIW Nicehash drives my rig to ramp up fans(of which I have 13x - 6x in 2x3 push/pull on the aio exhausting out of the top, 3x on the front/side pulling in air, 3x on the bottom pulling in cool air from below and 1x in the rear exhausting hot air out) to very high levels.

Even Cyberpunk 2077 on max with psycho ray tracing doesn't do that.
 
dvsman said:
FYI since OP brought it up, I loaded nicehash onto my newly built rig (in sig) and its grossing 8.xx dollars a day. Now you subtract all the costs out of that especially local electricity and compare it to your hardware and see if its worth doing or not.

FWIW Nicehash drives my rig to ramp up fans(of which I have 13x - 6x in 2x3 push/pull on the aio exhausting out of the top, 3x on the front/side pulling in air, 3x on the bottom pulling in cool air from below and 1x in the rear exhausting hot air out) to very high levels.

Even Cyberpunk 2077 on max with psycho ray tracing doesn't do that.
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are you doing CPU mining? I haven't had nicehash (or the miners within) cause system fans to really change since they are tied to CPU temp. Phoenix miner for eth has causes my 3090 to go full jetliner though.
 
I simply downloaded the app and let her rip. Didnt touch anything.
 
I think its running both cpus and gpu miners atm if I had to guess.
 
Thanks for the feedback so far everyone. On that note; is there a particular wallet you all trust (as I'd have to submit my ID for payout)? I'd like to be able to just send funds to my paypal account (which is linked to one of my banks), but I would also like the ability for that wallet to hold different funds (say BTC or ETH) depending on what/where I decide to mine to try things out. I'm looking for the fewest steps possible to go from "mining" to cash payout... 0 intent to hold.
 
dvsman said:
I simply downloaded the app and let her rip. Didnt touch anything.
Click to expand...

You're doing it wrong. You can decrease the power limit of the card, then increase the memory speed, and downclock the actual GPU to maybe 2/3 of it's normal speed. You draw half of the power and the fans don't go crazy.

CPU mining is only "effective" on Ryzen 3000 and 5000 cpus because of the large cache. It's not as power efficient as GPU mining still.
 
kirbyrj said:
You're doing it wrong. You can decrease the power limit of the card, then increase the memory speed, and downclock the actual GPU to maybe 2/3 of it's normal speed. You draw half of the power and the fans don't go crazy.

CPU mining is only "effective" on Ryzen 3000 and 5000 cpus because of the large cache. It's not as power efficient as GPU mining still.
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this is a great use case for multiple saved profiles in afterburner. 1 for gaming, 2 for mining.
 
You also need to factor in the cost of GPUs even if they are from old builds. They are worth money after all.

The ideal situation for a casual miner is to use hardware that you would keep around regardless of mining. Like use your gaming pc to mine.
 
Jinto said:
You also need to factor in the cost of GPUs even if they are from old builds. They are worth money after all.

The ideal situation for a casual miner is to use hardware that you would keep around regardless of mining. Like use your gaming pc to mine.
Click to expand...

Exactly. You're better off buying your coin of choice if you are looking for an investment. But using your computer to make a couple bucks in the XX hours a day you don't use it isn't a bad idea.
 
I started mining in 2017...Many of these responses are out of line. As such.
I always suspect people who say don't mine either:
A) don't mine themselves and know next to nothing about it
or
B) do mine and don't want competition for fear of lowering their mining profits.



Thing is, more miners benefits us all in the crypto space. Wider adoption, less potential for 51% attacks, moves the adoption ball forward...

Coinbase is the easiest exchange to use for greenhorns. It's no more difficult than getting a normal bank account.
Bad news - figure they report everything to the IRS. Good news - they are the ONLY exchange/Crypto Bank that is FDIC insured. Meaning, they lose your BTC you have in their cold storage, then they cover it - 100%.

NiceHash has been around for like 7 years or something at this point. They are legit. They were hacked a couple years ago - they paid everyone back over the course of the last 2-3 years. They've now paid the hack back 100%. They are as legit a company as there is in this crypto world. They also typically pay just as much, (or more) than your choice of mining to a private pool -- and with far less hassle.

There are tax implications. You pay taxes on the tokens you mine, and you pay taxes on the tokens you sell. Don't try to hide it. The IRS is looking into this space hard. Report your earnings, or face the increasing likelihood of consequences.

Your solution of NiceHash -> Coinbase -> Paypal is basically safe and fool proof so long as you report your earnings at tax time. Enjoy the extra $500 a month while it lasts!!! (profits go up and down - basically based on BTC price)
Why people are telling you not to, when getting into it the mix (as dvsman states) makes no sense.

