Mobile GeForce GTX Graphics: Model Inflation Gone Awry

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Crysis And Far Cry 2

Game benchmark resolutions were previously chosen based on previous articles.

The GeForce GTX 280 desktop graphics card produces better frame rates at today’s highest tested resolution than the GTX 280M achieves at today’s lowest tested resolution. Neither solution is truly playable at Very High detail levels, though previous overclocking evaluations have shown that the entire results graph can be pushed upward at higher CPU speeds.

Far Cry shows a lead of over 50% for the real GTX 280, while the "underclocked GeForce 8800 GTS" (so enthusiastically named GeForce GTX 280M) falls short of playability when detail levels are increased.

Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
70 Comments Comment from the forums
  • tacoslave
    and here i thought they were going to name it the gts 250m, but 280m? thats just low
    Reply
  • amdfangirl
    Well... how long would a lappie last with power draws of the desktop GTX versions?
    Reply
  • IzzyCraft
    Probably not more then 30 mins :) But that's not the point.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    IzzyCraftProbably not more then 30 mins But that's not the point.
    Actually, if you look at the notebook it's in...you could probably cool at least a GTX 275 with same-sized sinks if you had a lower power CPU.
    Reply
  • Sharft6
    :o i never noticed this before although I've never had a laptop before. maybe this article could stoke up the the big boys in the gfx department to rethink their naming schemes :)
    Reply
  • apache_lives
    will these parts crash and burn like every other previous nvidia product released for laptop over the last 2 years?
    Reply
  • amdfangirl
    Well, the laptop maker could always try putting in a normal Geforce card...
    Reply
  • lemonade4
    Down with naming inflation!! (excellent article btw)
    Reply
  • Crashman
    9476634 said:
    Well, the laptop maker could always try putting in a normal Geforce card...

    It would be hard, but when nVidia makes a card using the same specs as the GTS 250...except lower clock speeds...it could at least call the thing a GTS 250M.

    Then again, both it an the GTS 250 are actually die-shrunk, underclocked 8800 GTS 512s...with twice the memory.
    Reply
  • falchard
    I think the die on the GTX 260+ is just too large to shrink down to be cool enough and power hungryless enough to put in a laptop.
    Reply