The S9 is about 3 times the hashing power of the S7 for the same electrical power. I've just ordered on from Bitmain, which is a bit of a faff and with customs and stuff it's not cheap. I think it will be worth it, though it's going to get here mid/end January. It's been the top bitcoin miner since it's release. There's been talk about a replacement on more efficient chips for ages, but nothing definite and Bitmain are still making a killing on it and no one is particularly close to beating them, so why innovate?

I believe that it's actually a bit louder than the S7. They do chuck out a lot of heat....i'd want a pretty secure shed though

Does anyone else read New Scientist, if so what do you think of this Leader article from a month ago: https://www.newscientist.com/article...-of-resources/ ?

My take on that New Scientist article was that it was written by a chippy individual, and It's been bugging me since reading it last week.

Yes crypto currencies use power to mine (the finite number of coins) and power to verify their transactions, but I feel this is a small price to pay for a money that can't be printed at will, to the cost of everyone holding that currency.
And it's more practical than gold, although less good at insulating the engine bay of a Mclaren

I agree with Nick, inc. the Mclaren bit (and Bitcoin's not so good for gangsta teeth either). It's certainly much easier to make payments with Bitcoin than gold though, especially across borders.


There have been many criticisms of the 'Proof of Work' concept (aka mining) used by Bitcoin and various other cryptocurrencies but there's a number of things you have to consider ...

• How much energy does the 'present system' consume, including all the world's banks and millions of associated financial institutions?
  
• All of the energy used to mine cryptocurrencies is expelled as heat. If a mining operation uses the generated heat resourcefully, the net energy required may be close to zero.
  
• Every Bitcoin costs thousands of pounds to produce, giving it real accountable value. How much does a Dollar or Pound cost to make?
  
• Mining incentivises people to help run the network, helping it to grow and remain decentralised. Miners not only provide a steady flow of new coins but they also perform the complex cryptographic sums that confirm, and permanently append, each new transaction onto the blockchain.

There are alternatives to Proof of Work of course, such as Proof of Stake, and other innovative solutions such as Proof of Storage. As they evolve, I think Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will employ a mixture of techniques, but I think PoW will remain one of the best ways to give a cryptocurrency value, at least until the coin matures.


If you really think about it, energy is the root of all value. The true worth of anything comes either from how much energy it can provide directly or how much energy went into making it (or the energy required to acquire the raw materials that were used to produce it). There is no better way to instil value into something than to ensure a known amount of energy is required to produce it. I think mining is really quite an elegant and ingenious solution to the problem of developing a currency that cannot be backed by (or manipulated by) any government or central authority.



Edited to add: Another unintentional side effect and, largely unmentioned, benefit that mining brings is that the demand for faster and more efficient processors is funding and pushing computing technology developments faster than ever before. Everyone would like faster processors that use less power but the mining industry demands them. The average computer user doesn't care if their computer uses 50 Watts more power or if it takes 2 seconds longer to open Solitaire but miners will not purchase hardware if it's too inefficient to be profitable. So, while cryptocurrency mining may still be consuming huge amounts of power in a few years time, it's likely that the advancements it brings will have lowered the total energy consumption of all computers worldwide.

It's something that has bugged me too actually.

It is easy to say that the banking sector probably uses a lot more and is far more wasteful with resources. This is probably true.

You can also argue that many other things we do are wasteful. I like my car and driving fast for example. I like films and TV, neither really do much for the betterment of mankind. Ice in my Whisky, Whisky etc. All of these are true. We are MASSIVELY wasteful as a planet and pointing fingers and saying THEY ARE WORSE, just relieves the guilt and we carry on doing what we like!

It is interesting that Crypto is starting to drive innovation in terms of hardware, software and thinking. All are a good benefit and having something to drive us to improve is good.

However I do wonder if those Crypto algorithms couldn't be used for doing something a bit more worthwhile. Analyzing data, SETI type stuff or cracking scientific code. If i could Mine coins and solve cancer i'd be happier still

I'm considering an S9 but is it worth it, I read a few things taking about difficulty going up etc so don't know how to work out if its viable or not.

Any pointers?

https://www.nicehash.com/profitabili...4&currency=GBP

On the basis of 14p electricity which i'm on at home and the current HIGH value of bitcoin it's reckoning £630 a month in profit.

Nicehash is a bit generous usually with it estimations, though that's pretty sweet. How it'll be in a month-two however, we don't KNOW we can only guess!

https://bitcoinwisdom.com/bitcoin/difficulty

Show the history of difficulty. The idea is that the difficulty balances the network hash rate so that a block is found every ten minutes....More miners higher hash rate, higher difficulty, less miners lower hash less difficulty.

I'm expecting that the high value of bitcoin and the publicity will tempt a lot of people. However if they'll mine or invest, I'm not sure.

Direct from Bitmain a S9 is ~$1450 +psu ~$150 +shipping ~$150 with getting whatever payment they want this time (BCH etc). It's ~£1350-1400 plus IMPORT duties. Quite what they'll come in at ??? I'm guessing it'll have cost £1800-2000

At todays hash that's 3 months to profit :love:

But that's a big assume. It could be less (BTC carries on up), it's probably more (BTC drops, more miners).

However Bitmain are also showing sold out. They often do. And what the deal will be on the next batch and when etc

It is possible to pick one up by other means, such as Ebay ~£3000 - That's five months to profitable, though you get to mine NOW, so in some ways less risk, though a lot of Ebay are pre-sales which I'm much less sure of!

There's also a factor of short or long game. Mine for money now vs potential profit later ???

The other question is what would that £1800/£3000 do elsewhere. Say buying/trading bitcoin/Ethereum....

Hey guys,

Picked up another S7, but no power supply with it :(

It was cheap as one board is iffy. It's a 4.86TH 600m one vs my 4.73TH 700m one! Hooking it up it'll do a good 3TH+ at stock, is touch quieter and cooler running! And with a board unplugged it saps less juice

Anyone know of a reasonable UK solution for a PSU though ???
I'm tempted with a HP server PSU and breakout board, but they seem US or China and ebay despite UK ONLY list a whole load of not UK sellers (GRRR)

Lee

I've found that some of the china-based Ebay sellers who state that the item is located in the UK are actually telling the truth and the item arrives within a few days from a UK warehouse. You'd have to contact them first to be certain, and they could still lie of course.

Have you seen these? (appears to be a UK seller):
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Original-...3/362177755408

Good find and the New model. Hope to get one of these with the S9 when it arrives (or before)

Though having another search I found this
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/332413945608

Looks like someone wiring the HP PSU i've read about. It's a touch cheaper but also the branded server PSU route and I'm curious to how they perform. Will only need 7 PCIE connectors, so a Doubler for the control board. I'll be able to put my Energy plug on it, the old style APW3 i have with the other S7 and then the S9 and get a feel to how efficient they are.....I've heard that Bitmain are a bit generous with the truth. There's a vid in the states vs a EVGA G2, although they're also 3 times the cost!