Hi, just want to share some though on this, hopefully get some feedback and get some discussion going on so I can enrich my knowledge and understanding on the matter.
The Story
On November 2020, I was laid back by the company which I was working for. They don't tell me why and just terminate the contract on the last day, even though I have been asking about the matter within a month prior to the contract expiry date. That time I had HP Pavilion Gaming with Ryzen 7 3750h and GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q, my first ever gaming laptop. Because of the circumstances, I then sell it right away, never check or have interest on the crypto mining.
On January 8, 2021, I finally find someone that willing to buy the laptop at fairly good price. Back then I was thinking to use the money for my daily needs. But after some days without laptop, which I usually use for playing game, I feel so horrible I decide to buy another one on January 10, 2021. The new one is Lenovo Legion 5 with Ryzen 5 4600H and RTX 2060. In the process of selecting this laptop, I stumble upon some Youtube video that tell even laptop can be used for crypto mining. From then I tried to mine using the laptop.
Because I don't know where to start, I keep searching for the easiest method to start mining. Eventually I settled with NiceHash. As of now the Legion laptop is mining steady at ~32MH/s with NiceHash QuickMiner. The cooling system is great, quite, GPU run cool enough at 55-60°C so I don't think this will drain the lifespan too much. I put the laptop to sleep every two hour for 5 minutes. It also have battery charge limiter, and I can set to charge at 60% max so I think it could also improve the overall lifespan.
I started mining on February 15, 2021. Back then, I have no idea about how much overclocking can improve the hash rate and lower the temperature, so I use the stock setting and optimization profile from NiceHash. My first ever payout is on March 17, 2021, it's around 0.0105 BTC which valued around IDR 712.000. It took so long, like more than 1 month because I let the laptop do the mining when I go to sleep. For the rest of the time, the laptop is used for works or playing games.
After knowing that the mining is legit, confirming NiceHash is not a scam or something like that, I then thinking to run the mining 24h. Until around May, it goes well. I always transfer the payout to my local exchange, sell it and get the money. It was good I decide to buy another laptop. The new one is MSI GF65 Thin 10UE with Intel i5-10200H and RTX 3060.
I received the new laptop at May 8, 2021. I run some benchmark for reference in the future. I am impressed by the capability of this one, although I have doubt at the beginning because it use only i5. The only thing I'm not impressed about this one is the fan, it's very loud. After some research for the best overclock setting, the MSI laptop mine steadily at ~38MH/s and the temp is not that bad, around 58-62°C. With the two running, I can get the payout every 10 days. Not bad.
Unfortunately, the market crash. I was willing to cash out if the Bitcoin price is around IDR 850.000.000,-, so here comes the long hodl. Until now, I have 14 payouts from NiceHash and it sits on my local exchange, waiting for the price to hit this mark. Only god knows when the price will be that high again.
Right now, the MSI laptop is in the service center, because the fan sounds very very rough. It's almost like there is something in there. It is estimated to take one month to get fixed.
The Economy
I chose to continue with the laptop mining, over mining using external GPU card, because:
- It's really difficult to get GPU card right now, as the price is crazy and the stock is scarce;
- Laptop consumes less power than GPU card when mining
- Laptop has battery backup so I don't need to purchase UPS
- In my opinion it will be easier to resell a laptop.
I was purchasing the Lenovo Legion 5 for IDR 18.354.000,-. The MSI GF65 Thin cost me IDR 16.828.500,-. So I have at least invested IDR 35.182.500,-. After four months of mining, right now I hold around 0.014 BTC. If I can sell it at IDR 850.000.000 then the value is IDR 11.900.000 right now. If the number persist, I can hit break event point within 1 year of mining, assuming the BTC price is at the level I had hoped.
The two laptop I currently have is on 2 years official warranty. So if I use them mining for one year, I probably can sell the laptop easier and at a good price, since the laptop is still in warranty. To consider if this is going to work for you, try to calculate following variables
a. Mining Payout + Laptop Resell Price
b. Laptop Price + Operation Cost (accessories, electricity, etc.)
If (a) is more than (b), then the difference between the two will be your return of investment. As long as it is a positive number, then you are making a profit.
Let's use my data. At the end of the investment year I expect to have around 0.036 BTC. If I can sell the BTC for the price I targeted, then I will have IDR 30.600.000,-. If I can sell the laptop for 75% of the original price, then I will have IDR 26.386.875. The total is IDR 56.986.875,- (a).
The laptop cost as mentioned before is IDR 35.182.500. So far, per month I have to pay at least IDR 100.000,- for the electricity and IDR 75.000 for the internet. I have also purchase a wifi modem for IDR 692.000,- and some other accessories, in which the total is about IDR 1.000.000,-. My operation cost is 3.100.000,-. So the total is IDR 38.282.500 (b)
In this scenario, I make ( 56.986.875 - 38.282.500 ) = IDR 18.704.375,- in one year of investment.
Even if the BTC price is not good, I will still make profit, even though it may be extremely a little one.
Conclusion
In my opinion, this is not bad at all.
If you are here already, you don't have to worry too much. It will still make you a profit but might not as much as you wished for. Just make sure you take good care of the laptop, as the actual investment you do is in the laptop.
If you are considering this endeavor, please consider another option first. This is an investment that will take your mind, time, and money. It may be good for extra stream of income, but definitely not good enough for your main one.
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