How much more advanced are desktop card than laptop

[shaselai]

Is there a trend of how much more powerful a "best" desktop graphics card compared to the "best" laptop graphics card?

 

[jaguarskx]

I would say the more powerful the desktop GPU, the greater the decrease in performance the mobile version will have. That's primarily due to both power consumption and heat generated by the video card.

For example, if there was a mobile version of the nVidia 9600GT, I would say the performane hit will probably be about 20% since the desktop version uses 60w of power.

If there was a mobile version of the GTX 260, then I would say the performance hit will probably be about 40% - 50% because it consumes around 120w of power (off the top of my head).

 

[customisbetter]

this is easy. The notebook card is usually one model below the destop version in performance. for example. the 8700m gt has the sma eperformance as the 8600 gt for desktops. the hd 2600 mobility is equivalent to the desktop hd 2400.

 

[bobbknight]

The trend would be about 10 to 1, best to best.

 

[cjl]

Not even close to 10 to 1. The Nvidia 9800M GTX is the best current mobile, and the GTX 280 is the best desktop (though it will probably soon be dethroned). The 9800M is roughly equivalent to an 8800GT with 1024MB of memory, which is much, much faster than 1/10 a GTX280.

Of course, the area where desktop cards have a massive lead is in cheap performance - an HD4850 will be faster than the fastest mobile GPU for $160.

 

[shaselai]

so is it even worth it getting a laptop desktop replacement with some gaming in mind? I suppose if I dont move much might as well just get a new desktop?