While Bitcoin mining may be prohibitively expensive for most South Africans, a similar cryptocurrency called Ethereum can be a great option for miners with consumer hardware.Like Bitcoin, Ethereum is a public platform which is regulated by users who collaborate to record and process payments.Ethereum’s currency, ether, can only be mined using graphics cards and similar hardware.This means the expensive, specialised devices used for mining Bitcoin do not work well with Ethereum, and users are encouraged to use desktop hardware instead.South Africans PC enthusiasts can easily mine ether using their rig, if they do not mind the constant power draw and workload.We’ve compiled a list of things you should know about mining ether using PC hardware, detailed below.Whether you use your PC to mine in your downtime or build a dedicated Ethereum mining rig, you will need a full desktop system – including memory and storage.You can either use a CPU or GPU to mine ether, although it is recommended that you use a graphics card, as a GPU is much better at Ethereum mining than a CPU.

AMD graphics cards are particularly efficient at mining ether, and according to data from CryptoCompare, a R4,000 AMD Radeon RX 480 can pay itself off in around 135 days.litecoin mining hardware calculatorOther popular high-return AMD graphics cards include the Radeon RX 470 and R9 380.litecoin rankingThe efficiency of PC hardware for Ethereum mining is measured in MH/s (MegaHashes-per-second), and it is important to balance performance with power efficiency and cooling, as graphics cards generate a lot of heat.bitcoin ppt templateIf you are building a mining PC from scratch, you can choose to install either Linux or Windows as an operating system.date of bitcoin genesis block

Before you can start mining Ethereum, you will need to sync your computer with the blockchain by installing Geth.litecoin hardware calculatorAfter setting up Geth and creating an account, you will need to download the blockchain for Ethereum.bitcoin alarm app iphoneIt is important to note that miners working together in a pool do not need to download the entire blockchain.Ethereum miners can choose to mine by themselves or in a pool with other miners.Each has its advantages and disadvantages, but if you are a beginner with relatively weak hardware, it can be easier if you begin by mining in a pool.Individual miners are only rewarded when they complete a block, which can happen rarely if you do not have powerful hardware.Mining in a pool splits rewards among all participants based on their individual work done, and guarantees a more stable revenue for each miner.

It is important to research Ethereum mining pools, as they have different payment and workload policies.Miners are rewarded ether for completing blocks, and this is added to their wallets once the block has been completed or their mining pool dispenses income to participants.Miners also need an Ethereum wallet to store their earnings.There are a number of wallets available online, and users should download a wallet which allows them to hold their own security keys instead of an online hosting solution.Once miners have earned ether, they can convert it to real cash at trusted cryptocurrency exchanges – or trade it for other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.Ethereum has seen a recent increase in value against other currencies, but cryptocurrencies are known to be more volatile than traditional currencies.Start Bitcoin Mining for under $20 — But Can You Make Money?NEW YORK (InsideBitcoins) — Want to make money mining for bitcoin?If you think the cost of heavy-duty hardware stands in the way, consider a new cloud mining system being offered by GAW Miners, priced at an economical – and practically unbelievable — $15.99.

But can you really make money with this thing?[See also: What is Bitcoin Mining?] With the company’s Hashlet, a user buys a certain amount of hashing power for one flat fee, plus hosting charges.Once their account is set up, that hashing power starts to mine.At $15.99, a customer would get 1MH/s.1 MH is equal to 1,000,000 hashes.This means that with each hash, more of the mathematical formula is solved for mining is completed.The more MH/s a person buys, the more bitcoin they are able to mine.Hashlet requires no shipping, no setup, and can be activated within minutes of ordering.But can you make money?Cloud mining differs from personal mining because the user doesn’t have to maintain, monitor, or upgrade their hardware.Further, you aren’t responsible for paying electric bills., “I’m talking features like maintenance fees that actually decline over time.” When a user buys a Hashlet, they gain access to ZenMiner Cloud where they are able to control their processing power.

According to the ZenMiner Cloud pool, a user, on average, can expect their 24-hour payout to be 0.00065056 BTC/day per MH/s as of the publication of this story.Using the Inside Bitcoins Price Tracker price of $518.18, that would equate to $0.337 a day per MH/s bought.But there is also a maintenance fee that is meant to cover the cost of hosting, electricity, and repair.As of publication, the maintenance fee for one MH/s Hashlet is $0.08 per day.That leaves a user with a daily take of $0.257, which means that the service fee is nearly 24%.Based on the above $0.257 per MH/s a day, the expected return on investment would take a little over two months.Specifically, $15.99 / $0.257 = 62.218 days.It is possible that more BTC/day could be mined, which would result in a decreased time to break even.Accounting for difficulty However, one problem that miners-to-be may not be considering is the level of difficulty.To control the release of bitcoin into the market, the developers added a difficulty scale.