Bitcoin Newsflash

Installing Linux On My Litecoin Mining Rig

February 4, 2014

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Here’s the latest update on my Litecoin Mining Rig…

Having successfully built the rig and known that all the components were working, it was time to install an operating system. Since you can’t transfer Windows 7 hard drives between PCs and I didn’t have a spare eSATA hard drive lying around, it looked like running Linux from a USB key was the way to go.

This was not nearly as easy as I had expected.

Linux Install Problems

I found this set of instructions on how to install Linux on a PC specifically built to mine coins.

Now, it’s over …

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The Rest Of The Litecoin Mining Rig Components Arrive

January 25, 2014

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Three days ago (Friday), the other mining rig components I ordered – the the ASROCK motherboard [UK], RAM [UK] and processor [UK] arrived. So now I had everything I needed to finally build this Litecoin mining rig…

Except I forgot to order a WiFi card! Never mind, I could take one from an old PC I hardly use any more.

With everything now ready, I could start assembling the PC.

It’s been many, many years since I actually built a PC from bought components so naturally I made a dumb mistake!

Mt first order …

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The R9 280X Video Card Returns

January 20, 2014

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Just a quick update on my R9 280X card [UK]. Since I couldn’t get the card to work in my PC (a 3-year old off-the-shelf PC) or a friend’s 2-year old gaming PC, we both figured the card was a dud. So I returned it to the supplier with a view to getting a replacement card.

Note: If you’re thinking of buying any video cards for a mining rig, go for the Sapphire, MSI or Gigibyte brands only. Other makes seem to have problems when used in dedicated mining rigs.

I sent the video card back by registered …

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Ongoing Problems Building My Litecoin Mining Rig

January 3, 2014

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As I mentioned in my previous post, I couldn’t get the Sapphire R9 280X video card (UK/Europe) to work in my PC. Not knowing if it was some issue with my motherboard (the new 600W PSU [UK] has more than enough juice to run the card) or a dud video card, I tried the card out in a friend’s PC.

Every motherboard manufacturer seems to use a different method for locking PCIe cards in place and the Alienware machine we were going to test the card on was no different. Once we’d looked up how …

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Building My Mining Rig Is Not Going According To Plan

December 22, 2013

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Well, my Corsair CX600M PSU arrived yesterday and I finally got time today to replace the existing PSU in my PC with it so I can build my Litecoin mining rig.

All the power leads that come with it are black so it’s a little odd not having the color-coded wires of old to work with. Still, all the connectors are keyed, so it’s impossible to put them into the wrong sockets.

My R9 280X video card has two power connectors, one presumably for the card itself and the other for running the cooling fans. These are 8-way connectors, and …

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Building A Litecoin Mining Rig

December 16, 2013

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Since I made the decision that mining Bitcoins wasn’t a viable option – it’s better to buy Bitcoins outright to hold or trade at a later date – I’ve found that Litecoin mining is still profitable.

In fact, I’ve been mining Litecoins for the last 2 weeks. It’s nothing to write home about. My nVidia GT 530 card (nearly 3 years old) using the CudaMiner software is hashing at the not so impressive speed of 25 KH/s. That gets me about 0.01 Litecoins per day. Actually less as I don’t leave the PC on 24/7. And, as I am using …

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Bitcoin or Litecoin?

December 12, 2013

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In my ignorance of the subject, I thought that Bitcoin was the only virtual currency in existence. It turns out that’s not the case. While media attention has focused on Bitcoin, other forms of virtual currency have been created in recent years.

I became aware of these while I was researching Bitcoins and how to mine them.

Bitcoin Mining Not For Me

Having looked into Bicoin mining in an attempt to get on the bandwagon, it became clear very quickly that using your own mining rigs was just not economical. CPU mining died out in 2010 and GPU mining (using …

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The Problem With Bitcoin Mining

December 10, 2013

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Remember when I asked if you ever thought you were late to the party in the Welcome message? Whatever I feel about coming late to Bitcoin in terms of investing – or should that be gambling? – I feel I’ve pretty much missed the boat on Bitcoin Mining.

Bitcoin Mining

You may wonder how new Bitcoins come into existence since they’re not tangible items like the coins in your pocket/purse. Bitcoin is a virtual currency and some complex math is performed by computers to solve equations. And if a result is found and verified, then Bitcoins are awarded to …

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How To Buy Bitcoins

December 3, 2013

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I’ve spent the last several days researching different ways of getting Bitcoins. It’s been a long slog as there’s a lot of sites to wade through, and in posts to follow are the ways I’ve come across, with their pros and cons.

Buying Bitcoins, as it turns out, isn’t easy. Well, not if you’re outside the USA. And when you do get some Bitcoins, you need a wallet to keep them in.

The exchanges are the obvious places to start but these require you to provide proof of who you say you are, so that means providing copies of government-issued …

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Welcome To Bitcoin Newsflash

December 2, 2013

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Ever felt you’re late to the party? Missed the bus? Or just not in the right place at the right time?

That’s how I feel about Bitcoin. I know many others feel the same way. Why? Because recent stories in the media have highlighted how the value of Bitcoin has skyrocketed since October 2013.

I was aware of Bitcoin back in 2009 but it didn’t light a fire under me. It looked like just another online venture that ultimately would not go anywhere. So I didn’t pay it any attention, forgot about it.

And that’s where things lay till about …

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