Why the huge demand for 5970s?

[tboo]

I recently upgraded some of the components on my computer including my video card. I went from a single 5970 to two 2gb 6950s. I put my 5970 on ebay & was swamped with emails for me to sell the 5970 now. I did, eventually selling it for $700 less than a day after listing it on Ebay. I think I paid $600 for it back in the fall of 2009! What is the big deal about these cards?

 

[mbeleni]

It's called bitcoining. It's an online currency which protects its own intergrity by repeated checking of transactions involving its use. Errors found in these groups of transactions, called blocks, are rewarded with a set number of bitcoins. 5xxx series cards are especially efficient at crunching those kinds of calculations, measured in kilohashes per second. 5970's are especially valuable since they're the best cards to use for this purpose and are highly sought by miners.

https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Mining_hardware_comparison

 

[gevorg]

Its just a matter of time until bitcoins are banned by the Fed in the name of war on terror/child porn/etc.

 

[ibex333]

Wow.. This is frigging awesome... or is it? How much(in dollars) can a typical person make in a year, mining bit coins 8 hours a day, every day?

 

[viivo]

Pretty good time for people who don't care about that stuff. I sold my 5870 on ebay within hours and bought a 6970.

 

[Powermoloch]

Some guy paid off $ 7000 of pc gear within a month because of bitcoin. He's one of the early adopters of course.

the 58XX - 5970 series are superior in pumping out hash/sec at the moment.

 

[OVerLoRDI]

Some guy paid off $ 7000 of pc gear within a month because of bitcoin. He's one of the early adopters of course.

the 58XX - 5970 series are superior in pumping out hash/sec at the moment.

There are a few of us "Some guys"

 

[MustISO]

There are a few of us "Some guys"

What does all that computing power equate to in money earned?

 

[ibex333]

Imagine... someone alters this software, such that it runs in the background, without actually showing an icon on a task bar. Then installs it on every computer he possibly can.... A low level computer technician working for geek squad or whatever. A college lab technician or IT admin...The possibilities...

 

[Muyoso]

What does all that computing power equate to in money earned?

At the current market value of bitcoins and at the current difficulty level, he is pulling in about $2200 USD a week. If he saves the bitcoins and sells them at 30 USD which was the recent high, then he will have made ~$3400 this last week.

 

[apoppin]

Imagine... someone alters this software, such that it runs in the background, without actually showing an icon on a task bar. Then installs it on every computer he possibly can.... A low level computer technician working for geek squad or whatever. A college lab technician or IT admin...The possibilities...

Imagine . . . ten years in state or federal prison .. The possibilities.

Ask one of our forum members about his experience with the State of Georgia and distributed computing.
^_^

So it's a good time to sell my pair of HD 5870s?
-- how do the 6990/6970/6950/6870/6850 do at bit coin mining?

 

[Muyoso]

Imagine . . . ten years in state or federal prison .. The possibilities.

Ask one of our forum members about his experience with the State of Georgia and distributed computing.
^_^

So it's a good time to sell my pair of HD 5870s?
-- how do the 6990/6970/6950/6870/6850 do at bit coin mining?

All of the 6xxx cards are worse on a Mhash/$ ratio than the 5xxx series cards. I dont really know if now is the best time to sell, but it certainly is a good time to sell. The 5870 is about the same as the 6970 in hashing power.

 

[dmcowen674]

Its just a matter of time until bitcoins are banned by the Fed in the name of war on terror/child porn/etc.

Right on que

6-9-2011

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-2...g-sales/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

Senators target Bitcoin currency, citing drug sales

Bitcoin, a peer-to-peer currency floating around the Web, is now being targeted by two prominent senators.

Democratic Senators Charles Schumer of New York and Joe Manchin of West Virginia have written a letter to both Attorney General Eric Holder and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) chief Michele Leonhart expressing their desire for the organizations to take down an online marketplace known as "Silk Road," which allows customers to buy illegal drugs, including cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, and marijuana.

The senators said this about Bitcoin in their letter to the government agencies:
​

The only method of payment for these illegal purchases is an untraceable peer-to-peer currency known as Bitcoins. After purchasing Bitcoins through an exchange, a user can create an account on Silk Road and start purchasing illegal drugs from individuals around the world and have them delivered to their homes within days​

Hackers also commonly use Bitcoin for donations.

​

​

​

 

[notty22]

The fact that paypal(ebay) backed out is huge, for perceived legitimacy.
Of course , those associated with bitcoin are spinning it a different way. http://www.bitcoinmoney.com/post/6208332487/bitcoin-market-suspends-paypal-trading

 

[apoppin]

All of the 6xxx cards are worse on a Mhash/$ ratio than the 5xxx series cards. I dont really know if now is the best time to sell, but it certainly is a good time to sell. The 5870 is about the same as the 6970 in hashing power.

Well, the used 5870s appear to be commanding about what they cost brand new last year.

This is a first for me in PC hardware; i did it once before with a 1978 Fiat X-19 that i bought brand new for $7000, drove the hell out of it for two years and sold it for about $10,000 (to a car dealership with $3000 cash in hand after paying off the bank; the new ones went up to ~$17,000 in two years)
^_^

 

[Ghiedo27]

The fact that paypal(ebay) backed out is huge, for perceived legitimacy.
Of course , those associated with bitcoin are spinning it a different way.

Considering how stodgily pro buyer paypal is I can't blame them for not wanting to work with them.

 

[ahenkel]

Damn I'm tempted to sell my 5870 now

 

[MustISO]

At the current market value of bitcoins and at the current difficulty level, he is pulling in about $2200 USD a week. If he saves the bitcoins and sells them at 30 USD which was the recent high, then he will have made ~$3400 this last week.

Wow. Pretty nice if it can keep up at that level. No need to work anymore.

Damn I'm tempted to sell my 5870 now

Yep, me too.

 

[Pneumothorax]

Damn I'm tempted to sell my 5870 now

Same here lol. I was being lazy and meant to sell 4 months ago as it was replaced by a 6970. Now I'm happy I procrastinated as the avg eBay selling price right now is easily $100 than I would've got 4 months ago.

 

[gorobei]

if you hang on to the 5870 for a week and mine with it you could earn $100. maybe you should procrastinate a little longer?

 

[BladeVenom]

So it will more than pay for the electricity it uses?

 

[Pandora's Box]

if you hang on to the 5870 for a week and mine with it you could earn $100. maybe you should procrastinate a little longer?

the value of bitcoin is dropping fast. was $30 earlier this week now its $15 a coin.

its a good time to cash in on this craze by selling your old 58xx cards. just sold my 5850 for a nice chunk of change.

 

[chihlidog]

So it will more than pay for the electricity it uses?

Yes. By a long shot. The difficulty continues to increase, and is anticipated to do so again this Wednesday morning. Eventually, unless prices rise with difficulty (which is entirely possible) it wont be worth it to mine. However, it's all speculation what will happen in the future. What is certain, however, was that early adopters make a ..... LOT .... .... of .. money.

 

[chihlidog]

the value of bitcoin is dropping fast. was $30 earlier this week now its $15 a coin.

its a good time to cash in on this craze by selling your old 58xx cards. just sold my 5850 for a nice chunk of change.

It's at 20. 30 was a fluke, but there's no reason to think it wont stabilize just where it is or a bit higher, for the near future. Mining with a 58xx or 59xx card is going to be more profitable right now than selling it.

 

[Chiropteran]

the value of bitcoin is dropping fast. was $30 earlier this week now its $15 a coin.

The value of a bitcoin is rising fast, it was $15 earlier today now it's $20.5