Do it.


BTW - I've mined to private pools, used a half dozen clients, been around the block. NiceHash to Coinbase is definitely the easy button. Before Coinbase was FDIC insured, I would have recommended an offline crypto wallet. I use a Ledger myself. However - with coinbase being FDIC insured - that is frankly probably just as safe for most people.
 
III_Slyflyer_III said:
Thanks for the feedback so far everyone. On that note; is there a particular wallet you all trust (as I'd have to submit my ID for payout)? I'd like to be able to just send funds to my paypal account (which is linked to one of my banks), but I would also like the ability for that wallet to hold different funds (say BTC or ETH) depending on what/where I decide to mine to try things out. I'm looking for the fewest steps possible to go from "mining" to cash payout... 0 intent to hold.
Click to expand...
For a crypto wallet you dont have to submit anything to hold your coins. Just be cautious about how you use and hold your wallet to avoid any issues losing the coin. You would need seperate wallets for btc and ether however there are very good wallets for each. No need for a wallet if you are immidiatly selling.

Archaea said:
I started mining in 2017...Many of these responses are out of line. As such.
I always suspect people who say don't mine either:
A) don't mine themselves and know next to nothing about it
or
B) do mine and don't want competition for fear of lowering their mining profits.



Thing is, more miners benefits us all in the crypto space. Wider adoption, less potential for 51% attacks, moves the adoption ball forward...

Coinbase is the easiest exchange to use for greenhorns. It's no more difficult than getting a normal bank account.
Bad news - figure they report everything to the IRS. Good news - they are the ONLY exchange/Crypto Bank that is FDIC insured. Meaning, they lose your BTC you have in their cold storage, then they cover it - 100%.

NiceHash has been around for like 7 years or something at this point. They are legit. They were hacked a couple years ago - they paid everyone back over the course of the last 2-3 years. They've now paid the hack back 100%. They are as legit a company as there is in this crypto world. They also typically pay just as much, (or more) than your choice of mining to a private pool -- and with far less hassle.

There are tax implications. You pay taxes on the tokens you mine, and you pay taxes on the tokens you sell. Don't try to hide it. The IRS is looking into this space hard. Report your earnings, or face the increasing likelihood of consequences.

Your solution of NiceHash -> Coinbase -> Paypal is basically safe and fool proof so long as you report your earnings at tax time. Enjoy the extra $500 a month while it lasts!!! (profits go up and down - basically based on BTC price)
Why people are telling you not to, when getting into it the mix (as dvsman states) makes no sense.

Do it.


BTW - I've mined to private pools, used a half dozen clients, been around the block. NiceHash to Coinbase is definitely the easy button. Before Coinbase was FDIC insured, I would have recommended an offline crypto wallet. I use a Ledger myself. However - with coinbase being FDIC insured - that is frankly probably just as safe for most people.
Click to expand...

Don't make it sound like there is zero risk in holding crypto on coinbase. Here is one easy example of why you should not do that https://hardforum.com/threads/just-...s-hacked-and-drained.2004076/#post-1044822203. There are also other ways for the whole exchange to come down. Proper practice is a offline wallet for the crypto however I would agree that shouldnt matter for the op.

Nicehash work but Idk why people recommend it over a actual miner. The fees can be abit lower for a actual miner and there is almost zero chance of a hack taking or disrupting the funds. An actual miner is just as easy to setup as well.
 
cdabc123 said:
For a crypto wallet you dont have to submit anything to hold your coins. Just be cautious about how you use and hold your wallet to avoid any issues losing the coin. You would need seperate wallets for btc and ether however there are very good wallets for each. No need for a wallet if you are immidiatly selling.



Don't make it sound like there is zero risk in holding crypto on coinbase. Here is one easy example of why you should not do that https://hardforum.com/threads/just-...s-hacked-and-drained.2004076/#post-1044822203. There are also other ways for the whole exchange to come down. Proper practice is a offline wallet for the crypto however I would agree that shouldnt matter for the op.

Nicehash work but Idk why people recommend it over a actual miner. The fees can be abit lower for a actual miner and there is almost zero chance of a hack taking or disrupting the funds. An actual miner is just as easy to setup as well.
Click to expand...
If you are withdrawing on a schedule, nicehash simplifies things. And there's no fee to transfer from nicehash to coinbase.
 
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cdabc123 said:
For a crypto wallet you dont have to submit anything to hold your coins. Just be cautious about how you use and hold your wallet to avoid any issues losing the coin. You would need seperate wallets for btc and ether however there are very good wallets for each. No need for a wallet if you are immidiatly selling.



