GeForce GTX 780M, 770M, And 765M: Scaling Vs. Radeon HD 8970M

Name: Can The Fastest Mobile GPU Also Help Maximize Value? - GeForce GTX 780M, 770M, And 765M: Scaling Vs. Radeon HD 8970M
Author: Thomas Soderstrom

by Thomas Soderstrom February 4, 2014 at 1:00 AM

43 Comments

Can The Fastest Mobile GPU Also Help Maximize Value?

Today's tests show that Nvidia has the fastest single-GPU notebook solution in its GeForce GTX 780M. The catch is that getting it into your mobile platform adds about $750 to its price (as much as an actual GeForce GTX 780 Ti, the fastest desktop graphics card you can buy). That’s pretty steep, even by high-end-gaming standards, particularly when you compare it to AMD's second-place Radeon HD 8970M at around $500.

Then again, when you factor in the cost of an entire, expensive gaming-oriented notebook, Nvidia's GPU improves gaming performance by 13% compared to the competition's best effort, so it could even walk away with a value win.

If you start with a $2180 notebook (sans graphics module), the expensive GeForce GTX 780M appears to offer the best gaming value, in spite of its price tag. But how does it look on its own?

If we consider only the price of adding the GPU to a theoretically free notebook, value is inversely proportional to price. Comparing the two charts above, Nvidia's GeForce GTX 770M and 765M could present the best value in a lower-end notebook, but not the behemoth benchmarked today.

Mobile gamers who prefer high resolutions and demanding quality settings in the latest titles need a top-model GeForce or Radeon GPU to hit the minimum frame rate levels for a playable experience. Running a few more calculations, the value parity between Nvidia's GeForce GTX 780M and AMD's Radeon HD 8970M happens when you drop them both into a roughly $1450 platform. That'd be equivalent to downgrading these test machines from Intel's Core i7-4930MX to the Core i7-4800MQ.

Add in the price of the graphics module, and those same calculations show that a fan of AMD's hardware can justify going with the Radeon HD 8970M’s second-place finish if they're looking at a system priced below $1950. The GeForce GTX 780M’s higher price secures a value win when the total system cost is over $2200. If you're in between, don't feel obligated to go either way. The decision narrows to whichever company's value-adds (like GeForce Experience, PhysX support, or Mantle support) are most important to you.

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About the author

Thomas Soderstrom @hardware_tom

Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.

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Top Comments

Avro Arrow 4 years ago

Gaming laptop, there's an oxymoron if I ever heard one. The "twist" in the value analysis changes nothing. Hell I could play with numbers to prove that an Intel i7-4960X is a "better value" than an AMD FX-6300 just by dropping it into a $10,000 system. Playing the percentages instead of the actual dollars makes it look better than it actually is because even though the percentage is smaller, it's still a smaller percentage of a larger number and ends up being the same. You say that the 8970M is 33% less expensive while the 780M is 13% faster? Man, you really do know how to screw with numbers don't you? The 780M is indeed 13% faster than the 8970M but it is a FULL 50% MORE EXPENSIVE than the 8970. Why are you trying so hard to word it like nVidia is the better value? No tech journalist is stupid enough to do it by accident!

Other Comments

outlw6669 4 years ago

Nice review.
I can honestly that I was not expecting Pitcairn to perform so well against GK104 while also maintaining lower power consumption!
guvnaguy 4 years ago

Are Optimus or Switchable Graphics available in these systems?With those solutions around, I wish we could start seeing reasonable (>4-5 hr) battery life out of these laptops when not under load.
damric 4 years ago

In about a year or so when there is a catalog of Mantle games, laptops could make a comeback as a viable gaming platform under $1500.
blackmagnum 4 years ago

When will they make mainstream external boxes for these gaming cards? Give it a cheap and fast link to a notebook and price it competitively to the gaming laptops; awesome upgrades like the desktop crowd.
tchahin 4 years ago

I own a 780M.I would like to see 780M versus 8970M using Mantle in BF4.
San Pedro 4 years ago

I really like my 8970M. It's awesome having that much power in a notebook. I just hope it doesn't die like my 6990M did.
cats_Paw 4 years ago

