Desktop graphics in a laptop form factor
Big things are happening in the gaming laptop market. We're starting to see notebooks with panels that support Nvidia's G-Sync technology, faster storage options (M.2 SATA, for example), and coming soon, true desktop class GPUs.
As it stands right now, the fastest mobile GPU available from Nvidia is the GeForce GTX 980M. Though it's called 980M, it's not the same as the desktop GeForce GTX 980. Here's a look at how they compare:
- GTX 980M: 1,536 CUDA cores, 96 texture units, 64 ROPs, 1,038MHz base, 1,127MHz boost, 4GB GDDR5 memory clocked at 1,253MHz on a 256-bit bus
- GTX 980: 2,048 CUDA cores, 128 texture units, 64 ROPs, 1,126MHz base, 1,216 MHz boost, up to 8GB of GDDR5 memory clocked at 1,753MHz on a 256-bit bus
That's about to change. Our own Jimmy Thang met with Nvidia to talk about its plans to shoehorn a desktop class GeForce GTX 980 into gaming laptops. According to Nvidia's figures, these systems are about 35 percent faster than laptops running its mobile GTX 980M GPU.
Of course, there's a reason Nvidia separates its desktop and mobile GPUs. Laptops have a limited capacity for cooling. so to deal with that, Nvidia is cherry picking GTX 980 GPUs for use in laptops, selecting only the ones that are best suited for the application.
Nvidia also had to overcome engineering challenges that would allow it to offer a desktop class GTX 980 in a size that's friendly for laptops. The company didn't go into detail on how it pulled it off, though did say that it's using only high end components and anywhere from 4 to 8 power phases, up from 3 phases found in today's high-end gaming notebooks. This allows for more power to be supplied to the GPU, which is also more efficient. Compared to regular desktop GTX 980 GPUs, there's only about a 5 percent performance delta, we're told.
Check out these videos for more info:
From surround gaming to the world's first virtual reality laptops, we're pretty excited about what Nvidia is doing here. So are several manufacturers -- Aorus, Asus, Clevo, and MSI all have plans to build notebooks around Nvidia's GTX 980. MSI will even offer an 18.4-inch laptop with two GTX 980 GPUs running in SLI. Exciting times.
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From maximumpc
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