Bitcoin graphics cards

Bitcoin mining operations run from a few computers hooked up together in a miner’s living room to industrial sized operations like the one pictured above in Hong Kong. It has so many computers running together in its network that liquid coolant is used to transfer heat from the machines inside the building to the outside. The owners of the operation aren’t saying how much they’ve made in bitcoins so far, but they are adding more computing power as fast as they can.

If you’re thinking of starting your own mining operation, make sure you’ve done all the numbers to make sure it is worth your investment. I stopped by Fry’s Electronics in Concord last night and the techies there said they could put together a basic mining rig with 4 graphics cards for around $3, 200. And that’s the most basic rig that’s fast enough to do the intense calculations needed to get bitcoins. Fry’s though is out of the cables needed to network the graphics cards together. They may be available online.

The other mining expert I talk to says the higher end hardware and graphics card that you’ll need will set you back around $12, 000. And that’s if you can find the right kind of components.

I’ve checked online and there are not a lot of high end graphics cards available from the manufacturers. Most of the articles I’ve read about mining say that it’s created an “arms race” to drastically increase computing power. My mining guy also tells me that a lot of the chip makers have sold out all of their preorders for their next generation of products.

I have read about Butterfly Labs. Here’s a pic of one of their units, which are made specially for mining.

I talked to a miner at a recent bitcoin meetup in S.F. and he says he’s using two of these. From what I understand you connect this box to your computer via USB and it does the rest of the work. The S.F. miner says he had to wait for several months to get his equipment after he’d ordered it. Other than that, I didn’t hear him complain about the equipment.