Why are the results of the Coinish Bitcoin calculate so grim?

I am currently investing into a new gaming PC with a Radeon HD 7990. According to objective reviews (e.g. ExtremeTech Review) this card outperforms many the competitors on the market, especially when it comes to bitcoin mining.

When I played around with the expert settings of the Coinish Bitcoin calculater, I quickly realized, that even with my cheapest energy provider (~0.1$/KWh) I will not be able to break even, considering the price of the card.

In addition I tried the same calculation with the values of high-end asic devices that I found available online, similar results.

Is this calculator too pessimistic or is it really not possible to expect a solid ROI with high-end hardware (GPU or asic) at the moment (End of 2013).

Demento

Posted 2013-11-04T17:04:37.863

Reputation: 111

Thanks for the answers so far, just wondering about the down vote. Since I am new to this site, what's the issue with the question? – Demento – 2013-11-04T23:22:30.393

It is probably due to someone feeling that your question is "not showing research effort" or "not useful". There is quite a few (some closely) related questions on this site already. See for example Is mining still profitable?, or [tag:profitability] in general. Also, questions concerning current difficulty tend to become obsolete quickly.

– Murch – 2013-11-05T08:25:09.920

@Murch Thx for the clarification and the additional links! – Demento – 2013-11-06T07:55:48.843

Answers

The market has progressed to ASIC miners, which are better adapted to the singular task of mining. ASICs generate much greater hash-rates and are much more energy efficient at the same time.

With the advent of ASIC miners the difficulty has been growing immensely: Since the review you linked was published in April the network's total hash-rate has grown 40-fold. The review lauding it for it's bitcoin mining capacity is simply outdated - even ASIC miners drown in the flood of competition by now.

Murch

Posted 2013-11-04T17:04:37.863

Reputation: 41 609

I started around March with 2 GPU's. My electricity is free and bitcoin price has tripled since then. I still haven't come close breakeven.

Back then I knew it would take a long time, and I knew the ASICs were coming. I did it purely out of interest and fun.

There really is no other reason to start GPU mining now. Even with everything free, it's just wear and tear on the hardware.

So the answer is: that calculator is probably right. Math doesn't lie, I guess.

Jannes

Posted 2013-11-04T17:04:37.863

Reputation: 5 823