What Is Nvidia Max-Q Graphics? A Basic Definition

[Admin]

What is a Max-Q graphics card? Laptops with Nvidia Max-Q GPUs explained.

What Is Nvidia Max-Q Graphics? A Basic Definition : Read more

 

[CTHDT]

Hi Administrator,
I believe the definition of Max-Q needs some clarification. For example the difference between RTX 2080 and 2080 Max-Q is more than 50%. It is rather more significant than "a slightly lower FPS".

Hence the term optimized for efficiency means nothing more than "lowered clock speed, lower power consumption limit and a tailored performance ramp down based on measured fan noise and laptop cooling solution". Great ideas for creating a workable environment using the same underlying chip as the desktop part.

I guess Max-Q sounds more sellable than underclocked?

 

[yronnen]

Wow, that's significant, and will affect my decision to purchase a Max-Q laptop. Based on that, the 1080 Max-Q should perform better. Afaik the difference on the 10 series is not 50%.

 

[cats_Paw]

I believe this article is more of an ad than a definition of what Max-Q is.
This is fairly sad because the Max-Q cards are fairly good as a concept (if you play less demanding titles but want to have a cool, thin laptop... so far this is almost a must).

The main cringe is adding into your definition a slide from nVidia's marketing.
notebookcheck.net wrote a great article on the max-Q technology, keywords for search in brackets (Opinion: Nvidia's Max-Q).
Conclusion? "All in all, from my perspective this appears to be largely a gimmick for sales to customers".

 

[AnimeMania]

Is it possible to buy/upgrade graphics cards for laptops. I did a quick search and did not see any graphics cards available. It seems like some company is missing a small opportunity.

 

[SCCC-2011]

Is it possible to buy/upgrade graphics cards for laptops. I did a quick search and did not see any graphics cards available. It seems like some company is missing a small opportunity.

Most laptops have their graphics solutions soldered onto their mainboard and therefore cannot be simply upgraded internally. The solution to this is an external based box that runs over USB-C Thunderbolt. These however are usually only used when gaming and not something that is plugged in 100% of the time since this makes the portability of the laptop rather more cumbersome.

 

[tytlyf]

There are Max-Q versions of Nvidia’s GTX and RTX graphics cards, but there is no AMD equivalent to Nvidia’s Max-Q

AMD uses SmartShift Technology. Which is essentially the same thing. The RX Radeon series support this.
To me, I'd prefer AMD's solution to the Max-Q. But you need a full AMD system CPU/GPU to take advantage.

 

[TimmyP777]

Is it possible to buy/upgrade graphics cards for laptops. I did a quick search and did not see any graphics cards available. It seems like some company is missing a small opportunity.

They already tried it and it failed. They were called MxM modules and I personally changed one for a friend in the late 2000s.

 

[PapaCrazy]

TH should be ashamed to publish such obfuscated fluff. The Max-Q GPUs are massively gimped cards. All this talk of "optimization" and complete lack of benchmark data does your readers a disservice.

 

[k3rzorg]

If that's what everyone is saying about Max-Q, I am quite happy then!
Playing big games at full scale in laptop is the last thing I'd do and I already have big machine for that! I needed a portable lightweight device with good modern GPU power and for that, I believe Max-Q does the job for me.
I got a Zephyrus M15 with 2070 Max-Q for $1300 (BestBuy BF deal) and so far, I'm quite happy about it's performance and yes, I kinda do appreciate it's factory underclock which will help my machine from going rogue with heat and fan sound!