RTX 3070M review, 66 MH/s at 90 W: the new queen of mining?
66 MH/s on Ethereum for about 90 W: that was the promise of the RTX 3070M, a rather unusual mining graphics card. In this video (in French), we test it on four algorithms (Ethereum, Ravencoin, Ergo and Flux) and compare it with a standard RTX 3070 to answer a simple question: is it the most efficient card of the moment, and who is it for?
Video from 2022: the figures below date from that time. See "What about today?" at the end of the article.
What is the RTX 3070M?
The "M" stands for mobile: it is also called the RTX 3070 Laptop. The manufacturer took NVIDIA RTX 3070 GPUs designed for laptops and mounted them on a standalone graphics card with its own cooling. That is why it draws so little power.
The card tested is an unbranded Chinese model:
- 2 fans and a compact form factor;
- a single 8-pin connector for power;
- 8 GB of Samsung GDDR6 memory;
- 66 MH/s claimed on Ethereum for about 90 to 95 W.
Setting it up in HiveOS: watch the driver version
The first thing to know: the card only works with certain NVIDIA driver versions. You need the 460 branch, not the newer versions (470, 510). With the right driver in place, the three RTX 3070M cards plugged into the test rig are correctly detected in HiveOS. We had not yet tested them on Windows when the video was made.
On Ethereum: 65 MH/s for 85 to 90 W
On Ethereum, the card holds about 65 MH/s while drawing 85 to 90 W. The logs show a ratio of 750 kH/s per watt, an impressive figure: a standard RTX 3070 tops out at around 62 MH/s for 120 W.
As for settings, the Samsung memory takes a stronger overclock than on a standard RTX 3070, up to +3000, and the core is set slightly higher than usual. Temperatures stay low: about 50 °C with the fans at 75%, without any extra fan blowing on the cards.
Ravencoin, Ergo and Flux: same performance, 20 to 25% less power
- Ravencoin: 31.34 MH/s for about 115 W. A standard RTX 3070 is rated at around 30 MH/s for 150 W: the 3070M does very slightly better on hashrate while using a good 20% less power.
- Ergo: about 168 MH/s for roughly 90 W. A standard RTX 3070 delivers 165 to 173 MH/s depending on the overclock, for 115 to 120 W: you save around thirty watts, or 20 to 25%.
- Flux: about 55 sol/s for just over 100 W (105 W). On Flux, it is mainly the GPU core doing the work rather than the memory. A standard RTX 3070 reaches 56 to 57 sol/s, but for 150 W.
Strengths, weaknesses and verdict
Strengths
- Performance equal to, or slightly better than, a standard RTX 3070 on every algorithm tested;
- 20 to 25% lower power draw, for an excellent hashrate-per-watt ratio;
- Cards that run cool;
- A price of €700 including VAT at the time of the video.
Weaknesses
- Unbranded Chinese manufacturing, with a three-month warranty only;
- Specific driver versions required, and Windows support not verified;
- A resale value that is probably lower than that of a more conventional card.
Our verdict: this card is for people who plan to keep it and mine with it over the long term, because that is where the electricity savings make the difference. We use some ourselves and are happy with them.
What about today?
Since Ethereum moved to proof of stake in September 2022, Ethereum can no longer be mined with graphics cards and GPU mining income has collapsed: the figures in this review are out of date. The criterion it highlights, efficiency (the hashrate you get per watt consumed), is still the most important one when choosing a mining machine; for an ASIC miner, it is expressed in J/TH.
To go further on this topic, read our article on the real power consumption of GPUs and the RTX 3070M. To mine today, browse our ASIC miners and estimate their profitability with our Bitcoin mining profitability calculator, or contact us for advice before you buy.