Ethereum GPU mining?

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poofyhairguy

Lifer
Nov 20, 2005
14,612
318
126
1. Do I just copy my wallet file name into the -ewal option in the config.txt? No need to point it to the local file path?

What pool are you using? Most of them have a FAQ with the exact parameters to use. I still use Ethermine because I love the pretty graphs.

2. Also my desktop 2D performance takes a huge dump during mining, is that normal?

What does your CPU usage look like?
 

Madpacket

Platinum Member
Nov 15, 2005
2,068
326
126
1. Do I just copy my wallet file name into the -ewal option in the config.txt? No need to point it to the local file path?

2. Also my desktop 2D performance takes a huge dump during mining, is that normal?

You need to create a wallet and then plug in your own wallet address. Also change the intensity to a lower value of around 3 to 4 if you want a more responsive desktop.
 

Madpacket

Platinum Member
Nov 15, 2005
2,068
326
126
I've just continued mining eth. I don't think I'm down that much compared to where I would be if I had mined zcash and sold for eth. Plus the whole time I'm actively helping support and secure the ethereum network which I believe in for the long term. And it will simplify my taxes. At least in the US, every time you sell ZEC for ETH the IRS considers it a taxable event. If you're converting to BTC in between, that's another taxable event.

I still mine Eth on my Geforce cards (around 50Mh worth) and have one outsourced miner running around 110Mh dedicated to Eth. That being said if you really care about avoiding the IRS you should probably be mining XMR. Ethereum is easily traced.
 

StrangerGuy

Diamond Member
May 9, 2004
8,443
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What pool are you using? Most of them have a FAQ with the exact parameters to use. I still use Ethermine because I love the pretty graphs.

What does your CPU usage look like?

I used Jaxx to generate a new wallet address, couldn't connect to any Ethermine servers for some reason through Claymore though.

edit: nvm, managed to get it working by changing the ports.

edit #2: Updated to Win 10 Anniversary, with newest NV driver, jumped from 5MH/s to ~26MH/s on GTX 1070, desktop is also a LOT more responsive. Thanks for the help people.
 
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DrMrLordX

Lifer
Apr 27, 2000
21,634
10,850
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That being said if you really care about avoiding the IRS you should probably be mining XMR. Ethereum is easily traced.

I don't think that's an issue unless you cash out to USD/some other fiat currency or maybe BTC? And then you pay capital gains?

Anyway as long as it's just sitting there in a wallet not doing anything, I don't think they'll bother you (or even know).

Thanks for the help people.

Glad to have helped, though I don't think I did much.
 

IEC

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Jun 10, 2004
14,330
4,918
136
I declare all my gains on my taxes.

Then again, I've used software audit trails to definitively prove whether someone did something or not in an unrelated industry in a former career. So I might be a little bit paranoid about dotting my I's and crossing my T's.
 
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Feld

Senior member
Aug 6, 2015
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My goal is not to avoid the IRS. I want to comply with their regulations as best I can, both because it's my civic duty and because I would lose my job in a heartbeat if I were ever convicted of something resembling tax fraud, even if it was unintentional. I plan to treat my mining as self-employment income, claim depreciation costs on all my mining rigs and deduct the cost of the electricity they consume, and declare all the trades I've made on exchanges between various coins (which I briefly dabbled in). Even if I could get away with not reporting it and not paying taxes on it, putting it all out there and possibly paying more will be worth the peace of mind to me.
 

StrangerGuy

Diamond Member
May 9, 2004
8,443
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106
Well, I ran my 25-31MH/s @ 150W mining rig for a few hours to dip my toes in, but I decided the meager projected ~$20/month profit wasn't worth the risk running it 24/7 plus the brutal drop in responsiveness for everything else. But I will definitely keep in mind to cater for any potential mining the next time I overhaul this rig.

Good luck to everyone else though!
 

VeryCharBroiled

Senior member
Oct 6, 2008
387
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101
ive stuck on eth for the last few weeks just because im to lazy to check profitability on a day to day basis.

my 4 gpu rig is rock stable and tweaked for eth so i just let it run. cant remember the last restart honestly. couple weeks ago maybe.
 

IEC

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Jun 10, 2004
14,330
4,918
136
Seems like we've been coasting in the $10.xx range for a long time now. It's too bad, because I'm barely minting over 1 ETH per day now. The difficulty increases suck.
 

poofyhairguy

Lifer
Nov 20, 2005
14,612
318
126
Whats crazy is the little boom Decred is going through. I wish I would have dual mined the whole time.

