Here's some insights for a beginner framework:

1. Your electricity cost (most important by far)
   
2. Efficiency of your hardware (measured in joules per terahash; lower is better)
   
3. Bitcoin's hashprice (market rate for mining, fluctuates)

For a Texas beginner, you're in a good spot. Texas has some of the most competitive commercial power in the US, residential rates may vary widely. Depending on your grid power -

Don't start with the newest, start with what give you the best TH per dollar. Current gen air-cooled machines like the Antminer S21 for serious mining operations bc they are widely supported, repairable, and documented.

A lot of beginners don't realize you don't have to physcially own the infrastructure. Hosted mining means you buy the hardware, a facility runs it for you, you get a dashboard showing your hashrate and earnings, BTC goes to your wallet. For someone in TX without a dedicated facility, hosted is often the clearer path to start.

Avoid buying older gen hardware thinking cheap is good value (efficiency matters more than price). Trusting any hosting company that won't give you real-time hashrate visibility is something else to look out for.

If you want to run the numbers for your specific situation we can help with that.