user60: I would like to start mining, but my GPU isn't the greatest and I don't really want to spend the money on a dedicated rig. Is mining from my CPU (in a Linux environment) still worth it? Or will I not be able to keep up?

user516: In addition to Tenebrix and Fairbrix (as mentioned by phelix), Litecoin also is designed to be mined by CPU. At the time of writing, it might even provide adequate return to cover the cost of power in some cases.

user460: I'm in a mining pool, using several multi-core servers and generating about 7-10Mhashes/second.  It has yielded me currently about $0.01 dollars in the last 36 hours.  I do not pay for electricity.  I made a penny.  It's not that exciting. :) There are GPUs that can accumulate my MHash rate that I create across several CPUs, without even getting warm.  So my guess, based on my experience, is "no"

user22: It depends on your specific valuation of "worth it."
By most valuations (i.e. value of BTC produced > electricity costs) it is not, but if you don't pay for electricity it might be. It might also be worth it to you to mine at a loss if you truly believe that 1 BTC might be worth thousands someday.
Realistically, though, it is probably more worthwhile to simply purchase BTC at an exchange or from another user.

user27: For the amount of time you would spend setting up a CPU miner, at minimum wage in the US you would be at a loss.
Even GPU mining is barely profitable for most people right now. It would definitely be more profitable to speculate, and even more profitable to operate a Bitcoin business. There are a great deal of people who want to use their Bitcoins for purchases.
At the current exchange of under $10:1BTC, the most efficient graphics cards are taking months to pay off their initial investment (with free electricity).

60: <p>I would like to start mining, but my GPU isn't the greatest and I don't really want to spend the money on a dedicated rig. Is mining from my CPU (in a Linux environment) still worth it? Or will I not be able to keep up?</p>
 516: <p>In addition to Tenebrix and Fairbrix (<a href="https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/a/1422/516">as mentioned</a> by phelix), <a href="http://litecoin.org/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Litecoin</a> also is designed to be mined by CPU. At the time of writing, it might even provide adequate return to cover the cost of power in some cases.</p>
 460: <p>I'm in a mining pool, using several multi-core servers and generating about 7-10Mhashes/second.  It has yielded me currently about $0.01 dollars in the last 36 hours.  I do not pay for electricity.  I made a penny.  It's not that exciting. :) There are GPUs that can accumulate my MHash rate that I create across several CPUs, without even getting warm.  So my guess, based on my experience, is "no"</p>
 22: <p>It depends on your specific valuation of "worth it."</p>

<p>By most valuations (i.e. value of BTC produced > electricity costs) it is not, but if you don't pay for electricity it might be. It might also be worth it to you to mine at a loss if you truly believe that 1 BTC might be worth thousands someday.</p>

<p>Realistically, though, it is probably more worthwhile to simply purchase BTC at an exchange or from another user.</p>
 27: <p>For the amount of time you would spend setting up a CPU miner, at minimum wage in the US you would be at a loss.</p>

<p>Even GPU mining is barely profitable for most people right now. It would definitely be more profitable to speculate, and even more profitable to operate a Bitcoin business. There are a great deal of people who want to use their Bitcoins for purchases.</p>

<p>At the current exchange of under $10:1BTC, the most efficient graphics cards are taking months to pay off their initial investment (with free electricity).</p>
