The benefits of being a miner

It all started, when I decided to run my own bots for Steemit.
I came to the realization, that I will need to run a server 24 / 7.
I also needed a development environment.

The idea:

• If I have a Computer running all the time, I can try mining some Steem along the way.

That way, I mined @balkanbot - with a i3 6300 CPU.

I didn't find any more blocks, so I tried other miners and algorithms.
equihash worked well.

I found this guide helpful and ended up with nicehash:
https://steemit.com/mining/@cryptos/how-to-easily-mine-with-your-computer-and-get-more-steem-a-guide-for-people-not-into-crypto-currencies

I'm mining straight to my Steemit Power-Up BTC adress.

I got so excited, that I bought a second hand GPU.
I now have the whole thing running:

With no other processes, I get around 51 Sol/s on average @ 58°C GPU core temperature.

With my little laptop as support ( 8 Sol/s ), I got 0.008 BTC so far:
https://www.nicehash.com/index.jsp?utm_source=NHM&p=miners&addr=112spqqhvAQhU3qXDiiCiYY6tbe3rDwJr6

I'm playing with the settings, but I can not measure the energy intake ( will do tomorrow ).
I noticed, how I get paid less for equihash.

I assume, I got lucky yesterday, because of the Zcash - hype.

My rough guess is, that this rig is taking in 250 Watt. ( If it's any more, I'm losing money )

Mining Ethereum with this setup would be totally unprofitable, considering the local price per kWh.

If equihash keeps getting paid for that well, I might have found a way to at least cover the costs of electricity for my 24/7 server.
I can't help calculating with the energy cost, I would have in other places - Maybe I can convince someone of the #balkanos to host my rig :)

At the end of the day, this is just a hobby for me.
I like building things and the best part:

I now have a decent gaming GPU !

Even if mining turns out to be not cost effective with this setup and energy costs:
I can now play all top titles in HD. ( except the ones that require 4 cores )
I just can't decide, which one I should try first - haven't had a good PC in a while ...

Expect a game review soon :)

After Steemfest, I will work on @balkanbot and @deutschbot ...

For now I'm enjoying the benefits of being a miner:

My apartment is a little warmer, and I can play whatever game I want :)