If you want to buy the best gaming laptop that fits your budget, there are many details you need to pay attention to. Different manufacturers may release many different configurations of multiple models of laptops. Even official web pages sometimes list confusing and missing features. Actually, we have explained all the details you need to pay attention to when buying a laptop for gaming. However, he thought that we should discuss in detail the “Max-Q and Max-P” distinction that we frequently encounter in NVIDIA branded laptops. dick.
At least 8 out of 10 computers you look at at retailers today probably have an NVIDIA-branded GPU. There’s an increasingly common distinction when it comes to graphics chips, and most people don’t pay attention to it. We talked about how we should first look at the GPU when buying a gaming computer, so what is this distinction? PCs powered by Max-P (regular) and Max-Q (lower power) GPU.
Although the phrase Max-Q is not always mentioned in retail sales lists, it is a very important detail. It directly affects the performance of the system, especially games. Now let’s explain why NVIDIA graphics chips are marked as Max-Q (sometimes Max-P).
What is Max-Q?
If you’re looking for a gaming laptop that can handle demanding games or high-definition games, but stay tuned for the high-end gaming systems we usually see in gaming systems. Weight, weight and noisy fans Max-Q is a good technology. However, if you say you want the highest performance, do not overlook this detail.
When browsing through retailers you will come across models that include some type of Max-Q graphics card, such as “RTX 2080 Max-Q”. Max-Q is a GPU technology that NVIDIA first introduced in 2017 and allows manufacturers to adjust power/performance according to the features of gaming computers. To summarize, a graphics card bearing the Max-Q suffix is designed for a lighter and thinner type of laptop. For this reason, maximum TDP values and performance may be slightly low.
The term Max-Q seems a bit strange, doesn’t it? Max-Q is a term that NVIDIA borrowed from the aviation and space world. As the company explains in detail in a blog post, Max-Q represents the time when a spacecraft has maximum dynamic pressure.
Max-Q technology is used in computers to ensure that laptops are thinner, quieter and more energy efficient than other gaming laptops when running NVIDIA graphics technology. In general, heat management of graphics cards is important. Nobody wants thick and heavy laptops with bulky, noisy cooling systems.
Max-Q graphics cardsDesigned to optimize efficiency and cooling systems. So you can run heavy graphics workloads like 4K gaming on sleek laptops. Max-Q laptops deliver peak power of 40 dBA from a distance of 25cdm (cubic decimeters) when faced with “average” gaming workloads and room temperatures To have the ultimate level ± aims.
While Max-Q versions of NVIDIA signed graphics chips are offered, AMD does not make such a classification: There are Radeon RX 7000M and 7000S series. As for the difference between them, while the power limits are higher in the M series, they are lower in the S series. It actually looks similar, but AMD is following a slightly different path.
We should point out that Max-Q graphics cards are only available in the mobile market, that is, laptops. Many companies, including Acer, Alienware, ASUS, Dell, Gigabyte, HP, Lenovo, MSI and Razer, use Max-Q designs. The bad thing is that vendors don’t always make it clear whether their systems use Max-Q or regular (sometimes called Max-P) mobile GPUs.
Each mobile NVIDIA graphics subsystem is rated for a different power configuration. For example, laptop manufacturers can use the mobile GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER model at a rating between 80W and 115W. This rating may vary depending on the laptop’s design, cooling system, material quality and product segment. A laptop with an RTX 2070 SUPER running at 80-90W and meeting certain thermal standards is described as “Max-Q”. The mobile RTX 2070 SUPER variant, which breaks the chains and operates at full 115W power, does not need this label or can sometimes be defined as “Max-P”. The letter “P” in Max-P represents “performance”.
The Max-Q version of the GeForce graphics system offers lower clock speeds because it uses less power. You won’t get the best possible performance from your mobile GPU with a Max-Q system, but you can get good performance on a device that meets NVIDIA Max-Q’s size, thermal and noise standards. Generally, the lightest, thinnest and most stylish looking laptops with NVIDIA GPU are of the “Max-Q” type.
When you buy a Max-Q laptop, you get portability, aesthetics, reduced fan noise (40dBA or lower) and longer battery life. The problem depends on the graphics performance (usually at most 10-15) You are purchasing a high-end machine that offers some compromises.
How Do Max-Q Graphics Chips Work?
Chips labeled Max-Q can fit into thin laptops thanks to NVIDIA’s optimizations for “highest efficiency”. So instead of increasing the clock speed, voltages, and memory bus to deliver the best performance possible within a given thermal limit or at a given audio output level. It is adjusted to provide the best possible performance. NVIDIA’s definition is as follows:
“Designing a slim, high-performance gaming laptop is one of the most challenging tasks in modern computing. Heat, energy usage, space, and weight affect the performance that can be achieved from a slim gaming laptop. NVIDIA defines Max-Q as a laptop engineering approach to extract maximum performance from the thinnest designs possible by optimizing every aspect possible for the highest efficiency. developed. Chips, drivers, thermal and electrical components, control system and more are taken into account in Max-Q designs.”
