Ipollo V1 Mini ASIC review, 300 MH/s at 240 W. Is an ETH/ETC ASIC worth buying?
An ASIC for mining Ethereum and Ethereum Classic, small enough to hold in one hand: that is what the iPollo V1 Mini promises. In this video (in French), we set it up, test it in real conditions (noise, temperature, invalid shares) and answer the question many GPU miners were asking at the time: is an ETH/ETC ASIC worth buying?
Video from 2022, recorded before the Ethereum Merge: the figures below date from that time. See "What about today?" at the end of the article.
The iPollo V1 Mini at a glance
- Rated hashrate: 300 MH/s on Ethash/Etchash;
- Power consumption: about 240 W;
- Power supply: included with the machine and rated at 360 W, so it has plenty of headroom; it connects through two 6-pin connectors;
- Memory: 6 GB, of which 5.8 GB is actually usable;
- Connectivity: Ethernet or Wi-Fi (the test uses Ethernet, but Wi-Fi works);
- Cooling: two fans.
Three times more efficient than a graphics card
To put the iPollo V1 Mini in context: an RTX 3080 or 3090 mines Ethereum at around 100 MH/s. This ASIC therefore delivers the hashrate of three RTX 3080s for the power draw of just one. In other words, for the same hashrate, it uses three times less power than a graphics card rig, and it takes up very little space.
Setup and configuration
- Connect the machine to your network (Ethernet or Wi-Fi) and power it with the supplied unit.
- Find its IP address in your router's interface, or with a network scanner such as Advanced IP Scanner.
- Log in to the web interface from a browser: the default username and password are both "root".
- Configure mining in the miner configuration tab: choose the coin to mine, then enter up to three pool URLs (one main pool and two backups). In the worker field, enter your wallet address followed by a dot and the machine's name; the password can stay at its default value.
- Update the firmware: on the machine tested, the update was necessary.
- Set the fans: automatic mode or manual speed.
For the test, we use Cruxpool, a French pool that supports many coins (Ethereum Classic, Ravencoin…): the ping is only 13 milliseconds.
Test results: noise, temperature, invalid shares
- Hashrate: it climbs steadily towards the rated 300 MH/s, at around 290 MH/s during the test.
- Noise: under 65 decibels on the sound meter, which is very quiet for an ASIC.
- Temperature: the test takes place during a heatwave, with almost 40 °C around the machines, and the iPollo stays below 60 °C without its fans running at full speed.
- Invalid shares: 2 to 3% at first, slightly higher than a graphics card, which can sometimes get down to 1%. You need to let the machine run for a while before judging.
Price, memory and resale: what to weigh up
The machine was sold for just over €3,000 including VAT in France, as on our shop at the time, i.e. about €10 per MH/s: a price that was starting to look attractive compared with graphics cards.
The key thing to check on an Ethash ASIC is its memory compared with the size of the DAG file, which grows over time. According to simulations, the 5.8 GB of usable memory allows Ethereum Classic to be mined until 2031. For Ethereum, had the move to proof of stake been postponed again, the limit would have been reached in early January 2024. The machine can also mine other Ethash coins, such as Metaverse (ETP), Expanse (EXP) or QuarkChain.
The main drawback is resale: a graphics card can be sold three years later for a quarter to a third of its original price, whereas the resale value of an ASIC is much less certain.
Should you buy an ETH/ETC ASIC?
Profitability depends on the price of electricity, the difficulty and the price of the coin. With a standard rate like in France, around 17 to 18 cents per kWh, the iPollo V1 Mini can be worthwhile. Ethereum Classic difficulty was then about 272 TH, fairly low, although still higher than at the start of 2021. The big question was how the Merge would go, and whether many ASICs would switch to Ethereum Classic.
In our view, mining will always remain profitable for some miners: it is a balancing act, and the whole point is to be among those who can stay in the game. The iPollo V1 Mini has its pros and cons, but it can be a good way to diversify a fleet of graphics cards. Nobody can know in advance how the market will evolve; for our part, we are keeping the machine to start mining Ethereum Classic.
What about today?
Since Ethereum moved to proof of stake on 15 September 2022, Ethereum can no longer be mined: an ASIC like the iPollo V1 Mini can now only mine Ethereum Classic and other Ethash or Etchash coins. The prices and profitability figures in the video are out of date.
Looking for a compact, quiet machine to mine at home? Discover our home miners and our full range of ASIC miners. No space or no cheap electricity? Consider our miner hosting, or contact us for advice before you buy.