
With a die size less than half that of the GeForce GTX 480M, the GTX 460M’s 1.5 GB memory configuration could leave some users confused about its origins. A little poking around with GPU-Z helps shed some light on the internals.

Like the mobile parts that came before it, Nvidia sources its GTX 460M GPU from the desktop lineup, in this case the now-familiar GF106 previously found on the GeForce GTS 450. But how did the desktop card end up with 1.0 GB memory if capacities are limited to bus width multiplied by exponents of two?
| Desktop vs Mobile GeForce Graphics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Desktop GeForce GTX 460 | Desktop GeForce GTS 450 | GeForce GTX 460M | |
| Transistors | 1.95 billion | 1.17 billion | 1.17 billion |
| Engine Clock | 675 MHz | 783 MHz | 675 MHz |
| Stream Processors | 336 | 192 | 192 |
| Texture Units | 56 | 32 | 32 |
| ROP Units | 32 | 16 | 24 |
| Compute Performance | 907 GFLOPS | 601 GFLOPS | 518 GFLOPS |
| DRAM Type | 1.0 GB GDDR5-3600 | 1.0 GB GDDR5-3206 | 1.5 GB GDDR5-2500 |
| DRAM Interface | 256-bits | 128-bits | 192-bits |
| Memory Bandwidth | 115.2 GB/s | 57.7 GB/s | 60.0 GB/s |
| Module TDP | 160W | 106W | 65W |
The desktop GeForce GTS 450 has been handicapped by Nvidia, in spite of what we were told at launch. The back-end was formerly limited to 16 ROP units and a 128-bit interface. The memory capacity difference now makes sense, because 128 x 8 equals 1024, and 192 x 8 equals 1536.
The added ROP units make it appear as though the GeForce GTX 460M might be a little more powerful than the desktop GeForce GTS 450, but a lower clock speed on an identical number of stream processors more than makes up the difference. The GTX 460M ends up short of the GTS 450, in spite of its extra bandwidth. But that’s probably fine with Nvidia since the desktop part often performs on par with the super-expensive GeForce GTX 480M.
Aside from what appears to be a huge performance deficit compared to the desktop GeForce GTX 460, the best reference point for GTX 460M performance could be the GTX 480M. With twice the memory bandwidth and twice the die size, Nvidia's GTX 480M undoubtedly costs more to manufacture than the GTX 460M. We checked the prices of two major vendors to find out how much a single-card to dual-card upgrade costs, in an effort to determine the cost-per-card built into each notebook.
| Mobile Graphics Module Prices (Upgrade from Single to Dual GPU) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| GeForce GTX 480M | Mobility Radeon HD 5870 | GeForce GTX 460M | |
| Die Size | 529 mm² | 170 mm² | 238 mm² |
| Memory | 2 GB GDDR5-2400 | 1 GB GDDR5-4000 | 1.5 GB GDDR5-2500 |
| Module Price | $588 | $382 | $213 |
Before we even begin testing, the smaller part looks like it could provide a huge value benefit. The GeForce GTX 460M costs less than half the price of a GTX 480M, though higher yields on the smaller part could potentially account for the difference.
- A Little More “Less Is More”
- Nvidia's GeForce GTX 460M
- AVADirect’s X7200
- Test Systems Configuration And Driver Issues
- Benchmark Results: Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 And Crysis
- Benchmark Results: DiRT 2 And S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call Of Pripyat
- Benchmark Results: Audio And Video Encoding
- Benchmark Results: Productivity
- Benchmark Results: Synthetic Benchmarks
- Energy, Efficiency, And Battery Life
- Conclusion
Now that'd be an awesome webcam. If only it was true...
All these "gaming" laptops are on 17" screens... i'd just as well plug it into an external monitor - which defeats the purpose a bit - might as well have a small fragbox for the price...
I wish some company would rejuvinate the spirit of HP's HDX Dragon line...
BTW,you can find this laptop(with the same config as the review) much cheaper from other sites such as XoticPC.(Starts from $2100)
http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np7280-custom-laptop-built-the-clevo-x7200-p-2881.html
did someone forgot to mention that the AMD cards were paired with mobile procs, while 460Ms got the destkop stuff?
It did not made any sense when I saw that crysis high AMD gets slaughtered, and then V High is evenish. Then I looked back and saw that AMD gets a mobile CPU that could have been the bottleneck given the gfx power...
It's not like you can just take this baby to the park and play some Black Ops while Fido is chasing a tennis ball.
It draws some serious power, and costs double what a desktop version would. Did I forget to mention on a desktop you could be playing on a 24" screen?
Get a good desktop case, manage your cords properly and understand that desktops aren't that big of a deal to move if mobility is your thing.
IMHO, big waste of money. Laptops aren't suitable yet for gaming. For me personally, I don't like the screen and keyboard being on the same level....I need the keyboard lower, and carrying around a different keyboard sort of kills the idea of practicality and mobility.
It only goes to show you have never been to a LAN party.
No one intends on using these machines away from a power socket.
Weigh your computer case, monitor, keyboard, mouse, speaker system, all the cables....tell me if they weigh more then 17lbs and if it can fit in a small backpack. Not to mention the time it takes to break down the whole system, pack it, reassemble it, then break it down again, then reassemble it.
There's a little hypocrisy in your post. You mention "gaming laptops" "only" having 17" screens and then talk about just getting a fragbox. But is a 20" monster "laptop" really a laptop? Technically its portable but its over 15lbs..."might as well just get a fragbox" IMO.
and you would pay 3000 dollars to not have to do that? wow
Where did I say I would personally pay 3000 for a gaming laptop? oh yeah, I didnt.
There are plenty of good gaming laptops out there for around $1000
wow