What is Max-P?
Max-P is not actually a statement officially made by NVIDIA, like Max-Q. Non-Max-Q, that is, normal laptop GPUs, can sometimes be called Max-P. Max-P, which means “maximum performance”, is something made up to describe laptops without Max-Q.
Continuing with the example we just gave, the GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER GPU, which can reach a maximum power consumption of 115W, can be labeled as “Max-P” on a laptop.
At this point, do not compare non-Max-Q graphics with desktop GPUs. Even though we talk about full power, we still mean graphics processors produced for the mobile platform. For example, the desktop-class RTX 2070 SUPER model uses 215W of power, almost twice as much. So we can divide the green team’s chips into three groups: Desktop, standard mobile (Max-P) and mobile Max-Q.
System developers must meet certain standards to receive the Max-Q label. Max-P, on the other hand, does not require any standards. Long story short, it is a term used for mobile graphics systems that can work with full power, high wattage and use their full potential. There may be countless Max-P computers on the market. You need to look at laptop reviews and comparisons to see what the heat, sound and performance situation is.
Replacement of Max-Q Chips
NVIDIA also developed Max-Q technologies with the series it launched over time.
RTX 2000 Series
Found in RTX 2000 series mobile graphics cards 2nd generation Max-QIt included improvements focused specifically on efficiency:
- Dynamic Boost
- Low voltage GDDR6 memories
- Advanced Optimus
- New generation regulator efficiency
- DLSS
Dynamic Boost offers a more flexible way for a laptop to share its power and thermal capabilities between the graphics silicon and the CPU. With Dynamic Boost, the Max-Q GPU can use up to 15W more power for up to 10% better performance and higher frame rates when the CPU’s workload is lightened.
RTX 2000 series Max-Q chips can support Advanced Optimus technology, which helps the laptop’s battery life by switching to the CPU’s integrated graphics for less intensive workloads such as web browsing or watching videos. This feature is not available on every laptop and depends on the manufacturers.
RTX 3000 Series
The 3rd generation of Max-Q was introduced with the RTX 3000 series. The updates this time focused specifically on game speed:
- Dynamic Boost 2.0
- WhisperMode 2.0
- Resizeable Base Address Register (BAR)
Dynamic Boost 2.0 promises a “bigger performance increase” than the previous version and works on a frame-by-frame basis. Meanwhile, WhisPerMode 2.0 uses AI algorithms to control CPU, graphics card, PC temperatures and fan speeds for quieter performance. Resizable BAR is NVIDIA’s answer to AMD Smart Access Memory (SAM) technology. It aims to increase performance by allowing your CPU to “access the entire GPU frame buffer at once” via PCIe.
RTX 4000 Series
With the newest series available, RTX 4000 “Ada Lovelace”, the transition to the 5th generation Max-Q technology was made. More or less improvements will definitely be made in the RTX 5000 series. NVIDIA says productivity has increased radically and gaming performance has improved with the following enhancements:
- NVIDIA DLSS 3 is optimized for laptops: Embedded in Max-Q technologies including Whispermode and BatteryBoost that improve performance, acoustics, and battery life by up to 2x.
- The lowest voltage GDDR6 memories ever used.
- Internal fast memory control allows the GPU to dynamically switch to newer, lower-power memory states.
- Ada’s on-chip memory has been optimized for Max-Q, doubling bandwidth, increasing size by 16x, and improving clock throughput.
Is Max-P Always More Performance?
The answer is yes, with exceptional cases. What do we mean by exception? A slim Max-Q system with a strong cooling design can in some cases perform better than or equal to a Max-P system subject to thermal constraints. As we said, Max-P graphics cards do not have a specific standard. The situation may vary depending on the laptop model, manufacturer, quality and cooling design. But yes, Max-P generally shows higher performance.
To summarize, Max-Q is a throttled version of the mobile GPU with a lower power limit. It does not perform as well as the Max-P variant, which operates at the higher end of the power limit range. Let’s even give an example. An RTX 2060 Mobile GPU of the Max-P type can perform very close to the RTX 2070 Max-Q GPU.
How to Understand Max-Q Laptops?
With the launch of the RTX 3000 series, some manufacturers stopped including whether a laptop uses Max-Q technology in their spec sheets. This makes things more difficult.
You shouldn’t buy a laptop off the shelf or from a retailer without seeing what’s inside. Although most OEMs do not specifically specify Max-Q models, retailers can add phrases such as “RTX 4050 Mobile Max-Q” on the sales page. If you cannot see this phrase, try to find “TGP values” on both the retailer and seller pages about the product. You can have an idea thanks to the specified TGP value. Lower TGP value means Max-Q.
