Students mining to stay warm and make money?

Mining and Staking Forum
1

Hey everyone, I’m new to mining and could use some advice. Not sure if this is the right place to ask, but I’ll give it a shot.

In my country, some student dorms have no heating in the winter, and it’s become a joke that students leave their computers on 24/7 to mine crypto and warm up their rooms at the same time. If the electricity is free (because the dorm covers it), could it make sense to use an average computer for mining all the time, make some money, and then upgrade the GPU? My idea is that this money could help with rent and the heating issue.

I get that mining isn’t super profitable with a basic GPU, but I’m talking about free electricity here, just to be clear.

Also, in terms of keeping the computer running: is it better to leave it on all the time with temperature checks or switch it off and on every day? I don’t know much about crypto mining, but I figured this much out.

2

You’re overestimating how much money a basic GPU can make. With free power, you’d still only make a few cents a day.

3

Lane said:
You’re overestimating how much money a basic GPU can make. With free power, you’d still only make a few cents a day.

Totally agree, plus running a computer 24/7 will wear out the parts faster. It might not be worth the extra wear and tear.

4

If you’re looking to heat a room and make some money, 3D printing might actually do a better job. You can make more from printing than mining, and a printer generates heat too. It might require more work, but it could be more profitable than mining.

5

@BobCoinConversations
Interesting idea. Do you think there’s much of a market for 3D printing where there aren’t many laws around it?

6

Davis said:
@BobCoinConversations
Interesting idea. Do you think there’s much of a market for 3D printing where there aren’t many laws around it?

It depends, but a 3D printer can also be used as a laser cutter, which might give you more options.

7

Why not just buy a cheap space heater?

8

Leighton said:
Why not just buy a cheap space heater?

Because I already have the computer, so I’d rather use it to make some money than spend $20 on a heater.

9

Davis said:

Leighton said:
Why not just buy a cheap space heater?

Because I already have the computer, so I’d rather use it to make some money than spend $20 on a heater.

I get it, but a space heater would give you way more heat than a mining computer. How many GPUs are you running?

10

@Leighton
I only have one, and I was thinking if I left it on 24/7, it might work. But unfortunately, my dorm doesn’t cover electricity, so I’d have to pay for it myself. Still, wouldn’t it help a bit with the heating if I had free power and some insulation?

11

@Davis
It might help a bit, but it’s not the most efficient way to heat your place or mine crypto. You’d need multiple high-powered GPUs to make it worthwhile. Have you tried using one of those calculators to figure out how much money you’d actually make?

12

@Leighton
Yeah, I was just thinking out loud. In some places, students do use mining rigs to heat their rooms, but they usually have several GPUs. If I had free electricity, I did the math, and my current setup could earn more than selling the GPU outright after a few months of mining.

13

@Davis
By the way, here’s a site where you can run the calculations yourself: What to Mine. Let me know what you find!

14

You could try mining Monero with your CPU as well.

15

Camden said:
You could try mining Monero with your CPU as well.

I didn’t realize CPU mining was an option.

16

Davis said:

Camden said:
You could try mining Monero with your CPU as well.

I didn’t realize CPU mining was an option.

It’s not super profitable, but it’s possible. Check out gupax.io, it’s easy to use for Monero mining. Just don’t expect to make more than a dollar a day.

17

Get a part-time job at McDonald’s and use that money to buy Bitcoin. Check the price when you graduate and smile.

18

Older GPUs don’t make much. 1660 series are better, but you need several. For heating, two or three GPUs would be more useful.

19

Zack said:
Older GPUs don’t make much. 1660 series are better, but you need several. For heating, two or three GPUs would be more useful.

Didn’t know CPU mining was a thing.

20

Davis said:

Zack said:
Older GPUs don’t make much. 1660 series are better, but you need several. For heating, two or three GPUs would be more useful.

Didn’t know CPU mining was a thing.

Mining started with CPUs, but they’re pretty slow now.