A great place to check GPUs in laptops and laptops in general is notebookcheck.netIts especially important because heat can be a problem in laptops very, very fast.Sure those did not seem to have that problem but ambient temps, as well as dust acumulation are two factors rearly taken into consideration when talking about overheating.
daglesj 4 years ago

I have seen people buy the kind of laptops that these cards exist in. The main issue with them is that they are often so compromised in one way or another they spend more time getting sent back for repairs and fixes than they do on the owners desk.Like TVR cars, they did more miles strapped on the back of low loaders going to and from Blackpool than actually on its own wheels.
gxpbecker 4 years ago

the wife has a MSI i7QM 3630 i believe and a 670mx. It has been over a year and still runs strong. Alpha testing EQNLandmark with her laptop and it runs like a champ on a mix of ultra and high settings. we have not had one issue with it and runs pretty dang cool and quiet for a gaming laptop. not sure what machine the people you have seen Daglesj, but we are very happy with ours.
manitoublack 4 years ago

Wish you included the GT750m SLi available on the Lenovo Y510P. I own said laptop and $ for $ couldn't ask for more, but have no real goal post against the other chips in the Nvidia range.Great to finally see some mobile GRFX chop reviews and look forward to more in the future.
Blazer1985 4 years ago

Well, speaking about reliability, I own a alienware m17r4 with a 675m (580m slightly overclocked) never had to be repaired and still running strong. I often use it for gpu rendering tasks which are the equivalent of running furmark for several hours. Cpu never went below the turbo frequency gpu never throttled or got above 70c. The system is one and a half years old now and still kicking :-)
Blazer1985 4 years ago

Oh and btw optimus is by default enabled on the above tested systems. You get an astonishingly long battery life with these systems (given the specs)... If you have enough muscles to carry them around :-)
Godfavor 4 years ago

What do you mean actual temperature minus ambient? What is the ambient temperature? If it is a 20 celcius then gtx 780m is 92.6 celcius??? That is very hot if it is true!
vertexx 4 years ago

I like the new twist in the value analysis, where you determine the overall system price at which the different components add the most value. It would be good to see this incorporated into the standard value analysis for desktop components as well.
sjc1017 4 years ago

There seems so little development in the laptop sector, they consistently artificially rig the market to make consumers spend around the £800 mark for anything capable of running pc games (look at the dell revamp of the inspiron 17 which is around the £1000 mark). I know there is the Lenovo but why don't more manufacturers produce machines in a 17.3 form factor with those specs? It seems you have a choice of badly specced machines that are very cheap or really extortionately priced gaming laptops with little in between.
Avro Arrow 4 years ago

Gaming laptop, there's an oxymoron if I ever heard one. The "twist" in the value analysis changes nothing. Hell I could play with numbers to prove that an Intel i7-4960X is a "better value" than an AMD FX-6300 just by dropping it into a $10,000 system. Playing the percentages instead of the actual dollars makes it look better than it actually is because even though the percentage is smaller, it's still a smaller percentage of a larger number and ends up being the same. You say that the 8970M is 33% less expensive while the 780M is 13% faster? Man, you really do know how to screw with numbers don't you? The 780M is indeed 13% faster than the 8970M but it is a FULL 50% MORE EXPENSIVE than the 8970. Why are you trying so hard to word it like nVidia is the better value? No tech journalist is stupid enough to do it by accident!
Blazer1985 4 years ago

The cost of the gpu alone may be 50% more but when you put the whole system into account you may end up paying it 33% more, not 50%. Beside that, this time the price/performance ratio seems to favor amd imho.
squirrelboy 4 years ago

I wish the performance of the desktop counterparts would have been added to the charts. or even the desktop PRICE counterparts, so the 780M compared to the 780TI etc.
Arkane5 4 years ago

Blazer1985, what you didn't understand is the difference of point of view between the 2 comparisons. It says "8970M is 33% less expensive // 780M is 13% faster". It should be either :"780M is 50% more expensive // 780M is 13% faster"OR"8970M is 33% less expensive // 8790M is x% slower"
Godfavor 4 years ago

Don't play with numbers! 500 to 750 is 50% more expensive, BUT 750 to 500 is 33% less expensive, damn the mathematics!