Don't make it sound like there is zero risk in holding crypto on coinbase. Here is one easy example of why you should not do that https://hardforum.com/threads/just-...s-hacked-and-drained.2004076/#post-1044822203. There are also other ways for the whole exchange to come down. Proper practice is a offline wallet for the crypto however I would agree that shouldnt matter for the op.

Nicehash work but Idk why people recommend it over a actual miner. The fees can be abit lower for a actual miner and there is almost zero chance of a hack taking or disrupting the funds. An actual miner is just as easy to setup as well.
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Not sure if that thread is the best example. He simply was not going to the new coinbase pro website so his coins were not "hacked and drained". I get your point and agree keeping a large amount of coins on any trading platform is a risk.
 
cdabc123 said:
Don't make it sound like there is zero risk in holding crypto on coinbase.
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I can't tell you how many multiple dozens of threads I've seen on reddit of people losing their paper wallet, or even hardware wallet, or losing their encryption keys over the years. And of course thus losing access to their coins.
Hence, I still say FDIC insured Coinbase is just as good for most small timers. That's an old complaint too about Coinbase. Now that Coinbase is FDIC insured, examined, and regulated a choice they pursued to bring in professional investors, you can assume it's basically as secure as any traditional Bank dealing with USD that you'd otherwise trust.

Coinbase has the option to put your tokens in "cold storage" aka offline wallet as well if that is your preference.
https://www.coinbase.com/security

Three years ago I'd agree with you. Not your private keys, not your BTC as the saying goes. However the FDIC label and associated regulation changes the playing field. If you have a significant amount of coin and recognize the risk of you managing your own money entirely - then sure buy a hardware wallet for $100 bucks.
 
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Does that FDIC insurance only apply to cash balances though?

Digital currency is not legal tender, is not backed by the government, and digital currency accounts and value balances on Coinbase are not subject to Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or Securities Investor Protection Corporation protections.
Click to expand...

Looks like it definitely is NOT covered by FDIC insurance.
 
kirbyrj said:
Does that FDIC insurance only apply to cash balances though?



Looks like it definitely is NOT covered by FDIC insurance.
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That's a valid distinction!
https://www.coinbase.com/legal/insurance
https://help.coinbase.com/en/coinba...-umFG437SQ_h6-tSaCqo6_9pI-SHP0jods_kf9GB260yD


Looks like cash is FDIC insured, and crypto is commercially insured.
The only time you aren't secured is if your individual account credentials are compromised. If they are hacked as whole - you are covered.

Coinbase's cold storage options seems plenty strong. 48 hour stall with various approvals being required to initiate and complete.
 
My only advise as an early miner.... Store you coins locally and back them up.

I lost my BTC when MTGOX went under... and then I lost more coins when BTC-e went under. Crypto makes me sick now between all the BTC I sold for dollars and all the coins that were stolen despite being on the largest exchanges at the time.

If you have the cards go for it. I was able to successfully mine BTC in the early days because I already had a quad 5870 rig at the time. I was able to invest those profits into more hardware immediately. Most people who got in later and bought their equipment at premiums, specifically for mining, didn't fair nearly as well.
 
I feel for you Kardonxt I lost some coins to sheer computer upgrades - and tossing the old hardware.

I'd wager most who have lost crypto - have lost less coin to a compromised exchange than to losses resulting from owner stupidity - reformatting or throwing away old hardware (like myself).

If anyone wants to give it a try - do it. I use it as a way to stress out a new build for a day or two. Works great. Those few dollars that go into the nice hash account may turn into something some day. It's free money.

For my investment crypto though - as has been stated many times, its easier to just drop cash into it and take advantage of current market conditions in the short term - which I assume is what alot of guys are doing.

The slow and steady beat of crypto mining requires dedication and patience and alot of people don't have either of those anymore.
 
dvsman said:
I feel for you Kardonxt I lost some coins to sheer computer upgrades - and tossing the old hardware.

I'd wager most who have lost crypto - have lost less coin to a compromised exchange than to losses resulting from owner stupidity - reformatting or throwing away old hardware (like myself).

If anyone wants to give it a try - do it. I use it as a way to stress out a new build for a day or two. Works great. Those few dollars that go into the nice hash account may turn into something some day. It's free money.

For my investment crypto though - as has been stated many times, its easier to just drop cash into it and take advantage of current market conditions in the short term - which I assume is what alot of guys are doing.

The slow and steady beat of crypto mining requires dedication and patience and alot of people don't have either of those anymore.
Click to expand...
I try to rest easy knowing the coins I lost are still worthless.
 
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