Iv’e done some calculations and they don’t look very favourable for a solo miner. There are a LOT of variables
GPU, CPU, screen resolution, graphic detail, mining ship, mining skill etc.
But I reckon most people are kidding themselves and would be better leaving thier computer turned off > calculate the money saved in electricity > buy plex with it.
I mean mining is hardly fun is it.
I’m inclined to think these types of threads are usually…
With the right setup you may be able to save on electricity by only turning the monitor on a minute every half an hour. Did you use that in your calculations?
I’m not a miner but I’ll answer this anyways.
My setup uses ~500W of power total, measured with a kill-a-watt device. Electricity is $0.0816/kWhr where I’m at. Current PLEX conversion is 78.1Mn ISK/$, which means one hour of electricity costs me the equivalent of 3,186,480 ISK by your metric.
That seems like a reasonable income amount for a solo miner. Veldspar is 114.3 ISK/m3 currently, and a solo Procurer with max mining skills pulls 26.2m3/s, which amounts to 2,994.6 ISK/s or 10,780,776 ISK/hr. Meaning a solo miner with max skills in a Procurer mining the worst ore in the game is going to be making more than they could by just buying PLEX. If they up that to an exhumer and/or mine better ore they’re going to make even more than that.
This scales obscenely well, too, since doubling the number of accounts I’m running doubles my ISK income but doesn’t double the cost of running my PC.
So the answer to your question is no, solo miners aren’t taking a loss.
I have insanely cheap power and fiber to my house. I pay $0.05/ kwhr. So $15 for a plex would pay for 300 kwhrs, assuming 500w load (don’t actually have a meter on my PC) that’s 600hrs a month. Think I am better off mining.
Hmm, are we saying that mining is so boring you may as well turn off the monitor. Theres not many games where you could say that really!
For you.
Plenty of people do mining in the background while they’re doing other things. If you have spare alts you might as well put them to good use making you some money while you do other things. Ex. I run combat sites on my main and have my alts gas huffing in the background for fun and/or profit.
There’s also plenty of people that find mining fun and relaxing. I know a few people like that personally.
Yes.
Because fun has its costs.
–Rock Queen Gadget
Electricity costs like three times that amount where I live, so the numbers start looking much worse. The cost of electricity isn’t the problem with mining, however. The real issue lies in the amount of emotional and psychological damage you will do to yourself by engaging in the activity, which could potentially lead to very high expenditures on mental health treatment in the future, depending on where you live and how healthcare is managed there.
In the US, a few visits to the doctor can bankrupt you, and a session with a psych can cost hundreds of dollars per hour, so I make sure to stay as far away as possible from mining as a preventive measure.
All playstyles are valid. The sophistry is obvious here.
Careful you don’t go out in the sun 
Yes, you’re probably right that electricity costs more depending on how much you pay. People have also made the comparison of grinding isk in game vs working a job and buying PLEX for Isk.
For that reason, if you don’t enjoy grinding for Isk- it probably makes sense to just buy PLEX for your Isk. If you do enjoy grinding Isk, then go ahead and mine and forget about the few cents of electricity.
Miners go to hell, after real life, so the cost to your immortal soul is pretty hefty.
You can over come the side effects of mining by doing stuff for your well-being, like meditation and join a gym , physical exercise will often offset mental problems so it’s going to help stay mentally fit for your mining ops.
Obviously you will need to factoring in gym membership yoga classes etc.
Places with free healthcare this will help pay for the gym membership and wellness classes and that will reduce the need for healthcare anyway.
A fit miner is a happy miner , that’s one thing James 315 never counted on
Actually I’m pretty sure that’s just going to result in a crazy person that’s much more difficult to catch and control…
One of the requirements to join our corp is a workout we all do together on zoom , why we are afk gate camping .
Some people mine because they like to immerse themselves in the ‘role playing’ part of the MMORPG… actually mining the raw materials makes it feel more ‘real.’
That said I can’t bring myself to do it
I think Githany is just saying that out of an extreme desire to see me in yoga pants.
Sounds like the new Bonus Room.
Only, in the true style of anti-gankers, you bonus Room yourselves.
They also emit methane from their body, so a danger to the climate (aparently).
Can we have a cap and trade for bodily methane emissions from gamers?
If we bottle it perhaps we could make bank.
– Typing this from my space super yacht which I aptly named The Tyrannysaurus