I was kinda bummed when my buddy didn’t tell me he got a new miner. Helped him with his ETH rigs before, you know? But after hearing his reasons, I kinda get it. Or maybe not everyone feels the same way about it.
Check Out My Buddy's New Bitcoin Miner
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177 divided by 7.2 equals 24.5 watts per terahash. If it's quiet enough, it could double as a space heater. Honestly, if he had two of those and a solid PSU, he could probably get better efficiency. But what did he pay for it? I’d consider grabbing one or two if it’s not too pricey.
Surprisingly quiet, I was impressed. He got it from a supplier in China for $210. I suggested he gets an 850-watt Platinum PSU, since he had a bunch of those for his old ETH setup. All about low power consumption, right? Out of the six PSUs, only one is Gold so yeah, pretty pricey stuff.
$210 for 7th/s seems cheap compared to something like NerdQAxe++, which is over $300 for 4.8th/s. This Magicminer BG02 looks like a GPU but doesn’t need a PCIe connection, plus it can connect wirelessly. How does your buddy power the PSU? Using a jumper wire for that green wire and ground?
I know some good Platinum PSUs. If he runs a second unit, it might drop 10% in efficiency. I’d pick up two cards for $420 if they accepted credit cards, just to test them out. I’ve got tons of motherboards that could handle two miners.
$210 for 4.8th/s is solid if it lasts. My concern is about longevity... these cheaper units can be hit or miss with quality. Would be cool to see how it's performing after 6 months of continuous use. The 177W vs the advertised 150W is pretty standard, though. If electricity isn’t free, you won’t make money, but it’s a fun hobby unit.
True that, upfront numbers look good but with budget units, MTBF is the real question. Power spikes happen, so 177W vs 150W isn’t shocking. Just need to factor it into the ROI calculations. If it’s low-noise and home-friendly, it makes sense, but it’s more of a hobby project unless power costs are low.
If you need a space heater, running two of these would be a good deal. You’d spend the same on heating anyway. Some places really need space heaters. I’d guess a solid 750 platinum PSU would handle two of those at 310 watts.
Based on the miner's design and hashrate, it seems like the BG02 we’ve been talking about. With its inefficient W/TH ratio, don’t expect profits unless you’re feeling lucky with solo mining.
Think this miner can run without a motherboard? Just a PSU to power it and it should mine automatically. Can someone confirm this?
From what I’ve seen on YouTube, you can indeed run it without a motherboard. Just need a PSU and connect it to Ethernet for setup. You can also use your phone or laptop to configure it. It’s odd, right? Looks like a GPU but operates without one.
They can actually mount on a PCIe extender. Just need the slots/riser, no extra wires. You could screw the riser to wood too. These could be good if the price is right, but they’re overpriced and not efficient.
Magic Miner BG01 gives 4.5 TH/s for $280. BG02 offers 7TH/s for $320. This could be a cool gift for an IT geek, but honestly, it’s pricey and unlikely to yield profits in solo mining. I’d say the chances of profit are almost zero.