Personally I am winding down on my mining. I just sold one of my two 470s (the one I didn't plan to game on) and soon I plan to sell my 280x. Unless something happens it won't be profitable at all in about a month for me personally.
 

Feld

Senior member
Aug 6, 2015
287
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I'm pulling in ~1.3 per day from mining. That sure is down quite a bit from what it used to be, but I'll still be profitable at my current electricity rates and this difficulty as long as the price stays above $5 or so.
 

DrMrLordX

Lifer
Apr 27, 2000
21,634
10,850
136
we need another attack or another zcash to drive the difficulty down!

People went nuts on Poloniex over PASC which has turned out to be a bummer. I haven't tried mining it though, it might be profitable (I doubt it). Haven't noticed the Decred spree but then I am not always very observant.

ZEC has been stable so I'm still mining it and shedding that currency for ETH. Just doing my little part to get the ETH prices up, heh heh.
 

VeryCharBroiled

Senior member
Oct 6, 2008
387
25
101
still making some profit on eth especially when factoring in heat as its winter here.

come spring i will optimize more for watts/hash (not really paying attention to that aside from casual undervolting at max OC at the moment) and go from there.
 

Madpacket

Platinum Member
Nov 15, 2005
2,068
326
126
I switched 70% of my small farm to Pascal mining. It's been reasonably profitable but not sure if better than ZEC to be honest. I'm slowly starting to sell off my Hawaii cards (8 left) but keeping my Fury's and 480's. Fury's do really well with ZEC and Pascal. Profits are down a lot though but as long as they exceed my Hydro cost I'll continue to mine. Even if hydro exceeds profits I'll let them run for a while.

You have to think long term. I remember turning off my BTC miners years ago because the hydro costs exceeding the profits but if I would have just left them going I would have made yuge profits after the price of BTC skyrocketed.

Something to keep in mind.
 
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cytg111

Lifer
Mar 17, 2008
23,210
12,854
136
You have to think long term. I remember turning off my BTC miners years ago because the hydro costs exceeding the profits but if I would have just left them going I would have made yuge profits after the price of BTC skyrocketed.
Something to keep in mind.

- Does that compute? Seems to me you should shut them off and just buy whatever coin amount for real $$ .. would be cheaper?
 

Madpacket

Platinum Member
Nov 15, 2005
2,068
326
126
- Does that compute? Seems to me you should shut them off and just buy whatever coin amount for real $$ .. would be cheaper?

Yes that's smarter if the coin price goes up but dumber if it drops. It's a question of risk tolerance and mining helps mitigate some of that.
 

cytg111

Lifer
Mar 17, 2008
23,210
12,854
136
Yes that's smarter if the coin price goes up but dumber if it drops. It's a question of risk tolerance and mining helps mitigate some of that.

No what I meant was that it makes no sense mining at a loss for future profits if the currency inflates.. it would be cheaper to spend dollars on an exchange rather than over the power bill..
 

Madpacket

Platinum Member
Nov 15, 2005
2,068
326
126
No what I meant was that it makes no sense mining at a loss for future profits if the currency inflates.. it would be cheaper to spend dollars on an exchange rather than over the power bill..

Ahh I see your point and concede to it. You're absolutely right. I guess if you're mining XMR or ZEC and want to keep things private mining at a small loss after hydro costs is probably worth it vs buying from an exchange. You have to account for all the fees when dealing with exchanges, especially if you want to buy anonymously.
 

cytg111

Lifer
Mar 17, 2008
23,210
12,854
136
Ahh I see your point and concede to it. You're absolutely right. I guess if you're mining XMR or ZEC and want to keep things private mining at a small loss after hydro costs is probably worth it vs buying from an exchange. You have to account for all the fees when dealing with exchanges, especially if you want to buy anonymously.
I totally get the anonymous part..
 

VeryCharBroiled

Senior member
Oct 6, 2008
387
25
101
Profits are down a lot though but as long as they exceed my Hydro cost I'll continue to mine. Even if hydro exceeds profits I'll let them run for a while.

You have to think long term. I remember turning off my BTC miners years ago because the hydro costs exceeding the profits but if I would have just left them going I would have made yuge profits after the price of BTC skyrocketed.

when bitcoin was around 3 bucks i *just* broke even (if i had sold the bulk of them as i mined them) even mined a couple months at a slight loss. didnt really pay attention to it i was too lazy.

at that time buying/selling them was kind of a pain. mt gox/dwolla was about it. so i mainly just did the HODL thing.

fast forward a few years and *poof* it paid off pretty well.

laziness has its uses :)