Nvidia mobile GPU's Max Q editions?

MiSJAH · 30 Apr 2017 at 19:57

Has anyone heard of these Max Q editions?

Acer Triton 700.

The Max-Q version of the GeForce GTX 1070 will have a TDP of around 90W, down from the 120W of the original version, whereas the TDP of the GeForce GTX 1080 Max-Q drops from 165W to an impressive 110W.

At the event, Acer revealed its Triton 700 will be capable of scoring 17000 points in the 3DMark 11 Performance test. This suggests the Max-Q version of the GTX 1080 will be only about 15 percent slower than the regular model:
This is the point where we start to speculate: We have information that Nvidia will announce new graphics chips at the upcoming Computex. The preliminary designation for the low-power versions of the high-end GPUs GTX 1070 and GTX 1080 is "Max-Q". Compared to their regular counterparts, they are supposed to be more efficient and therefore require less cooling performance in combination with slightly reduced performance. The power consumption of the GTX 1070 is supposed to drop from 120 Watts to around 90 Watts, or from 165 Watts to around 110 Watts in the case of the GTX 1080.

This would allow the implementation in particularly thin laptops, so the Acer Triton 700 would be a great choice when you consider the price and the announced benchmark score. We tend towards to a Max-Q version of the GTX 1080 at 17000 points, because the benchmark scores are between 17000 and 22000 points (19851 points on average). This means the Acer Triton 700 – equipped with a putative GTX 1080 Max-Q GPU – would be ~15% slower compared to our average score for the regular GTX 1080. The power consumption is significantly lower, so this is a realistic assumption.

Does anyone have any more info on these Max Q gpu's?

Meaker · 3 May 2017 at 08:08

No need for any of that, lower clocks = lower voltage = lower power. A fuller/larger chip is typically more efficient than a smaller/cut down one running at higher clocks.

Take a 1080 and lower the power target.new product, job done.

MiSJAH · 1 Jun 2017 at 20:36

Meaker said:
No need for any of that, lower clocks = lower voltage = lower power. A fuller/larger chip is typically more efficient than a smaller/cut down one running at higher clocks.

Take a 1080 and lower the power target.new product, job done.

Has anyone seen a head to head with the standard 1070 or 1080 against the Max-Q variant? Any firestrike results anywhere yet?

kitkat9933 · 2 Jun 2017 at 08:14

It seems to be a lot of marketing BS from what I've read so far. It's basically mobile
Versions of a slightly cut down mobile version of a desktop chip.

JimboJet · 2 Jun 2017 at 10:59

tbh cut down or not, i'm sold. less noise, less heat, still has cracking performance.

jpaul · 2 Jun 2017 at 14:54

Maybe they are lower power / leakage because the chips are being binned (as pascal fe reputed to be)
so the Q is getting the cream of the production ?

MiSJAH · 2 Jun 2017 at 21:37

jpaul said:
Maybe they are lower power / leakage because the chips are being binned (as pascal fe reputed to be)
so the Q is getting the cream of the production ?

Less power because of lower clock speeds rather than being binned, I guess.

JimboJet said:
tbh cut down or not, i'm sold. less noise, less heat, still has cracking performance.

Paying GTX 1080 prices for 5% more or 5% less performance than a GTX 1070 doesn't make much sense to me.

Repaste as most stock thermal paste is garbage, try liquid metal for the best results and you're willing to accept the risks.

JimboJet · 4 Jun 2017 at 05:47

Except the 1070 will be louder and run hotter, to get the equivalent noise from a 1070 you would have to undervolt and/or underclock it. On the other hand there could be more headroom to overclock the GTX1080 max Q due to lower design temps etc, should your cooling system allow.

MiSJAH · 4 Jun 2017 at 09:34

JimboJet said:
Except the 1070 will be louder and run hotter, to get the equivalent noise from a 1070 you would have to undervolt and/or underclock it.

That's what nvidia has done to create the Max-Q editions.

JimboJet said:
On the other hand there could be more headroom to overclock the GTX1080 max Q due to lower design temps etc, should your cooling system allow.

Except the reason to create the Max-Q editions is to put them in slimmer environments, so physics won't allow room to oc as much as the regular cards.

Edit; Ask yourself, why would nvidia gimp a gpu (max-q editions) unless it was necessary?

JimboJet · 5 Jun 2017 at 19:27

TBH if it solves portability, noise and heat yet still retains the capability to pump out good fps at higher than 1080p then it's all I'm after necessary or not.

I can only assume that as the last gen gtx1080 laptops weren't a huge success due to throttling/cooling/reliability issues then the max q editions are sorely needed to push high laptops forward. As I was still waiting for the Aorus v7 (tbh I've been using my laptop less so haven't been quite as keen to replace my current one), I'm actually glad to wait for the max q machines (though less prepared now to wait for a Gigabyte/Aorus machine) On paper they sound perfect for what I want.